180 proof cherry

[a friend] loaned me a dvd the other day ... "the last one" (2008) with popcorn sutton ...

Summary:
"Filmed in the mountains of North Carolina, The Last One is a journey deep into Southern Appalachia, and Appalachian culture, as seen through the lens of a mason jar. Lifelong moonshiner Popcorn Sutton returns to the southern highlands in his treasured A-Model Ford to seek a suitable location to run one final batch of traditional bootleg whiskey. Through the laborious process of clearing a site, building a furnace, brewing corn mash and distilling high proof moonshine, Sutton reveals the craft of traditional distillation as practiced by his forbears and reveals a lifetime of memories in the trade. Written by Neal Hutcheson" 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334253/

i especially liked the part about gaging the proof of the whiskey by the size of the bubbles ... these old-timers would take a half gallon growler full of moonshine, tilt it sideways, shake it, and then watch the size and action of the bubbles ... they would then cut it with water until the bubbles were the desired size ... they were aiming for 100 proof ... while straight from the still is 180 proof ...

i was mentioning some of these highlights from the movie to a local old-timer here ... he confirmed the bubble link to alcohol proof ... he said the smaller the bubbles, the higher the proof ... he didn't know anything about a blue tint for the 180 proof stuff ... he said it was mostly just white ...

well ... it turns out that through connections it is possible to get some of that 180 proof home brew around here ... i was told that it just takes eating one cherry that has been soaked in the 180 proof alcohol to get you drunk ... i will hunt down a 180 proof cherry and report my findings.