Moonshine Today

Today moonshine can be seen in modern culture through the TV show Moonshiners and the film Lawless. These seem to be one of the major factors in the "rebirth" of moonshine. Tim Smith who is one of the shows biggest stars, started as an illegal moonshiner, and now has made his operation legal in hopes of showing people that moonshine does not have to be illicit in nature and can be safe if produced correctly. Legal Moonshine can reach prices up to $40, making it a "premium spirit"(Dieterle). Today with more and more moonshine operations seemingly moving towards a legal approach, it may seem that the roots of moonshine will be lost, however the methods used to produce the 'shine remains relatively unchanged. Also, recipes used by many moonshiners will use in the future have been passed down from past 'shiners who perfected them during the age when moonshine was almost purely illegal.

Even though the film Lawless is based on true events that occurred during the prohibition era, due it being adapted to the big screen it includes a star-studded cast of Shia LeBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke and Jessica Chastain. Who all have a degree of influence over their fans and audience. Because it was a fairly good movie, many people who watched it showed interest on the subject of moonshine, leading to lots of publicity for not only 'shine but also Franklin County.