The Faithful Wanderer

Unique Names

Several U.S. towns have wonderful names—Panic, Pennsylvania; Worms, Nebraska; Crooks, South Dakota;  Bugtussle, Kentucky; Ding Dong, Texas; Knockemstiff, Ohio;  Zigzag, Oregon; and Burnt Porcupine Island, Maine.

But my personal favorite is Lizard Lick, North Carolina, because I love the story about how the town got it’s name.

First, we need a little background about moonshiners.

The Moonshiner’s Trade

In the United States, a “moonshiner” referred to someone who produced illegal alcohol late at night. During the day these people appeared to be ordinary citizens, working regular jobs.

Moonshiners operated stills way back in the woods, creating whiskey using grains or chopped up corn plus enzymes and water. Sometimes a township or county was “dry.” Local laws made serving or consuming alcohol illegal. Other times, the moonshiners didn’t want to pay high taxes.

The whiskey was created in four steps.

1. First, moonshiners cook a mixture of cracked grain, water, enzymes or malted barley over a fire. The heat changes the grains’ starch into sugar. This is called “the mash.”
2. After the mash has cooled, live yeast is added. It eats the sugar, producing carbon dioxide and alcohol. This process, called fermentation, takes several days.
3. The fermented mash is transferred to the still, usually copper, and heated a second time. The alcohol turns into a vapor and rises into a pipe, separating from the solid mash below.
4. Finally the vapor passes through a coiled copper tube submerged in cold water. This cools the vapor, transforming it back into a drinkable liquid alcohol.

The final product, moonshine, is nicknamed White Lightning, Firewater, Rotgut, Hooch, Stump Water or Stump Juice.

But what does illegally creating whiskey have to do with the Lizard Lick’s name? Everything.

How Lizard Lick got it’s Name

The legend says local moonshiners used to throw away their used mash over a fence after distilling the whiskey. But  discarded mash still contains some alcohol. The nearby lizards would lick it up, become drunk and fall off the fence.

Then the next day, these reptiles would return to the fence and enjoy eating the mash again.

So this North Carolina town came to be known as Lizard Lick.

Is the story true?

Well, I like to think so. Because it makes me smile every time I think about it.

Resources:

How to Moonshine Mash from Cracked Corn. (YouTube video)

The term White Lightning only applies to whiskey made primarily using cracked corn and it’s crystal clear. It doesn’t have the amber reddish tones seen in mainstream whiskey.

Moonshine can now be legally bought online and sometimes in wine and whiskey stores.