The moonshine jug endures as an emblem of Arkansas, a keepsake that tourists used to take home like seashells from Florida.
Nothing said "I've been to the backwoods" like a moonshine jug -- but not a real jug of wildcat spit. Yesterday's souvenir shoppers went for cute miniature moonshine jug salt and pepper shakers, key-chain ornaments, syrup pitchers and cookie jars.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra made a hit of "Little Brown Jug," their 1939 version of a tune from the 1800s. The old-time jug had a finger loop for lifting, or as the song described:
Seeing you're so near my nose,
Tip 'er up and down she goes.
Moonshiners quit heavy crockery in favor of glass jars, but the jug held its place as a comedy prop. In cartoons, it always had "XXX" scrawled across it. On TV, The Beverly Hillbillies taught a whole new audience that "XXX" meant moonshine, even if Granny Clampett called it " rheumatiz medicine."
"XXX" actually meant triple-distilled, nearly pure alcohol, according to moonshineheritage.com.
Collectors go for moonshine jugs to this day in flea markets and on the Internet. The array on eBay includes moonshine jug coin banks, ashtrays, knickknacks and planters, also dozens of old-looking jugs priced around $20 and up.
The cost is about the same as a jar of today's liquor-store rheumatism medicine.
Style on 07/27/2014