Moonshine Road
As I held on
for dear life we carefully went down the mountain with poor brakes on the
truck. I said to popcorn "What exactly is wrong with the brakes?" He
laughed and replied "They aint nuttin wron with de breaks as long as ya
aint usin em to much."
"And you call having 500lbs of sugar, 600lbs of corn, in a 60 year old car, going down a steep mountain using them lightly"
He chuckled and we continued down the winding path into the woods; when all of the sudden just before we came into a curve he said with enthusiasm "Ya hear tat?" I sat quietly hearing nothing other than what I would expect to hear in the middle of the woods... Nothing but the wind across the mountains. Popcorn then said "Water! Its running water!" His excitement again increased and we parked the truck right in the middle of the dirt road. He said "We's goin through de path right der." I saw no path but I grabbed a bag of corn and a bag of sugar threw one of each over each shoulder and followed him into the woods.
We walked until we got to the stream where he decided it would be best to head downstream so that the smoke would not be seen from as far off. all of the sudden he stopped and "sit dem bags right der and bring de rest of em to." Without question, complaint, or hesitation I walked back to the truck and made 10 trips with the corn and sugar making my legs more tired with each trip, but it was worth it to learn the way of life and the recipe of ol popcorn. Once I got back with all the sugar he had already setup the small still which he carried while I carried the ingredients. It was surprising to me how much time and effort went into setting up a still site.
once we had it all setup we began to mix ingredients and make what is called the mash which must ferment before it is turned into whiskey. we then had to wait a few weeks to let the mash ferment I was told this was crucial because one day to long or to short makes the difference between great whiskey and ok whiskey. In the meantime I helped him build three other stills which were about 1000 gallons each.
When the time came we went back into the woods and started the fire that made his mash into good sweet whiskey. Once the process began it couldn't stop there was always work to be done whether it was adding more wood to the fire or putting the liquor into a new bottle. This process was long and tedious but was one that was enjoyable to both me and popcorn as we sat around in between adding wood to the fire or doing another chore he would tell me his stories about his run ins with the law and how he said if he ever got caught again then he was going to be done with moonshine for good and he meant it. After the last gallon of shine was capped off he said "Welp now it's time to get er outta here." as he pulled out 2 long strings from his overall pocket which confused me but soon made a lot of sense. He began to run the string through the handles of the bottles to make them easier to carry multiple at a time and said "Once de truck is full you keep bringin em to the edge of de woods and I'll go an unload em onto that ol abandon bus I got round back" I did as he said and once we got about 850 gallons onto the bus I heard a large fleet of federal choppers in the distance but I had no way to get up with popcorn to tell him to blow it up. the choppers landed at popcorns house as the ATF raided his property to find his guns, the 3 stills, and the shine we had just made. The last words I heard my old friend say was "Once I get done with dis last run dats it taint gonna be no more of my dam likker." and he was right there was no more of his liquor it was now MY liquor.
"And you call having 500lbs of sugar, 600lbs of corn, in a 60 year old car, going down a steep mountain using them lightly"
He chuckled and we continued down the winding path into the woods; when all of the sudden just before we came into a curve he said with enthusiasm "Ya hear tat?" I sat quietly hearing nothing other than what I would expect to hear in the middle of the woods... Nothing but the wind across the mountains. Popcorn then said "Water! Its running water!" His excitement again increased and we parked the truck right in the middle of the dirt road. He said "We's goin through de path right der." I saw no path but I grabbed a bag of corn and a bag of sugar threw one of each over each shoulder and followed him into the woods.
We walked until we got to the stream where he decided it would be best to head downstream so that the smoke would not be seen from as far off. all of the sudden he stopped and "sit dem bags right der and bring de rest of em to." Without question, complaint, or hesitation I walked back to the truck and made 10 trips with the corn and sugar making my legs more tired with each trip, but it was worth it to learn the way of life and the recipe of ol popcorn. Once I got back with all the sugar he had already setup the small still which he carried while I carried the ingredients. It was surprising to me how much time and effort went into setting up a still site.
once we had it all setup we began to mix ingredients and make what is called the mash which must ferment before it is turned into whiskey. we then had to wait a few weeks to let the mash ferment I was told this was crucial because one day to long or to short makes the difference between great whiskey and ok whiskey. In the meantime I helped him build three other stills which were about 1000 gallons each.
When the time came we went back into the woods and started the fire that made his mash into good sweet whiskey. Once the process began it couldn't stop there was always work to be done whether it was adding more wood to the fire or putting the liquor into a new bottle. This process was long and tedious but was one that was enjoyable to both me and popcorn as we sat around in between adding wood to the fire or doing another chore he would tell me his stories about his run ins with the law and how he said if he ever got caught again then he was going to be done with moonshine for good and he meant it. After the last gallon of shine was capped off he said "Welp now it's time to get er outta here." as he pulled out 2 long strings from his overall pocket which confused me but soon made a lot of sense. He began to run the string through the handles of the bottles to make them easier to carry multiple at a time and said "Once de truck is full you keep bringin em to the edge of de woods and I'll go an unload em onto that ol abandon bus I got round back" I did as he said and once we got about 850 gallons onto the bus I heard a large fleet of federal choppers in the distance but I had no way to get up with popcorn to tell him to blow it up. the choppers landed at popcorns house as the ATF raided his property to find his guns, the 3 stills, and the shine we had just made. The last words I heard my old friend say was "Once I get done with dis last run dats it taint gonna be no more of my dam likker." and he was right there was no more of his liquor it was now MY liquor.