In-Depth Look At Moonshine Making

Deep in the mountains of northeast Georgia, law enforcement officers learn about the decades old practice of making moonshine.

The purpose behind this "training school" in Rabun County, Georgia is to equip officers with all the tricks of the trade in order to catch those still making this illegal brew. NewsChannel 9 made the trek to this mountain county which borders South Carolina to take in a first hand glimpse of this unique school.

After officers spend a week in the northeast Georgia mountains soaking in all the secrets of how and why people make this illegal mountain brew, they blew up an Al Capone era still. Parts of the wooden and copper still soared above the pine trees in this training school. Organizers say blowing up a still is better than taking one apart. They say it discourages moonshine makers from trying to reconstruct the still.

The Capone era still was known for making poorer quality liquor, but faster.

Meanwhile, agents stay all week in Rabun County, which stood as one of the top moonshine producing counties in the South back in the 50's and 60's. Once here, officers learn tracking men in the wilderness and how to HEAR the sounds of people making moonshine in hidden pockets of the woods. And many of the people who lead this school used to make moonshine themselves.

That includes Randall Deal, who was arrested in 1960 for making the corn mash whiskey. In 2006, president George Bush pardoned him. Although Deal never spent any time in jail, he still remembers the day he was caught, "They was all around us. they had us surrounded. Run dead into one of the revenuers," Deal said. This August will mark his 18th year working for the Rabun County Sheriff's Department. Back in the 70's Tony Gallaway used to make and sell moonshine. Now, Gallaway works as a Rabun County marshal.

"Federal law has gotten so tough, you're looking at most likely prison time, it's just not worth it anymore," Gallaway said.

To give you some perspective on the rarity of moonshine stills, the Georgia Department of Revenue Alcohol and Tobacco Division shut down only five stills statewide in 2007. Of course, those are only the ones it knew about.

The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says the inability to tax moonshine is NOT the only reason it's illegal. Agents also point to harmful amounts of lead and other toxins that have been found in moonshine cooked in old car radiators.