Basura: Pleasant adventures in sipping illegal ‘Michishine’

Sippin’ Whiskey

“They call it that good ol’ mountain dew,

Them that refuse it are few,

I’ll hush up my mug,

If you fill up my jug,

With that good ol’ mountain dew.”

— Traditional ballad

An unexpected gift came to our home yesterday.  It was a lovely shade of pale gold liquid, in a quart Mason jar.  “Just for sipping,” our benefactor explained.  “It’s 110 proof.”

How nice, I thought.  Obviously, he trusts us, by divulging having done something which has potential for running afoul of the law.  He knows that I’d worked a number of years upholding the laws of the State of Michigan.  He also knows I retired from that line of work.

(see Appendix A regarding Michigan law on the subject)

He lives in a rural area.  While maintaining a day job, he enjoys and values self-reliance.  He has a huge garden every year.  Sometimes he keeps a few pigs that he buys in the spring, feeds and slaughters in the fall.  “I know people say not to name farm animals,” he said.  “But I do.  Pork Chop.  Hambone.  Bacon.”

When he first presented the gift, he was a little careful about it.  But he said it was 110 proof.  I’ve had people give me homemade wine before, and they might say it’s strong.  Or not too strong.  But the specificity of his characterization tipped off the provenance.  I asked how he knew the alcohol content.  He’d tested it, he said.  When I raised my eyebrows at that, he admitted he’d made it.

“It’s not technically moonshine,” he said.  “Homemade, of course.  It’s aged in an oak barrel.  It’s not made from corn, so it’s not bourbon.  It’s made from both rye and wheat, so you can’t call it rye.  It’s whiskey.  I like it, and I hope you do.”

I did.  Mrs. Basura had a very little sip, and her cheeks flushed instantly.  The last time I’d seen that was at the Ardilaun House in Galway, Ireland, at the hotel bar.  A man insisted that we try his favorite Irish whiskey, neat.  He said it would be wrong to dilute good Irish whiskey.

Mrs. B has a far more refined palate than I, and she thought the Michigan whiskey was very nice.  So did I.  She thought next time she will try it with some ice and maybe a splash of water.  Maybe a glug.  The whiskey was noticeably potent.  Typical liquors tend to run in the 80 – 86 proof strength.

I usually drink beer, or, on Sunday night, wine.  The flavor was smooth, with the softness of the wheat balancing nicely with the sharpness of rye.  It was easy to drink.  I’ll need to remember to take a cautious approach the next time the lid comes off that jar.  It is yet unnamed, and, of course, has no label on the jar.  Maybe call it Michishine?

It was in the afternoon.  He had things to do, as did we.  We stopped tasting as he made his way on to the other things on his agenda, and we did the same.

I must say, I look forward to cracking open that Mason jar another time.  I envision having some on a cold winter night, enjoying our fireplace, maybe with a listening to Levon Helm’s excellent Dirt Farmer.

Appendix A:  Michigan Liquor Control Code (MLCC) 436-1901 Section 901(1) makes it illegal to produce or possess unlicensed alcohol.  MLCC 436.1909 Section 909(3) provides that “A person who performs any act for which a license is required under this act without first obtaining that license or who sells alcoholic liquor in a county that has prohibited the sale of alcoholic liquor under section 1107 is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or by a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or both”.

(The above story is imagined, fictional, and does not reflect actual events.   It was fashioned to produce a work of art for submission to Townbroadcast for the entertainment of the readership.)