It was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Andrew Wyatt, Jeff Bhasker and Mark Ronson.

Its lyrics establish a metaphor between "bootleg liquor" and the "longing for the high water mark of a relationship", which becomes "impossible to reach".

[4] "Moonshine" was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Andrew Wyatt, Jeff Bhasker and Mark Ronson.

[6] "Moonshine" was released digitally as a promotional single in the United States on November 19, 2012, as part of the iTunes countdown through Atlantic Records.

[9][10][11] A remix of the song, made by The Futuristics (Alex Schwartz and Joe Khajadourian), was exclusively released as bonus track on the Target edition of the album, on December 11, 2012.

[14][15][16] Critics noticed being heavily influenced by quiet storm and dance-pop, while having a "disco groove",[17][3][15] as well as, having a "retro" and "slightly ’80s-informed" vibe.

[18] Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone found the lyrics to "compares a woman to the distilled liquor", as Mars tries to recreate the "magic" when they were together the last time.

[18][23] Martins of Spin stated that the track finds Mars channeling "the King of Pop with a markedly more reverent aplomb".

[3][23] The song has received generally favorable reviews from critics, who couldn't help to avoid comparisons between the track and Michael Jackson's work.

[18] Sam Lanksy of Idolator praised the track, saying "fortunately" the drinking during the recording sections "paid off on the song" since it "is probably our favorite effort from Mars to date".

"[14] In a mixed review, Jon Caramanica of New York Times called it "melodramatic and spry", furthering "the song feels bigger than the contours Mr. Mars can give it.

[25] Following the release of Unorthodox Jukebox in 2012, "Moonshine" debuted at number 17 on the South Korea International Download Chart, with 11, 360 copies sold.