Over the past decade, unaged white whiskey (marketed to the public as “moonshine”) has emerged as a popular alcoholic drink throughout the United States. Traditionally manufactured (often illegally) by poor residents in Appalachia and other rural parts of the nation, “moonshine” whiskey has recently caught the attention of liquor companies and micro-distilleries. In particular, legal whiskey producers in Tennessee and North Carolina have capitalized on the burgeoning “moonshine” industry, selling millions of cases of “white lightning” since 2010. Liquor manufacturers in California, Oregon, New York, and other states have quickly followed suit. Oregon, for instance, now boasts six local distilleries that produce unaged white whiskey. Far from being a dying art, as scholars concluded in the 1980s and 1990s, the manufacturing of “moonshine” has become a multi-million-dollar industry.
Chapter proposals/abstracts are invited for an edited collection – tentatively titled Modern Moonshine: The Rise of White Whiskey in the 21st Century – that will explore the varied reasons behind the rise of the so-called modern moonshine movement and its impact on American society. In particular, the editors are interested in chapters that address one of the following topics:
- The economic trends of distilling during the 21st century
- The role that state laws have played in the recent growth of the “moonshine” industry
- The role that media has played in the rise of the modern moonshine movement
- How the modern moonshine movement has changed the craft of distilling
- How the modern moonshine movement has impacted the image of Appalachia/rural America
- The reasons why consumer demand for “moonshine” has increased and what this tells us about American culture
- The role that geography has played in the rise of the moonshine boom
Contributions are welcomed from scholars working in a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Interested authors should submit an abstract of 200-300 words and a brief bio by August 15, 2016 to Drs. Cameron Lippard (lippardcd@appstate.edu) and Bruce Stewart (stewartbe1@appstate.edu). All chapters should be previously unpublished. Accepted proposals will be developed into 5000-8000 word essays (including notes and references).