Went on a bourbon distillery tour. I think they said the "aging" is just letting sit there while some evaporates, increasing the concentration, and the rest soaks up the flavor of the inside of the barrel where they burnt it. Seems like aging in glass wouldn't do anything.
There is a legal moonshine factory in Gatlinburg TN where you can see how they make corn liquor (distilled 4 times) and white lightning (distilled 7 times). We bought some home and gave it to my dad for Christmas. He started telling us about how my grandfather drank moonshine on hot days on the farm instead of water. He bought it in white gallon jugs. One day he reached up in the cabinet and pulled down a jug of Clorox instead. Guzzled it before he realized the difference. Hurried to town to the doctor's office. Doctor sent him home, said he was better off drinking Clorox.