Straight whiskey prior to its bottling. American straight whiskey must be aged in charred new oak barrels and must be put into the barrels for aging at a concentration not exceeding 62.5% abv. When bottled, only water to reduce proof may be added. This is the definition established for production of American whiskey for consumption within the United States as per the U.S federal "Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits". (The regulations do not necessarily apply to American whiskey made for export.) Alternatively, straight can also refer to a way of requesting and/or serving a drink of whiskey—pouring the spirit without any
Moonshine by country of distilled spirits typically consists of taxes. With the availability of cheap refined white sugar, moonshiners can make saleable product for a fraction of the price of heavily taxed and legally sold distilled spirits. Some people also use moonshine alcohol for herbal tinctures. The number of jurisdictions that ban alcoholic beverage sales has steadily decreased, which means many of former moonshine consumers are much nearer to a legal alcohol sales outlet than before. Many legal distilled beverages, usually neutral spirits or corn whiskey, with names evoking moonshine exist, such as Onyx Moonshine, Virginia Lightning, Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey, Ole Smoky