Attention anyone who was even vaguely aware of popular music in the 2000s: Nelly is the latest celebrity to lend his personal brand to a liquor with the release of MoShine. No, this is not Just A Dream, though it is perhaps a missed opportunity to not capitalize on Pimp Juice (sorry).
The name MoShine is a reference to Nelly’s home state of Missouri, which has the postal code “MO.” The “Shine” half of the name, obviously, is a reference to moonshine. The reference is fitting in a state so tied to moonshine: The Ozarks were long a hotbed of country distilling, and the last person to have their still confiscated for making moonshine in the Ozarks was decades after Prohibition in 1976.
MoShine isn’t true moonshine, of course. It’d have to be made illegally to fit that definition. But the term has come to generally refer to unaged grain alcohol. In this case, it’s triple distilled, corn-based alcohol made by North Carolina’s Piedmont Distillers and flavored in two ways: peach and passion fruit. I wouldn’t peg these as tasting exactly like the fruit they’re supposed to embody, but they’re close enough to recognize the flavor inspiration.
One way that MoShine is similar to real moonshine, however, is how it drinks best. It’s on the lower alcohol side at 30 percent ABV (60 proof). I felt the burn of true moonshine going to college in Auburn, Alabama, and this is far from that. It’s also on the sweet side. There’s a time and a place for every type of spirit, and sipping a glass neat by the fire is not the time or place for MoShine. Instead, treat it similar to how you would flavored vodka while keeping in mind that it’s more full bodied and carries bigger flavors than many flavored vodkas out there.
“I’m taking a country tradition and mixing it up for everyone to enjoy,” Nelly said in a press release. It goes on to note that his signature drink is The Fix made by mixing his Peach MoShine with Red Bull.
I found a splash of Peach MoShine goes nicely in some iced tea, and a shot of either flavor mixed with a can of sparkling water and served over ice is a nice sipper when it’s getting a little Hot in Herre. Couldn’t ask for more than that.
Photo credit: Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for MoShine
