Popcorn Sutton Distilling
Popcorn Sutton Distilling at 830 US-25W in Newport, Tennessee is the tastiest shine in the Great Smoky Mountains. Popcorn Sutton Original Small Batch Recipe takes its name from its creator, Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, a legendary bootlegger from Cocke County, Tennessee. Using a 100 year old family recipe passed down through generations, Popcorn made his “likker” by hand, selling it out of the back of his Ford Model A truck.
Today, we make Popcorn Sutton using the same timeworn recipe and rebel attitude as our namesake…And at 88 proof, Popcorn Sutton Original Small Batch Recipe is as pure and smooth as an Appalachian mountain stream.
In tribute to Popcorn’s legacy, we built our distillery in Cocke County, Tennessee, just a few miles from Popcorn’s home and the backwoods where he made some of his finest. Our new 50,000 square foot distillery was created to maintain Popcorn’s finest traditions with our three massive copper pot stills built to Popcorn’s historical design. We make our product from mash to bottle, keeping a close eye to clarity, purity and flavor-just like he did. The way we see it, the only difference between our “likker” and Popcorn is that we pay our taxes.
Arguably the most famous of the bootleggers, Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton was never a man to mince words. He referred to the fruits of his distilling labors as his “likker,” yet today the bottle that bears his name calls its contents “Small Batch Recipe.” While technically neither a whiskey nor a moonshine due to modern liquor labeling requirements, Popcorn Sutton’s Original Small Batch Recipe (SRP $24.99-$27.99) is most certainly not losing any sleep over the issue and is being made using the same recipe today as when Popcorn was making it in the backwoods of Tennessee.
The legend of Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton is a well-documented one. De ant by nature, and con dent that his trade was his birthright, Popcorn filmed home movies of his life as a bootlegger and of his distilling process that are readily accessible. In the seven years since his death, the business of Popcorn Sutton’s spirit continues to grow. “Our goal is to establish a long-lasting and forever brand throughout the United States,” says Bill Eason, Regional Sales Director for Popcorn Sutton Distilling.
