moonshine
n.a strong, illegal type of alcohol that is often made at home. It is usually clear and has a very strong taste.
n.an illicitly distilled spirit, typically a high-proof grain alcohol produced in a clandestine manner. Often used metaphorically to describe a false or misleading idea.
“The old man drank moonshine in the back of his cabin.”
“During the Prohibition era, many families in the mountains made moonshine to survive and sell to local bars.”
“The politician's speech was nothing more than moonshine, a collection of empty promises designed to distract the public from the real economic crisis.”
From Middle English mone schyne, mone-schyne, moone shone; equivalent to moon + shine. Illegally distilled liquor is so named because its manufacture may be conducted without artificial light at night. The verb sense is a back-formation from moonshiner.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.