(UPDATED) Dug A Full/Sealed Bottle of Booze or Moonshine (S. Georgia)

[bergie]

(See my post at bottom for update)
This is one of my most unusual finds ever. Today I was detecting along a creek in what is now a park in S. Georgia and dug the top of a bottle I thought was just a typical broken bottle with cap attached....but then I saw that not only did the bottle appear whole (standing about 45 degree angle in the ground), but I could see there was still liquid all the way to the top of the bottle. I carefully dug around until I could pull it out and here's what I got. The moonshine is about the color of lemonade and has sediment in it....4/5 Quart bottle says "Federal Law Forbids The Sale or Reuse of This Bottle" - which research says was required on bottles from 1935 to 1964 to help stop moonshiners from reusing legal booze bottles after Prohibition. Any idea how to pin down date of bottle? Thank you. No, I don't plan to drink it! Thanks to Earthworks for the photos and Skunemonk for Googling some research while I was still out in the field. I guess someone never made it back to drink their stash.

 

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[Eddie08]

Re: Dug A Full/Sealed Bottle of Booze or Moonshine (S. Georgia)

Put a little in a shot glass and see if it burns with a blue flame. The good stuff will light up and you can't even see the flame except for a little blue edge. Don't know if I would drink it, could of been distilled using a car radiator and is full of lead. Real cool find no matter what is in it.

 

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[Frank1960]

Re: Dug A Full/Sealed Bottle of Booze or Moonshine (S. Georgia)

I'd HAVE to smell it then taste it if it didn't smell like human bodily fluids no way I couldn't let it just sit

"White lightnin' Frank" is that you Thought you were out on the Lost Highway with Hank Sr.

Not that Frank but have had moonshine before pulled a cold out of me that had been following me for weeks and laid me up for 2 days LOL

 

[scrounger d detector collector]

Re: Dug A Full/Sealed Bottle of Booze or Moonshine (S. Georgia)

ONE of my relatives hitchiked around a lot.

he sez many times bums urinate into their bottle of booze

to keep the others from trying to take/drink it while they sleep.

 

[Ricky1601 aka pull tab king]

Re: Dug A Full/Sealed Bottle of Booze or Moonshine (S. Georgia)

remember with moon shine take a little in a spoon and burn it. if it burns blue it is ok. any other color is not as some was made with wood alcohol and can be fatal. thanks for sharing and hh

 

[bergie]

Re: Dug A Full/Sealed Bottle of Booze or Moonshine (S. Georgia)

Thanks for all the comments. I put it outside in case it's something like nitro (unlikely)...there's a college in town, maybe I'll have their chemistry dept test it. It does have some dirt that seeped into it, so aside from every other good reason not to taste it, that's another one.

 

[Sniffy]

Re: Dug A Full/Sealed Bottle of Booze or Moonshine (S. Georgia)

DRINK IT!

 

[Frank1960]

Re: Dug A Full/Sealed Bottle of Booze or Moonshine (S. Georgia)

Thanks for all the comments. I put it outside in case it's something like nitro (unlikely)...there's a college in town, maybe I'll have their chemistry dept test it. It does have some dirt that seeped into it, so aside from every other good reason not to taste it, that's another one.

Have it tested? Now where is your explorer spirit ya got to at least open it and sniff it. Don't worry just don't tilt it up enough for the dirt to come out and you "should" be fine lol

 

[dig4gold]

Re: Dug A Full/Sealed Bottle of Booze or Moonshine (S. Georgia)

They say moonshine will make you go blind if you drink too much. Can I sip on it till I need glasses? 8)

A very interesting find!

dig4gold

Thanks for all the comments. I put it outside in case it's something like nitro (unlikely)...there's a college in town, maybe I'll have their chemistry dept test it. It does have some dirt that seeped into it, so aside from every other good reason not to taste it, that's another one.

Have it tested? Now where is your explorer spirit ya got to at least open it and sniff it. Don't worry just don't tilt it up enough for the dirt to come out and you "should" be fine lol

 

[Sand-duner]

Re: Dug A Full/Sealed Bottle of Booze or Moonshine (S. Georgia)

Get it tested. Moonshine is good, but only up to a point. I've had some before that hit my gut so bad, I went to the hospital. (Story goes it was straight grain corn mash, bad stuff.) One shot of some of that stuff and you could wind up hurting a lot! Even if you get it tested, I would be wary and only taste a couple drops at first.

 

[cjprice]

Re: Dug A Full/Sealed Bottle of Booze or Moonshine (S. Georgia)

DRINK IT!

Yeah, Drink It!! or at least give it a Sniff

 

[bergie]

I emailed the head of the chemistry department at the college and they won't test it, but he recommended taking a little to see if it burns, which others suggested here. I will do that in the morning and post again, so check back tomorrow. Probably some ground water got in, at least some, so we'll see if it burns. If you don't hear back then put me down for a Darwin award :-) === actually, I will be very careful.

 

[sniffer]

good luck & make sure you stand back when you strike a match LOL

 

[DigginThePast]

I emailed the head of the chemistry department at the college and they won't test it, but he recommended taking a little to see if it burns, which others suggested here. I will do that in the morning and post again, so check back tomorrow. Probably some ground water got in, at least some, so we'll see if it burns. If you don't hear back then put me down for a Darwin award :-) === actually, I will be very careful.

 

[Martimus Rex]

Yeah, I think I would have to try it.

 

[The Patriot]

neat find....I remember Hans on this forum found a quart of rum from the rum runner days a few years back... as I recall he drank the whole thing LOL

 

[Sofaman36]

WOW! Thats strange! HH

 

[bergie]

"Moonshine" testing update - did it burn?

(Follow-up to earlier post...)
I took the bottle outside and unscrewed the top, which unscrewed easily, leading me to believe it was compromised with groundwater (plus there was some dirt settled in the bottom as I had mentioned). I poured some into an aluminum pie tin and placed the bottle a ways away (to avoid becoming a Darwin award winner postumously of course)...I struck the match, dropped it in the tin and....(drum roll)....fizz!!! (nothing)...tried it again (fizz!!)....I then smelled it and it has no smell. So, it's probably mostly water...it could have always been water...that's the outcome. Still a different find for sure.

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Re: "Moonshine" testing update - did it burn?

I saw the original post and was intrigued by the contents of the bottle! Thanks for testing it and posting the results. What I really want to know is, what did it taste like, LOL? HH, Mike

 

[Frank1960]

well is the bottle at least old enough to make all this trouble (and me thirsty) worth it?