Moonshine Recipes

Moonshine Recipe Walkthrough Guides For Home Distilling

Want to learn different moonshine recipes? You’re in the right place. Learn from our easy step-by-step moonshine recipes that show you new and different ways to make your favorite spirit even better.

Since 2003, our team at Mile Hi Distilling has collected a range of free moonshine recipes for anybody interested in learning the fun hobby of home moonshine distilling. We love to discover and pass on new and interesting moonshine recipes so that you can create the most unique batches of homemade whiskey using our moonshine still kits. We also carry everything you need to start on your distilling venture. From a range of different styles of stills and complete still kits, to supplies and ingredients like distillers yeast and oak barrels, Mile Hi Distilling is your one-stop-shop for anything homemade distilling.

With over 14 years experience building and selling distilling supplies we’re sure you’ll find everything needed for home distilling in our shop. One of the best distillers we sell is the duel purpose 8 gallon, it can be used for both pot or reflux distilling. The Grainfather Brewing System is another excellent unit we carry if you’re looking for more convenience. The dual purpose still can be used with any moonshine recipe on the internet or the books we sell have great moonshine recipes.

How to Make Moonshine Recipe

Making moonshine is an art that has roots stretching thousands of years into our past. Getting hands on with this process is a way to experience history first-hand. The overall process is relatively simple on its face. However, as with so many things, once you begin the process of trial and error you will learn the nuances that can make is quite challenging. Starting off the process with the right moonshine ingredients will make all the difference in the spirits that you’ll be able to create. A quick and simple overview of the process of making moonshine is as follows:

Procedure

Gather Your Materials and Moonshine Ingredients
Mix Your Chosen Type of Mash
Ferment Your Mash
Prepare Your Still
Transfer Fermented Mash to Your Still
Run Your Still
Separate Foreshots, Heads, Hearts, and Tails
Clean Your Still

For a more complete guide on making moonshine, check out our how to make moonshine article. We also have complete guides on how to make vodka, how to make rum, and how to make gin.

Assorted Moonshine Recipes

Below you’ll find some amazing moonshine recipes and moonshine mash recipe guides that we’ve discovered throughout the distilling community. Try them for yourself and let us know how your batch of shine turns out!

Corn Moonshine Recipe

In this guide, we explain how to do a basic corn mash

Apple Pie Moonshine Recipe

In this guide, we explain two different step-by-step recipes for making a delicious batch of Apple Pie Moonshine.

Mountain Dew Recipe

In making “Mountain Dew” or “White Lightning’” the first step is to convert the starch of the grain into sugar. (Commercial distillers use malt.) This is done by “sprouting” the corn. Shelled, whole corn is covered with warm water in a container with a hole in the bottom. Place a hot cloth over it. Add warm water from time to time as it drains.

Keep in a warm place for about 3 days or until corn has 2 inch sprouts. Dry it and grind it into meal. Make mush (or mash) with boiling water. Add rye mash that has been made the same way, if you have it. Yeast (1/2 pound per 50 gallons of mash) may be added to speed up the fermentation if you have it. Without it, 10 or more days will be required instead of about 4. In either case, it must be kept warm. When the mash gets through “working” or bubbling up and settles down, it is then ready to run. At this stage, the mash has been converted into carbonic acid and alcohol. It is called “wash” or beer and it is sour.

Sweet Feed Moonshine Recipe

- 8 Gallon fermenter with lid and airlock
- sweet feed (Sweet feed has several different grains and molasses making it a great tasting whiskey.)
- One package of Whisky Yeast
- 6 pounds sugar
- Water 6.5 Gallon Recipe Put enough feed to cover bottom of 8 gallon fermenter bucket, a good 5 inches deep.
- Add 6 pounds of sugar. Fill 1/2 fermenter full with boiling water. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Mix the rest and finish filling with warm water until you get to 6.5 gallons of mash or 3″ of head space in fermenter.
- Add the yeast after it has cooled to the recommended temperature of 75F to 80F. Cover with lid and use airlock. 5-6 days later it’s ready to distill. This recipe is an old one that works well. Run it at 150-160 proof.
- Filter the mash before distilling to remove solids and sediment or it will stick to the bottom or to the heating elements and burn giving off flavors. Suggest to run it through a plated or reflux still once or if using a pot run it through the still twice. One stripping run then a spirit run with a pot still. If using a pot still you will want to ferment enough volume to yield enough to run a stripping run. Estimated 4 fermenters with this sweet feed recipe then stripping run to yield around 3-4 gallons of low wines then dilute down with water to 50% before running spirit run. age on some oak for a few months to really bring in the character.

Clear Peach Moonshine Recipe

Peach moonshine recipes that are simple and user friendly. A good clear peach moonshine recipe starts with quality peaches.

Clear peach moonshine recipe using peaches, sugar and water

Ingredients ;

20lbs of peaches ( remove pits )

6 lbs of granulated sugar or even better use cane sugar or raw sugar

6 gallons of water

2 packets of champagne yeast and yeast nutrient

Remove pits and mash up the peaches in a 10 gallon stock pot then add 6 gallons of water. Put over heat until temperature comes up to 150F then add sugar. Keep stirring so solids don’t stick and burn to the bottom. After sugar is completely dissolved turn the heat off and let the mixture cool to 80F then put in fermenter and add yeast. Use an air lock on fermenter and ferment 7 days. Estimated ABV should be 12%-15%. Strain through brew bag or strainer then through cheesecloth. Distill through a pot still. Pot still will carry over flavor well and the product will come out clear just like a peach brandy but it will be a clear peach moonshine.

Key Lime Moonshine Recipe

Ingredients:

Sugar

Key lime juice

Vanilla

Coconut extract

Moonshine neutral spirit of vodka neutral spirit

Directions:

Put 1.5 cups of water in a pot on the stove with 1 cup of sugar and bring to a boil stirring continuously so the sugar dissolves in the water. Add 3 TBSP of key lime juice or lime juice. ¼ tsp of vanilla extract and ½ tsp of coconut extract. Let simmer for 3 minutes then cool to room temperature. Pour contents into a one quart mason jar and top off with moonshine neutral spirit or vodka neutral spirit. Refrigerate then enjoy.

Lemon Cream Moonshine Recipe

Ingredients:

Sugar

Lemon juice

lemon

Coffee creamer ( powdered, regular flavor )

Moonshine neutral spirit or vodka neutral spirit

Directions:

Put 1.5 cup of water in a pot on the stove with 1 cup of sugar and bring to a boil stirring continuously so the sugar dissolves in the water. Add 4 TBSP of Lemon juice. 2 TBSP of coffee creamer ( powdered, regular flavor ). Squeeze ½ fresh lemon into the mixture. Let simmer for 3 minutes then cool to room temperature. Pour contents into a one quart mason jar and top off with 140 proof moonshine neutral spirit or vodka neutral spirit. Should end up at about 80 proof. Remove pulp from lemon and twist rind into the jar and leave in the jar. Place in the freezer, shake before drinking. A nice summertime treat.

This recipe can be easily adjusted up or down with creamer and or sugar to get the taste you like. Experiment to create your moonshine recipes.

It is legal to own a moonshine still or alcohol still, but illegal to produce and sell alcohol without a proper license.