In a TV show I watched yesterday, a couple of characters come upon an abandoned house and a bunch of moonshine from a still in the shed. After getting drunk on some of the 'shine, they poured the rest here & there throughout the house, threw some matches at it, and enjoyed watching it burn.
Would 'shine act as an accelerant in such a situation?
Wiki says it is “high-proof distilled spirits” so it would be better than petrol so long as it didn’t evaporate before you got it lit. The other danger would be that it may well explode in a fiery ball, engulfing the match thrower.
Pure ethanol is a fine accelerant, with a flash point of just 63F. Pure water, not so much. The higher the proof of the 'shine, the lower the flash point. Room temperature (72F)? You’ll need at least 120 proof.
I was at a part once where moonshine was present. One guy threw up after drinking too much. Someone threw a match on it and it leapt into flame. Lots of oohs and ahhs.
Ever had rum cake (or whatever it was) where they pour rum on the rum fruitcake too, then light it? I vaguely recall that from my childhood Christmases. With match, you probably don’t need extremely high proof.
yeah there are lots of flaming desserts.
likely moonshine would be more flammable.
Those flash points seem way low. I’ve never seen a shot of 151 or Everclear burst into flame on a cool day. What am I missing here? I don’t believe that you can set a shot of Makers Mark off with a lighter at room temperature either.
The question is whether it would stay liquid enough - not evaporate - long enough to get the rest of the flammables burning, like wood and furniture. From the discussion above I assume you want something not too high proof.
Just to make sure we’re on the same page:
“Flash point” refers to the temperature at which a substance produces enough vapor to create an ignitable fuel-air cloud. Note that a high-temperature ignition source will still be required - so Everclear will not spontaneously burst into flames on a cool day, but if you get a lighter near it, it’ll start burning.
Maker’s Mark apppears to be 90 proof, or 45% alcohol - so from the Wikipedia page, it should have a flash point of around 77F. If room temperature is 72F, then you’re right, it’s going to be very difficult to ignite Maker’s Mark with a lighter.
I see, I was confusing flash point with the auto ignition point. Still, the evaporation rate will be fairly low at room temperature for most drinks, if not then your shots of whiskey would evaporate in front of your eyes. Which may be a good enough reason to down the quickly. 
It remains liquid because it saturates the air quickly, so it can’t all evaporate all at once, and also because would soak into the carpet, blanket, curtain, pillow,paper… the wick effect slows down the burn.
If you spew a mouthful of 90 proof whiskey into a campfire it makes an impressive fireball. Don’t actually try this though, waste of good whiskey.