Sen. Tom Harkin's Dad Was a Moonshiner

When the George Washington Spirits Society decided to add Sen. Tom Harkin to its exclusive group, he had a pretty good idea as to why: His dad was a home distiller. "When I was in high school, he made whiskey," says the Iowa Democrat. "I was a popular kid in high school," he adds. Harkin's coal-mining dad may not have been the most law-abiding distiller, as the lawmaker still has a whiskey jar label that says: "God Bless America and the Bootleggers Too." Today, Harkin keeps with tradition, preferring Jack Daniel's and manhattans. He's also a fan of Templeton Rye, a whiskey from the Hawkeye State, which sometimes accompanies him in a milk jug for pheasant shoots. Back to his dad's home-brew. Was it any good? "Honestly, probably not," says Harkin. "But it was free."