Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/674905
104 / the tasting panel /may 2016 CATEGORY REPORT 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. Defiant by nature, and confident that his trade was his birth- right, 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. While Popcorn drank his "likker" straight or with the occa- sional medicinal infusion, Eason believes that the versatility of the spirit will be key to its longevity and success in an already whiskey- and moonshine-saturated market. "Versatility is our key message for 2016," Eason says. "Popcorn is smooth, with a really nice, neutral corn backbone. At 88 proof, it works well in any traditional whiskey drink, like a Manhattan, and it works incred- ibly well in gin drinks like The Last Word." Eason gets feedback continually from bartenders all over the country who are in love with Popcorn Sutton's versatility and drinkability and who love the Popcorn lore. Gabe Fuenmayor, owner of Bar Sovereign in Nashville, Tennessee, is one such bartender. He agrees that Popcorn Sutton's many uses are a major asset to his cocktail list. "We've been using it in Juleps and Flips, and we've been experiment- ing with the new barrel-finished spirit in Old Fashioneds," Fuenmayor says. Only open since Christmas of 2015, Bar Sovereign itself is a newcomer to the ever-expanding Nashville bar scene. Fuenmayor, however, has been behind the bar for over 12 years. "I started bar-backing at 18 and launched a number of pop-up bars in Berlin with Pret A Diner." Fuenmayor, a Cartegenan by birth and whose former field of study was international relations, points out that Nashville is growing The Spirit of POPCORN SUTTON PAYING HOMAGE TO THE MOST FAMOUS BOOTLEGGER by Matt Jackson / photos by Jason Myers Popcorn Sutton The Original Small Batch Recipe and Popcorn Sutton Barrel Finished.