Hooch, Mountain Dew, Homebrew, Shiny, White Lightning. It all goes by another
name - Moonshine, and it made millions for rural bootleggers during prohibition.
Today on Nutty History, we’re shining the light on the illegal spirit and the people
who devoted their lives to its dangerous and daring trade across the United States.
But before we get to this alcohol content, be sure to subscribe to
our channel and let us know what nutty history you’d like to hear about next.
If there’s one thing Americans have been adamant about since the beginning
of the country’s history, it’s alcohol. More specifically, the ability to make and sell
alcohol without the government budding into the process. Prohibition was of course a prime-time
for the moonshining and bootlegging biz, as much of the country turned to homemade liquor and
backwoods distilleries to get their now illegal fix. But moonshine has a much longer history in
the U.S. of A. When a whiskey tax went into effect in 1791, the response was four years of protests
from farmers that often resorted to violence and intimidation. Though the Whiskey Rebellion was
ultimately suppressed, it demonstrated a fierce resistance to liquor taxes that continues in some
areas to the present day. To avoid these taxes, production grew mainly in the Appalachian region,
where mountains, caves, and gorges all made great hide-outs for moonshine stills. These
DIY distilleries and moonshine recipes were passed down through generations and garnered their own
unique reputations. In the 19th century, Amos Owens became known as the “Cherry Bounce King”
for his famous mixture of whiskey, honey and cherries. Produced on Owens’ “Cherry Mountain”
in North Carolina, people from across the South would come to sample the concoction.
Owens’ moonshining career arose from his refusal to pay federal taxes on distilled spirits after
the Civil War. Owens was arrested three times over his life, and kept a telescope on hand to look out
for IRS agents. But the business wasn’t the blood bath it would become during prohibition. In fact,
the Cherry Bounce King held an annual celebration where attendees received all-you-can-eat food and
all-you-can-drink moonshine for just 25 cents. Which you know sounds like a recipe for disaster.
You might have seen modern cocktails labeled as “moonshine” on bar menus, or even bottled for
sale in liquor stores. But moonshine gets its name because of its historic production during
the secrecy of night, with only the light or “shine” of the moon. This was to avoid the smoke
from distilleries being spotted during the day. By its original definition, moonshine is any
high-proof spirit that’s illegally produced. So if it's mass-distributed in stores and you paid
taxes on it, we’re sorry to say it’s probably not the real deal. “Bootlegging,” or the process of
actually distributing moonshine, got its name from early colonists who hid booze in their boots to
trade with Native Americans. So if you’ve ever snuck into a concert with liquor in your shoe,
you can add your name to the long long list of American bootleggers. Most moonshine is actually
pretty basic as far as ingredients go - the alcohol is distilled from fermented sugar of malt
grains such as oats, cornmeal, or wheat. During prohibition, Moonshine was often created from
“corn mash” as making and transporting corn was cheaper and easier in liquid form. Still, while we
say the ingredients are simple, this is definitely not something to try to concoct in your kitchen.
As moonshine stills grew during the early 20th century prohibition-era, each step of
the process had its own unique dangers. For starters, production involved high pressure,
fire, and...drum roll please...flammable liquids. Alcohol vapor explosions were, and are,
a very real possibility, especially when conducting production in enclosed areas.
Distribution on the black market had other sketchy implications. One was dealing with law,
who may or may not be corrupt themselves. Another was handling rival distributors and the rising
organized crime syndicate who didn’t exactly play nice. During the 1920’s, Franklin County,
Virginia, was known as “The Moonshine Capital of the World.” Probably because it’s estimated
that the 99 out of every 100 residents were somehow involved in the illegal liquor trade.
Corrupt law officials took sides and were thought to be involved in violent shootouts and
killings of competitors. Trust no one, I guess. The county’s moonshine made its way far and wide
and these rural bootleggers connected with rising Chicago gangsters like Al Capone.
The legendary Bondurant Brothers ran the Franklin County moonshine trade during the time and
took on a mythical like quality after multiple violent run-ins. One of the brother’s grandsons,
Matt Bondurant, later wrote a book inspired by the trio and recalls his grandfather lifting up
his shirt to show his bullet hole from a skirmish with local police. The oldest Bondurant brother,
Forrest, was thought to be invincible after his throat was slashed and he miraculously got himself
to a hospital 12 miles away. That’s a far walk even with an intact jugular.
The widest spread danger of moonshine, though, came from actually drinking it. Trying to keep up
with the rising demand, backcountry distilleries started producing at larger and larger quantities
that didn’t always pass the sniff test. Often called “rotgut” and “mean whiskey” for the health
problems it could cause, creating high proof moonshine in unregulated distilleries was far
from foolproof. Contaminants, poisonous additives, bacteria, and lead could lead the drinker to
experience blindness, paralysis, or even death. That’s in addition to the inherent risks of
drinking a 190 proof beverage that can literally fuel a car. A common folk test for moonshine made
in homemade distilleries was to pour a small amount onto a spoon and light it on fire.
Supposedly, the color of the flame would determine if the batch was safe or not. A blue flame
meant the distillate was safe, yellow meant it was tainted, and red meant there was lead present.
This led to the handy mnemonic phrase, “Lead burns red and makes you dead.” Oh cute! The problem with
this test is that other toxic compounds don’t follow this pattern. Methanol, for instance,
also burns blue. So really it’s more like, “Even blue might kill you too and now you’re dead.”
When it came to cars, moonshine runners knew how to pimp a ride.
Every distillery needed drivers to smuggle their product across the lesser paved country roads and
to the awaiting masses. These “stock” cars looked normal on the outside to avoid police attention,
but the insides boasted creative alterations for successful moonshine transport.
The back seats were often removed to fit as much product as possible. Heavy-duty shocks and springs
were implemented to keep the jars of the infamous “white lightning” from shattering on the bumpy
roads. And specially rigged suspension kept the vehicles blending in but capable of carrying much
heavier loads. But most important of all were the souped up engines that allowed the drivers to win
high-speed chases and leave the cops to eat their dust. Aside from their engines, moonshine runners
knew the backroads like the back of their hands and were driving at a stunt-man level.
They perfected the “bootleg turn,” to quickly veer off course if a blockade presented itself,
and sometimes tossed tacks or oil on the road behind them to divert their pursuer.
The moonshine drivers started racing each other for fun, and after prohibition ended,
this eventually led to the first NASCAR races. Famous NASCAR driver Junior Johnson comes from
one of the most famous bootlegging families of all time. His father, Robert Johnson Sr., spent
a third of his life in prison, and the family underwent the largest alcohol raid in U.S. history
when 400 gallons of moonshine were seized from the house. Just a casual personal stash.
Moonshining had been a way of life for many families and communities since the 1700’s, and
people weren’t about to hang up their bib overalls just because alcohol became legal again in 1933.
The black market for hooch had proved to be an incredibly lucrative industry, and moonshiners
in the south continued to distill family recipes and get their shine on. In Maggie Valley,
North Carolina, where the population is just over 1,000 people, Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton earned fame
for his continued career in bootlegging. Popcorn, who earned his nickname after angrily taking a
pool cue to a popcorn machine, rose to fame after publishing an autobiography
“Me and my Likker” and a home video about his moonshining process. So he wasn’t exactly
keeping things on the down low. After several run-ins with the law throughout his lifetime,
Popcorn committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning rather than turning himself over
to the authorities. He, and others like him, have added to the popular folklore surrounding
moonshine - a substance rooted in American history. So pour one out tonight for Popcorn
and let us know in the comments if you’ve taken a shine to moonshine. Anyone in your
family got stories, let us know. And as always, if you enjoyed this video, be sure to check out
our other Nutty History nuggets and subscribe to our channel for more. Thanks for watching.