High Octane, Ridge-Runner Style

Fire of Liberty

As a kid growing up in a rural county in GA during the 80's, the Dukes of Hazzard was destination TV for a young whipper-snapper like me. Now while I was too young to remember the original five episodes let alone the 1979 season, I was able through the magic of reruns and DVDs to catch these episodes. Anyway, I have to say that among these five original episodes, my favorite one has to be the fifth episode or what is called "High Octane" which is where Uncle Jesse and the boys brew up some moonshine as an alternative fuel to beat "the Arabs" strangle-hold on US oil supplies(Sound familiar?) Well to make a long story short, Uncle Jesse has to find an easy and discreet way to get it to the competition so he just puts it in his fuel tank and drives to Atlanta in his "moon-runner" car to demonstrate before an EPA judge the merits of this alternative fuel. (Now being a descendent of folks(G-d Bless 'em) who worked and perfected this ancient art, I always get a kick out off Uncle Jesse running a new batch of shine.)

While "High Octane" and the Dukes of Hazzard was a Hollywood production, the Washington Times has an article out today on a company in Tennessee by the name of Dogwood Energy which has run with Uncle Jesse and other "ridge-runners" throughout the South in building and selling moonshine stills that will allow folks to brew 190 proof moonshine to create a cheap mans version of ethanol. The only thing different from Uncle Jesse's brew and what Dogwood is pushing is an alcohol that will have poison mixed in that prevents one from drinking it. Even worse is the fact that it won't be a stand alone alternative but merely an additive for gasoline that you have to buy at the current price. So three cheers for folks like Dogwood Energy and the folks who have bought these stills and taken to their own initiative to develop this alternative fuel. Too bad you couldn't sample your hard work(Any good moonshinner from the old school will tell you that taste is what matters to determine quality) before you add poison or add it to gasoline. Well the thought is what counts.

**Hey Jason, it says that Dubose Porter, owner of Dublin's Courier Herald, has bought a still for his fleet of delivery trucks/cars. Very interesting.