Popcorn Sutton: Moonshiner and American Icon

Witness an unmistakably American way of life.

By guest author Beaver Dan.

Deep in the Appalachian Mountains, a peculiar culture, people, and traditions are hidden behind the thick woods. In this area best known for its Bluegrass music, treacherous mountains, and hillbilly stereotypes, there used to be a man who was the embodiment of this old-soul regional Americana: Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton.

Born in the small Appalachian town of Maggie Valley, Sutton grew up in the deepest corners of rural Appalachia in Northwest North Carolina. Descended from a long line of Scots-Irish American moonshiners and bootleggers, Sutton saw moonshining as a continuation of his family’s legacy and trade. While young, Sutton got in frequent troubles with the law — for instance, being convicted in 1974 for the sale of untaxed liquor. “Popcorn” Sutton got his nickname in the ’80s after he attacked a faulty popcorn machine with a pool cue. Though not a physically impressive man, Sutton embodied the rugged, free-spirited attitude of a hillbilly moonshiner. He was never wealthy and would always roll with the punches.

Early in his life after moving to Parrottsville, Tennessee — an even smaller town in an even more remote area of Appalachia — there he began a new moonshining operation and opened up a junk shop, where he sold his book Me and My Likker, a guide to moonshining and an autobiography. Here he would spend the rest of his life until his death in 2009.

His iconic accent won him media notoriety after his appearing on a few documentaries showcasing different regional American accents. Sutton blessed the audience with different stories, such as when his grandfather used the money he had made from bootlegging to build the first Baptist church in his community, or how his grandfather built his own house with the little money and resources they had through the proceeds of his bootlegging operation. He spoke of how important moonshining was for the local economy; that without it “many people would not have lived as long.” The swiftness and unapologetic pride with how Popcorn narrates his grandfather’s trade, his own life, and the wisdom he collected upon reflections on his life are things that every American ought to witness at least once in his life. These documentaries allow us not only to take a peek at Sutton’s life and thought, but also to experience an unmistakably American way of life in the mountainous backwoods.

In 2006, a fire broke out at Sutton’s property, which led to firefighters discovering over 600 gallons of (illegal) moonshine, landing him in probation. Two years later, he told an undercover cop that he had an additional 900 gallons of moonshine ready to sell, leading to a massive ATF — may Satan keep them — raid and a two-year sentence in federal prison for moonshining and illegal possession of firearms. However, Sutton’s rebellious spirit, not wanting to touch a federal prison in his life, led him to commit suicide on March 16, 2009, by asphyxiation with carbon monoxide. A year after his passing, Hank Williams, Jr., partnered with Popcorn Sutton’s widow and a whiskey company to produce whiskey following the Sutton Family recipe.

Mr. Sutton was one of the last of his kind: an unapologetic hillbilly who did what he thought was right, lived by his own code, and left us with a wide range of knowledge, stories, and a window into an older world, where men were rebels and free-spirited, feared God, and loved a simple living.

Popcorn’s grave.

Popcorn’s epitaph.

Extra resources:

Popcorn talking about his grandfather building the first Baptist church:

Popcorn on the importance of moonshining for the local economy:

Popcorn dancing: