Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - A Moonshiner's Farewell - full transcript

Hidden deep within

The hollows of a forgotten

Corner of america, a battle is

Raging.

This is probably the most

Paranoid time.

It's moonshine

Season...A season lived under

The gun.

We in the hunt.

We gonna stay in the hunt.



We've been in the hunt for a

Long time.

Only takes one mistake.

One mistake and you messed up.

The season can mean

Over 100 grand, tax-free.

Yeehaw.

If you really love your

Country, you're gonna have to

Love moonshine.

Tonight on the

Season finale, one moonshiner is

In a race to the finish with his

Future on the line.



This is a part of the job

Right here where it gets really

Tense 'cause you don't know who

You got coming down here.

Man, this thing's rolling.

One agent heads into the

Woods to make the biggest bust

Of the season.

I'd rather be lucky than good

Because, you know, luck is a big

Part of it.

As the season

Comes to an end...

This is really going to make

Us a lot of money.

This is $100-a-gallon stuff.

Here's a car right here.

Yeah, that's him right there.

...Someone will

Win...

And someone will lose, as one

Moonshiner goes down.

Tickle?

Tickle, where are you?

Fire!

Moonshining is a part of our

History.

It exists, but it doesn't,

Almost like a myth.

Bootlegging is more risky

Now.

All right.

You're gonna win, or you're

Gonna lose.

Is that a cop?

Change vehicles and change

Tags -- that's what you got to

Do.

It's the end of the season.

Money's running out, and we got

To do something to make some

More.

Every day, it look like I'm

Getting deeper.

I'm trying to get out of the

Getting beaten.

This is how we make the

Moonshine.

With winter fast

Approaching, it's the worst time

Of year to be a moonshiner.

Tim and tickle are in a race

Against the clock.

Ain't nobody come down yet,

But they should be here anytime

Now.

tim's laid it all

On the line this season.

He's in the final push to secure

A future for his son, j.T.

Just make it fast as you can.

I'm gonna need some help down

Here.

but going legit

Comes with a huge price tag --

200,000 bucks just to get

Through the door.

So, they are risking everything

To make multiple runs throughout

The night.

And to get ready for this final

Cannonball run, tim added an

Extra pot, brought in a new,

Larger worm, and constructed a

Camouflage tent to conceal the

Still.

But for tim, the timing couldn't

Be worse.

Two moonshiners were just taken

Down in pennsylvania county,

Practically tim's backyard.

With less than a week left, tim

Has no choice but to work the

Site while tickle organizes the

Pickups.

Get on.

The first load is gone?

Yeah, I just sent it down the

Road right now.

Fixin' to come down and help you

Out now, all right?

Dude, hurry up, man.

I got a whole lot of stuff to do

Here.

I know, I've been going.

All right, I'm back down here,

Man.

Watch that bucket right

There, man.

That thing is coming out of

There fast.

Yeah, it ain't taking long.

This thing's filling up quick.

I'm turning the heat off.

It's going too fast.

That thing has been pumping five

Gallons like crazy.

Here.

Get that bucket out the way.

Don't lose none.

I tell you what, I don't know

How many more gallons I can

Move.

We probably still got what in

There, 40, 50 over there in the

Proofing barrel?

I know there's a few in

There.

You gonna have to help me jug

This stuff up, man.

I run out of room.

I'll be glad when it's all over.

I'm gonna take a vacation.

That's what I'm gonna do.

I'm getting tired of this.

I ain't got too much longer to

Go.

to the west, abc

Agents jesse and jim are closing

In on the season's mother

Lode, a massive still site in

The woods that's less than five

Miles from tim.

Do you smell that?

I think we're right on them.

Something's going on.

Yeah, I'm ready for number

Two pickup.

with tim still

Brewing, tickle has made his

Way up to the pickup site to

Meet the second driver.

There's another guy

Coming in.

You know, I got to make sure

It's him.

It's a pretty isolated place.

Tickle, where you at, man?

When you coming down here?

I got everything ready.

This guy's supposed to be

Pulling in any minute.

Right now, I'm waiting on him.

But I can't just go off and

Leave this liquor.

He'll pick it up and won't leave

No money.

As soon as you can get down

Here.

Man, this thing is rolling.

Done ran over four gallons.

Oh, god, it's running too fast.

tim has never made

This much moonshine.

The larger worm is producing

Way more than he can handle.

I let it run too much, too

Full.

meanwhile, all of

Jesse's hard work has finally

Paid off.

A moonshiner is up and running

In full force.

coming up...

I don't want to be finished.

I need some more money.

...Tickle comes through in

The clutch.

I tell you what, I know a

Guy up north been asking about

Some brandy.

...While jesse

Zeros in on the biggest bust of

The season.

He's got everything in place.

So now we've got to get

Everything in place before we

Can catch him.

and one moonshiner

Goes down.

There is the unknown factor

Of who's coming and picking it

Up.

jesse and jim

Are about to swoop in on an

Active still site.

After months of gathering intel

And putting boots on the ground,

Their hard work is finally

Paying off.

But in jesse's line of work,

Things can turn on a dime.

The moonshiners have vanished

Into thin air.

The first thing when we got

Close, we could smell the odor

Of mash, saw a lot of

Liquor-making materials in the

Area.

We decided to back out and

Now we're gonna formulate our

Plan and come back up here and

Catch this guy making liquor,

Because that's his next move.

He's got everything in place,

So now we got to get everything

In place where we can catch

Him.

This is part of the job right

Here where it gets really tense.

It's dangerous.

It really is.

while tickle waits

For another bootlegger to

Arrive, tim bottles up the

Continuous flow of moonshine

Down at the still.

The moonshine pickups are a

Deadly game of russian roulette.

Each arriving bootlegger could

Be the fateful bullet in the

Chamber.

There's the unknown factor of

Who's coming and picking it up.

Sometimes you do know the

People, sometimes you don't.

It's better to not know them.

Hey, what are you doing down

Here?

Here to pick up a load.

Back up over here, but stay

In the truck, keep the truck

Running, be ready to go at any

Time.

normally, they

Wouldn't allow bootleggers so

Close to the site, but with

Winter moving in and time

Running out, they've got no

Choice.

Head on.

I tell you what, that was it.

Took the last gallon.

Man, I need some help here.

I'm heading down there right

Now.

tim and tickle go

For broke, brewing around the

Clock to pull down their goal of

$50,000.

Abc agent jesse and his partners

Have found a functional still

Site, but the shiners are m.I.A.

Jesse's got to regroup, and

Fast.

I have had some of the old

Agents say that they have walked

A particular river or a

Particular creek and have found

Old site, old site, old site.

And a new site.

Just on a hunch.

I'd rather be lucky than good,

Because, you know, luck is a big

Part of it.

A lot of times, we will go on an

Agent hunch.

In other words, we would pick a

Particular area that's known for

Illegal whiskey operations to

Have operated out of in the past

And we will put boots on the

Ground.

Catching them is our main goal.

there's another

Moonshiner ready to pack it in,

Popcorn sutton.

Let's get these jugs.

You want to get them two at a

Time so we can get in a little

More conversation?

Yeah, that'd be all right.

tim and tickle

Have been brewing and bottling

Moonshine nonstop for over

24 hours.

But when tim adds up the cash

From all the bootleggers, he

Realizes he's thousands short of

What he needs.

I know I'm finished at the

End of the year, but I don't

Want to be finished.

I need some more money.

I tell you what, I know a guy

Up north been asking about some

Brandy.

Yeah?

Yeah, he wants a whole bunch

Of it.

Hey, we can make a whole lot

Of money on that brandy.

Also know a guy we can get

Some fruit from.

Well, he supplies us fruit,

That would be good, 'cause we

Done run out of corn.

tim has burned

Through all of his corn.

To make some quick cash, tim's

Got to switch up his game to an

Old classic -- fruit brandy.

Because it's cheap, corn has

Long been the crop of choice for

Moonshiners, but as the corn

Supply dwindles when winter

Approaches, some shiners turn

To another ingredient -- fruit.

Just like corn moonshine, fruit

Brandy also packs a punch.

Because brandies usually retain

The fruit flavor, many find it

Tastes better than traditional

Moonshine, but it's not cheap.

Fruit costs more than corn, so

Most moonshiners can't afford

The up-front costs.

If they can, payoff is bigger.

Traditional moonshine can run up

To 40 bucks a gallon, while

Fruit brandy can run up to 100

Bucks a gallon.

When can this guy get the

Fruit?

I'm gonna call him this

Evening and see.

I'm sure it's gonna be no

Problem, you know, for him to

Get it.

Make sure he can get enough.

Don't bring no two or three

Pounds.

We need like 500, man.

We got to get a whole lot.

As soon as possible.

Maybe tomorrow night.

We're mashing tomorrow night.

I don't care.

Just bring it.

coming up...

I see a vehicle sitting in

There.

tim and tickle take

A huge risk for an uncertain

Reward.

Yeah, I hope it's the right

Damn guy.

and jesse nears

A moonshiner at the top of his

Game.

They're pretty close to

Running.

We're pretty close to catching

Them.

moonshiners

Everywhere have packed it in for

The winter.

But two are still going strong.

Tim and tickle are gunning for a

Cash windfall by brewing a

Batch of fruit brandy in place

Of their regular corn whiskey,

But they'll have to call in an

Outsider for supplies.

It's a risk that could destroy

Everything they've worked to

Achieve.

It's a gamble that tim's

Willing to take for his son,

J.T.

I want to show my son the art

Of making moonshine, because it

Was passed down to me.

It's important to know where it

Came from.

If we lose that, if you go

Another 50 years, maybe no one

Will know anything about

Moonshining.

I don't want you to break the

Law, and hopefully we can get us

A permit and do this thing

Legal.

Had a guy upstate that says

He wanted some brandy and took

Another guy that had been

Hauling, and he talked to him

About bringing some fruit.

I kind of hate bringing a guy

Down to the still site, but he

Trusts the guy.

He could get lost in these

Woods.

There's a lot of roads in these

Woods.

He could have took the

Wrong -- it ain't like there's

No sign out there.

We got to go find the guy.

All right. Let's go.

I bet he is right here, right

Close.

Because I know this guy.

I don't see nothing but

Trees right now.

tim usually secures

Ingredients for the mash,

But tickle's connection is the

Quickest route to a large stash

Of fruit.

You ain't been drinking, have

You?

Well, you know I have.

this unfamiliar

Supplier poses an added danger

For tim.

I see a vehicle sitting

Down there.

Good?

> yeah, I hope it's the right

Damn guy.

Here he is.

That's bang bang.

Bang bang, huh?

Yeah.

What did you wind up getting?

You got bananas?

tickle's supplier

Comes through.

400 pounds of bananas?

Good stuff.

bananas.

Not the most common ingredient

For brandy, but any fruit will

Yield high profits.

Let's get this loaded and

Unloaded and let's go on.

You just follow us.

I don't want no lights on.

We're pretty close to where we

Got go anyway.

Man, I don't like this.

You ready?

Yep.

All right. Let's go.

Let's do this thing.

jesse and his team

Are headed back to the area of

The active still they found on

The previous night.

We're back up in the northern

Part of the county, getting

Ready to check on an active

Location.

We checked it last night.

We're following back up on it

Tonight.

They're pretty close to

Running, and we're pretty close

To catching them, so we got to

Stick with it.

they're ready to

Close in on the target in hopes

Of catching a moonshiner in the

Act.

All right.

Pull on up that way.

All right, that's good right in

There.

Outstanding.

Set them right here on the

Ground.

Let's see how many you got.

Yeah, that's over 400 pounds,

Man.

Yeah, 10 boxes would have

Been 400 pounds.

He had 14.

He got about 600 pounds.

Well, that's all right.

brandy sells for a

Whopping $100 per gallon.

With 600 pounds of bananas, tim

And tickle could make enough

Brandy to more than double their

Normal profit.

We got to get all these

Bananas peeled, man.

So, all we're doing is just

Putting flavor in it really.

You can make moonshine out of

Anything, you know.

It don't matter whether you got

Peaches or corn or grain or

Whatever.

It don't matter.

That's right.

I keep eating it, and we ain't

Gonna have no moonshine.

We got to get all them

Peelings and them boxes in that

Truck.

And let's get this truck loaded

Up.

Let's get it out of here.

Bang bang, you know how to

Get out of here?

I should be able to find

My way out.

We're gonna triple the price

On these bananas.

Instead of about $40 a gallon,

We are going up about $100 a

Gallon.

That's going to make a whole lot

Of difference at the end.

coming up...

Jesse gets one step closer to

Catching a moonshiner in the

Act.

Manufacturing's a class 6

Felony.

I don't know about this guy.

He's from out of state.

And a moonshiner goes down.

jesse and his

Fellow abc agent, jim, retrace

Their steps from their previous

Night out.

When we're working a case

Like this, we want to catch them

In the manufacturing process.

Manufacturing's a class 6

Felony.

they carefully

Move in on the still site as

They keep watch for any signs of

Moonshiner activity.

Just a few miles to the west,

Tim is readying a huge batch of

Banana brandy so he can rake in

The money he needs to go legal

Before winter ends the moonshine

Season.

We're gonna get this thing

On.

It's ready to go.

I done checked it.

Mash is good.

Don't get too close to this,

'cause, you know, it's kind of

Top secret.

the mash fermented

Quickly.

Now that it's ready, tim can

Fire up the pot.

Kind of dangerous, so you

Might want to stay back.

Oh, yeah, she goes now.

Once she gets warmed up right,

Get a little steam coming out,

Then we're gonna cap it.

A little pressure builds up in

It, and then we will let it

Cook about six hours.

while tim has

Managed to stay one step ahead

Of the law, the same cannot be

Said for popcorn sutton.

In january 2009, the atf raided

Popcorn sutton's home where they

Found several firearms, hundreds

Of gallons of mash, and 800

Gallons of moonshine.

Now, this was the site of

Popcorn sutton's last stills

Before he got busted.

And this is what was left of it

After the atf got done with it.

He had 3 stills in here.

Two 500-gallon ones and

1,000-gallon one.

But this is where he made his

Liquor.

And it looked a lot nicer before

They -- before they got ahold of

It.

as jesse and jim

Make their final approach,

They're on high alert.

They could be walking into an

Ambush.

With so much at stake, some

Moonshiners have been known to

Defend their stills at all

Costs, putting abc agents at

Risk.

They always had sort of a

Booby trap.

One guy had a coca-cola

Container, and he had that thing

Full of moonshine, and some way,

He caught some rattlesnakes, and

He put them in that -- in that

Thing so if we opened that thing

Up, reached down in there,

You might get a nice, little

Bite.

This same guy would dig this

Post holes, and he would put

Four or five half gallons down

In each one of these post holes,

Like a fence, and then he'd put

A steel trap in there.

And whap!

You may come back with some

Fingers missing.

If there's something to ferment

In a jar, a jug, a barrel, or a

Container, somebody will try to

Make moonshine whiskey, even

Now, and even in the future.

Been cooking about five, six

Hours now.

I think we got about all we are

Gonna get out of that.

You know, this brandy mess is

High-dollar stuff right

Here.

There's a whole lot of money

In this pot right here, so

I don't want to mess up.

No, it's done right now.

I think I'm just gonna go

Ahead and cut it off.

with all the

Alcohol extracted from the mash,

Tim now needs to proof the

Banana brandy to test its

Potency before he bottles it.

There he goes.

Looks like it's flowing pretty

Good.

Yeah, it's flowing all right.

Got bananas in there.

Yeah.

See a little bit of banana in

There?

Just a little bit.

That's what's happening.

There's a little bit of banana

Going through that filter.

Boy, that stuff smells strong.

Yeah.

A little bit better.

That's a whole lot better.

A little bit more clear.

A whole lot clearer.

It's looking good.

Get them jugs right there.

time is of the

Essence since the brandy

Bootlegger is set to arrive for

The pickup in less than an hour.

Well, I'm going to start

Loading them up.

You start jugging.

Start loading them up.

We just got done proofing and

Checking it.

The first quart out of there had

A little bit of stuff floating

Around it, but it might have

Been just a little residue in

The bottom of the proofing

Barrel.

Second quart we got out of

There is pretty clear.

That's the first thing people

Look at, to see how clear it is.

You know, a lot of people think

If it is a brandy, it would be

Dark color, but it's not.

It's distilled alcohol, and it's

Just come from a base of a

Fruit.

You know, whether it's peaches

Or apples or bananas.

If you had some kind of bourbon

Or something or aged whiskey,

Just put it in a charred barrel

And the oak wood is what changes

The color.

This is fresh off the pot and

Ready to go.

It doesn't need any aging.

Oh, man.

Look at this load of banana

Brandy here.

This is really gonna make us a

Lot of money, you know.

This is $100-a-gallon stuff.

I don't like leaving tim back at

The site.

A whole lot at stake here and

A lot going on right at the

Moment, but we can't both stay

There all the time.

This is just how it has to

Be, you know?

We don't like being separated,

Because, you know, there's

Safety in numbers, but that's

What you have to do.

You either got it in you or you

Don't, you know?

It's a lot of hard work.

You don't get no sleep.

You worry all the time about

Somebody coming in and finding

Out what you're doing.

So far, we ain't had that.

At this point, it's frantic, you

Know?

That's the last two.

I got another buyer coming in

Right now.

He's from out of state.

He's actually from up north, you

Know.

They're transporting this stuff

A long ways.

But this is an expensive run

Right here, you know?

This is the banana, and this

Stuff goes for $100 a gallon.

Here he comes.

but doubling their

Profit means doubling their

Risk.

They're forced to let an

Unfamiliar down to the site for

Pickup.

You all right?

What are you doing here?

You here to pick up some

Stuff?

Do not get out of the car.

Stay in the car with it running.

If at any time I smack you on

The back of the car, you leave,

Okay?

That means something's wrong.

I don't know about this guy.

He's from out of state.

And I don't know.

All right, come on back.

Come on back. All right.

Hold, right there.

Tickle, where in the hell are

You at?

Tickle?

Tickle?

Damn.

Where in the hell is he at?

Tickle?

Hell, he ain't saying nothing.

Tickle, where are you?

Tickle?

coming up...

One moonshiner meets an

Untimely end.

Tickle.

Tickle, where are you?

for tim, it can't

Get much worse.

A bootlegger is at the pickup

Site.

Tickle's gone silent.

Tickle?

Hey.

Man, what the hell you doing?

Man, my walkie-talkie

Battery died, man.

Damn.

I was getting scared.

I was getting ready to run.

I was getting ready to

Leave -- leave the truck and

Everything.

All right, let's get some

More batteries.

All right. Let's do it.

both the jugs and

The moonshiners are long gone.

In the world of moonshine, the

Abc agents are a few soldiers

Against an army.

What, the still?

Yeah.

No, they'd run it today.

despite the

Setbacks, jesse and jim know

That they can lose the battle

Yet still win the war.

They're in it for the long haul.

Tim and tickle are finishing

Strong with their first

Successful pickup of banana

Brandy.

You know we got a whole lot

Of bananas up there?

Yeah, we do.

I think we ought to just

Throw them in the pot, and,

You know, make what we can make

Out of it.

They're ready to go.

We might as well cook it.

I think we can probably make

450 gallons out of all this

Stuff.

We'll just keep on running.

with the prospect

Of 100 bucks a gallon, tim

Potentially could make over

$45,000 on this last run.

I got this guy in tennessee.

He said he will take all we can

Make, all we can bring.

Well, if he's gonna take it,

Then, all right, let's do it.

tim and tickle go

All-in and take a gamble on one

Final run.

brewing around 450

Gallons of the sought-after

Brandy should net tim the money

He needs to go legal.

Tim and tickle have done the

Impossible -- 450 gallons of

Banana brandy brewed and ready

To transport.

Tim has never had to move this

Much brandy before, and for the

Second time this season, he's

Forced to risk his freedom by

Transporting the brandy himself.

I got to take this load out

Of town, and I picked up tickle.

We got 450 gallons in there.

We got about a six-hour drive,

And I'm trying to get there and

Maybe back before daylight, I

Hope.

tim has arranged to

Meet an unknown distributor at a

Secluded location near the

Virginia/tennessee border.

This final drop off is extremely

Dangerous.

But for tim, there's no turning

Back.

He either gets the money he

Needs, or he continues to be an

Outlaw, putting his son j.T.'s

Future at risk.

Tim and the buyer have a

Prearranged signal set up to

Identify each other.

This is the plan.

As we're going up this road,

This guy is gonna be sitting

On the side of the road.

He's gonna blink his lights

Three times.

We know that's the man, and we

Are just going to get out, get

In the car.

He's going to take the truck and

Go.

The money should be in the car.

There's a car right here.

Hey, that's the man right there.

That's him right there.

Damn, it looks like a police

Car, man.

tim is in an

Unfamiliar area.

With over 400 gallons of brandy

And up to $45,000 on the line,

The stakes are high and so is

The danger.

Now this pickup isn't looking

Good.

There's a car right here.

It looks like a police car.

tim knows what

Every moonshiner worth his salt

Knows -- that someday, his luck

Will run out.

I was married to

Popcorn sutton.

He was the most gentle,

Kind-hearted person you ever met

In the world.

He is buried now on the site

Where he had his still house

Before it burned, and I thought

What better place to put him?

Popcorn was a funny guy.

He liked to play practical

Jokes, and he also had his very

Serious side, too.

Especially when it came to his

Liquor.

He was very serious.

We have a distillery set up in

Nashville, tennessee.

We can't legally call it

Moonshine.

We have to call it tennessee

White whiskey.

And also, popcorn's liquor is

The first white whiskey that the

Federal government has

Approved.

as is common in

Moonshiner family tradition,

Before popcorn died, he passed

His secret moonshine recipe on

To his apprentice,

Jamie grosser.

In death, popcorn did something

He could never do alive -- he

Went legal.

I'm trying my best to make

His dream come true.

And that's jar number one.

tim has arranged

To meet an unknown distributor.

The stakes are high, and so is

The danger.

All right, let's go.

Tim has risked everything.

That's what we need.

That's what we're looking for.

with the brandy out

Of his hands and money in his

Pocket, tim must now decide

If he will leave the moonshiner

Life behind for a chance to go

Legal.

Despite moonshine season ending,

Jesse's hunt continues.

The whole thing is a big

Game.

It's the biggest grown-up cat

And mouse game in the world.

We have had some setbacks.

They have beat us a couple of

Times, but we don't stop.

Our work continues on.

It makes me more determined

To get back into the hunt and

Catch these people.

with the end of

The season upon him, tim faces

The most difficult decision

Of his life.

With money in hand, tim is on

His way to the airport, where a

Private plane is waiting to take

Him to an undisclosed location

To meet with potential

Investors.

I did it.

I got the money together, and

I'm hoping I can be a legal

Distiller.

But it's a little shaky because

I may be getting in over my

Head.

Once you tell a government, "I'm

An illegal moonshiner, and I

Want to be a legal moonshiner,"

First thing they think, well,

You're like a criminal.

I put myself out there, and it's

Kind of like I can't go back.

There may be some people out

There now that's been in the

Trade for a long time, but I can

Tell you sooner or later, you're

Gonna get caught.

We're gonna catch you.

So, if you value your freedom,

Go ahead and stop now.

The bad guy's got to be lucky

All the time.

I only got to be lucky one time.

I'm worried about the family,

If I'm making the right decision

Or not.

I think about my dad, the other

Moonshiners behind me, you know?

What would they do in this

Position?

I'm in the middle.

I've always been a moonshiner.

My family has been connected to

Moonshining, trying to keep the

Tradition alive and carry

Everything with them.

What am I gonna do?

We'll find out when we get

There.