Updated August 2026.
Commercial bottled “moonshine” follows the class on the neck — whiskey, flavored spirits, or a specialty — not a federal moonshine percent. High-proof unflavored jars are shelf-stable when sealed. Cream and fruit SKUs are a different bottle. Official Ole Smoky / Sugarlands ABVs only where they apply. No home-still leftover clock. See leftover what percent alcohol is moonshine.
Class neighbors already on disk: leftover moonshine vs whiskey, leftover moonshine vs vodka. Same sealed-spirit logic: does bourbon go bad, how long vodka lasts.
Folklore word, labeled bottle
There is no TTB “moonshine” type. Leftover /what-percent-alcohol-is-moonshine/ already holds 27 CFR 5.143 (whisky / corn whisky, bottled ≥40%) and 5.142 (vodka / neutral spirits, bottled ≥40%). A legal clear jar is labeled as corn whiskey, whiskey, a flavored spirit, or a distilled-spirits specialty. Shelf life follows that bottle, not a mason-jar font. Illicit still strength is not a number this magazine will invent, and home-distill leftover clocks are skipped.
Official commercial ABVs this project (Batch 43 locks, reused only where they apply):
| Fetched commercial SKU | Official ABV | Shelf-life note |
|---|---|---|
| Ole Smoky White Lightnin’ | 50% / 100 | High-proof unflavored; sealed jar is not leftover chicken |
| Ole Smoky Blue Flame | 64% / 128 | Unflavored high proof; same sealed-spirit logic |
| Ole Smoky Apple Pie 70 | 35% / 70 | Flavored; not a 5.143 whiskey floor |
| Ole Smoky Apple Pie 40 | 20% | Lower-proof flavored SKU; not the unflavored jar |
| Ole Smoky Peach (serving-facts 20% row) | 20% | Flavored fruit jar |
| Sugarlands Silver Cloud | 50% / 100 | Commercial sour-mash jar; sealed high proof |
| Sugarlands Appalachian Apple Pie | 25% / 50 | Flavored; recovered 50% unused on the percent page |
| Sugarlands Root Beer | 35% / 70 | Flavored jar |
Sealed unflavored vs cream and fruit
A sealed, high-proof, unflavored commercial jar (White Lightnin’ 50/100, Blue Flame 64/128, Silver Cloud 50/100) is a distilled spirit. It does not grow leftover-chart bacteria the way milk does. Quality can drift after the cap comes off — oxidation and a loose lid, not a USDA 2-hour clock. FSIS leftover guidance is perishable cooked food. We will not invent an opened-month number for shine. The 2022 “opened lasts six months” / “drink flavored immediately” clocks are unused.
Cream, dairy, and high-sugar fruit SKUs are not that jar. Official Ole Smoky serving facts also list cream and fruit SKUs at other strengths (the percent page already refused extra 17.5% rows as a federal shine lock). Those bottles follow the label: refrigerate if the label says so; treat cream like other cream liqueurs, not like 100-proof corn whiskey. This page will not invent a fruit-moonshine leftover month count either.
| Bottle | What is true | What is not a clock |
|---|---|---|
| Sealed unflavored high-proof commercial | Shelf-stable as a spirit; recap it, cool and dark | A federal moonshine leftover statute |
| Opened unflavored, recapped | Quality can fade; still a spirit | Official “six months” (2022 — unused) |
| Flavored fruit / sugar SKU | Different class and often lower ABV | Treating Apple Pie 20% like White Lightnin’ 50% |
| Cream / dairy SKU | Follow the label; not the unflavored jar | A home-still mash clock |
| USDA 2-hour leftover rule | Perishable cooked food | A sealed 100-proof jar |
What we will not print
- No federal moonshine percent. No invented illicit-still ABV. No home-still leftover clock. No spoon-test / methanol how-to (2022 URL — unused).
- No “moonshine freezes at −235°F” folklore. Unused.
- No #1 ranking. No 2026 MSRP. No shop overlay. No XXX-jug as a class.
Store a commercial jar the same way leftover whiskey pages store a fifth: upright, cool, out of the sun, cap on. Count pours with the ABV on the neck (NIAAA: 1.5 oz of 40% is one drink; 1.5 oz of 50% is 1.25). That is drink math, not a challenge and not a still.
Sources
- Leftover what percent alcohol is moonshine (Batch 43): no federal moonshine %; official Ole Smoky / Sugarlands ABVs this project.
- 27 CFR 5.143 / 5.142 / 5.151 — whiskey, vodka/neutral spirits, flavored spirits. No moonshine type.
- olesmoky.com serving facts / product pages and sugarlands.com product pages — ABVs in the table only.
- USDA FSIS leftovers this search: 2-hour rule is perishable food, not a sealed spirit.
- 2022 opened-six-month / spoon-test / −235°F clocks — unused.