‘School’ gives authorities a lesson in latest techniques of illegal moonshine

Tiger —- Making moonshine is a vanishing craft in the backwoods and mountain hollows of North Georgia, but it’s a skill that hasn’t completely dried up.

Authorities have created a “moonshine school” in the heart of what once was a flourishing trade —- where bootleggers and “revenooers” sometimes shot it out with deadly results.

More than 20 officers from as far away as Kansas spent four days last week at the site, which is used to keep law enforcement abreast of the latest techniques used to distill illegal whiskey.

They learned how to track illegal stills, reviewed laws and discovered the relationship between the illegal booze business and ethanol for fuel. They also gained insight into the type of person who builds a distillery.

“They’re engineers, they’re chemists, and they’re entrepreneurs,” said Maj. Cary Thomas of the Rabun County Sheriff’s Office, which hosts the annual moonshine training along with the Georgia Department of Revenue and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Before dawn on the final day, trainees were sent to find a still hidden in the mountainous woods. A real raid, though, could prove dangerous. “This is really how the ATF got involved in violent crime,” said agent Marc Jackson. Authorities say bootlegging, like some other illegal activities, tends to ebb and flow with the economy. It was common from the 1950s to the late ’70s, then tapered off as more jobs came to the mountain region.

Despite the risks, some are still drawn to the drink.

“It’s a novelty item,” said Johnny Brown of the state revenue agency, “to say that you’ve got a pint of peach or apple brandy that’s made in North Georgia.”