Moonshine & Manuscripts: How Technical Writing Helped the Resistance During Prohibition

Ah, June 5—Moonshine Day! A day to celebrate the sweet, forbidden nectar of the Prohibition era. While some might think moonshine was all about shady backroom speakeasies and outlaws in dusty barns, there’s a more technical side to this story—yes, technical writing—that helped the resistance during those dry years.

Let’s go back to the 1920s: The U.S. government thought it was a brilliant idea to outlaw alcohol. The “Noble Experiment,” they called it. But the only thing noble about it was the way it drove people to find ways to make alcohol at home, underground, and, quite frankly, in some pretty questionable conditions. Enter the moonshine runners, the underground distillers, and the intrepid bootleggers. How did they survive and thrive in such a… regulated environment? With a bit of technical writing, that’s how!

The Role of the Instruction Manual

The first thing any aspiring moonshiner needed was a reliable, well-written manual. Without the friendly advice of your local distiller or a well-seasoned bootlegger to guide you, many a would-be moonshiner would have ended up with sour mash, wasted ingredients, or worse—explosions! And trust us, explosions were bad for business, especially in an industry that already had a bit of a “blow it all up” reputation.

Distillation was complicated. You had to know your still inside and out (literally). The key to a successful moonshine operation wasn’t just grabbing random kitchen equipment; it was understanding the science behind it. Enter the moonshine recipe manuals—more like “user guides” for a time-traveling DIYer. These documents were vital: they explained the exact proportions of corn to sugar, water to yeast, and the precise temperature at which to keep your copper still. If they’d had PowerPoint presentations back then, you bet those would have been up on the walls of every speakeasy.

Technical Writing in Code

Of course, in a time of legal dangers, moonshiners couldn’t afford to put “how-to” books on their coffee tables for the feds to find. So, a little creativity was required. Instead of plain old English, moonshine guides often used alternative words, many we still use today:

• Got a hangover? “Hair of the dog” (a shot of alcohol) will fix you right up!
• People got “hooch” and “giggle water” (alcohol) from a “barrel house” or “gin mill” (distributor).
• You didn’t want to get caught by a “Bull” (policeman) at the gin mill.

These manuals were sometimes just notes passed through secret networks of moonshine enthusiasts, allowing the resistance to continue brewing in the shadows. If recipes fell into the wrong hands, it was a disaster waiting to happen, so these guides were crafted carefully, worded in ways that made even the feds scratch their heads.

The Bootleggers’ Blueprint

Technical writing wasn’t just for making moonshine. There were entire bootlegging operations that needed instruction manuals. How do you transport your product across state lines without getting caught? Where do you hide the contraband when your car gets pulled over? These questions weren’t just “common knowledge”—they were part of a well-organized system of communication, passed along through pamphlets, notes, and codes. Every successful bootlegger had a well-practiced “guidebook” for operating under the radar.

In fact, the very success of Prohibition-era moonshiners might owe a great deal to those clandestine documents. Imagine the chaos if every runner or distiller was left to figure things out on their own—chaos and lots of poorly made bathtub gin! But thanks to technical writing, the underground resistance flourished, even as the legal world floundered.

A Toast to the Unsung Heroes of Technical Writing

So, as we raise a glass of the finest (legal) hooch on Moonshine Day, let’s give a little nod to the unsung heroes of technical writing during Prohibition. While the folks up top were writing legislation, the folks down low were writing survival guides. These hidden manuals, codes, and recipes weren’t just about making alcohol—they were about staying in business, staying safe, and surviving.

To the moonshiners, the bootleggers, and yes, the technical writers who helped them: We salute you. You wrote the book on resistance—literally.

Related Blogs

How Documentation and Training Helped the Rebels Blow Up the Death Star

The Gettysburg Address: A Technical Writer’s POV

Rulebook Rebellion: Why We All Ignore Board Game Rules — and How to Improve Them  

Resources

“Gold Diggers, Snuggle Pups and the Bee’s Knees.” The Mob Museum. Accessed 5/7/25. https://prohibition.themobmuseum.org/the-history/prohibition-potpourri/prohibition-slang 

Marshall, Wyatt. “How Would-Be Alchemists Made Booze During Prohibition.” Vice. 3/1/16. Accessed 5/22/25. https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-would-be-alchemists-made-booze-during-prohibition 

“Prohibition: Wine Bricks.” Time. 8/17/1931. Accessed 5/7/25. https://time.com/archive/6747657/prohibition-wine-bricks