We used to think of moonshine as something that only inbred cousins in the hills could ever perfect, once they got too toothless and sauced to really amount to much on the banjo. Or perhaps moonshine referred to the liquid gold in barrels that kept gangsters in shootouts during Prohibition. But things are different now that most of us are law-abiding literates. And with a do-it-yourself movement running almost as rampant as alcoholism these days, it makes perfect sense that you would want to get your hands on a moonshine guide.

The Kings County Distillery, moonshine experts and New York’s oldest distillery, has put out a guide by David Haskell and Colin Spoelman on this exact subject. While a guide made simple, it moves beyond how-to’s and recipes to capture the very spirit of spirits: history, culture, recipes and everything that makes whisky what it is, and what it is that whiskey can do (e.g. make you awesome). The sections are divided into: whisky history, a survey of whiskies, how to make whisky, and lastly but best-ly, how to drink whisky. If you want something done right, well then do it yourself for $17.

More drink-it-yourself lessons below…