Modern moonshine : the revival of white whiskey in the twenty-first century / edited by Cameron D. Lippard and Bruce E. Stewart.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Lippard, Cameron D., editor.

Stewart, Bruce E., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Whiskey industry--Appalachian Region.

Whiskey industry.

Distilling industries--Appalachian Region.

Distilling industries.

Appalachian Region--Social life and customs--21st century.

Appalachian Region.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vii, 291 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Morgantown : West Virginia University Press, 2019.

Summary:

The craft of making moonshine-an unaged white whiskey, often made and consumed outside legal parameters-nearly went extinct in the late twentieth century as law enforcement cracked down on illicit producers, and cheaper, lawful alcohol became readily available. Yet the twenty-first century has witnessed a resurgence of artisanal distilling, as both connoisseurs and those reconnecting with their heritage have created a vibrant new culture of moonshine. While not limited to Appalachia, moonshine is often entwined with the region in popular understandings. The first interdisciplinary examination of the legal moonshine industry, Modern Moonshine probes the causes and impact of the so-called moonshine revival. What does the moonshine revival tell us about our national culture? How does it shape the image of Appalachia and rural America? Focusing mostly on southern Appalachia, the book's eleven essays chronicle such popular figures as Popcorn Sutton and explore how and why distillers promote their product as "traditional" and "authentic." This edited collection draws from scholars across the disciplines of anthropology, history, geography, and sociology to make sense of the legal, social, and historical shifts behind contemporary production and consumption of moonshine, and offers a fresh perspective on an enduring topic of Appalachian myth and reality.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

List of Illustrations

Introduction: The Revival of Moonshine in Southern Appalachia and the United States / Bruce E. Stewart and Cameron D. Lippard

Part I: Socially Constructing the Origins of the Modern Moonshine Revival

1. Fire Up the Stills: A Brief History of Moonshining in Southern Appalachia before the Twenty-First Century / Bruce E. Stewart

2. Jim Tom Hedrick, Popcorn Sutton, and the Rise of the Postmodern Moonshiner / Daniel S. Pierce

3. Moonshiners and the Media: The Twenty-First-Century Trickster / Emily D. Edwards

4. Making Criminals, Making Ends Meet: Constructing Criminality in Franklin County, Virginia / Robert T. Perdue

Part II: The Legalization and Marketing of Modern Moonshine

5. The Rise of "Legal" Moonshine: Breaking Down the Legal Barriers to Craft Distilling in the United States / Kenneth J. Sanchagrin

6. From the Appalachian Mountains to the Puget Sound and Beyond: Distilling Authenticity in Modern Moonshine / Kaitland M. Byrd, J. Slade Lellock, and Nathaniel G. Chapman

7. Entrepreneurial Family Values and the Modern Moonshiner: Appalachian Craft Distilling beyond Its Neoliberal Frame / Jason Ezell

8. The "Uncatchables": A Case Study of Call Family Distillers in Wilkes County, North Carolina / Cameron D. Lippard

Part III: Historic Preservation and Tourism in the Name of Moonshine

9. Distilling Commercial Moonshine in East Tennessee: Mashing a New Type of Tourism / Helen M. Rosko

10. Heritage Spirits in Heritage Spaces / Kristen Baldwin Deathridge

11. Automotive Heritage and the Legacy of High-Octane Moonshiners: A Unique Cultural Intersection of Alcohol and Motor Vehicles / Barry L. Stiefel

Contributors

Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781946684837

194668483X