Moonshine In American Culture

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Moonshine Rhonda McKinney Hum: 122.95-Southern Culture Mr. John Dillard April 29, 2012 Moonshine Moonshine is any kind of alcohol, usually rum or whisky, made in secret to avoid high taxes or outright bans on alcohol beverages. It has many different names from rotgut, white lightning, bathtub gin, pop skull, panther's breath, corn liquor or just plain old shine. This drink will probably always be around because of its tie to the character of the American people in the Appalachia Mountains. The reason I chose this topic is because it has always been a topic that was talked about in my family. My step papaw, JB Creasman, made moonshine in the back of his woods and was very well known for his “good” moonshine. My step papaw was…show more content…
Because the operators of illegal whisky stills had to conduct their business out of the sight of legal authorities, these backwoods brew masters became known as moonshiners, and the term became exclusively theirs. Moonshiners are the people who actually make the alcohol. Bootleggers are the smugglers who transport it and sell it. In colonial times, these distributors would conceal their product inside their tall riding boots, which is how they got their name. More recently, bootleggers in the 1930s, '40s and '50s took to racing cars packed with moonshine through the night to avoid local police. Their mechanical skills developed as they learned to drastically increase the horsepower of their vehicles to outrun the authorities. This created a culture of car lovers in the southern United States that eventually grew into the popular NASCAR racing series. In fact, the winner of the first ever NASCAR race had used the same car to make a bootleg run just a week earlier. Related to moonshiners and bootleggers are rumrunners. Rumrunners are basically bootleggers who smuggle their goods by sea, using fast ships with hidden cargo…show more content…
It is definitely takes place in the Appalachian Mountains. Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton was an “American Appalachian Moonshiner” from Maggie Valley, North Carolina. He wrote the Book “Me and My Likker” before he committed suicide because he was going to have to spend time in prison for illegally making moonshine. On Nov. 9, 2010, Hank Williams, Jr. announced his partnership with J&M Concepts LLC and Widow Pam Sutton to distill and distribute Sutton's whiskey legally for the first time. So now his recipe for making moonshine is available to the public and his name lives on. Famous word from Popcorn Sutton, “He said my Likker comes in three kinds: The Fightin' kind, The Cryin' kind and the Banjo pickin' kind.” (Sutton) In concluding, the knowledge of how to make moonshine and the history has been very informative and pleasurable. Other authors have written very successful and interesting books including Moonshine Recipes * Tall Tales * Drinking Songs * Historical Stuff * Knee-Slappers * How to Make It * How to Drink It * Pleasin' the Law * Recoverin' the Next Day. (Rowley,3). Works Cited Grabianowski, Ed. How Moonshine Works. Web. http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/moonshine2.htm. © 1998-2012 How Stuff Works, Inc. Sutton, Popcorn. Me and My Likker. Print. Shockwave. (September 9, 1999). Rowley, Matthew. Moonshine! Print. Sterling Pub Co Inc. May 28,

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