Local Appalachian moonshiner "popcorn" Sutton commits suicide - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

transplant99 · 03-21-2009, 06:22 AM

Dont know how many of you have heard of this guy...but he probably the most famous moonshiner to ever live.

Anywho...he was convicted in January on several charges related to "makin the good old corn likker", so popular around this part of the world.

Quote:

Sutton's last arrest followed a raid in which authorities found nearly 1,700 gallons of moonshine in Parrottsville and a storage unit in Maggie Valley, N.C., three stills, supplies, firearms and ammunition.

As it turns out...seems 18 months of prison was too much for him to handle, so he got into his Ford Fairlane...hooked up a hose to the exhaust and said goodbye to his time on earth.

A real character and someone who was a link to the past days of moonshinin'.

Quote:

Sutton — nicknamed "Popcorn" for smashing up a 10-cent popcorn machine in a bar with a pool cue in his 20s — looked like a living caricature of a mountain moonshiner. He wore a long gray beard, faded overalls, checkered shirt and feathered fedora. He made his home in Cocke County, where cockfighting and moonshining are legend.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...dG02gD970NDD82

Locke · 03-21-2009, 08:42 AM

Cocke County.....hahahahahahaha......

Stranger · 03-21-2009, 09:45 AM

Willie!

He actually makes Willie look a little more presentable.

octothorp · 03-21-2009, 11:09 AM

Thanks for posting this. I had never heard of him but he sounds like an amazing character.

Biff · 03-21-2009, 11:19 AM

If they cremate him, I wonder how many days it'll take to put out the fire?

iggypop · 03-21-2009, 11:37 AM

Locke · 03-21-2009, 11:54 AM

I've always found Moonshine to be a hilarious concept.

I mean, how jaded do you have to be when commercially available booze just doesnt do the job anymore?

transplant99 · 03-21-2009, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

I've always found Moonshine to be a hilarious concept.

I mean, how jaded do you have to be when commercially available booze just doesnt do the job anymore?

I used to be the same way...until I tried the real stuff.

Now let me preface that I personally dont like it a whole lot, but this stuff is like NOTHING available legally.

Sour mash and corn liquor is a completely different feeling "buzz" than any other drink i had ever tried. So although it aint my thing, I understand why so many like it. I bought some of this guys stuff about 4 years ago through a guy I know that lives in the county he was buried in and it is wild hooch.

1 mason jar that long ago and i still have about 70% of it left.

Locals here say to get a bunch of fresh peaches, skin them, then quarter them and let them sit in the "white lightning" for about a month. Then put the peaches in a yukaflux kind of concoction with the rest of the liquor...and you have a party on your hands.

Bagor · 03-21-2009, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by transplant99

I used to be the same way...until I tried the real stuff.

Now let me preface that I personally dont like it a whole lot, but this stuff is like NOTHING available legally.

Sour mash and corn liquor is a completely different feeling "buzz" than any other drink i had ever tried. So although it aint my thing, I understand why so many like it. I bought some of this guys stuff about 4 years ago through a guy I know that lives in the county he was buried in and it is wild hooch.

1 mason jar that long ago and i still have about 70% of it left.

Never had moonshine but have had a few rips of Poitin (potatoes) when I was young.

Never a good sign when the old boys are reminding you to do the Flame test before you drink it case you go blind.

Azure · 03-21-2009, 02:08 PM

So what exactly is the problem with moonshine again? The government just trying to exert control over people once again?

Who cares if someone makes it, drinks it, and dies from it. Their problem.

Azure · 03-21-2009, 02:10 PM

From the article....

Quote:

"He tried every way in the world to get them (federal authorities) to leave him on house arrest," she said.

"He was a true moonshiner," his widow added. "He would tell you exactly what he thought, whether you wanted to hear it or not. But he was also the sweetest, kindest, most loving man I ever met in my life."

Sending a 62 year old man to prison for 18 months for making moonshine, and you have rich people getting off free after getting a DUI.

Apparently our justice system here in Canada isn't the only one in the world that has issues.

Bagor · 03-21-2009, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure

So what exactly is the problem with moonshine again? The government just trying to exert control over people once again?

Basically. Don't like the idea of a load of sheep farmers having a drink, minding their business but not paying duty on their booze.

I'm sure there's a health argument in there somewhere too.

Azure · 03-21-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bagor

Basically. Don't like the idea of a load of sheep farmers having a drink, minding their business but not paying duty on their booze.

I'm sure there's a health argument in there somewhere too.

Probably.

Too bad.....cause the guy was apparently a real 'legend' in those parts.

Locke · 03-21-2009, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bagor

Never had moonshine but have had a few rips of Poitin (potatoes) when I was young.

Never a good sign when the old boys are reminding you to do the Flame test before you drink it case you go blind.

I've also never done the Moonshine bit, but I have had homemade Grappa.

That stuff is poison. I can handle my booze fairly well but that stuff had my head spinning in no time.

Clarkey · 03-21-2009, 02:56 PM

I wonder where the term 'moonshine' came from, does anybody know?

onetwo_threefour · 03-21-2009, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biff

If they cremate him, I wonder how many days it'll take to put out the fire?

I think it'll be more like....

"He blowed up reeeel good"

(Damn, couldn't find a clip of the Farm Film Report)

onetwo_threefour · 03-21-2009, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure

So what exactly is the problem with moonshine again? The government just trying to exert control over people once again?

Who cares if someone makes it, drinks it, and dies from it. Their problem.

Could be that it's basically homemade rocket fuel? I imagine there are both fire safety and health safety issues.

Locke · 03-21-2009, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clarkey

I wonder where the term 'moonshine' came from, does anybody know?

Urban Dictionary to the rescue:

Quote:

It got its name because it was normally distilled at night "by the light of the moon." Most moonshine is distilled in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.

The only reason that moonshine is illegal is because there anyone who distills spirits in the U.S. has to pay a federal tax. Moonshiners don't pay the tax. Local police usually ignore moonshiners because "they ain't hurtin' anyone."

Azure · 03-21-2009, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onetwo_threefour

Could be that it's basically homemade rocket fuel? I imagine there are both fire safety and health safety issues.

Well, according to what Locke said, apparently that isn't the case.

Drive a man to commit suicide just because you can't tax him. Gotta love the government.

transplant99 · 03-21-2009, 03:59 PM

The guy was breaking the law...for decades.

I too feel for the whole situation but its not like he didnt give them much of a choice.

He has been busted a whole bunch of times and just never stopped. I mean really...this time he was caught with 1,700 GALLONS of the stuff.

I dont mind the government trying to control the liquor business...in many cases if it is made incorrectly it can kill the drinker with very small amounts.

this guy was a legend though....and made the best "likker" in this area apparently.