Family Moonshine Recipe Book

Title: Moonshine Family Recipe Book

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

The older brother of Informant A, Informant C has similarly lived in the Upper Valley his entire life, and in fact currently resides in the two brothers childhood home. He works full time as a landscaper, and shares in the family tradition of moonshining.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: the recipe book itself has existed for at least two generations, and was handed down to Informant C upon the death of his father. The circumstances that produced this recipe book are unique to the process of moonshining. Because the process of making moonshine is an imperfect science, each batch has a different taste and texture. Though it is nearly impossible to recreate the same batch twice, the recipe book can help Informants A and C as a rough guide. The recipe book added to every time Informants A and C make moonshine, therefore also in a way serving as a log of a family activity. The recipe book can also only be read and written in by members of the informants family, as it is an integral part of their family identity. Finally, writing in the book occurs only after the process of moonshining is complete
Cultural Context: The recipe book naturally derives from the greater culture of moonshining, as the process is an imperfect science and one naturally shrouded in secrecy, in addition to also being a family business

Item:

Big, old, leather-bound book with lots of handwritten recipes that discuss the methods, timing, and ingredients of various moonshine recipes
While the item itself is a book, the act of writing in book by the family members is somewhat of a ritual, as it is done only after the moonshine is made. It “caps off” the moonshining process, making it post-liminal, and also connects the informants to their roots.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file): was not allowed to take a picture

Transcript:

Informant’s Comments: he described is at incredibly important to his family

Collector’s Comments: I was amazed by the sheer size and age of the book

Collector’s Name: Cormac Dugan

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive