Life in Virginia's Appalachia - Moonshine

[@rogerredden1079]

Virginia , The state for L and M ; that is , Lovers and Moonshine ❤ 😮 ..... Thanks You Henry ...........

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

And. now you can buy it legally!

[@mikehiggins2694]

THANK YOU FOR PRONOUNCING APPALACHIA CORRECTLY!!

[@secondhandlyon2603]

I can confirm that moonshining is work. There's been a lot of it made in eastern Kentucky as well.

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

After spending some time with these guys, we can confirm that!

[@MrSomethingElse]

Like Popcorn says... something goes wrong everytime! You got think fast on your feet! Yes Sir.

[@SummoningSnakez]

Yup. Kentucky also has super strong horses because of the water quality. 🐎💨

[@JJ-pi3sj]

My grandpa stilled in Floyd almost 100 years ago. He passed a week before I was born in '86. Every time I sip corn whiskey I think of him.

[@PoppaLongroach]

Theres alot more work in shine than tv shows. It still flows throughout the west Virginia hills too ❤❤

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

You are correct! It's impossible to show all of the work these folks put into a good batch of moonshine.

[@fredcarter8382]

What a fantastic episode. Some shine allegedly made in Randolph county NC as well LOL

[@blown572hemi]

Thanks for the reminder of home now that I live ondy wrong coast. Besides my father and grandfather’s, Jesco white and popcorn Sutton are my hero’s

[@johnharris8191]

Popcorn did not make the best liquor I ever drank.

[@samermohamed5293]

In short, he is one of the mountain heroes who maintained their integrity and defended their beliefs and principles by living freely in their homeland and helping their families and neighbors.

[@Bevin_Krennan]

Absolutely fascinating. The science behind it is mindboggling when you consider all of the trail and error that went into perfecting the process.

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

I had these same thoughts while filming. Lots of science goes behind making moonshine, very interesting stuff!

[@randlerichardson5826]

I’d give anything to go back to the Old Times again

[@rockingchair2807]

How much you got? Lets make a deal. ☻

[@lazy_902]

​@@rockingchair2807leech 💯

[@zinniaadkins9826]

I still try hard to keep my life as close to the old times as I can.. I miss cutting tobacco each year, killing our hogs in the winter,back when it really got cold and stayed that way for a while, snow up to the top of the fence post..

[@jasonsmith2439]

Them Law brothers are the real deal 💯🇺🇸

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

I can picture all of that, sounds amazing.@@zinniaadkins9826

[@sherriekirby1585]

Shiners go way, way back on my family tree on Patrick & Franklin Co, VA. Yes they left the stills on the wills & there's some courthouse records. My great grandfather was very prominent during prohibition. He sold ALOT during election times, he owned the first car in the town. He helped other people who were struggling. Liquid corn was more profitable than grain corn when the prices fell. Thankful I got the stories from my grandmother before she passed

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

Wow! Sounds like a very prominent man. Those stories are cherished, I'm sure.

[@sherriekirby1585]

@@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV grandmother told me several stories about her dad's antics while shining & about him trucking it to the state capitol for the Governor who was from the county my grandfather 'stumped' for. All during prohibition & before. Cherished stories for sure

[@diesel7903]

Hell yeah, Henry Law!!!

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

We are big fans of Henry

[@jbwagonmaker8887]

Great show❤

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

Thanks for watching! We are scheduled to have 3 more episodes air for this series (and hopefully a season 2!)

[@ThomasBranson-yv5ub]

I left in 1985 from circumstances beyond my control. I returned in 2011 for a stint. The very first thing said to me when I got home was, can you show me how yall made shine? I am passing it on to my kids. My family will know how to survive

[@alancowan431]

I really liked your video. I can tell you put your heart and soul in every batch of Moon Shine you guys make.

[@krystalborgman]

Very interesting video. The history and the interesting details about the whole process is amazing. I had some years ago and it was smooth and just delicious, mixed with juice and ice its really a great drink. 😊

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

I (Sadie the producer of the show) also like moonshine best when it has had some fruit fermented in the shine for 2 weeks or so. Make's it even tastier. Thanks for watching! :)

[@richardreagor1432]

Slow spech down

[@kevinknight470]

Good job PBS. I lived in Franklin county for about 20 years. Worked in Rocky Mount for a while. Franklin county Shine made right is smooth and delicious. I didn't care much for sugar liquor, but each taste is different for folks. Most of the Shiners that I have met are good people, thanx for sharing this documentary.😃

[@wayneberry8226]

I love this.....

[@kennethboydsr3966]

This was great I don’t live far from Franklin co. The moonshine & peach brandy I ever drink came from there those guys knew what they were doing and the ones I knew were great hard working family men ❤

[@oldman82-z1n]

My mommas step dad made shine in Oklahoma in 30's till the dust bowl made um move out west. Mom said he was a T totaler only sip to make sure it was right

[@hectorrosario3391]

You guys are my idol. 😂🇵🇷

[@xochitl9161]

Fabulous doc !!! Very interesting and informative.

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@randlerichardson5826]

Got a quart from Louisiana a couple years back I use it to make cough medicine with. Strange everybody suddenly came sick with the bad cough lollllllllllllllllll I’ve probably got a pint +or- put up

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

Everyone loves some moonshine! How kind of you to share haha.

[@dilligaf2818]

great vid we hope to vist this area if we can get back to your great country from Australia !!

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

Thank you! Hope y'all can make it back!

[@dillfincollins6516]

These guys are absolute legends in the game, I'd love to get a chance to make a run with Henry and Kenny Law. Liquor making has become one of the fastest growing hobbies on the planet, and I absolutely love doing it, I've become deeply entrenched in it for about 5 years now and I don't plan on stopping, the possibilities are absolutely endless when it comes to making shine!

[@oldfarmshow]

👍

[@glennbolt2448]

I was just a little boy when I got meet goat man I was born inn conyers GA. My mom would bring a plate dinner to him every evening.We would track him down by following the marks that the metal wheels left on the asphalt road.We would spend hours with him those are days I will not forget.

[@brianscheuermann9862]

Wilkesboro NC is the shine capital!!!!

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

We'll have to visit!

[@guylandry7673]

Cave City Kentucky!....whoo whee!

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

Holy cow! You see that row of stills! Tickle, and Jim Bob ain't got nutin on these fellows.

[@bigbird2451]

My grandfather used to tell stories about making liquor beck then. It seems that they had a place near a river where they would work in Alabama. The metal parts of the still lived in the river until they would show up, pull it out, set up and run. Then toss the still back in the river until the next time.

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

What a fascinating story. Thanks for sharing!

[@Voots7]

Giles county Va had its fair share of stills as well.

[@claysmith782]

And like he said, why change something that your family worked at and perfected for years to try to change it? Good job. 😅 ❤

[@douglassauvageau7262]

I appreciate the historical time-line. Today's product is probably little different from what Daniel Boone was sipping. If it has not already been trademarked, BOONESBOROUGH might make an attractive label.

[@jaysonwoods9205]

keep it up

[@corneliuswowbagger]

Interestingly the Whiskey Rebellion occurred in … Southwest Pennsylvania! But that was much earlier.

[@archielynn3663]

im 82 today a va mt man lived near all those places drank lots moon from rocky mount and floyed caint say where im old and my mind caint recall where aint that something ? hee hee

[@jafo766]

Yep , you sound like the REAL McCoy !

[@guylandry7673]

Cleanest laundry in town with a cup full of moonshine!!!

[@sirsmilealot5458]

I have made a few batches.

[@johnharris8191]

Not too smart telling on yourself. LOL

[@rowdyscooter4094]

Old. Days. & times. R. Gone. ! So. R. The. People. ! PEOPLE. NOW. DAYS. HAVE. NO..CLUE. OR. RESPECT. !!

[@jyrkiaaltonen9298]

Original is the Best👍👍👍

[@CatheyLunsford]

it use to sell for 2 dollars a pint in 1965 in garrison tx

[@bradleysmith3963]

I have 3 quarts put up from Virginia, I quit drinking 7 years ago but I can’t part with my old school boot leg liquor

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

That's some good stuff right there!

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

I wonder if like stirring a big barrel of paint, I'd try using some type of board, or a boat oar. Just not something round. You can't stir as good with a round pole. Good luck buddy.

[@guylandry7673]

It was good for so many things ..not just drinking!

[@dalejohn6693]

I've tasted alot.....Never got the opportunity to taste Popcorn Suttons brew.

[@jasonmiller4046]

i would love to try the real moonshine

[@popcornhead3479]

The law boys are legend

[@jvwg95rt98]

So, do you need water? I missed that part.

[@cgarris8674]

Great Video but, I always heard the Federal Revenue officers dubbed Wilkes County NC (the birthplace of NASCAR) the Moonshine Capitol of the World. Dawson Co. Ga. also makes this claim.

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

Our region makes the claim because the largest moonshine still bust in America happened here, but yes, others have claimed it too!

[@Woodman26]

I wish I could be an Apprentice !!!! ;);););)

[@newfoundlanderingallsfamil4084]

Just subscribed to your KZbin channel

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

Thank you for subscribing! We will be having more episodes of Life in Virginia's Appalachia come out in the near future.

[@MelvinRoark]

I've had Popcorn Sutton and Jr Johnson shine but if you wanted good corn likker you got in ithe very NW corner of NC . It was smooth as water but packed a punch that was like a mule kicked you. I knew one ol timer that moved his still often to keep revenuers from catchin him.The ol shiners are gone now, and the recipes, but i dare say there's still a few quarts hid in the mtns.

[@prmath]

When I was stationed in Little Creek, Va……. Sailors KNEW ‼️”Rumor” says that there were certain tanks aboard US naval ships that. . . .😳

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

That is awesome!

[@cwavt8849]

I am 63 and from the deepest most easternly part of Texas. My father knew an old man who lived several miles from us that had made shinny since he bought his own place. He had a mule that he would hitch to a large cart. Mr. Herrin would load the cart with the different sizes of the orders that gad been placed for that week. Ge would then cover the jars of shinny with an oiled tarp and cover that with pig dung. He wouldn't feed the mule the night before so that it was hungry. He would then lead the mule to the first stop. The customer would pay, Mr. Herrin would retrieve the correct sized jar, replace it with the empty jar from the last sale to that neighbor, cover everything back in place and have the customer give the mule a bit of feed. On to the next customer, repeat the process being sure yo have the customer feed the mule a bit of feed, and this would happen at each stop. After they got back home at the end of the day, the mule was pretty well fed, but Mr. Herrin would give him a big meal of sweet feed and fruit treats. After a couple of months, all Mr. Herrin had to do was liad the cart, cover with canvas, leave an empty jar to hold the payments and instructions for the next order, hitch the mule and lead it for the first 50 yards or so down the road. Mules are very smart. It immediately went, at a faster clip than Mr. Herrin could comfortably walk had he still been leading the mule, straight to the first farm on the route. The customer would remove his size jar, leave the $in the empty jar, cover, feed and, as soon as he had eaten his bit if reward, the mule would hightail it to the next farm on the route. At the end of the run ge would race home for the big meal of sweet feed and treats Mr. Herrin's only exposure was when he was teaching the mule the route. He did this for decades. Even after prohibition ended, moonshing was prevalent because people had a taste for it, the county was dry and the trip to a wet county to buy store liquor and pay the hefty tax was beyond their budget. The farmers had every right to sell their crops in any form that would return the greatest profit. Mr. Herrin and his wife never got rich, he didn't take the risk of delivering in large quantities. But it helped him stay on his farm for his entire life. Never had to work for anyone else, never drew a paycheck iwas happy farming. God Bless him and his customers for dodging government punishment for making do for themselves and not a bunch of overpaid and over zealous tax enforcers

[@lance3451]

I USED TO PLAY CHECKERS WITH MY GRANDFATHER EVERY SATURDAY.HE USED TO TELL ME THAT 1 DAY WE WOULD GO TO VIRGINIA AND DIG UP THE 5 BARRELS OF SHINE HE BURIED BEFORE HE GOT PUT ON THE CHAINGANG

[@rickmeisch643]

It’s a very history in this country and yes the Appalachia Moonshiners did their liquor well. In Minnesota there were distillers also and back then good enough to sell it to top places in the Twin Cities or Chicago in big demand. Some had to sit in the click for it and some took the blame to keep others out. I don’t consider them criminals but you didn’t trust few people because a bribed could get you a lot of prison time.

[@JinxedJax]

Can anyone explain why South Carolina wasn't on their map?

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

Henry was just listing off ~some~ of the states involving moonshine. No one was intentionally left out.

[@douglassauvageau7262]

The linkage between this culture and the evolution of NASCAR has inspired many entertaining film-industry productions. The film-industry has missed a good bet by neglecting the 'production-dynamic'.

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

Something we are working on for the near future- stay tuned!

[@rickywilliams877]

A lot of people can make it . Very few can make it good.

[@StudioBeast7575]

It's to damn hot now in VA and it's June.

[@thesilentgeneration]

My Dad and his brothers did a bit of corn cookin in Atkins, Va back in the 1920s. Since my Dad was the youngest, his job was to stay at the bottom of the mountain, ready to alert the boys if he saw government men around. He must have done a good job because they were never caught. Hollywood created that Hill Billie perception, but these folks were smart and knew their business. As a kid, I often wondered way my uncle did with all those apples he grew. Never saw him sell any.

[@AnnacolleenEtters]

Only had white liquor once. I was maybe 15, and once was enough for me. Something in my make up, won't allow me to drink. Both parents had a problem with drinking, couldn't stop.. My body only has to smell alcohol, and I'll lose my lunch.

[@DannyMorrison5i8yrd]

❤🎉🎉😊😊

[@georgeleonhard4858]

These are legal shiners they are just doing this for a u tube

[@sambooliver2880]

Is there A way to kill the kerosene taste in high proof moonshine?

[@russellcarmicheal4902]

lol, 😀Henry Lee

[@chrisrobinson2410]

Well. The jar shook at the minute mark is straight garbage. Might as well be some of the ice cold water

[@rockingchair2807]

Scubbing bubbles.

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

After conducting a sniff test, I can assure you, it definitely wasn't ice cold water or dish liquid.

[@jeffreyhogan9135]

Hay si people would go to the water fall that’s what they would belt out years later they named the town haysi Lovers leap breaks international park Flanagan dam we have land on backbone ridge I love that hard living and the cane cutters biggest rabbits I ever seen i would be there if it was up to me I’m going back soon Noey Taylor my oldest dear friend from Norris all I need is the gospel music came over on the mayflower it’s beautiful unbelievable what people has done to that music

[@tinaroney9383]

Actually moonshine stills were in just about every southern state.

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

Absolutely, and a lot of northern and western ones too. But Franklin County, VA lays claim to Moonshine Capital of the World, in part due to the large number of stills and its importance to the local economy. The largest still bust in the country was in our region.

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

I know some good ole boy's from the Appalachia. Good folks. I wish I had a gallon jug of moonshine. Not that phoney Tickle stuff. Lol.

[@CatheyLunsford]

They grew there corn Made There syrup And Shine kept it Quiet and Sheriff light foot never did Catch them

[@TracieHunter-v5p]

I need a Drink

[@hubertthomashager3910]

Spring water

[@CatheyLunsford]

shine Was Made all over the States where you could grow Cornit was more money

[@josh-fr3hr]

its all about the water and they pull water from a mud hole...

[@MorganOtt-ne1qj]

VA needs to get out of the liquor business and let the market decide who sells what, and where they sell it. If the Feds want to get their slice of the pie, then let them try.

[@michaelsmiley15]

Well let's talk about the toxins that you can find in various proofs of alcohol The problem will you construct your still if he use any kind of led soccer and it gets into the alcohol, then you could get led contamination and that's what people were going blind from The problem during prohibition you had all of these idiots out there Trying to make whatever they wanted to call what they were producing And they used whatever they could get their hands-on formaldehyde Any kind of substance that would boost the flavor profile but all of these things were Toxic and people are dying from these ingredients during prohibition I know plenty of people that have drank rubbing alcohol That's what we're talking about here

[@richardschneider4775]

Untaxed unregulated irregular batches of a socially acceptable drug we call booze.

[@joshuagibson2520]

Nothing wrong with shine, marijuana, or poppies. Free people don't ask permission.

[@joshuagibson2520]

Or pay extortion fees.

[@seanthomas7441]

There's plenty to be ashamed of..it's destroyed countless families and lives..

[@johnmiller9312]

Everything goes to hell once the Government gets involved.

[@frankmains5698]

Yep, now their peddling marijuana

[@danielpierno]

Leave them alone they trying to make a living in the poorest place in America

[@maoriboy7619]

Why are the outback moonshiners considered outlaws i c them as hard working folks making good liquor and earning a bit of cash what's wrong with that

[@BlueRidgePBSEchoTV]

I believe it mostly has to do with the fact that they sell untaxed liquor! In recent years many moonshiners have gone legit with craft distilleries and are no longer considered criminals.