The man who got angry and shot the wheat roasting machine and named it Popcorn...
Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton lived in the hills, but he was an entrepreneur who knew a lot about marketing. He came from a long line of local brewers and considered the production his legacy. Popcorn was friendly and his homemade corn whiskey was known as one of the strongest in Appalachia. Making a drink is one thing, selling it is another. So he became an icon of the unregulated liquor trade.
Popcorn Sutton grew up in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. It is located near the Tennessee border in the Smoky Mountains. He learned the craft of brewing alcohol from his father, Vader. It is not known how far back the old copper cooking art went from his generation. Some say the Scots-Irish brought knowledge with them when they came to America. Although the making and transporting of improper and unregulated alcohol was illegal, families in the rugged regions of the mountains saw it as a way to survive. Perhaps it was Popcorn's famous stubbornness or innate rebellion that allowed him to brew his particular brew. He did not appreciate outside interference.
He ended up in rural Coke County, Tennessee, as one of the "Country Liquor Capitals of the World." (Some say he wasn't born in North Carolina.) From the early 1970s until his death in 2009, Sutton distilled his corn whiskey despite being arrested at least once every decade. He lived in a cluster of cabins on a mountain, where he also maintained his immanence. Popcorn believed in using only the best equipment and ingredients. He once said, "If you don't have the proper equipment to start with, you don't want to get into business because you don't want to kill a bunch of people and make them sick. I want to make a product that I want them to come back and see when they get drunk."
Popcorn was married nine times. Popcorn liked his women legally. He is believed to have fathered eight children, but no one knows for sure how many there may have been. It is said that he did not accept one. People knew not to mess with Popcorn, who had a terrible temper. He carried this in his bib oval pocket along with a large wad of cash. While talking and drinking rotgut in a western North Carolina bar, he decided to grab a treat from the bar's new popcorn machine. When the coins he inserted did not yield the expected popcorn, he drew his pistol and fired. He later paid compensation, but after that it was called "popcorn".
He was a frequent guest at the Misty Mountain Ranch Bed and Breakfast in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. The owners asked him to help decorate their new "Moonshiner" set, and Popcorn willingly donated some hardware and props.
Popcorn was no fool. He is the mountain man you will find. He looked forward to curious travelers traveling through Appalachia hoping to run into someone like him. He charged these tourists $3 to take their photo with him. Often they happily proceed with a homemade bowl of his hooch. Ever the opportunist, Popcorn hung an "Antiques" sign on a nearby old shed to attract visitors. No antiques, but he was always willing to talk about his work and give a free demonstration of the place in the back of his old pickup truck. In fact he made sure to buy at least a few copies of Me and My Liquor. Popcorn has produced several videos and was the subject of one news and television documentary. He made sure that whoever worked with him dressed the part. Not only did Popcorn sell high-end liquor, he also sold a personality.
Law
The law in Cocke County, Tennessee, where Popcorn ran his illegal business, was quick to turn a blind eye. The country was a center for prostitution and unregulated alcohol, and those activities brought in revenue. Popcorn ran afoul of the law and was actually seized by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) in 1974. After that he was arrested several times. But Popcorn's sentence was overturned in 2008 when an undercover federal agent bought 800 gallons of his liquor. A tradition was coming to an end. After spending 18 months in federal prison as well as battling cancer, Popcorn Sutton took his own life in 2009.
liquor
Popcorn was proud of his liquor and people came from all over to buy it. He kept his recipe a secret and shared it with a select few until the end of his life. One such person is Californian Jamie Grosser. He was looking to enter the liquor business and wanted to sell this liquor legally. He accompanied Popcorn to his Tennessee cabin, where Popcorn agreed that it was time to go "legal" and proved himself a capable teacher. Fame
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