Moonshine: A Life in Pursuit of White Liquor

by Alec Wilkinson

A wonderfully alive portrait of an American original who is the most successful revenue agent in the history of a state that has always been enormously productive of moonshine, also serving as a memorable account of life in backwoods Halifax County, North Carolina.

Genres: Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilkinson (b. 1952) is in the great line of New Yorker nonfiction writers which includes writers like, Joe Mitchell, Joe Liebling, John McPhee, Calvin Trilling, and many more. He writes sharply observed pieces on interesting things in clear, exciting prose. That is an amazingly difficult thing to do well.

This 1985 book is about Garland Bunting, a liquor agent in North Carolina. He spent forty years of his life chasing bootleggers who made moonshine in the back counties of North Carolina. He was the King of Revenuers.

Wilkinson became friends with Bunting. He visited in his home and became friends with his wife. He went on long coon hunting trips with him. He accompanied Bunting and other agents on stake outs. He immersed himself in Bunting's world.

This makes a wonderful book because Bunting is a Character. He talks nonstop, a stream of sense and nonsense. He has all the stories and knows how to tell them. He had forty years of adventures. Unlike most cops, he doesn't take himself too seriously.

The book also works because Wilkinson uses Bunting's story to paint hill country life. Coon dogs, selling, trading and hunting them, are a big part of life. Moonshine is available in every town. Full time jobs are rare and make a living off the land is very hard.

Wilkinson explains why there is so much bootlegging. Moonshine is cheaper because no tax is paid on it and it is cheaper to make and, it is available late night and Sunday when the liquor stores are closed. He describes the variety of stills used, from small pot stills to almost commercial size stills. He describes the shady stuff used by some bootleggers to add flavor, like paint thinner or lye and the risk from lead welding leaching into the product.

Bunting's secret seems to be an amazing ability to convince bootleggers that he is a customer they should sell to. Any good bootlegger is very careful about who he sells to. Bunting is a beer bellied good old boy who drives an old pickup truck. He is a loud talker who spews out songs, stories and jokes. He is nobody's idea of a cop.

Bunting is also very patient. Many of his stories are about busts that take weeks or even months to pull off. Wilkinson talks to a prosecutor who says that Bunting puts together airtight cases.

This book reports on events forty years ago. I am curious about how much has changed since then. A quick google search seem to show that the moonshine tradition in North Carolina is now a tourist attraction. The state is also issuing licenses to produce moon shine for personal use, subject to all kinds of regulations.

[Susan Emmet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gift from my NC sister, it's one of the best biographical memoirs I've read in quite a while. I know Wilkerson's work from the New Yorker, but he really is "drunk on stories" told by Garland Bunting as he reminisces and drags Wilkerson all over eastern North Carolina is pursuit of stills, large and small.
What Bunting does to "get in" is hilarious. He masquerades as all sorts of people he's not and made a name for himself in the name of ABC and getting the taxes "real" whiskey should earn.
When my parents first moved from NY to NC in 1969, Dad joined the City Club in Asheville. He rented a liquor locker so he and guests could have a drink if they wished - and eat, too. I thought that was so weird, but it worked. Dry counties could have wet towns and vice versa. Makes sense, right? Maybe not.
Anyway, Bunting's legendary escapades, his coon hunting trips, deep knowledge of all parts of still life with moonshine sales, his home remedies for chigger bites, his love of dogs, his knowledge of geography and geology and ecology, and ability to spin a good yarn just all make this a wonderful book.

[Nate Hendrix · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was mentioned in Bourbon Empire by Reid Mitenbuler. This book centers around Garland Bunting, a revenue man, and the stories he tells about hunting for stills and arresting bootleggers. The accuracy of his stories is much less important than how he tells them. A very entertaining read.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome McPhee-style portrait of a corner of NC and the bootlegger/revenuer life. Like if Andy Griffith were updated on HBO.

[Molly Vaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down!

[Samuel Crockford · Rating 3 out of 5]

The American south is as foreign to me as Australia

[Carol Kowalski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alec Wilkinson's prose practically reads itself. This enjoyable inside look at the folklore and science of illegal stills follows officer Garland Bunting of the North Carolina alcoholic beverage commission. (Mr. Bunting was later cast as the radio announcer in the movie "Bull Durham".) If you enjoy Wilkinson's writing for the New Yorker magazine, "Moonshine" is highly recommended.

[Dearwassily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Folksy, enjoyable and informative without giving away all the secrets; a quick read.