Old Timers Steal the Show on Moonshiners

Brewing is one of the world’s oldest professions and distilling takes it to a harder level. As soon as governments began regulating the production of alcohol, the first batch of ale was brewed and the first batch of moonshine was distilled. Decades, centuries, or millennia later, illegal production and bootlegging is still alive and well.

Benjamin Franklin once said that death and taxes are the only two things that are certain. Demand for liquor is a third thing that probably won’t go away any time soon.

While I don’t care for hard alcohol, I’ve always been intrigued by the history of brewing and distilling. In the United States, some of that production has been legal and some not, but either way it has tracked the nation’s development from sleepy colonies to westward expansion to a much more populous country. Though alcohol was only prohibited for a short time in this history, governments have regulated its production and distribution for much of that time. Legal alcohol sales generate huge revenues for governments, and some underground products can be adulterated with harmful substances, so it is understandable that there is some push to limit or control production.

Nevertheless, moonshining and bootlegging of illegal liquor are alive and well. As long as there is demand for alcohol, then some segment of the market will be glad to accept lower-priced hooch that doesn’t come with taxes and retail premiums. For moonshiners, there is some thrill in staying one step ahead of the law, though the risks of getting caught (and going to jail) must be incredibly stressful also.

In my area of the country, marijuana production has been a similar story. That has been illicit but quite widespread. And today, we finally see that government laws are catching up with this. Marijuana is becoming more legally acceptable partly because governments see the benefits of being able to regulate and tax it. Meanwhile, moonshiners continue to produce illegal alcohol in many places.

Somewhere, I happened across the Discovery Channel’s Moonshiners show and have enjoyed watching the saga of some of these people who run illegal distilleries in Appalachia. (I'm still catching up on old episodes, since I didn't catch it live until recently.) Moonshining is an age-old tradition, but the shows focuses heavily on the younger generation. They have learned the craft from some old-time Moonshine legends. And the show does a great job including footage from some of these old-timers also, from Popcorn Sutton to Jim Tom. A few are still active, while others are well remembered.

So I thought I would take a few screenshots of the old-timers and a few of their good lines from the Moonshiners show. I do not promote or glorify the illegal production or distribution of alcohol (and I think they perform some bait & switch on this show to prevent actually breaking the law on camera). But it sure is an interesting culture and they certainly have some entertaining stories to tell. As far as a 'reality' show involving illegal subject matter, this show does a nice job telling those stories.

All images are screenshots from the Discovery Channel's "Moonshiners" show.