Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 10, Episode 10 - Smoke to the Fire - full transcript
This time on
Moonshiners...
Boy, you all did a hell of a
job on this still site.
Josh trucks a
steamer still across
state lines.
It's hard to run apples. It's
hard to run rye.
To get in on a
hundred bushels of
free apples.
We got two still sites.
There's plenty of mash.
Plenty of work to do.
It's a damn good payday.
- I'm ready.
- Yes, sir.
When Jim Tom lands
a surplus of cherries...
- Fire in the hole!
- -Mark and Huck return to the scene of a
-lifetime of crime.
It ain't gonna run itself.
And two shiners are
busting at the gills
with mash.
And nowhere to run.
I was gonna ask to use
your barn.
This is how we make
the moonshine!
Right now, we're on our way
to meet Tickle, Henry
and Kenny Law.
They're running wide open,
and they just ain't got quite
enough capacity
to run off all the mash
they're trying to make
right now.
On the back country
roads of Franklin County...
Watch out. Scoundrels up two.
Moonshiner Josh is
answering the distress call
from the Virginia boys.
-What's up, Kenny?
-What's up, man?
Our steamer rig? It's just
at max capacity,
running this rye.
-It sure is purty.
-It is nice, man.
We've got these apples mashed
in multiple barrels.
We don't have any time to
waste on this.
So without Josh and his
steamer still, we'd really
be sunk right now.
No, gosh, that's definitely
the real thing.
All right, so let me show you
how this goes.
-This connects to this. It's
just gotta be the same height.
-We'll raise it up.
Then this comes out and
hooks to this,
and there's a union and all
that, that goes on there.
And it was on it.
It was on it when we brought
it over here.
Where did it go?
It's missing one piece that
has to be in the truck, or
fell out on the...
-I was gonna say it might
be in the bed of the truck.
-There was?
-It might be.
-If it was I woulda saw it.
-You want me to check and see
if we can find it?
-Yup.
God dang, please don't
be gone!
Josh is looking for the part
that goes right here.
It connects to right there.
We unloaded it right here,
didn't we?
Well maybe... maybe we can
improvise. We can use another
kind...
We can use the copper pipe.
-We can use something.
-Everybody took off running
like chickens
-with their heads cut off.
-It don't make no damn sense!
-It was on there!
-And I figured there weren't
no sense in
everybody runnin' and lookin'
for the piece that's...
right here!
It was on that still.
Are y'all playin' a trick
on me?
It can't be gone.
One of yous *bleep* with me.
-I don't know why they can't
find this thing.
-Damn it!
There's a lesson
to be learned from all this,
and it's always keep your eyes
peeled at a still site.
Something like that could
jump up and bitecha dead
in the butt.
I know Josh loves
making moonshine on his own,
-but it just seems to me
that when we get together...
-Hot damn!
Where was it?
-Right there.
-Where?
-Right there!
-Where at? Where?
He's just that much happier
of a guy.
-What, this piece?
-Yeah.
It's right there.
Yeah, y'all were *bleep*
with me.
He stays calm...
I was about to go all to hell.
We're all very productive...
Don't ever do me like
that again.
Damn, that was too much
energy.
-So it really can't get any
better.
-There we go.
-The pot is boiling.
-All right, boys.
While this water's heating up,
then we can get the mash in.
-Y'all ready to pump this
stuff over?
-Yeah.
I'm really not sure how these
boys come up with so
much mash.
But they did and they needed
some help.
And we got two still
sites set up.
We're running on this side
of the creek.
We're running on this side
of the creek.
There's plenty of mash,
plenty of work to do.
-Let's get on the other side
and get some...
-Rye goin'.
Across the other side of
the creek.
I've basically never done
that before,
havin' two separate outfits
runnin'
two separate mashes
at the same time.
Apple on one side of the creek
and rye on the other side of
the creek.
-That's, that's good.
-We should get this one
lit up.
I'm anxious to see how
this does.
-I ain't never seen it
before.
-You'll love it, man.
Oh, man, that's handy right
there.
-Just wait 'til it gets
burnin'. You'll be surprised.
-Get it, get it pumped.
-God bless America, that
flew through the air.
-Looks good, man,
keep pumpin' it. Might be
a half a bucket left.
-It might be a half.
-All right, all right.
There's grain here.
We don't leave anything
behind.
We use these steamers. We
don't have to worry 'em
burnin'. See all the grain?
Oh, yeah, yeah, gives that
flavor.
That's where the flavor
comes in.
-Thank goodness Josh came up
and we knocked it all out.
-It's just a waitin' game now,
-ain't it?
-How long can you stick
around, Josh?
'Til the job's done, man, this
is what I do. I'll be here
'til y'all ready for me
to go home, or start hating
me one.
Look, man, this is just
the beginning.
We got... we got days of this.
That's all right. It's a
damn good payday.
- I'm ready.
- Yes, sir.
Anybody got somethin' good
for us to eat?
Oh, man.
What the hell are we gonna do
now, old Jerry?
First of all, we gotta find us
a new place to set up.
'Cause this is saddenin'
right here.
We got basically run off of
our still site.
I come to find out, we was on
the wrong side
of a property line. These
people gave us 'til dark
to get our stuff out of there,
and they was calling the
law on us if we didn't.
We was doin' so good.
And then it all goes away
in the blink of an eye.
I'm heartbroken.
Now we gotta find
somewhere else to go.
Me and Jerry, we were very
fortunate and blessed that we
didn't get busted.
But we've got to hurry up.
Time is workin' against us.
We got orders comin' in
by the bookoo.
We got some corn mash
workin' off, so me and
Jerry's got to have a place
to set up and run it off.
Let's get outta here and
go find us a new spot.
And that's another thing,
Jerry, we can't let nobody
know we're down right now.
The biker club. Them boys
right there buys a lot of
alcohol from us.
We gotta put our nose to the
ground and sniff out a good
place to get.
And that's what we're
gonna do.
Mercy, mercy, mercy. We'll
slip on up in here and take a
gander around.
You know, Jerry, I'm pretty
familiar with this area.
-Yeah?
-We got the creek,
it's secluded.
We got plenty of laurels and
it gets really dense right
back over in there.
Man, this hollow looks pretty
dadgum snazzy.
It's nice and flat.
We could put our barrels up
here on the edge of the bank.
Let's go up the brink
to see what the water
looks like.
I've got to have some kind of
fall so I can feed mash
barrels and my worm barrel.
Oh, yeah. She's starting
to rise up a little bit now.
Sure enough, about a hundred
yards up, it starts tiering up
a little bit.
-It starts getting some rise
in it.
-What do ya think?
It's good water. And it's
cold and there's enough here
to feed a still site.
Is that... what is...
What the hell is that?
-Huh?
-What is that?
Lookit there.
-Damn horseshoe.
-Well, I'll be danged.
This is a damn good luck
charm right here, Jerry. This
just might be our still site.
- Hey, what's that?
- What's that?
Damn dogs.
You reckon there's people
living that close, or you're
gonna...
Probably someone that lives
way over that way, but...
We hear dogs off in
the distance.
This is no huntin' dog.
This is a house dog.
We actually thought we was
so damn deep in the woods
that nobody'd be around
but sure enough, come to find
out there must be
-a house just right over the
ridge.
-I like this site,
I like we got water but I
don't like the fact we may
have people that close
-in on us.
-Yeah, dogs always alert
people when they
don't shut up. You know,
people come a'walkin' around.
What do you think?
-It's a no?
-I think it's a no.
-We don't want to be hasty.
Haste makes waste so... let's
go look around and see if we
can't find somethin' else.
-That's all we can do.
-I'm carryin' that home with
me, though.
-I would.
Maybe turn it upside down,
hang it on a wall somewhere.
Hold in somma that luck.
That you, Jim Tom?
- Okay. We'll be out in a
little bit.
- In Graham County,
North Carolina, after getting
a call from their old friend
Jim Tom...
Mark and Huck hightail
it over.
Them looks good, Jim Tom.
Huh huh, no.
If you've got cherries.
You can make jelly out of 'em,
or you make moonshine.
I ain't never seen Jim Tom
make any kinda jelly or
anything like that.
It's always been alcohol.
I never have out of cherries.
I'ma try one of 'em.
-Where you think about them?
-Good and sweet.
I just leave the stems on 'em.
You know what I'll do with
them?
Use 'em for toothpicks!
A cherry brandy or any
brandy...
It's a different process
than it would be for corn.
It takes a little longer to
work your brandy off,
and just got to be patient
with it.
It'll break down.
We had plenty of sugar
and yeast on the truck.
So we just save a bunch
of mash.
You know, Mark, just
everybody can't do this,
can they?
- That's right!
- No, they gotta get educated.
What Jim Tom wants to do
with this brandy...
It's a pound of sugar to the
gallon of cherries and it'll
be good to go.
Oh, it will.
Oh, yeah.
Yup, always.
There you go!
But now, in your brandy, you
know you've got to be real
careful
and keep up with it and watch
it, 'cause especially when it
gets almost worked off,
if you let it go too long,
it'll turn to vinegar on you.
Listen, you call us when
it's ready.
Yeah, boy.
It's a pretty thin line.
We left that up to Jim Tom,
you know, 'cause we knew
that he would know when
it was ready.
Okie doke, Mark, I appreciate
you puttin' that up for me
there.
If you need anything else,
holler.
I'll do that.
This wood is a lot like
your mash.
-There's a flavor.
-Yes, sir. Moonshine and
barbecue are both a huge part
of our southern
culture. Check that out!
That's a lot of heaven...
A day at this-- heat up
you think way.
-All the way along.
-All right, take 'em.
You know what
my uncle would always say,
don't you?
To get you drinking.
"The law? I am the law."
-Tommy Law.
-Tommy Law.
Tommy Law.
In the woods
of Franklin County, Virginia,
Ted called the laws
on their new partner in crime,
Josh, begin a long string
of rye
and apple moonshine
distillations.
So in this operation
this time,
we're running
my steamer still
and their still too.
Boys, I got to tell y'all,
y'all did a hell of a job
on this still site.
It looks good
'cause it's camos.
How much better
with that one
on the under look
with some camouflage
paint? It blend right in.
Ah, damn.
-I'm telling you...
-I going to tell you
right now.
She's too pretty
the way she is.
Their still site
was camouflaged
and tucked away
in this hollow so good
and then here
I am with this
big ol' bright
shiny frick of stainless rig
kind of sticks out
like a mirror.
Well, if you're not using it,
what's it--
ain't you paint it?
Well if I ain't using it,
why is it going to need
to be painted?
But we are using it.
-I'm just saying.
-All right, that makes sense.
These boys want to paint
my still. And you know what?
I'm almost down with it
because we are in the woods
doing something illegal,
and it makes sense
to be camouflaged.
If you if y'all can make it
look this good
with camouflage,
You can teach him,
can't you?
-That's right.
-You can teach him.
You just have to to drill it
in his head.
Is he saying I'm
hot headed?
Well, ain't no saying
to what you are.
He's agreed
to let us camouflage
his nice, pretty steam outfit.
It got it.
Hit it right there.
Spray it on there.
He's off a little key
at handyman.
It's so pretty like it is
ain't it?
I'd rather paint this
than this.
I'll tell you what.
Don't worry about it,
and I'm going to give you
directions to the prison.
-So you don't know
how to get caught.
-No.
I'm good on that.
He's got cold feet.
If you want to stay
out of jail,
you better camo it up.
I just want to try
and convince him.
You know, he just can't see
that a camo
will save your butt.
You won't need
new can of paint--
You'll have time
to color them
in crayons.
You do what you want, big boy.
I can tell Josh is really not
sure about it.
I'm good.
He's been a great coming up
helping us,
and at the end of the day,
it's his steamer still.
Well, we tried.
I don't know why
I don't want to paint it,
but I just can't
seem to do that to it.
It's just so pretty
the way it is
It's
perfectly camouflaged now.
Cool, guys. Right?
-Look, she's running.
-Oh, you got the smell too.
Good... This won't well...
That's spicy.
Oh, just give him a sample.
Yeah, see
what they think about it.
It's hard to run apples.
It's hard to run rye
through regular stills.
I've never
successfully made rye.
-You got your steamer.
-It's the hardest crap ever.
I don't have the right recipe.
Just hypnotize me one night
and get the recipe
that we've got,
three generations...
Do I have to hypnotize you
to get it?
You're going to have to
kill me to get it.
-No rye.
-I need to know
your rye recipe.
No rye. Well, good.
I'm hearing it
bubbling and pumping.
-What do you got there?
-Finished product, right here.
-You got that
right on the nose.
-Mm-hmm.
Rye. You got to try that.
So you know all about it.
That's rye?
-This here?
-Rye lookin'.
Any rye I ever made
taste like fire.
There's a definite difference
in steam whiskey.
Steam whiskey
is never scorched.
And if you've got your Macs
build right, you're going to
make smooth whiskey.
These boys make some
of the best ride in the world.
Aren't you also
already rolling?
Smell it.
a little bit of
That's what makes it good.
Apple brandy, Baby,
we're pumping liquor out
on both sides of
this creek right here.
We've got right coming out
on one side and apple brandy
coming out on the other.
Damn, she clears a bill.
It's pouring out some of
the best apple brandy
I've ever tasted in my life.
But, you know,
this is just the beginning
of this operation
we've matched in one hundred
bushels of these apples.
There's gonna be a long time
to come quite a long.
I'm hungry every time
you stomach growls.
I think the law
is getting rid of
raised about.
Had enough to eat.
Need beans and crackers.
I gotta downplaying
where we won't stop death.
Wait.
You said that some gun up It
ain't no running sales.
Just man The match we've got
is ready to run.
We got to find somewhere
to run it off Quick.
I've been up and down
every damn holler
in this county.
I cannot find the right spot
to set this big,
massive steel upon.
We don't get it Run off
within the next day or two.
Is company stole way?
Just need someone to set
that thing up temporarily.
Just run, run off.
I mean, don't do anybody
a carport or
a shed or you know what?
I know what down farmer
by some I'll call from me,
but they eat my best friend.
I know. Down Maine's you know.
Wait, don't leave him
as a best friend with things.
But I know a guy that's
got a barn
and a farm faras extreme.
This guy cannot run
on his property.
Yeah, that's never
crossed my mind.
He knows who I am.
What way?
Damn well set that
I'm doing here is
you're doing pretty good, man.
Look, I've gotta down
big favor to ask of you.
Well, uh,
make a long story short,
we got run-off
from our damn still site,
and we've got a big order
to fulfil.
And w need somewhere to run
a quick, fast
and a damn hurry run.
And I was going to ask and see
if you would be willing
to let me use your barn
over there.
Mmm.
Right.
Okay, then.
But you know nothing anyway.
We'll just keep it like it.
I reckon we've got a decision
to make, man.
So appreciate it,
but talk to you later.
Oh, *bleep* man
Me and Jerry has
got to slip in there,
do what we do best
and try to get out
with the skin of our teeth.
It's a lot of money
on the line.
If we don't
get this stuff run,
we're going to lose all this.
Not just losing the mash,
we're gonna lose
all the customers.
We really have no choice.
Well, for your own good,
you got to do it.
-Oh, that's for a fact.
-But you're risking it
in the day.
Probably we got to
get in there
right at the crack of dark
and get out before daylight.
Being moonshiners,
me and Jerry take the risk
every day of our lives.
Hell, let's go get it done.
But we ain't
done nothing yet.
Hope we don't get caught.
Today, I'm gonna fix me up
a barbecue grill.
Josh, Henry, Kenny and myself,
we're spending long hours
in the woods
running a lot of
good moonshine.
And you know what?
A man can only eat
so many cans of beans
and packs at naps.
So I'm gonna build us a smoker
so we can eat
at the still site.
I got Howard
coming over today.
Two heads is always better
than one,
even if one of them
is Howard's.
I'm here for the meats
and the eats, baby.
A whole lot of folks
wouldn't think
moonshine and barbecue
are so closely related.
What's up, my brother?
Where's the food?
But they're both part of
our southern culture.
Hey, look, there's a line
on that barrel right there,
right?
That's my first cut.
When you're running these
stills for days,
weeks, even months on end,
you've got to keep
your strength up.
It's right here.
This is gonna keep us full,
gonna keep us happy,
and keep this moonshine
pumping out.
That's a barrel cut in half.
We've got to join
these two barrels together.
I got some stove pipe
over there
and I'm going to put
a damper in it.
The damper will give me
the ultimate control
over my temperature
right here.
-Uh-oh.
-There we go.
Moonshine and barbecue,
you really have got
to watch your temperature
when you're cooking
both of 'em.
That's one of the key points
right there.
We got a damper.
I can control my heat now.
You're a damper damn man.
Yes, sir,
I'm a damper damn man.
This is kind of like
my cap on a still.
The cap's gonna connect
the furnace
and the pot.
The meat that I put on here,
that's my mash right there.
Where's the worm?
The worm? That's me and you.
When it gets done,
we gonna eat it.
And I can't wait
to get to that point.
-I'm hungry now.
-All right.
That's not going to fit.
Snug as a bolt.
Fits pretty doggone good,
does it not?
This smoker, just like a still
has got to be transportable.
I take my rack, it's a easy
light piece to carry,
set it over top
of the furnace.
Then I sent my grill box
right on top of it.
Lock this thing together
like this.
So you building this
to breakdown.
This is a moving smoker.
Yes, sir. This whole top
will come right off.
I've only got
four little small bolts
that are holding
them straps together.
I undo them and bam,
in just a second,
this grill could be apart
and be moved.
Just like a still.
We are ready to drill some
holes and put some grits in.
Look at this.
I'll be damned if that
ain't staring to look like
a damn smoker, right, John?
It is the top
to the smoker now.
That's it.
That's functionality.
All right. That ought to work.
You see this?
When we go to cooking on it,
we've gotta be able
to open it up and check on it.
I don't wanna wait until
the grill cools down to be
able to get my food out of it.
With barbecue and moonshine,
it's really important
to be able to keep
your temperature consistent.
If you don't keep
your temperature right,
you're not gonna wind up
with a good product.
It's not official,
till I can tell
how hot it is in there.
All right, Howard,
it's official.
You know what it needs now?
-Meat.
-And a fire in it.
Yeah.
-Hello, Jim Tom.
-Hello, Mark.
Sitting in the shade,
ain't you?
Yeah, sure.
Yeah, boy, it smells good.
I got a hold over Mark.
I said,
"Mark my, my, she's ready."
There's a given,
like, 100% rain.
Looking good, Mark.
What are you doing, Moped?
You playing?
Does he get that excited
every time you run a run?
-Sure is heavy, ain't it?
-Yeah, they're heavy.
Ten gallons, roughly.
You can try it one round.
You're a rat.
Well, I wish
I felt that good, don't you?
- She's dripping.
- -Did you pour the heads off that?
Yeah, I did. Yeah.
- Well, it tastes good.
- Does it?
- That right.
- -I'm gonna use this water bottle,
I'mma catch us
some of this high stuff.
Whenever we proof it,
it gets lower
we pick it back up
for the right proof.
Jim Tom,
he always makes me laugh.
He's something, ain't he?
You want me
to turn her straight up?
Here you go, Jim Tom.
Yeah, sit him right here.
Think that'll
hold your little wall?
-I'm gonna leave this
high proof here with you.
-To proof that with. Yeah.
-Well, I appreciate that.
-Yeah.
It ain't all about,
you know, making moonshine.
It's being friends,
getting together and
bringing back old memories.
I will.
Just porting this run Jim Tom
I like to see him happy.
-Okay, bud.
-Okay.
Well, he's my buddy,
and I just like
being around him.
Are you ready for this
nerve wracking night?
I've never done
this kind of thing before,
but sometimes you gotta do
what you gotta do
to get something done.
Hurry up
and get hell out of here.
Be gone from this place.
All right, Howard,
what I've got here
is a hickory tree
that has been laid down.
She's not really
on the ground.
You can see these few limbs
that were touching the ground.
They're no good.
This stick right here,
that's going to smoke the meat
and that's gonna do real good.
We've got the smoker built.
Now our next step
is to get the correct firewood
for this so we can test it.
And then I'm gonna
take this thing down here
to the still site
and I'm gonna feed Henry,
Kenny and Josh.
This wood is a lot like
your mash too.
-It's the flavor.
-Yes, sir. It's the flavor.
Barbecue and moonshine
share a whole lot.
They're both passed down
from generation to generation.
And just like moonshine,
when you make barbecue,
you can take
very inexpensive ingredients
and turn them into something
that's just fantastic.
Look, you can't just throw
any old type of wood in there
and expect the food
to come out right.
All of these woods impart
flavor through the smoke.
Check it out.
You feel those right?
When it hits the ground,
the bark comes right off.
You don't really want bark,
not a whole lot of it.
I've got hickory right here.
This is your marinade.
I have apple over here
that your seasoning
like salt and pepper you put
on top and I have
oak over here.
This oak is gonna be
the main fuel source.
It burns a lot.
It makes a very nice
cooking coals
when you learn to blend them
all together just right,
it's a mighty fine eating.
All right,
I got a little bit of straw.
Put that on in there.
-We'll take some of these
little stuff. Stand back.
-Stand back.
- Ooh, never mind.
- There's a fire.
Where's the smoke going?
It's going this way,
it should be going that way.
All right, here.
Here's what we'll do.
My flue is right here.
What that's gotta do now
is burn down to some coals.
Look, Howard,
bring that meat over here.
I'm checking the meat.
Damn that's heavy.
I got this hickory that
I'm fixing to put on here.
Now, let that thing lay
on the ground
till it dry slam out and they
start soaking up
a little bit of water.
What that's gonna do is gonna
make this stick a wood
smoke a lot.
All right.
I'm seasoning it
with the fire.
And the smoke.
If you could make the meat
taste good with nothing more
than the meat and the smoke,
that's when you are
a true barbecue master.
Now it's time
to add the seasoning.
Come check
this apple wood out.
We're gonna throw this in here
closer her down
and let her bake.
This is a test run
on this smoker.
And if it works out
like I want to,
I'm gonna have
the best barbecue
on the face of the earth.
You ever seen that much smoke
come off a grill?
I'm gonna take this thing
out to Josh, Henry and Kenny,
and we go make moonshine
and barbecue.
Check that out.
Smells good.
I tell you what
this has got to cook
all night long, all right?
But in the morning promise you
some of the best barbecue
you ever ate in your life.
-Sounds good.
-Let's go see
what Kyle's got for you.
This is it, are you ready
for this nerve-racking night?
It's gonna be a nerve-racking
night not for sure.
You know, we got mash
ready to rock and roll
right now.
This is just a play old
simple corn mash,
but we've got to get
this stuff run tonight.
If we wait any longer,
it could potentially spoil.
The only place we've got
the runs is inside this barn.
I've never done
this kind of thing before,
but we've got to fulfill
these orders.
If not, we gonna have a lot
of pissed off customers
and we'll be out of business.
We just set the thing up
right in this area right here.
Pump it off the trailer.
Good thing this old barn
it was once used to hang
the backer in,
and it's got tall seems in it.
Don't get it in the damn dirt.
Because this rig is tall
it's got a lot of connections.
We gotta take every precaution
to make sure
everything's tight.
Leakproof, sealed off.
No steam, no drips,
No nothing going on with.
I see it. We got it hooked up.
Now we gotta do is
pump up and fire it up.
All right, let her fly, Jerry.
We got mashed coming.
Go ahead fire up
so it'll be warming up.
Now we just gotta wait
for it to get going.
It's a damn lamp.
-Jerry.
-What?
We got us a friend.
A ghost.
It's haunted.
I tell you what,
it's to the wire now, son.
I hope nobody comes
in this damn barn
because we've got
the fire going.
We can't hear nothing.
Now all we've got is our eyes.
Some of it is fixing a run.
Brother, I'm gonna go ahead
and tell...
Yeah, buddy.
There we go, buddy.
That looks about like
a number we're looking for.
Don't it?
Well, I'll tell you what,
People don't realize
how long it takes to run.
That there's
about full bubble.
Let's swap that out.
You know, if we got paid,
but I would never
write no money.
Pump her over, baby.
Let's get this thing going.
Here she comes.
I feel it, baby.
You know, we've got one run
of two down.
We've got to start
right back over.
We've got to pump
over four barrels of fire
right back up and sit through
the whole process yet again.
I don't see Bethany,
which is a good thing.
Hurry and get
this second run down
and we get hell out of here,
be gone from this place.
It's nerve-wrecking.
I'm not quite sure
if we're going to make it,
to get out of here
by dawn daylight or not,
but we're gonna be
pushing it hard.
You know,
I can't help but wonder
what can we do
to make this come out faster,
but it's not going
to come out no faster
than what we're doing it
right now.
-There it goes.
-Good boy.
All right. Yeah,
dump these heads.
Second run.
We can get this done, man,
we can get out of here
by the skin of our teeth
and hope
that we don't get caught.
*bleep*.
Dawn daylight's
gonna catch us.
I turn around and I'll look up
through the cracks
of this barn.
I can see dawn.
Oh, my God, son.
The stakes get
a lot damn higher
when the sun comes up.
We know people work here
and the birds
are starting to chirp.
Everything's starting
to come alive.
Except for us.
We're still sitting out here
like sitting ducks
on the mask.
Waiting on this
to get three run.
Well, now,
your truck's gonna be seen.
If the wrong person sees it
sitting back out there...
Gotta get a run off
and get the hell out.
Oh!
Yeah.
Food ought to be done.
Howard and I, we built us
one hell of a smoker,
so we can have some good food
at this steel site.
We tested this thing out
on some nice Boston butt.
Two-fifty, right?
Looking good.
The true test
of a good barbecue man
is if he can flavor this meat
without using anything
but his fire and smoke itself.
-Check that out.
-Holy hell.
Yes, sir. That's a lot
of heaven, right?
Let's get them
things off, man.
-I'm starving.
-Here, you hold this.
All right.
Just a little taste.
Uh-uh! Don't make me smack you
with a spatula.
-God, that's a big piece.
-That's what she said.
All right. Yeah.
Oh!
Perfect smoke ring right
around the outside of her.
Holy moly.
Oh, yes, sir.
Ah, look at the juice.
-Whew.
-There you go.
Dip that in there.
Holy *bleep*.
That's it, right? *bleep*.
It's delicious.
Mmm! Something like this
just don't happen.
I might be able
to make some moonshine,
but you know
what else I can do?
Make some barbecue.
I could make some barbecue.
Ain't nothing left to do now,
but take this smoker
down to the steel site.
All right.
Let's feed a couple
of hungry moonshiners.
When we get up there
to the steel site,
these fellas,
they're the real deal.
I'm going to let them know
that we're on the way up here.
Where the hell
are you at?
Hey, Henry, are you still
at the steel site?
. Damn, son,
where do you think
we're gonna go?
I got a surprise
I'm bringing up
for you, Kenny and Josh.
Josh,
he just pulled out.
All right. Well, look,
I'll bring it for you
and Kenny.
I'll see you all
in just a few minutes.
- All right?
- Sounds good, bud.
Good God, I'll slip down here.
How long since I was here?
Is that all you can do?
This is as far as I can go.
All right.
*bleep*.
Man, it's slippery *bleep*.
You wanna carry this stuff in?
Yeah, we're about
to carry it in.
Just follow this trail
right on there.
Hurry up now.
Don't leave me down here
by myself.
We're slipping and sliding
down the hill,
getting into the site.
I walked far.
Probably the biggest site
I've ever seen in my life.
-Who are you, man?
-Moonshiner.
I'm Howard.
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
it's me, fellas.
I thought
you should come in first,
look at this *bleep*, man.
He's a fellow moonshiner.
We go way back.
Oh, take a little prank,
to those steel place.
I thought you would've
told him I was coming
out here.
We don't even know this guy.
I've been knowing this guy
for years.
Is that what you're saying,
he's okay?
Yeah. Grab this thing
and let's take it there, huh?
-It's Howard, huh?
-Howard. Yes, sir.
Most of the time,
still site eating,
it's canned beans,
packs of hams,
stuff like that.
We got plenty more runs
of this apple and rye to make.
So now we could really
stay down here.
We don't have to leave
to eat now.
Looks like a damn steel
to make.
Just like an old steel.
Once we get
this smoker together,
Henry and Kenny are loving it.
You know, we used,
like, caper wood,
just gonna have that flavor.
See, I got us some kielbasas.
This pleasure's all mine.
That damn thing is hot.
And we finally got
our smokers set up
and I get to look
around the area.
And my God,
this is the coolest steel
I've ever seen in my life.
Look, watch her climb.
It's when we dropped her.
Look at her climbing.
I'm about to smell now, man.
People are gonna find in here.
It's a damn good one.
It'd be hell to leave her down
or if you're gonna come
down here to buy it,
right here
to steal your place.
You know what?
Sell a jar of liquor
and I'll get the same...
-One stop shop, baby.
-That's right.
Even though
throughout the steel site
this stuff smells great,
you're a least overpowering
the smell of our alcohol.
Oh, yeah, Looking under that,
That's good sign. Right?
You could really fire
anything you want.
Barbecue, Polish sausages
and ham
and well, let's say
if it's on your last run,
you can get ready
to get your money.
A man might want
to get him a big old
T-bone steak, you know.
Yeah, it's good. So darn good
if a lot was to run in.
What brand was the dog?
Yeah, tell him to just
leave us a warning at least.
-Bratwurst.
-We can't...
We've got good food
on the grill.
We have got shine running.
Here, try it.
This right here,
it's a moonshiner's dream.
Dinner and desert, boys.
-Yes, sir, all at once.
-God, that's good.
Bellies full, barrels full.
Yep, get the barrels full.
We're really
under the gun now.
We're out here
just to make it in there,
running in this man's barn
when the sun comes up.
And I was hoping like hell
would be done by now.
By daylight.
I mean, damn, it takes so long
to run this...
Hell, it feels like
a damn brick
sitting in the pit
of my damn stomach.
Hey, listen, do you hear that?
That sounds like a tractor.
That's a damn tragic
coming around here.
He's coming in here.
This is the time
you do not want
to get caught right now
because we got
finished product.
What the hell's
this guy doing, Jerry?
God, I hope
he don't come back,
the door, it's built back
of the building.
We'll walk
behind this damn barn,
see our damn... we're into.
What the heck's he doing?
Get the hell out
of here, dude.
Looks like he's taking
some leaks, Jerry.
No.
Damn, get down. Get down.
He sees us.
Next time
onMoonshiners...
We got good news
and bad news, Killer.
Seventy-two gallons of liquor.
I may see some
of the bad news right now.
Jars are unavailable
right now.
I've got 20 customers.
I don't know how I'm gonna
get it to him without Josh.
You got it now, Tim?
Yeah. We got some
thick stuff, Chuck.
Today is our first run
of Baltimore.
We need to make
big quantities of it.
We have a lot of steel
going up here.
I don't know if that's working
like it's supposed to work,
now, Chuck?
This is all blowing
out the roof out there.
Moonshiners...
Boy, you all did a hell of a
job on this still site.
Josh trucks a
steamer still across
state lines.
It's hard to run apples. It's
hard to run rye.
To get in on a
hundred bushels of
free apples.
We got two still sites.
There's plenty of mash.
Plenty of work to do.
It's a damn good payday.
- I'm ready.
- Yes, sir.
When Jim Tom lands
a surplus of cherries...
- Fire in the hole!
- -Mark and Huck return to the scene of a
-lifetime of crime.
It ain't gonna run itself.
And two shiners are
busting at the gills
with mash.
And nowhere to run.
I was gonna ask to use
your barn.
This is how we make
the moonshine!
Right now, we're on our way
to meet Tickle, Henry
and Kenny Law.
They're running wide open,
and they just ain't got quite
enough capacity
to run off all the mash
they're trying to make
right now.
On the back country
roads of Franklin County...
Watch out. Scoundrels up two.
Moonshiner Josh is
answering the distress call
from the Virginia boys.
-What's up, Kenny?
-What's up, man?
Our steamer rig? It's just
at max capacity,
running this rye.
-It sure is purty.
-It is nice, man.
We've got these apples mashed
in multiple barrels.
We don't have any time to
waste on this.
So without Josh and his
steamer still, we'd really
be sunk right now.
No, gosh, that's definitely
the real thing.
All right, so let me show you
how this goes.
-This connects to this. It's
just gotta be the same height.
-We'll raise it up.
Then this comes out and
hooks to this,
and there's a union and all
that, that goes on there.
And it was on it.
It was on it when we brought
it over here.
Where did it go?
It's missing one piece that
has to be in the truck, or
fell out on the...
-I was gonna say it might
be in the bed of the truck.
-There was?
-It might be.
-If it was I woulda saw it.
-You want me to check and see
if we can find it?
-Yup.
God dang, please don't
be gone!
Josh is looking for the part
that goes right here.
It connects to right there.
We unloaded it right here,
didn't we?
Well maybe... maybe we can
improvise. We can use another
kind...
We can use the copper pipe.
-We can use something.
-Everybody took off running
like chickens
-with their heads cut off.
-It don't make no damn sense!
-It was on there!
-And I figured there weren't
no sense in
everybody runnin' and lookin'
for the piece that's...
right here!
It was on that still.
Are y'all playin' a trick
on me?
It can't be gone.
One of yous *bleep* with me.
-I don't know why they can't
find this thing.
-Damn it!
There's a lesson
to be learned from all this,
and it's always keep your eyes
peeled at a still site.
Something like that could
jump up and bitecha dead
in the butt.
I know Josh loves
making moonshine on his own,
-but it just seems to me
that when we get together...
-Hot damn!
Where was it?
-Right there.
-Where?
-Right there!
-Where at? Where?
He's just that much happier
of a guy.
-What, this piece?
-Yeah.
It's right there.
Yeah, y'all were *bleep*
with me.
He stays calm...
I was about to go all to hell.
We're all very productive...
Don't ever do me like
that again.
Damn, that was too much
energy.
-So it really can't get any
better.
-There we go.
-The pot is boiling.
-All right, boys.
While this water's heating up,
then we can get the mash in.
-Y'all ready to pump this
stuff over?
-Yeah.
I'm really not sure how these
boys come up with so
much mash.
But they did and they needed
some help.
And we got two still
sites set up.
We're running on this side
of the creek.
We're running on this side
of the creek.
There's plenty of mash,
plenty of work to do.
-Let's get on the other side
and get some...
-Rye goin'.
Across the other side of
the creek.
I've basically never done
that before,
havin' two separate outfits
runnin'
two separate mashes
at the same time.
Apple on one side of the creek
and rye on the other side of
the creek.
-That's, that's good.
-We should get this one
lit up.
I'm anxious to see how
this does.
-I ain't never seen it
before.
-You'll love it, man.
Oh, man, that's handy right
there.
-Just wait 'til it gets
burnin'. You'll be surprised.
-Get it, get it pumped.
-God bless America, that
flew through the air.
-Looks good, man,
keep pumpin' it. Might be
a half a bucket left.
-It might be a half.
-All right, all right.
There's grain here.
We don't leave anything
behind.
We use these steamers. We
don't have to worry 'em
burnin'. See all the grain?
Oh, yeah, yeah, gives that
flavor.
That's where the flavor
comes in.
-Thank goodness Josh came up
and we knocked it all out.
-It's just a waitin' game now,
-ain't it?
-How long can you stick
around, Josh?
'Til the job's done, man, this
is what I do. I'll be here
'til y'all ready for me
to go home, or start hating
me one.
Look, man, this is just
the beginning.
We got... we got days of this.
That's all right. It's a
damn good payday.
- I'm ready.
- Yes, sir.
Anybody got somethin' good
for us to eat?
Oh, man.
What the hell are we gonna do
now, old Jerry?
First of all, we gotta find us
a new place to set up.
'Cause this is saddenin'
right here.
We got basically run off of
our still site.
I come to find out, we was on
the wrong side
of a property line. These
people gave us 'til dark
to get our stuff out of there,
and they was calling the
law on us if we didn't.
We was doin' so good.
And then it all goes away
in the blink of an eye.
I'm heartbroken.
Now we gotta find
somewhere else to go.
Me and Jerry, we were very
fortunate and blessed that we
didn't get busted.
But we've got to hurry up.
Time is workin' against us.
We got orders comin' in
by the bookoo.
We got some corn mash
workin' off, so me and
Jerry's got to have a place
to set up and run it off.
Let's get outta here and
go find us a new spot.
And that's another thing,
Jerry, we can't let nobody
know we're down right now.
The biker club. Them boys
right there buys a lot of
alcohol from us.
We gotta put our nose to the
ground and sniff out a good
place to get.
And that's what we're
gonna do.
Mercy, mercy, mercy. We'll
slip on up in here and take a
gander around.
You know, Jerry, I'm pretty
familiar with this area.
-Yeah?
-We got the creek,
it's secluded.
We got plenty of laurels and
it gets really dense right
back over in there.
Man, this hollow looks pretty
dadgum snazzy.
It's nice and flat.
We could put our barrels up
here on the edge of the bank.
Let's go up the brink
to see what the water
looks like.
I've got to have some kind of
fall so I can feed mash
barrels and my worm barrel.
Oh, yeah. She's starting
to rise up a little bit now.
Sure enough, about a hundred
yards up, it starts tiering up
a little bit.
-It starts getting some rise
in it.
-What do ya think?
It's good water. And it's
cold and there's enough here
to feed a still site.
Is that... what is...
What the hell is that?
-Huh?
-What is that?
Lookit there.
-Damn horseshoe.
-Well, I'll be danged.
This is a damn good luck
charm right here, Jerry. This
just might be our still site.
- Hey, what's that?
- What's that?
Damn dogs.
You reckon there's people
living that close, or you're
gonna...
Probably someone that lives
way over that way, but...
We hear dogs off in
the distance.
This is no huntin' dog.
This is a house dog.
We actually thought we was
so damn deep in the woods
that nobody'd be around
but sure enough, come to find
out there must be
-a house just right over the
ridge.
-I like this site,
I like we got water but I
don't like the fact we may
have people that close
-in on us.
-Yeah, dogs always alert
people when they
don't shut up. You know,
people come a'walkin' around.
What do you think?
-It's a no?
-I think it's a no.
-We don't want to be hasty.
Haste makes waste so... let's
go look around and see if we
can't find somethin' else.
-That's all we can do.
-I'm carryin' that home with
me, though.
-I would.
Maybe turn it upside down,
hang it on a wall somewhere.
Hold in somma that luck.
That you, Jim Tom?
- Okay. We'll be out in a
little bit.
- In Graham County,
North Carolina, after getting
a call from their old friend
Jim Tom...
Mark and Huck hightail
it over.
Them looks good, Jim Tom.
Huh huh, no.
If you've got cherries.
You can make jelly out of 'em,
or you make moonshine.
I ain't never seen Jim Tom
make any kinda jelly or
anything like that.
It's always been alcohol.
I never have out of cherries.
I'ma try one of 'em.
-Where you think about them?
-Good and sweet.
I just leave the stems on 'em.
You know what I'll do with
them?
Use 'em for toothpicks!
A cherry brandy or any
brandy...
It's a different process
than it would be for corn.
It takes a little longer to
work your brandy off,
and just got to be patient
with it.
It'll break down.
We had plenty of sugar
and yeast on the truck.
So we just save a bunch
of mash.
You know, Mark, just
everybody can't do this,
can they?
- That's right!
- No, they gotta get educated.
What Jim Tom wants to do
with this brandy...
It's a pound of sugar to the
gallon of cherries and it'll
be good to go.
Oh, it will.
Oh, yeah.
Yup, always.
There you go!
But now, in your brandy, you
know you've got to be real
careful
and keep up with it and watch
it, 'cause especially when it
gets almost worked off,
if you let it go too long,
it'll turn to vinegar on you.
Listen, you call us when
it's ready.
Yeah, boy.
It's a pretty thin line.
We left that up to Jim Tom,
you know, 'cause we knew
that he would know when
it was ready.
Okie doke, Mark, I appreciate
you puttin' that up for me
there.
If you need anything else,
holler.
I'll do that.
This wood is a lot like
your mash.
-There's a flavor.
-Yes, sir. Moonshine and
barbecue are both a huge part
of our southern
culture. Check that out!
That's a lot of heaven...
A day at this-- heat up
you think way.
-All the way along.
-All right, take 'em.
You know what
my uncle would always say,
don't you?
To get you drinking.
"The law? I am the law."
-Tommy Law.
-Tommy Law.
Tommy Law.
In the woods
of Franklin County, Virginia,
Ted called the laws
on their new partner in crime,
Josh, begin a long string
of rye
and apple moonshine
distillations.
So in this operation
this time,
we're running
my steamer still
and their still too.
Boys, I got to tell y'all,
y'all did a hell of a job
on this still site.
It looks good
'cause it's camos.
How much better
with that one
on the under look
with some camouflage
paint? It blend right in.
Ah, damn.
-I'm telling you...
-I going to tell you
right now.
She's too pretty
the way she is.
Their still site
was camouflaged
and tucked away
in this hollow so good
and then here
I am with this
big ol' bright
shiny frick of stainless rig
kind of sticks out
like a mirror.
Well, if you're not using it,
what's it--
ain't you paint it?
Well if I ain't using it,
why is it going to need
to be painted?
But we are using it.
-I'm just saying.
-All right, that makes sense.
These boys want to paint
my still. And you know what?
I'm almost down with it
because we are in the woods
doing something illegal,
and it makes sense
to be camouflaged.
If you if y'all can make it
look this good
with camouflage,
You can teach him,
can't you?
-That's right.
-You can teach him.
You just have to to drill it
in his head.
Is he saying I'm
hot headed?
Well, ain't no saying
to what you are.
He's agreed
to let us camouflage
his nice, pretty steam outfit.
It got it.
Hit it right there.
Spray it on there.
He's off a little key
at handyman.
It's so pretty like it is
ain't it?
I'd rather paint this
than this.
I'll tell you what.
Don't worry about it,
and I'm going to give you
directions to the prison.
-So you don't know
how to get caught.
-No.
I'm good on that.
He's got cold feet.
If you want to stay
out of jail,
you better camo it up.
I just want to try
and convince him.
You know, he just can't see
that a camo
will save your butt.
You won't need
new can of paint--
You'll have time
to color them
in crayons.
You do what you want, big boy.
I can tell Josh is really not
sure about it.
I'm good.
He's been a great coming up
helping us,
and at the end of the day,
it's his steamer still.
Well, we tried.
I don't know why
I don't want to paint it,
but I just can't
seem to do that to it.
It's just so pretty
the way it is
It's
perfectly camouflaged now.
Cool, guys. Right?
-Look, she's running.
-Oh, you got the smell too.
Good... This won't well...
That's spicy.
Oh, just give him a sample.
Yeah, see
what they think about it.
It's hard to run apples.
It's hard to run rye
through regular stills.
I've never
successfully made rye.
-You got your steamer.
-It's the hardest crap ever.
I don't have the right recipe.
Just hypnotize me one night
and get the recipe
that we've got,
three generations...
Do I have to hypnotize you
to get it?
You're going to have to
kill me to get it.
-No rye.
-I need to know
your rye recipe.
No rye. Well, good.
I'm hearing it
bubbling and pumping.
-What do you got there?
-Finished product, right here.
-You got that
right on the nose.
-Mm-hmm.
Rye. You got to try that.
So you know all about it.
That's rye?
-This here?
-Rye lookin'.
Any rye I ever made
taste like fire.
There's a definite difference
in steam whiskey.
Steam whiskey
is never scorched.
And if you've got your Macs
build right, you're going to
make smooth whiskey.
These boys make some
of the best ride in the world.
Aren't you also
already rolling?
Smell it.
a little bit of
That's what makes it good.
Apple brandy, Baby,
we're pumping liquor out
on both sides of
this creek right here.
We've got right coming out
on one side and apple brandy
coming out on the other.
Damn, she clears a bill.
It's pouring out some of
the best apple brandy
I've ever tasted in my life.
But, you know,
this is just the beginning
of this operation
we've matched in one hundred
bushels of these apples.
There's gonna be a long time
to come quite a long.
I'm hungry every time
you stomach growls.
I think the law
is getting rid of
raised about.
Had enough to eat.
Need beans and crackers.
I gotta downplaying
where we won't stop death.
Wait.
You said that some gun up It
ain't no running sales.
Just man The match we've got
is ready to run.
We got to find somewhere
to run it off Quick.
I've been up and down
every damn holler
in this county.
I cannot find the right spot
to set this big,
massive steel upon.
We don't get it Run off
within the next day or two.
Is company stole way?
Just need someone to set
that thing up temporarily.
Just run, run off.
I mean, don't do anybody
a carport or
a shed or you know what?
I know what down farmer
by some I'll call from me,
but they eat my best friend.
I know. Down Maine's you know.
Wait, don't leave him
as a best friend with things.
But I know a guy that's
got a barn
and a farm faras extreme.
This guy cannot run
on his property.
Yeah, that's never
crossed my mind.
He knows who I am.
What way?
Damn well set that
I'm doing here is
you're doing pretty good, man.
Look, I've gotta down
big favor to ask of you.
Well, uh,
make a long story short,
we got run-off
from our damn still site,
and we've got a big order
to fulfil.
And w need somewhere to run
a quick, fast
and a damn hurry run.
And I was going to ask and see
if you would be willing
to let me use your barn
over there.
Mmm.
Right.
Okay, then.
But you know nothing anyway.
We'll just keep it like it.
I reckon we've got a decision
to make, man.
So appreciate it,
but talk to you later.
Oh, *bleep* man
Me and Jerry has
got to slip in there,
do what we do best
and try to get out
with the skin of our teeth.
It's a lot of money
on the line.
If we don't
get this stuff run,
we're going to lose all this.
Not just losing the mash,
we're gonna lose
all the customers.
We really have no choice.
Well, for your own good,
you got to do it.
-Oh, that's for a fact.
-But you're risking it
in the day.
Probably we got to
get in there
right at the crack of dark
and get out before daylight.
Being moonshiners,
me and Jerry take the risk
every day of our lives.
Hell, let's go get it done.
But we ain't
done nothing yet.
Hope we don't get caught.
Today, I'm gonna fix me up
a barbecue grill.
Josh, Henry, Kenny and myself,
we're spending long hours
in the woods
running a lot of
good moonshine.
And you know what?
A man can only eat
so many cans of beans
and packs at naps.
So I'm gonna build us a smoker
so we can eat
at the still site.
I got Howard
coming over today.
Two heads is always better
than one,
even if one of them
is Howard's.
I'm here for the meats
and the eats, baby.
A whole lot of folks
wouldn't think
moonshine and barbecue
are so closely related.
What's up, my brother?
Where's the food?
But they're both part of
our southern culture.
Hey, look, there's a line
on that barrel right there,
right?
That's my first cut.
When you're running these
stills for days,
weeks, even months on end,
you've got to keep
your strength up.
It's right here.
This is gonna keep us full,
gonna keep us happy,
and keep this moonshine
pumping out.
That's a barrel cut in half.
We've got to join
these two barrels together.
I got some stove pipe
over there
and I'm going to put
a damper in it.
The damper will give me
the ultimate control
over my temperature
right here.
-Uh-oh.
-There we go.
Moonshine and barbecue,
you really have got
to watch your temperature
when you're cooking
both of 'em.
That's one of the key points
right there.
We got a damper.
I can control my heat now.
You're a damper damn man.
Yes, sir,
I'm a damper damn man.
This is kind of like
my cap on a still.
The cap's gonna connect
the furnace
and the pot.
The meat that I put on here,
that's my mash right there.
Where's the worm?
The worm? That's me and you.
When it gets done,
we gonna eat it.
And I can't wait
to get to that point.
-I'm hungry now.
-All right.
That's not going to fit.
Snug as a bolt.
Fits pretty doggone good,
does it not?
This smoker, just like a still
has got to be transportable.
I take my rack, it's a easy
light piece to carry,
set it over top
of the furnace.
Then I sent my grill box
right on top of it.
Lock this thing together
like this.
So you building this
to breakdown.
This is a moving smoker.
Yes, sir. This whole top
will come right off.
I've only got
four little small bolts
that are holding
them straps together.
I undo them and bam,
in just a second,
this grill could be apart
and be moved.
Just like a still.
We are ready to drill some
holes and put some grits in.
Look at this.
I'll be damned if that
ain't staring to look like
a damn smoker, right, John?
It is the top
to the smoker now.
That's it.
That's functionality.
All right. That ought to work.
You see this?
When we go to cooking on it,
we've gotta be able
to open it up and check on it.
I don't wanna wait until
the grill cools down to be
able to get my food out of it.
With barbecue and moonshine,
it's really important
to be able to keep
your temperature consistent.
If you don't keep
your temperature right,
you're not gonna wind up
with a good product.
It's not official,
till I can tell
how hot it is in there.
All right, Howard,
it's official.
You know what it needs now?
-Meat.
-And a fire in it.
Yeah.
-Hello, Jim Tom.
-Hello, Mark.
Sitting in the shade,
ain't you?
Yeah, sure.
Yeah, boy, it smells good.
I got a hold over Mark.
I said,
"Mark my, my, she's ready."
There's a given,
like, 100% rain.
Looking good, Mark.
What are you doing, Moped?
You playing?
Does he get that excited
every time you run a run?
-Sure is heavy, ain't it?
-Yeah, they're heavy.
Ten gallons, roughly.
You can try it one round.
You're a rat.
Well, I wish
I felt that good, don't you?
- She's dripping.
- -Did you pour the heads off that?
Yeah, I did. Yeah.
- Well, it tastes good.
- Does it?
- That right.
- -I'm gonna use this water bottle,
I'mma catch us
some of this high stuff.
Whenever we proof it,
it gets lower
we pick it back up
for the right proof.
Jim Tom,
he always makes me laugh.
He's something, ain't he?
You want me
to turn her straight up?
Here you go, Jim Tom.
Yeah, sit him right here.
Think that'll
hold your little wall?
-I'm gonna leave this
high proof here with you.
-To proof that with. Yeah.
-Well, I appreciate that.
-Yeah.
It ain't all about,
you know, making moonshine.
It's being friends,
getting together and
bringing back old memories.
I will.
Just porting this run Jim Tom
I like to see him happy.
-Okay, bud.
-Okay.
Well, he's my buddy,
and I just like
being around him.
Are you ready for this
nerve wracking night?
I've never done
this kind of thing before,
but sometimes you gotta do
what you gotta do
to get something done.
Hurry up
and get hell out of here.
Be gone from this place.
All right, Howard,
what I've got here
is a hickory tree
that has been laid down.
She's not really
on the ground.
You can see these few limbs
that were touching the ground.
They're no good.
This stick right here,
that's going to smoke the meat
and that's gonna do real good.
We've got the smoker built.
Now our next step
is to get the correct firewood
for this so we can test it.
And then I'm gonna
take this thing down here
to the still site
and I'm gonna feed Henry,
Kenny and Josh.
This wood is a lot like
your mash too.
-It's the flavor.
-Yes, sir. It's the flavor.
Barbecue and moonshine
share a whole lot.
They're both passed down
from generation to generation.
And just like moonshine,
when you make barbecue,
you can take
very inexpensive ingredients
and turn them into something
that's just fantastic.
Look, you can't just throw
any old type of wood in there
and expect the food
to come out right.
All of these woods impart
flavor through the smoke.
Check it out.
You feel those right?
When it hits the ground,
the bark comes right off.
You don't really want bark,
not a whole lot of it.
I've got hickory right here.
This is your marinade.
I have apple over here
that your seasoning
like salt and pepper you put
on top and I have
oak over here.
This oak is gonna be
the main fuel source.
It burns a lot.
It makes a very nice
cooking coals
when you learn to blend them
all together just right,
it's a mighty fine eating.
All right,
I got a little bit of straw.
Put that on in there.
-We'll take some of these
little stuff. Stand back.
-Stand back.
- Ooh, never mind.
- There's a fire.
Where's the smoke going?
It's going this way,
it should be going that way.
All right, here.
Here's what we'll do.
My flue is right here.
What that's gotta do now
is burn down to some coals.
Look, Howard,
bring that meat over here.
I'm checking the meat.
Damn that's heavy.
I got this hickory that
I'm fixing to put on here.
Now, let that thing lay
on the ground
till it dry slam out and they
start soaking up
a little bit of water.
What that's gonna do is gonna
make this stick a wood
smoke a lot.
All right.
I'm seasoning it
with the fire.
And the smoke.
If you could make the meat
taste good with nothing more
than the meat and the smoke,
that's when you are
a true barbecue master.
Now it's time
to add the seasoning.
Come check
this apple wood out.
We're gonna throw this in here
closer her down
and let her bake.
This is a test run
on this smoker.
And if it works out
like I want to,
I'm gonna have
the best barbecue
on the face of the earth.
You ever seen that much smoke
come off a grill?
I'm gonna take this thing
out to Josh, Henry and Kenny,
and we go make moonshine
and barbecue.
Check that out.
Smells good.
I tell you what
this has got to cook
all night long, all right?
But in the morning promise you
some of the best barbecue
you ever ate in your life.
-Sounds good.
-Let's go see
what Kyle's got for you.
This is it, are you ready
for this nerve-racking night?
It's gonna be a nerve-racking
night not for sure.
You know, we got mash
ready to rock and roll
right now.
This is just a play old
simple corn mash,
but we've got to get
this stuff run tonight.
If we wait any longer,
it could potentially spoil.
The only place we've got
the runs is inside this barn.
I've never done
this kind of thing before,
but we've got to fulfill
these orders.
If not, we gonna have a lot
of pissed off customers
and we'll be out of business.
We just set the thing up
right in this area right here.
Pump it off the trailer.
Good thing this old barn
it was once used to hang
the backer in,
and it's got tall seems in it.
Don't get it in the damn dirt.
Because this rig is tall
it's got a lot of connections.
We gotta take every precaution
to make sure
everything's tight.
Leakproof, sealed off.
No steam, no drips,
No nothing going on with.
I see it. We got it hooked up.
Now we gotta do is
pump up and fire it up.
All right, let her fly, Jerry.
We got mashed coming.
Go ahead fire up
so it'll be warming up.
Now we just gotta wait
for it to get going.
It's a damn lamp.
-Jerry.
-What?
We got us a friend.
A ghost.
It's haunted.
I tell you what,
it's to the wire now, son.
I hope nobody comes
in this damn barn
because we've got
the fire going.
We can't hear nothing.
Now all we've got is our eyes.
Some of it is fixing a run.
Brother, I'm gonna go ahead
and tell...
Yeah, buddy.
There we go, buddy.
That looks about like
a number we're looking for.
Don't it?
Well, I'll tell you what,
People don't realize
how long it takes to run.
That there's
about full bubble.
Let's swap that out.
You know, if we got paid,
but I would never
write no money.
Pump her over, baby.
Let's get this thing going.
Here she comes.
I feel it, baby.
You know, we've got one run
of two down.
We've got to start
right back over.
We've got to pump
over four barrels of fire
right back up and sit through
the whole process yet again.
I don't see Bethany,
which is a good thing.
Hurry and get
this second run down
and we get hell out of here,
be gone from this place.
It's nerve-wrecking.
I'm not quite sure
if we're going to make it,
to get out of here
by dawn daylight or not,
but we're gonna be
pushing it hard.
You know,
I can't help but wonder
what can we do
to make this come out faster,
but it's not going
to come out no faster
than what we're doing it
right now.
-There it goes.
-Good boy.
All right. Yeah,
dump these heads.
Second run.
We can get this done, man,
we can get out of here
by the skin of our teeth
and hope
that we don't get caught.
*bleep*.
Dawn daylight's
gonna catch us.
I turn around and I'll look up
through the cracks
of this barn.
I can see dawn.
Oh, my God, son.
The stakes get
a lot damn higher
when the sun comes up.
We know people work here
and the birds
are starting to chirp.
Everything's starting
to come alive.
Except for us.
We're still sitting out here
like sitting ducks
on the mask.
Waiting on this
to get three run.
Well, now,
your truck's gonna be seen.
If the wrong person sees it
sitting back out there...
Gotta get a run off
and get the hell out.
Oh!
Yeah.
Food ought to be done.
Howard and I, we built us
one hell of a smoker,
so we can have some good food
at this steel site.
We tested this thing out
on some nice Boston butt.
Two-fifty, right?
Looking good.
The true test
of a good barbecue man
is if he can flavor this meat
without using anything
but his fire and smoke itself.
-Check that out.
-Holy hell.
Yes, sir. That's a lot
of heaven, right?
Let's get them
things off, man.
-I'm starving.
-Here, you hold this.
All right.
Just a little taste.
Uh-uh! Don't make me smack you
with a spatula.
-God, that's a big piece.
-That's what she said.
All right. Yeah.
Oh!
Perfect smoke ring right
around the outside of her.
Holy moly.
Oh, yes, sir.
Ah, look at the juice.
-Whew.
-There you go.
Dip that in there.
Holy *bleep*.
That's it, right? *bleep*.
It's delicious.
Mmm! Something like this
just don't happen.
I might be able
to make some moonshine,
but you know
what else I can do?
Make some barbecue.
I could make some barbecue.
Ain't nothing left to do now,
but take this smoker
down to the steel site.
All right.
Let's feed a couple
of hungry moonshiners.
When we get up there
to the steel site,
these fellas,
they're the real deal.
I'm going to let them know
that we're on the way up here.
Where the hell
are you at?
Hey, Henry, are you still
at the steel site?
. Damn, son,
where do you think
we're gonna go?
I got a surprise
I'm bringing up
for you, Kenny and Josh.
Josh,
he just pulled out.
All right. Well, look,
I'll bring it for you
and Kenny.
I'll see you all
in just a few minutes.
- All right?
- Sounds good, bud.
Good God, I'll slip down here.
How long since I was here?
Is that all you can do?
This is as far as I can go.
All right.
*bleep*.
Man, it's slippery *bleep*.
You wanna carry this stuff in?
Yeah, we're about
to carry it in.
Just follow this trail
right on there.
Hurry up now.
Don't leave me down here
by myself.
We're slipping and sliding
down the hill,
getting into the site.
I walked far.
Probably the biggest site
I've ever seen in my life.
-Who are you, man?
-Moonshiner.
I'm Howard.
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
it's me, fellas.
I thought
you should come in first,
look at this *bleep*, man.
He's a fellow moonshiner.
We go way back.
Oh, take a little prank,
to those steel place.
I thought you would've
told him I was coming
out here.
We don't even know this guy.
I've been knowing this guy
for years.
Is that what you're saying,
he's okay?
Yeah. Grab this thing
and let's take it there, huh?
-It's Howard, huh?
-Howard. Yes, sir.
Most of the time,
still site eating,
it's canned beans,
packs of hams,
stuff like that.
We got plenty more runs
of this apple and rye to make.
So now we could really
stay down here.
We don't have to leave
to eat now.
Looks like a damn steel
to make.
Just like an old steel.
Once we get
this smoker together,
Henry and Kenny are loving it.
You know, we used,
like, caper wood,
just gonna have that flavor.
See, I got us some kielbasas.
This pleasure's all mine.
That damn thing is hot.
And we finally got
our smokers set up
and I get to look
around the area.
And my God,
this is the coolest steel
I've ever seen in my life.
Look, watch her climb.
It's when we dropped her.
Look at her climbing.
I'm about to smell now, man.
People are gonna find in here.
It's a damn good one.
It'd be hell to leave her down
or if you're gonna come
down here to buy it,
right here
to steal your place.
You know what?
Sell a jar of liquor
and I'll get the same...
-One stop shop, baby.
-That's right.
Even though
throughout the steel site
this stuff smells great,
you're a least overpowering
the smell of our alcohol.
Oh, yeah, Looking under that,
That's good sign. Right?
You could really fire
anything you want.
Barbecue, Polish sausages
and ham
and well, let's say
if it's on your last run,
you can get ready
to get your money.
A man might want
to get him a big old
T-bone steak, you know.
Yeah, it's good. So darn good
if a lot was to run in.
What brand was the dog?
Yeah, tell him to just
leave us a warning at least.
-Bratwurst.
-We can't...
We've got good food
on the grill.
We have got shine running.
Here, try it.
This right here,
it's a moonshiner's dream.
Dinner and desert, boys.
-Yes, sir, all at once.
-God, that's good.
Bellies full, barrels full.
Yep, get the barrels full.
We're really
under the gun now.
We're out here
just to make it in there,
running in this man's barn
when the sun comes up.
And I was hoping like hell
would be done by now.
By daylight.
I mean, damn, it takes so long
to run this...
Hell, it feels like
a damn brick
sitting in the pit
of my damn stomach.
Hey, listen, do you hear that?
That sounds like a tractor.
That's a damn tragic
coming around here.
He's coming in here.
This is the time
you do not want
to get caught right now
because we got
finished product.
What the hell's
this guy doing, Jerry?
God, I hope
he don't come back,
the door, it's built back
of the building.
We'll walk
behind this damn barn,
see our damn... we're into.
What the heck's he doing?
Get the hell out
of here, dude.
Looks like he's taking
some leaks, Jerry.
No.
Damn, get down. Get down.
He sees us.
Next time
onMoonshiners...
We got good news
and bad news, Killer.
Seventy-two gallons of liquor.
I may see some
of the bad news right now.
Jars are unavailable
right now.
I've got 20 customers.
I don't know how I'm gonna
get it to him without Josh.
You got it now, Tim?
Yeah. We got some
thick stuff, Chuck.
Today is our first run
of Baltimore.
We need to make
big quantities of it.
We have a lot of steel
going up here.
I don't know if that's working
like it's supposed to work,
now, Chuck?
This is all blowing
out the roof out there.