The legality of filming a show like Moonshiners is kind of undercut by the fact that if the guys were doing something illegal then authorities would have zoomed in on them by now and seized everything that goes into their operation. Highlighting an operation like this is kind of self-defeating since it puts a huge target on the personal market and says to the world that “we’re right here” while thumbing their noses at authorities that already know a great deal about how moonshine is made and just where it can be produced. At this point in history there’s no great secret any longer just where moonshiners go to make their precious liquid, it’s whether or not they’re being up front and brash about it like those on the show.
One thing that is correctly stated by the moonshiners is that the government wants its share of the profits, which is why making moonshine and selling it without being registered salesmen or manufacturers in any way is considered highly illegal. But to claim that they’re not in the same spot they were filming when authorities finally close in is something that a kid might believe is possible, but an adult knows is a lot of hogwash. If you look at this picture above you’d reckon that moving all the materials or making sure that they were scrubbed clean would be nearly impossible without a huge crew and a lot of equipment that could become a very big red flag and a liability waiting to happen. So really, moonshining is illegal since it’s not giving up what the government wants in taxes, but it’s also not so simple to just up and move an operation as you would think.
The legality of the show comes from the fact that it’s more of a reenactment and a history lesson on moonshine than anything. The other stuff is basically a documentary-type show that depicts what life is like when one is a moonshiner and knows that what they’re doing is against the law, but they don’t care. This is about the only way that showing how to make moonshine is legal, since the illegality of it also comes from the fact that if someone sells a bad batch then it can be extremely harmful to the consumers. While those that do make moonshine, and there are some legit individuals that don’t go broadcasting their business, have likely found a method by which to make moonshine that won’t kill off or damage their customers, they also manage to keep it under wraps.
Right now this show is more for entertainment than anything. If the Moonshiners were being honest then they would continually mention the fact that they have gone legit and stop pretending that they’re doing this in opposition to Uncle Sam and the US government. It’s sad to say but a lot of the reality shows we see on TV today are sad facsimiles of reality that still goes on but doesn’t want the whole world homing in on what they do.
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