Simmie Free

Simmie Free (January 14, 1892 - May 1, 1980) was an American moonshine producer who spent most of his career in Rabun County, Georgia. At the height of his career, Free was one of the leading producers in Georgia and served four jail setences for his activities. Born to illiterate parents in Rabun County in 1892, Free left school after second grade to help his father produce corn whiskey, or "likker" as it was known in the region.

In his early years Free lived in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, but in 1938 returned to his place of birth, where he began making "likker" on his own. He originally used only corn meal and rye in producing moonshine, buying his meal from Talmadge's Grist Mill in Athens, Georgia; but later included sugar in his production process. In the late 1930s and early 1940s when Free was starting out, moonshine sold for one dollar per gallon and was one of the few ways for southern Appalachian residents who did not live near coal mines or timber producers to make a living. Before Prohibition, Free claimed in an interview with Atlanta reporter Joseph Earl Dabney "[a]ll the old people usta drink...[e]verybody kept a little flask of likker in his pocket."

One present day distillery, the Dawsonville Moonshine Distillery, traces its recipes to Free.