Shine On Georgia Moon is a product of the Heaven Hill distillery. They are the last bastion of straight corn whiskey production in the U.S. Corn whiskey is a recipe or mash bill with a minimum of 81% corn. Corn whiskey is the close cousin of bourbon. What distinguishes the two is the type of barrel used and the time aging duration. Corn whiskey is generally not aged or only aged for a short time (i.e. 6 months) in un-charred, new oak barrels. Georgia Moon claims it’s less than 30 days old! That sounds pretty close to moonshine to me, but it’s corn whiskey through and through. Noted whiskey writer Jim Murray says, “If you are a true student of whiskey, your education is a long way from being complete until you have mastered this particularly charming form.” It makes corn whiskey seem very exciting and complex. Let’s unravel this corny mystery.
First of all, what caught my eye with this whiskey was the unique bottle, or should I say jar. It really gave the sense of drinking real moonshine, but not as potent at only 80 proof and only slightly less harsh on the taste buds. I believed the bottle to be more novel than functional. It made quite a mess when trying to pour a drink.
There was something very satisfying about cracking the seal of this jar and hearing the lid sing while being unscrewed. What was not so satisfying was the smell that came out. Holy corn squeezin’s! This stuff was rank! It smelled like pure alcohol with a hint of musty, sweet corn. I was certainly afraid of what was to come.
Sipping Georgia Moon on the rocks was really not as unpleasant as the smell indicated it would be. It was surprisingly smooth and not too harsh on the way down. You may consider the aftertaste somewhat undesirable. It followed through with that same corn taste I got a hint of when I first smelled it. The flavor conjured up images of standing in a field in the middle of BFE Georgia, licking dirty corn. It was strange, yet alluring. The plot thickened.
I was actually a little surprised by the way this corn whiskey mixed with Coca Cola© and Sprite©. It was pretty strange how the Coca Cola© actually complimented and enhanced the earthy corn taste. It was very interesting, actually. You would never expect this from the overpowering aroma of the spirit.
I was a little disappointed by the minor buzz that followed the required four drinks. Don’t get me wrong, I know this would have put a hurt on me if I was in a hurry. Believe me, the almost bizzare flavor made it difficult to drink this stuff too fast, but I did enjoy it, oddly enough. The ultimate result was a minor hangover later in the day.
I guess the mystery of the corn whiskey still eludes me. And at a price of $15 for a 750mL jar, it can continue to elude me. This seems a little high for what you get, but I think it’s definitely worth a try at least once – just to say you did.
Sipability – 4.0
Mixability – 4.5
Drunkability – 6.0
Hangover-ability – 7.5
Bang for the Buck – 9.0
Overall - 5.5 
Comments
Goddamn, y’all city boys just don’t know good liquor. This is fine sippin’ moonshine right here.
Mom!? Is that you!?
This is the moonshine that won’t make you go blind. The crust in your eyes in the morning will make it hard to open your lids, but if you try hard enough they WILL open, and you’ll get over the concept of “morning after blindness” real quick. Oh, and while I’ve never actually barfed from over indulging…you will.
…..sorry, just the facts….
Mmm Mmm is this some smooth corn squeezins! My favorite still has to be Mellow Corn (though it really aint that mellow).
Cowboys have tight butts and I love slamming them
While not bad, its also not great, I recommend not trying to chug this stuff, you will be sad panda later on
I’m sitting here sipping it from a shot glass. I can usually shoot bourbon, gin, and vodka strait, but this stuff is like rubbing alcohol with all the vapor. You can really smell corn in it though.
I got the .375L(“pint”) instead of the .7 or bigger. It comes in a standard glass bottle like others do. I’ll probably do two shots, and put it away. I just wanted to try it, and usually only drink enough to get comfortably numb.
Just an update: It’s good in coke and mountain dew, but not sodas that are smooth like pepsi and sunkist. I’m not a fan of sodas, but I tried georgia moon in coca cola today and it was alright. There’s a mix called hillbilly high ball that just mixes it with mountain dew.
Who is the lame ass sissy that writes these reviews?You bash everclear & now,georgia moon.I guess you are into the wine & fruity drinks scene.Go open your wine cooler & stare at the guy across the street cutting the grass.Bet you wouldn’t mind if he got you smashed on some good ol heavy drinkin!
I cought a glimpse of this stuff at a local liquor store and decided to give it a try. I have sampled what many people believe to be some of the finest squeezins ever produced in the blue ridge mountains and I wondered if this legal alternative was worth the price. After all I’m now in Fla and the real deal is not the easiest thing to come by around here. I returned home with my purchase eager to try it out, cracked the lid and took a whiff… “smells right” I thought. Now the moment of truth. I took a sip, and initally for about a second I was not unimpressed, but then I tried to swallow it and It dawned on me that I had made a horrible decision. I should have got the Beam. It’s horrible. “Harsh” doesn’t begin to describe it. It’s crap. Maybe I’m a bit of a snob, but I don’t like to have to mix my liquor with anything to make it better, and it took alot of Coke to empty that jar. I won’t buy it again, and I advise anyone who asks to stay the hell away from it. Please tell me them Ga boys can do better than that.
Mike, I’d like to adress the your image of “the lame ass sissy that writes these reviews.” I think this review is fine. Overall, it seems like a truthful account of the reviewer’s experience. I like the tone. I agree with most of the opinions put forth.
You’re right, though, that it doesn’t bring to mind the traditional union of whisky drinking and stereotypical manliness. I think this is ok though, because that union is basically the idea that hard drinks are hard to get down and that the only people who can relish them are real men because real men are the only people who relish the mastery of difficult physical feats. According to this idea, all the other people who don’t like hard drinks are either women or sissies.
Unfortunately, this idea is clearly at odds with the idea that drinks are enjoyable. I drink mostly scotch, mostly straight. I consider it to be an acquired taste. Many people are revolted by it, but some people aren’t or are eventually able to get past that. The reward for these folks, in the latter group, is not the affirmation that they’re not sissies, but the fact that great drinking experiences are now available to them. This reviewer seems to be from the latter category. He drinks hard liquor for pleasure. No wonder that he pans a drink that is useful mainly for demonstrating the toughness of the drinker, when all that demonstration means is that a drink tastes like shit.
As a Georgian I just want to point out that this stuff comes from Kentucky.
That said I think it’s mighty good.
This isn’t really moonshine at all…surely you guys realize this. All this stuff is, is bourbon that hasn’t been aged at all. In fact it’s not even near barrel proof. Real moonshine is a bit higher on the alcohol (in general) and after a couple swigs most people don’t give a crap what it tastes like!
this is a shit pile of a whiskey. I know you rednecks like swigging this stuff and banging each other in ass while “dueling banjos” plays in the background, but this is too much. just terrible
this stuff is the worst “whiskey” that has ever been made. and cant even come close to the real thing.
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