as in bootleg
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Recent Examples of rotgut
As alcohol bans lingered, poorer quality substitutes increasingly overwhelmed the black market: bathtub gin, pure grain alcohol and other rotguts.
—
David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 23 July 2023
But mingling with Robert Mitchum and Lana Turner, cocktail in hand, makes even a rotgut movie a top-shelf experience.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 16 May 2023
Born in 1912 to a Kashmiri family in the northern state of Punjab, Manto fell under the spell of Gorky and Poe, not to mention the rotgut that would kill him at the age of forty-two.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 26 Dec. 2022
During that time, rotgut liquor wasn’t ideal for drinking straight, which made speakeasies get creative, birthing some delicious cocktails that endure to this day.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 14 Nov. 2021
Moonshine that falls into the rotgut category could be dangerous and even deadly for anyone desperate enough to drink it.
—Alan Ashe, CNN, 7 June 2018
David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 23 July 2023
But mingling with Robert Mitchum and Lana Turner, cocktail in hand, makes even a rotgut movie a top-shelf experience.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 16 May 2023
Born in 1912 to a Kashmiri family in the northern state of Punjab, Manto fell under the spell of Gorky and Poe, not to mention the rotgut that would kill him at the age of forty-two.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 26 Dec. 2022
During that time, rotgut liquor wasn’t ideal for drinking straight, which made speakeasies get creative, birthing some delicious cocktails that endure to this day.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 14 Nov. 2021
Moonshine that falls into the rotgut category could be dangerous and even deadly for anyone desperate enough to drink it.
—Alan Ashe, CNN, 7 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rotgut
Noun
-
The piece wouldn't be officially released online for some time, but a stray audience member or two recorded a bootleg of the screen inside the theater and posted it to social media.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Luhrmann spent two years hunting the audio tapes — even buying bootleg recordings — and syncing them with the film footage.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Besides abstaining from booze, scientists also don’t have a bulletproof way to prevent hangovers.—
Lauren J. Young,
Scientific American,
17 Mar. 2026
-
In the mid-1970s, the long net of the Florida Keys swept up a generation of countercultural refuse in a web of free love, plentiful drugs, and cheap booze.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Fruit, ginger shots, sea moss beverages, tea, and water were on hand, in alignment with her alcohol-free rider and commitment to sobriety.—
DeMicia Inman,
VIBE.com,
18 Mar. 2026
-
But one arena that California has lagged far behind the rest of the nation is in the combination of cannabis and alcohol sales.—
Jeff Burkhart,
Mercury News,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Feel free to swap the bourbon for brandy or dark rum.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
15 Mar. 2026
-
It’s meant to mimic the iconic KCTV5 tower and has aged rum, Mazzura aperitif, lime, tepache, and a puff of pineapple foam on top.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The femme fatale glamour that swept the New York presentations took a red-eye to Italy and got walking.—
Arden Fanning Andrews,
Vogue,
1 Mar. 2026
-
The biggest bonus is that the set stays wrinkle-free, even on your long red-eye flights.—
Paige Bennett,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The other spirits, including the moonshine, can be found at websites like Total Wine now.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Fans in southern Ohio and northern Kentucky haven’t been this excited since the invention of moonshine.—
Kevin Cusick,
Twin Cities,
5 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
There’s the time the pair got ass drunk off hooch in the deep South at the kind of Geechie establishment that plays ZZ Hill, Johnny Taylor, and Clarence Carter records.—
Keith Murphy,
VIBE.com,
12 Dec. 2025
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Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson’s Cherry Lager If two actors who co-starred in an old TV series don’t slap their names on some hooch, did the show even exist?—
Evan Allgood,
New Yorker,
20 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Burnett leaned into the character’s drinking habit, hiccupping through Miss Hannigan’s swigs from a bottle of bathtub gin.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
-
It is known for its refreshing notes of honey and lemon, which balance out the immense spice of bathtub gin.—
Bianca Salonga,
Forbes,
23 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Rotgut.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rotgut. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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