Popcorn Sutton

Mountain dialect, culture and identity are revealed by the true experts on Southern Appalachian culture--the people whose families have lived there for generations.

Following Tennessee moonshiner Popcorn Sutton as he produces what he swears will be the last of his product.

Deep in the wilds of Southern Appalachia, lifelong moonshiner Popcorn Sutton runs 1 last batch of accurate moonshine whiskey. By means of the exhausting work of clearing the site, building a rock and clay furnace, brewing corn mash and producing high-proof moonshine, Sutton reveals the craft of standard distillation, the character of his Scots-Irish ancestors, and a lifetime of memories in the trade.

Filmed in North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, from 2000 until Sutton’s death in 2009, A HELL OF A LIFE is an unforgettable portrait of the last great moonshiner. featuring Popcorn Sutton, Jesco White, JB Rader. music by Dana & Susan Robinson, Grifters & Shills, Henry Queen, Ola Belle Reed, Patty Hurst Shifter and Joe Knowlton.