Appalachia's Moonshiners Were NOT WHAT WE WERE TOLD

Appalachia's moonshiners have been turned into legends of backwoods rebellion, homemade whiskey, and life on the run. But the real history is far more complicated than the stories we usually hear. From dangerous homemade stills and lead contamination to violent encounters with law enforcement, organized moonshine networks, and bootleggers who became larger-than-life folk heroes, the history of Appalachian moonshine reveals a side that is rarely shown. In this video, we look at the real stories behind Appalachia's moonshiners — including Lewis Redmond, Amos Owens, Maggie Bailey, Junior Johnson, and Popcorn Sutton — and explore how much of the popular moonshiner image comes from history, and how much was created by legend. Because the old stories aren't necessarily false. Sometimes, they're simply missing the parts that matter most.