Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 11, Episode 5 - Like Water for Moonshine - full transcript
this time
on moonshiners...
you know,
any old-timer
that's been involved
in this craft will tell you
water's the most
important ingredient.
Is there any chance
you'd let us set up here,
make a little liquor?
That's a...
That's a big question.
Now, it's time to meet
the green fairy.
Let's go get her.
Our buyer wants to pay
$250 for this
one gallon of absinthe.
But if we can impress him
with this product,
there's no telling
how much money we can make.
Ooh! To hell with liquor,
we're gonna make pie.
We're gonna do a trade
but we've never run any brandy
in this new rig.
Damn it! So wet, man.
If we can't make it work,
we're gonna be out
thousands of dollars.
this is how
we make the moonshine.
it's our
last resort right here.
just north
of cocke county, tennessee,
mark and digger
take a long shot
on gaining access to a prized
source of limestone water
for their tennessee whisky.
The problem is that source
is owned and operated
by a legitimate business.
We've looked tail west and
crooked for limestone water.
Well,
I guess no luck.
At this point, this is
the only option we've got.
If we can't find
a good source of
limestone water,
where we can set up and run,
then we're dead in the water
on tennessee whiskey.
-And we're kinda
out of choices here.
-Right.
Can I help you?
well, hey, john.
Do you happen to remember us?
I do.
Been a while since
I've seen you all.
Well...
-We're like bad money,
we'll always turn up.
-How you doing, buddy?
the english mountain
spring water.
This is the greatest water
in the world.
We've always got water there
for tempering our liquor.
But we've got to
have access to it
where we can
set a still site up.
We're kinda up a stump, um,
we're kinda on a bended knee
right now, if you will.
We'd like to talk
about your water.
John's a business man,
I'm kind of a business man,
and I approached it from
that angle with him.
We really was wondering
if you'd care if
we captured a little of it?
We've emulated
tennessee whiskey pretty good,
and that involves
good
hard limestone water.
Your water's hard enough that
it will suit our purpose.
I don't see how
we can go wrong
with your water.
But we got to have
your blessing as well.
You know, I don't know really
what john's thinking,
his legitimate business here,
and digger
and myself wanting to
participate in
illegal activities.
well, you know,
I'd have to think about it
a little bit,
but I think we can definitely
sit down
and have a chat.
He's not shutting us out
completely.
That's a good sign.
come on in,
see what we can find out.
age before beauty
there, hey.
come on back, guys.
We'll show you around.
you got a lot of
cameras in here.
-That makes us nervous.
well, our spring
puts out about
2.5 million gallons
of water a day.
Our water has
a very unique chemistry to it.
There's a lot
of minerals in there,
potassium, magnesium.
Things that give it
that unique taste.
But all that stuff is really
engineered by nature.
-That's something else.
-Amazing.
Well, let's head outside.
this hillside
that leads up
to english mountain,
the forest here is untouched.
John said that he's traced it
back to the early 1800s.
You'll notice that
tree that's right up there
has got a real unique
bend to it.
I was doing some
research online
about native american history
and
what I found was
native americans had
a tendency to fix those
so they could mark a spot.
So, I figured that
that's a marker tree.
I can't say for real that
that is,
but it looks identical to
everything that I saw online.
- yeah,
it's been there a while.
- yes, it has.
Looky there, puss.
that's a spring
right there.
You don't see anybody's
water bubbling up that big.
This water's beautiful.
Gem-clear water running
right out of the mountains.
Water travels through
that limestone spring,
it picks up the minerals
out of that limestone.
we've got a valve
inside the plant,
-so when we're
not processing...
-Wow!
...That water goes back
to a settling pond.
It just goes right back
into the environment,
so we don't anymore
than what we need.
That water is constantly
moving.
-We never let it
sit in a pond.
-Yeah.
you don't get
no closer to the source
than you do right here.
Down through there,
I saw green rocks,
and that's an
indication of copper.
First thing I see on
these rocks, that green color.
That tells me that
that's copper in those rocks.
So, that's a good sign that
this water's some of the best
if copper's in it.
you know,
this water's so clear,
-if it was 100 feet deep,
you could see the bottom.
- yeah.
English mountain spring water,
it's incredibly famous.
It won an award for
best-tasting water
in the world.
And, you know, I would love
to have access to it.
We know it's fantastic water.
Would you be opposed to us
bringing a little, small still
in here and doing a little
experimental run
and see what it'd do?
Could be a selling point
on down the line, you know,
there might be some
big distillery somewhere
wanna come in here and
buy tanker truck loads of it.
You could say,
"hey, look here
what this water makes
when it comes to alcohol."
well,
you know,
I've always wondered,
you know,
what else it could do.
I think we could...
I can allow you to make a--
maybe a small run.
I don't need to know
anything about it.
-Fair enough.
-If that's agreeable, then
the two of you--
-that's very agreeable.
-Well, I'ma climb up on a rock
to shake your hand, my friend.
I think that's, too...
I think it's very kind of you.
I can't remember when
I've been any more excited
about making
one run of liquor.
This is a dream come true
for this old boy.
If you had told me no,
I'd have been just as happy
going out here,
because of what I got
to come look at.
well,
I appreciate that.
it's cold and rainy.
He better hurry up.
Sorry I'm late.
I reckon so.
two counties south
across the state line,
mike and jerry arrange
to meet a local farmer
with a surplus of
in-season blueberries.
-How y'all guys doing?
- what's happening,
man?
Let's take a look
at these berries,
see what kind of taste
we got in 'em.
Check 'em out.
You know, butch,
he's a local farmer,
uh, a friend of ours,
and he's got a crap ton
of them blueberries for us.
you know, I'm pretty
excited about making brandy.
Especially in this
new still design we got.
We're gonna be able
to make a small batch
of high-quality shine
with a charred oaky flavor
like none other.
they ought to
make y'all some fine brandy.
butch loves
our moonshine.
And he's always wanted
a blueberry brandy,
so we're gonna do a trade.
So, he gives us his product
and we give him ours.
Butch will get the first cut
of the run
and we get the rest to sell.
-Oh, my god!
-Ooh!
The hell with liquor,
we're gonna make pies.
Pies and pancakes.
these blueberries
are fine, man.
Big rabbiteye blueberries,
really sweet,
and there's some mixed in,
it's got a little
tartness to 'em.
Top-damn-shelf blueberries,
I can tell you that.
And I believe this is gonna
make some good brandy.
Seem to be good berries,
so I'm looking forward
to a good high yield
off of 'em.
They got plenty of sugar,
they should yield pretty good.
Well, you're looking at
the two that can
make it for you
and make it right.
I hope so, blueberries
is prime right now.
I'm looking at 750 a barrel,
$1,500.
we can give you
the first run off
of these blueberries.
All we need is time.
About how long?
About a month.
You're looking at
about a month.
So, if you can wait on us,
we'll put the best
blueberry brandy in your mouth
you've ever had in your life.
I promise you that.
all right.
-We got a deal.
-All right.
I'll get the truck,
we'll load 'em up.
Appreciate you, brother.
With all these blueberries
that butch is given us,
it ought to make several
damn runs of brandy.
We've got a good deal
going on here.
If we bought these
at a grocery store,
we'd be out
thousands of dollars.
tell you what,
if this blueberry tastes
as good as that rye did,
man, we got no trouble
getting rid of it.
if this
blueberry brandy turns out
the way I expect it to,
me and jerry, we stand to make
a lot of damn money.
But, we've never run any
brandy in this new rig.
You never know how
a new recipe's gonna turn out
till you taste it
out the money pot.
You never know
what you gonna get.
This might be
a bust or a fail.
If butch don't take
this liquor for payment,
we owe him some money,
one way or another.
We got us a few more barrels.
And, by god,
these things are heavy.
Whoo, man you ready
to cut some holes?
let's do it to it.
We're gonna mash inside
the actual pot itself,
but, you know,
we've got 600 pounds
of blueberries here.
If you don't hurry up
to get it
fermenting the way
it needs to be,
they'll spoil on you,
then you can't use 'em.
These traditional barrels
and some white oak
charred barrels,
cut the lids out of 'em
and mash 'em in.
It'll give the same concept
of what we're doing
in the pot itself.
We gotta mash
these blueberries up,
just like anything else.
So, I've got a fruit press,
a manual one.
We'll just throw these
blueberries in there
and turn the knob.
Two different set
of gears in there
that just sucks that fruit
down in there and crushes it,
and throws it
right in the barrel for you.
Then we can put
our hot water in on it
and steep it in,
and it's good to go.
And putting this on it
right here,
we're gonna have something
wrapped and ready.
Ho-ho!
That's gonna make some
blueberry kool-aid
right there, baby.
When you mash in
a fruit mash,
you turnin' it into
wine first.
You distill it off
and make a brandy out of it.
This is a little bit
longer process,
but
everybody in america
wants something different.
All right, buddy, we'll get
this blueberried up and in.
They want something new.
They love to see
the times change
and that's what
me and jerry's doing now.
Gonna be a lot of money, son,
if all this works out.
Five barrels of mash
sitting here.
-And after the rye run
that we made...
-Yeah.
...And putting berries in
on top of that,
man, it's gonna be good,
bubba.
We put about 20 gallons
of blueberries per barrel.
These white oak
charred barrels,
it's gonna give
a really great
deep and bold flavor
to this mash.
This is beautiful sight.
It smells so good out here
in these woods,
I believe it's gonna be
one of the best runs
we've ever done.
Hell yeah.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
What's in your other hand?
You ain't got nothing
in your other hand?
yeah, both arms full.
They might be
the two lightest things,
but they're both full.
three states away
on the louisiana bayou,
opportunity is knocking for
richard and his brother craig,
if they can produce
an authentic absinthe recipe
for a discerning new orleans
bar owner.
I got the magic potion
right here, man.
Let me see what
that smells like.
-Oh, yeah.
-Yeah.
-It hit me
straight off the lid.
-Whoa.
Making this absinthe has been
a multistep process.
We started with 30 gallons
of basic sugar wash.
We ran that through our still
and got three gallons
of high-proof neutral spirit.
Then we had to mix in
about a dozen different herbs.
It's green now.
When it comes out that pot,
it won't be.
Yeah, it'll be clear.
Today, we're gonna put it back
into the still, run it again.
That's gonna come down to
one gallon of a very,
very nice white absinthe.
And then, we're gonna take
that white absinthe,
and we're gonna turn it
into a green absinthe.
This is a lot
of substance in...
This right here.
This is a lot of work for
one gallon of product,
but this is a real big
investment into our future.
Our buyer wants to pay $250
for this one gallon
of absinthe.
But if we can impress him
with this product,
there's no telling
how much money we can make.
you don't wanna
strain it?
No, no straining.
We're putting all this
in the pot.
Most of the time,
we would strain.
But in a situation like this,
we need the oils
and we need the fragrances
and the taste profiles
that come out from
being in there.
Can't waste any of this, man.
This is precious.
This guy that we're selling
this to is a true absinthian.
We wanna make sure that
it's right when they get it.
All we gotta do is
get some water in here.
That water is gonna help
carry over some
of the essential oils
and flavors into our absinthe.
all the botanicals,
you're not worried about
scorching the pot?
A little bit, but
we're about to get a stick.
We just gotta stir it
in the beginning,
make sure it doesn't stick
to the bottom of the pot.
I'm gonna start
setting stuff up for you.
Man, this actually
smells delicious.
If this absinthe tastes
anything like it smells,
man, we are in the green.
My instincts are telling me
we can cap this thing off.
-That's hot.
-It's hot.
I can't wait for this...
To come out of there.
And we can put it in, uh...
Here.
Which is where
it's supposed to be.
you ready to get busy?
we gotta get with it.
we need to pick us out
a spot first, don't we?
Check out and see where
exactly we want to set up.
You know, we got permission
from john
to do a run at
his spring site.
Right there looks like
it's got the best ground
right now.
We're gonna mash in today
and try to replicate our
tennessee whiskey recipe
using english mountain
spring water.
I mean, honestly,
if this turns out
a very good,
exceptional product,
then we gotta
figure out a way
how to get access to
this water all the time.
hang on, I'm gonna hook
that other one up to it.
We got permission to run here
at english mountain spring
for an experimental run.
What do you reckon?
He didn't understand about...
"hold on, I was gonna connect
the second hose to it."
damn it.
hell,
before I get close and
he's yanks on it again.
If you don't slow down,
we ain't gonna
have enough hose.
We're no strangers
to wet, muddier
tiresome working conditions.
I don't mind, but I'm not
a spring chicken anymore.
And a damn hose,
if anything can hook,
hang, tangle, it will.
You got water?
it's a-coming.
don't tug on it none.
I hope you got all you need.
that's about
a full stream right there.
Let's get a-something
a-cookin'.
It's a slow stream,
but it's steady.
you know,
any old-timer
that's been involved
in this craft will tell you
that water's the most
important ingredient.
You don't have good water,
you ain't gonna
make good liquor.
John's doing us a solid,
though,
by letting us
make this run here.
You ain't just a-kiddin'.
Anything that man asks for,
shy of hiding a body,
we need to do it.
Time to get my grain
measured out.
This holds two pounds,
so I just have to keep track
of how many I dump in there.
We're gonna use
the same grain bill,
of the barely, corn and rye.
The water is gonna make
a huge difference in this.
This water has
been scrutinized
by the best in the business,
and it has been declared
the best water in the world.
It's good water,
it'll make good liquor.
But how good
is what we've gotta find out.
Now if you'll get busy
stirring that,
I'll get us another pot going.
the goal here is
to produce good liquor,
so, you know,
that's all we wish for.
We're not wishing
for miracles,
we simply want to
make a good product
with the ingredients
that we're working with.
All right, you ready?
john, gave me
a copy of his water analysis
for the mineral content.
And, honestly, it's better
than that spring in town.
Right here is
one of the best still sites
that could ever be.
Let me make motion here
on something.
Making a motion.
Maybe for
future endeavors,
however much this makes us,
let's just give it all
to john.
I'm all for it.
He might look at us
in a different light
if he likes it really good.
You know, we're having
a lot of conversations about,
if it's good, how are we gonna
approach john about
maybe staying here or
what we're gonna do to
continue using this water.
There's a lot of questions
running through our mind.
You know, it maybe
a good opportunity
for john to expand
and, bully for him,
-I'm all for that exactly.
-If we can.
if this lives up
to our expectations,
then he's gonna have
something to brag on.
Sure he does.
John's a business man
and he's a sharp
business man at that.
There's a demand
for limestone water,
and I'm sure he thinks,
"well, maybe
we can go further here
and maybe I can start
selling this to distilleries."
I'm ready to dump some of
this yeast in there.
Well, you know,
as it stands,
if this makes the best
tennessee whiskey
that's ever been seen,
then that's another dilemma.
We ain't gonna need
this stuff no more.
-No, we can load it up.
-Let's take it home.
We're not guaranteed
access beyond this run.
But, maybe if john
tastes this
and sees how good it is,
maybe he'll let us continue
on working right here.
I'll see you
in the morning.
all right.
it's coming
in the worm, buddy.
It's in the worm.
how we looking?
-Where is the coon pecker?
-Here we go.
Boy, we're dripping, too.
- there we go,
our first drips.
-Looking good.
We're out here running
our white absinthe
and we're hoping to
knock it out of the park.
Oh, I'll be damned.
That's a good shine.
when it starts flowing,
I'm blown away.
I could not believe
all the flavors
that carried over.
That's pretty damn good.
Man.
This ought to be
against the law.
It is against the law.
This is awesome,
we could deal with this.
I'll drink to that, damn it.
We drink to anything
that is good and positive.
This is absinthe
and this is only
one part of it.
Now that we have
our white absinthe,
we have to turn it green
by infusing it.
We have to be
really, really careful.
We need to get
our color and flavors
perfect on this one.
But we don't have
a lot of alcohol to work with.
So, we're gonna do this
in small quantities
to make sure we get it right.
If we make a mistake on this,
we'll ruin the whole batch.
You got some more lemon balm?
I got some more.
Now, this is the...
...The raw stuff right here.
I want you to gimme
some of that spearmint.
As if the work wasn't
hard enough already,
now we have to balance flavors
and make sure
that we turn this green,
and make sure
that the end result
is a proper louche.
A louche is when you introduce
cold water into absinthe.
It turns kind of
a cloudy opal
greenish color.
That looks pretty good.
Wormwood
with the lemon balm.
We're using herbs that
we already have as flavor
in our drink already.
I'm gonna do hyssop.
There's a balance here
that we're gonna have
to accomplish
between color and flavor.
We don't wanna
overpower our absinthe
with something
that's already there.
That's a nice
pretty green color.
You know what?
This *bleep* is good.
This is this.
It is? Let me see.
I swear it is.
There's no change
in the taste.
None, it's only green.
Wow!
And look at it green.
This might be it, craig.
We're gonna see if we can get
a louche with this thing, man.
That's a good idea.
The flavor's perfect,
the color's perfect,
but if this absinthe
doesn't louche properly,
it's not a true absinthe.
When you add cold water
into this drink,
the water causes
a chemical reaction
that releases the oils.
The oils bounce around
at the bottom of the glass.
Kinda reminiscent of
the little fairy,
the green fairy.
That's what
a proper louche is.
That's what a proper absinthe
will give you.
We're gonna just
see if it works.
-Ooh, look at that.
- oh, yes.
Wowie!
look at that.
This is what
it was supposed to do!
Tell me what it tastes like.
Oh, I can drink this
without burning.
Little slight bitterness,
slight spiciness,
slight liquorish
and my friend, mr. Fennel,
comes through in the middle.
Man, this is so awesome.
It tastes real complex.
I actually made a drink
that I can taste five
different flavor profiles in.
All right, we got it.
This is the verdict.
Gotta get a good
gallon of that going
and bring it to the man.
And collect the l'argent.
Give me my money.
I'll drink to that.
Just gonna check this, man.
Make sure it's ready to roll.
Yeah, our blueberry mash
has been working off
for a couple of weeks now.
It's time to run this stuff
and see what
it's gonna taste like.
I can drink that
just like that, hey.
That's damn good, son.
We're running our fingers
down in there
and tasting this mash,
it's phenomenal.
That can be strained out
of them barrels
and bottled right now.
You can taste the char
from the barrel.
The whole nine yards.
If we can get half
of this taste
out the other end of the worm,
we gonna be on to something.
All right, man, if you wanna
start kind of seeing
if you can get a fire started,
I'm gonna get this thing
capped off and connected up.
all righty.
The unique thing
about our setup,
it's going out of a white oak
american charred barrel,
fusing that flavor in lightly
through a clear brandy.
Well, you know,
the big question is
if it's gonna work.
We'll soon find out.
Get her fired up.
We're smoking a little.
Damn it.
It's so wet, man.
That's why it won't light.
I'm sick and tired
of trying to make
wet wood burn in
this damn thing.
You know, the whole idea is
that we didn't have to
pay for fuel this season.
We've got to come up
with something
more consistent than this,
man.
-We've got too much
blueberry mash sitting here...
-Oh, I get it.
...To run. Five barrels.
-I agree.
-You know.
Especially when we're
running this slow.
I mean,
wonder what could we do
to make it burn consistent.
Well, we just need
a different fuel source.
So, it's got to be either like
charcoal pallets or something.
-They use wood pellets
on a lot of wood stoves now.
-Hmm.
That'd definitely be
a good consistent heat.
All we just need is a little
catch basket to be able to
hold 'em in place 'cause
I can't lay on the bottom.
We pile up,
it'll block our oxygen,
-and it won't burn, so...
-It won't burn.
So we gotta hold
them up a little bit.
If you'll manage right here,
I'll run down here to
the store real quick,
little hardware store.
Try to keep
this damn thing burning.
What me and jerry's thinking,
maybe to go to pellets.
Something that's already been
treated and dried out.
-I'll be right back.
-All right.
Something that'll burn
real hot and clean.
Looks like today
may be the day, puss.
Right here's where
the rubber meets the road.
ooh!
-It's bitter.
- got some octane.
I believe it do.
we're gonna
run this mash
that's made out of
english mountain spring water.
We're gonna see
if it does, in fact,
make as good liquor
as we think it's going to.
Just jump up on it,
there you go.
Careful, we don't want it to
go to the center of the earth.
We've got a brand-new still,
and this one,
it was custom built
by a friend of ours.
It's a primo little
piece of equipment
and I'm excited about
putting it to work.
It requires no paste.
It has tri clamp fitting
with neoprene gaskets.
We have access to the thumper
inside should we need it.
It's a state of the art
little still.
I'm just gonna put
these down here.
Let's see what that gets us.
You'd think, because
we're out in the woods,
we're just slap-happy
willy-nilly. No, we're not.
We're gonna take
all the pains we need to
to make sure we've got
zero solids in this pot.
We want nothing to scorch
that would offer any
off-flavors to our run.
I'm a-hopin'...
That this tastes as good,
if not better
than what we made there
at the spring in town.
We want nothing
to get between us
and what we want to see
at the end of this run.
This thing should
take off pretty quick.
But you're gonna have to
do something about that hat,
it's growing damn
canker in it.
That black mold's
growing right there.
oh, that ain't
black mold,
that's lard and *bleep* off
my fingers.
That's what feeding that mold.
Man, there's another story.
we're getting...
...Hot here.
Oh, hell yeah, boy!
We better get us a catch jug.
We only have permission
to do one run here.
It's a catch-22.
If this is really good liquor,
we may have a problem,
we're not allowed
to stay here.
If it isn't as good
as what we've been running,
where do we go from here?
we gotta
catch heads here.
there we go, heady.
English mountain spring water
tennessee whi'key.
well, you know,
it's the way
tennessee whiskey's
supposed to be made.
-In tennessee.
-In tennessee.
That ain't nothing but fine.
Boy, it's good though.
Damn, it's just perfect.
Liquor that good
will mess you up.
Oh, my god!
Can you imagine when it
comes out of the barrel?
this liquor
is outstanding.
It's better.
It's got a sweeter note.
Everything comes across
well in the palate.
It's a shame that
we can't set up here
and just make camp right here
and work for
a couple of years.
This is the water source
for tennessee whiskey.
I won't ever
miss that water
in town again...
-No.
-...If we can have this water.
I think it's
better than
what we've been making.
It's dandy, dandy liquor.
This is where our problem
just begins.
Now, we have got to find a way
to get permanent access
to this water.
This is a dilemma for us bad.
if he loves it,
then we're in business,
he'll want more of it.
come see.
This is what
we got to do real quick.
What you got?
And don't laugh at
how I draw.
This is that fountain.
Absinthe has a bit of
a ceremony to it.
It starts by
dripping cold water
into the liquid.
This process is
called a louche.
I'ma gonna call tim, man.
I mean, he helped us out
on our first deal.
-He helped us out on
everything...
-Oh, man, everything.
...And everything else.
We're gonna build
an absinthe fountain.
Drinking absinthe is
a whole ritual,
and the fountain is
the center of it.
hello.
Tim, are you in town?
Yeah.
I need some help. You think
you can give me a hand?
All right.
All right, I'll see you then.
I wanna build
an absinthe fountain because
I wanna present this product
the proper way.
at the peak of
absinthe's popularity
in the late 1800s,
european bars and cafes
developed tools
known as absinthiana
to enhance
the drinking experience.
The most important was
the absinthe fountain,
used to slowly drip ice water
into a round of
absinthe glasses
for a proper louche.
By the turn of
the 20th century,
fountains emblazoned with
the logos of absinthe makers
could be found in bars
from paris to new orleans.
The center piece
of a social ritual
forever tied to
the liquor itself.
that looks
like it's tim.
Tim can do this
while he's sleeping.
Tim's been with me
since the beginning of
my moonshining days.
-Tim, what's going on tim?
-What's up, rich?
-What's happening man?
- how y'all doing?
Tim's a master plumber,
he's an architect also.
He's really into
things like this.
I need tim's help
because I don't have time
to mess around with this.
We're meeting this buyer
tonight,
and this fountain
needs to work.
What y'all trying to do?
This is
an absinthe fountain, man.
The only way to
truly enjoy absinthe
is to, uh, take some
cold water, some ice water,
and just drip it in slowly.
What you think?
-This sale that--
-you need to make
a dripper.
Something that's gonna drip.
But I need this dripper
to look like something
-that would be...
-Yeah, a pretty dripper.
A pretty dripper.
- a descent dripper.
-yeah.
I don't see no problem.
-You don't see no problem?
-Nah!
Let's make a dripper.
All right, let's see.
Let's go shopping here in your
truck, tim, what you got?
Man,
I brought an
assortment of stuff.
Brought some copper,
some fittings.
That tubing ought to be
perfect right there.
Tim's got everything.
I mean, he's got pipe, plates,
tubing.
I mean, you name it,
he's got it.
You could actually wrap
the copper around.
And that way, it kinda
looks like a worm.
To make it look like
a condenser.
Yeah.
Oh!
Coming from the glass.
I got these little fancy
things.
we're gonna use some
basic steel pipes
to build a base
to this fountain.
I think something
like this, richard.
Let me see that jar,
let me see
what that would look like.
that's perfect.
let's do some coiling
and see if we can get
these things
looking like a condenser.
Yeah, I can see it already.
Kind of bore it out
a little bit.
We can take this
and we put that through it.
Wrap the base,
get our worm fabricated.
for the dripper,
we picked up some
copper tubing
and a couple of small valves
for a nice slow flow.
like this.
Bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop.
and little spigots.
good tight end seal.
get that jar
for me right there.
When we finish with this,
it's gonna look like,
it's dripping right from
the worm
out of our still.
snug it up.
Moment of truth, man.
We gonna find out right now.
But, look,
if this right here works,
I'ma run and jump
in that bayou.
oh, I gotta see that.
yeah,
that's what I needed
to see, man.
Oh, yeah! Thank you, bro.
that's the dripper.
that's what I needed
to see right there.
This is the final piece
of the puzzle.
We got our taste,
we got our color.
Now, we got our presentation.
Man...
Thanks, bro.
No problem.
I just hope it meets
this guy's expectations.
just holler if you
need something.
- I sure will.
- all right,
we sure will.
I don't know, man.
This damn thing.
Looks like I'm coming in
about the right time here.
Yeah, you might be.
I'm sick of it, man.
We're gonna get 'er
done real quick,
right here, just a minute.
pellets are
all kinds of hardwood.
It's been kiln-dried,
ground to a powder
and then compressed
into hard little pellets.
we'll do the fort
down in there
where it kinda of makes
a "v" in the bottom of it.
-Yeah.
-And then we can just
bring it up
and kind of just fold it
over the top, that'll hold it.
Basically, all we making
is a bird's nest basket
to set down in this thing
to pour the pellets in,
where they'll stop
at a certain point,
and where we can light 'em up
and then they'll just
self-feed down through there
and try to burn.
I don't think
it's gonna work, man.
damn, I hope it does.
get her fired up.
Jerry comes waddling on
back into the still site
and he's got
a big bag of pellets,
which I get in there
with the thrower,
blow into to it...
oh, she's picking up
steam now.
yeah, buddy.
It immediately lights up,
and we're good to go.
I hadn't seen it
burn like that yet.
that's a really
consistent burn, too.
It is.
See now, we can
do what we gotta do.
We know it's burning,
it's not going out.
And it's consistently burning
with the right amount
of damn oxygen.
Come to just
stanley gettin' it, baby.
Whoo! I'm liking it.
This is a brand-new rig
made of a white oak
charred barrel.
We got a copper core going
through the center of it
from top to bottom.
And we're gonna be open flame
from the bottom
all the way through this core,
out the chimney.
It's very important
to run your liquor
at a consistent temperature.
You've got to have
that sweet spot
and that's what we got here
with these pellets.
Feel that, jerry.
-That son of gun is getting
warm right there already.
-Whoo-hoo!
Now, this right here
is gonna be
the name of the damn
game for us.
We can run this thing nice
and slow and consistent
and get everything that
we need to get out
of this run.
It's doing great.
-Nice.
-I say you ought
to be getting close.
Yeah, starting to look like
it's getting a little...
Looky there.
Wowzers, *bleep* yeah!
We got it, don't we?
Look at that stream, son.
we got alcohol,
don't we?
Smell that--
those notes in there.
Yeah, the notes of them
blueberries, for sure.
-And that char.
-Mmm-hmm.
The char's in there
really good.
It's got a good
rich smell to it.
that blueberry's
coming through.
You can smell those notes
from the charred barrel,
from the blueberry
coming through.
We gonna wait till it kind of
tempers itself down,
getting them harsh.
We gonna
take this to swallow.
Now, we're in the business end
of it right now.
That's what we're looking for.
The bed in the sand.
You know, I'm ready to taste
this brandy right now.
I'm getting nervous on
how it's gonna taste.
I can smell those good notes
coming from the barrel
and the blueberries.
But it's time to take us
a swallow and see--
see really what me
and jerry's done here today.
Looks like we about
to another jug, brother.
we on it.
Don't, don't...
-Don't spill on it.
-Don't spill it.
Let me hold on to that.
We gotta try it, don't we?
I am super excited
about this right here.
There you go.
I'm smelling
the blueberries
a lot better than
it was before.
Wow.
That's blueberry damn brandy
right there, buddy.
The notes of the charcoal--
-it's there.
-...The chars there.
I'm really, I'm loving this.
Mmm.
This stuff tastes amazing.
I mean, one of the best runs
we've ever made.
And we taste like
blueberries but not...
Coated in damn sugar.
Yeah.
I like it.
It's good.
I believe it'll sell.
I'm tickled with it.
It's got the wood charred
notes in it,
it's got the blueberry
coming through it just right.
I believe this stuff is gonna
sell like crazy.
It's perfect, I mean,
don't touch it,
don't fix it
if it ain't broke.
This stuff is great.
that's
about it, ain't it, bubba?
Yeah, we're pushing
right down there
in the bottom of the tails.
So...
Yep.
We don't need to push it
no more.
all righty.
let's get this stuff
loaded up
and get it out of here.
I reckon it's about
that dadgum, ain't it?
- oh, sure is.
- oh, damn!
this ain't as easy as
carrying the buckets,
though, but...
hell, yeah! Dang.
Blueberry brandy though, baby.
We have done it, son.
look at all this
big money over here,
big buildings,
big lights.
This is big money
out here, man.
We in new orleans, louisiana,
we're on our way to
make a sale right now.
It's a big city, man, to be
just walking in and saying,
"here, look,
we got shine for you,"
I'm kinda nervous.
It's the first time we've
ever tried anything like this
and we have to put a drink
in front of someone
who knows about it.
What I wanna do is I wanna
stop, get the fountain ready,
so we can do a louche
for this dude.
This guy's a real
absinthe aficionado.
Let's hurry up, man,
we don't even know
where we at over here.
We don't wanna be
doing this at the site.
We're gonna
fill this up with ice.
We're gonna try this out
and see how it works.
I'm anxious to
get this drink in his hand
and hear his response from it.
Three to one,
water to absinthe ratio.
This is what does our louche.
Just a little drip
like that...
Is all it takes
to release the flavors
and the oils
and the botanicals from state.
He doesn't know that
we did this for him,
it's just something that
we wanted to do
to make sure that we give
a customer the right thing.
And these things
can get quite expensive.
I mean, you can go buy one for
$300-$400 out of the store.
Or you can contact us
for 19.95,
-you can have this one
right here.
-Plus shipping and handling.
-Come on, let's go.
-We oughta get in the business
of making these things.
Hey, man, you think I ain't
been thinking about it?
We make it seem like
this is fun and games,
but we are really going
to sell some alcohol
to someone that
we really don't know.
Selling alcohol to anyone,
you can go to jail.
I mean...
I'm a big little dude,
but they'll call me
strawberry in jail.
I don't want to go to jail.
let's
set this thing up, man,
and get outta here.
I don't like it.
Yeah, this ain't the bayou,
this is a different
kind of jungle.
This is a concrete jungle
here.
-Let's bring it in.
- I think, that's him
right there, man.
oh, yeah,
that's him. There he go.
who's richard?
Whoa!
so you're the one
wanting the absinthe?
yeah, I want that absinthe.
Yeah, james said you like
this absinthe stuff.
Yes, sir.
Look, we put a fountain
together for you.
We're gonna just show you
what this thing does.
Do a proper louche,
you know.
Look how beautiful that is.
that's nice,
yeah, it's pretty.
it's looking like it
should be in new orleans.
Now, that's a proper drink
right here, man.
And it tastes...
Just as good as it looks.
I'll take the first sip
and show you we're real.
As this guy takes his sip,
I'm thinking about
all the work
we put in into this drink.
I mean a whole lot of
time and money.
coming up...
it's about 95 proof.
Is there any chance at all
you'd let us set up here
for an extended period?
That's a...
That's a big question.
well, this is our
wall of fame.
A lot of unique bottles that
we've done over the years.
John, has this
big nice showcase
full of assorted bottles
and they simply
all contain water.
these are
swarovski crystals.
Uh, this one's sold anywhere
from $75 to $125.
Dang.
At one time, it was the most
expensive bottle of water
in the world.
Wonder if we'd put us
some shiny trinkets
on a mason jar,
you put premium liquor in it,
hell, there's no telling
what it would be.
That's insane.
I'll take the first sip
and show you we're real.
oh, yeah,
it smells right.
as this guy takes his sip,
I'm thinking about
all the work
we've put in into this drink.
I mean, a whole lot of
time and money.
And it all comes down to
whether or not our absinthe
tastes like the stuff that
he's used to drinking.
That's what it smells like
back in the day?
Oh, yeah, and it tastes good.
Tastes just like it, man.
-Oh, yeah, yeah, this is it.
-That's it.
we had this way back
in the '60s and '70s, man.
Our family used to drink this.
- really?
-Yeah, yeah.
I'm glad
you like it, my man.
it's gonna be $250.
Okay, you take crypto?
Crypto, yeah.
oh, yeah,
we definitely take crypto.
okay, that's what
I'm talking about.
There you go.
By the time we get back
to the bayou,
this crypto better be
going up in value.
If not, I can promise you,
craig is gonna be working
some overtime.
How much more of this
can I get?
'cause a lot of people are
gonna ask for it.
well, we can make
as much as you need.
Oh, man, you gonna make
a lot of people happy.
This guy wants as much
absinthe as we can make.
And for $250 a gallon,
I'll make as much as
he can take.
We'll get right on it
as soon as get back home.
I appreciate it.
-See y'all later.
Get home safe, bye-bye.
-All right, thanks, my man.
we're in
the big leagues now.
I mean, we gotta get back
to the still site
and figure out how to
upscale this recipe.
so excited,
I'm dropping the keys, man.
Yeah, man, but we can't take
our time out here tonight.
That's when you go to jail
right now.
I got scared.
yeah.
Let's hit the highway
with this money.
damn, there goes
them butterflies,
flipping and flopping
in my belly again.
Them bubble guts.
God almighty.
I gave john a call,
he's gonna come on over.
I can't say that
I'm not uneasy at this point.
Hi, mark, hey, digger.
- hey, johnny.
- hello, john.
I gotta break
the question to him.
"can we stay here
and run on for a while?"
this right here,
made on your water,
tempered on your water,
I don't think you can get much
prettier and clear than that.
- no.
-You can tell that
it was a lonely man
who tightened that lid up.
-strong hands.
-I'll tell ya, it's, uh...
I'm proud of it.
it's about...
95 proof.
that's just right.
That's smooth.
That'd get you hurt
in a hurry.
That's like a good marriage.
It'll put you on
your knees quick.
guys, I'll tell you,
I just...
I've had some moonshine,
I've never tasted anything
that's like this.
this water's so cold
and that's the secret.
When you're condensing it,
the colder you can keep it
-the less fire--
-get back the vapor
as efficiently as possible.
...That it gets into
the taste, the finish of it.
You know, that's your water.
That's...
-And I had no doubt...
-Wow.
...That it would do that.
Is there any chance at all
you'd let us
set up here for
an extended period
to make a little liquor?
that's a...
That's a big question.
Well, guys, you know,
I mean, it's...
As much as I like it, and
as much as I like the product,
you know, we run a...
A very legal business,
and you all run
a very illegal business,
and I just...
For right now,
under those pretense,
I just don't see
the two mixing.
I feel in our heart of hearts,
that was the answer that
we knew we would get.
We've never ever
been in a more perfect spot,
but...
We understand
your situation as well.
You know, I'm feel like
I've been slapped away
from a table for farting
and...
But it's...
Also, it's not a surprise.
Let me ask you something.
Yes, sir.
Have you ever thought about...
Would you consider
going into a partnership?
You don't have
to answer me now.
I mean, it may not be
something y'all consider,
but I've always wondered
about our water,
you've proved it now.
I'm just
throwing it out there.
I mean, that's the first thing
that hit my mind,
you know.
That's awful attractive.
He thinks that
he and I and mark need
to form a partnership
and build a legal distillery
from the ground up here
on this spring.
You know, I don't even know
what it would take
to build a distillery.
This is a golden opportunity.
But this is not just
selling recipes
and putting your face
and name on a jar.
I don't know. That's--
I've never been
presented with that
before in my life ever.
it's gonna be
a big endeavor.
But it ain't everybody
that gets to make liquor
on a spring
that's this quality
and this size.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
on moonshiners...
you know,
any old-timer
that's been involved
in this craft will tell you
water's the most
important ingredient.
Is there any chance
you'd let us set up here,
make a little liquor?
That's a...
That's a big question.
Now, it's time to meet
the green fairy.
Let's go get her.
Our buyer wants to pay
$250 for this
one gallon of absinthe.
But if we can impress him
with this product,
there's no telling
how much money we can make.
Ooh! To hell with liquor,
we're gonna make pie.
We're gonna do a trade
but we've never run any brandy
in this new rig.
Damn it! So wet, man.
If we can't make it work,
we're gonna be out
thousands of dollars.
this is how
we make the moonshine.
it's our
last resort right here.
just north
of cocke county, tennessee,
mark and digger
take a long shot
on gaining access to a prized
source of limestone water
for their tennessee whisky.
The problem is that source
is owned and operated
by a legitimate business.
We've looked tail west and
crooked for limestone water.
Well,
I guess no luck.
At this point, this is
the only option we've got.
If we can't find
a good source of
limestone water,
where we can set up and run,
then we're dead in the water
on tennessee whiskey.
-And we're kinda
out of choices here.
-Right.
Can I help you?
well, hey, john.
Do you happen to remember us?
I do.
Been a while since
I've seen you all.
Well...
-We're like bad money,
we'll always turn up.
-How you doing, buddy?
the english mountain
spring water.
This is the greatest water
in the world.
We've always got water there
for tempering our liquor.
But we've got to
have access to it
where we can
set a still site up.
We're kinda up a stump, um,
we're kinda on a bended knee
right now, if you will.
We'd like to talk
about your water.
John's a business man,
I'm kind of a business man,
and I approached it from
that angle with him.
We really was wondering
if you'd care if
we captured a little of it?
We've emulated
tennessee whiskey pretty good,
and that involves
good
hard limestone water.
Your water's hard enough that
it will suit our purpose.
I don't see how
we can go wrong
with your water.
But we got to have
your blessing as well.
You know, I don't know really
what john's thinking,
his legitimate business here,
and digger
and myself wanting to
participate in
illegal activities.
well, you know,
I'd have to think about it
a little bit,
but I think we can definitely
sit down
and have a chat.
He's not shutting us out
completely.
That's a good sign.
come on in,
see what we can find out.
age before beauty
there, hey.
come on back, guys.
We'll show you around.
you got a lot of
cameras in here.
-That makes us nervous.
well, our spring
puts out about
2.5 million gallons
of water a day.
Our water has
a very unique chemistry to it.
There's a lot
of minerals in there,
potassium, magnesium.
Things that give it
that unique taste.
But all that stuff is really
engineered by nature.
-That's something else.
-Amazing.
Well, let's head outside.
this hillside
that leads up
to english mountain,
the forest here is untouched.
John said that he's traced it
back to the early 1800s.
You'll notice that
tree that's right up there
has got a real unique
bend to it.
I was doing some
research online
about native american history
and
what I found was
native americans had
a tendency to fix those
so they could mark a spot.
So, I figured that
that's a marker tree.
I can't say for real that
that is,
but it looks identical to
everything that I saw online.
- yeah,
it's been there a while.
- yes, it has.
Looky there, puss.
that's a spring
right there.
You don't see anybody's
water bubbling up that big.
This water's beautiful.
Gem-clear water running
right out of the mountains.
Water travels through
that limestone spring,
it picks up the minerals
out of that limestone.
we've got a valve
inside the plant,
-so when we're
not processing...
-Wow!
...That water goes back
to a settling pond.
It just goes right back
into the environment,
so we don't anymore
than what we need.
That water is constantly
moving.
-We never let it
sit in a pond.
-Yeah.
you don't get
no closer to the source
than you do right here.
Down through there,
I saw green rocks,
and that's an
indication of copper.
First thing I see on
these rocks, that green color.
That tells me that
that's copper in those rocks.
So, that's a good sign that
this water's some of the best
if copper's in it.
you know,
this water's so clear,
-if it was 100 feet deep,
you could see the bottom.
- yeah.
English mountain spring water,
it's incredibly famous.
It won an award for
best-tasting water
in the world.
And, you know, I would love
to have access to it.
We know it's fantastic water.
Would you be opposed to us
bringing a little, small still
in here and doing a little
experimental run
and see what it'd do?
Could be a selling point
on down the line, you know,
there might be some
big distillery somewhere
wanna come in here and
buy tanker truck loads of it.
You could say,
"hey, look here
what this water makes
when it comes to alcohol."
well,
you know,
I've always wondered,
you know,
what else it could do.
I think we could...
I can allow you to make a--
maybe a small run.
I don't need to know
anything about it.
-Fair enough.
-If that's agreeable, then
the two of you--
-that's very agreeable.
-Well, I'ma climb up on a rock
to shake your hand, my friend.
I think that's, too...
I think it's very kind of you.
I can't remember when
I've been any more excited
about making
one run of liquor.
This is a dream come true
for this old boy.
If you had told me no,
I'd have been just as happy
going out here,
because of what I got
to come look at.
well,
I appreciate that.
it's cold and rainy.
He better hurry up.
Sorry I'm late.
I reckon so.
two counties south
across the state line,
mike and jerry arrange
to meet a local farmer
with a surplus of
in-season blueberries.
-How y'all guys doing?
- what's happening,
man?
Let's take a look
at these berries,
see what kind of taste
we got in 'em.
Check 'em out.
You know, butch,
he's a local farmer,
uh, a friend of ours,
and he's got a crap ton
of them blueberries for us.
you know, I'm pretty
excited about making brandy.
Especially in this
new still design we got.
We're gonna be able
to make a small batch
of high-quality shine
with a charred oaky flavor
like none other.
they ought to
make y'all some fine brandy.
butch loves
our moonshine.
And he's always wanted
a blueberry brandy,
so we're gonna do a trade.
So, he gives us his product
and we give him ours.
Butch will get the first cut
of the run
and we get the rest to sell.
-Oh, my god!
-Ooh!
The hell with liquor,
we're gonna make pies.
Pies and pancakes.
these blueberries
are fine, man.
Big rabbiteye blueberries,
really sweet,
and there's some mixed in,
it's got a little
tartness to 'em.
Top-damn-shelf blueberries,
I can tell you that.
And I believe this is gonna
make some good brandy.
Seem to be good berries,
so I'm looking forward
to a good high yield
off of 'em.
They got plenty of sugar,
they should yield pretty good.
Well, you're looking at
the two that can
make it for you
and make it right.
I hope so, blueberries
is prime right now.
I'm looking at 750 a barrel,
$1,500.
we can give you
the first run off
of these blueberries.
All we need is time.
About how long?
About a month.
You're looking at
about a month.
So, if you can wait on us,
we'll put the best
blueberry brandy in your mouth
you've ever had in your life.
I promise you that.
all right.
-We got a deal.
-All right.
I'll get the truck,
we'll load 'em up.
Appreciate you, brother.
With all these blueberries
that butch is given us,
it ought to make several
damn runs of brandy.
We've got a good deal
going on here.
If we bought these
at a grocery store,
we'd be out
thousands of dollars.
tell you what,
if this blueberry tastes
as good as that rye did,
man, we got no trouble
getting rid of it.
if this
blueberry brandy turns out
the way I expect it to,
me and jerry, we stand to make
a lot of damn money.
But, we've never run any
brandy in this new rig.
You never know how
a new recipe's gonna turn out
till you taste it
out the money pot.
You never know
what you gonna get.
This might be
a bust or a fail.
If butch don't take
this liquor for payment,
we owe him some money,
one way or another.
We got us a few more barrels.
And, by god,
these things are heavy.
Whoo, man you ready
to cut some holes?
let's do it to it.
We're gonna mash inside
the actual pot itself,
but, you know,
we've got 600 pounds
of blueberries here.
If you don't hurry up
to get it
fermenting the way
it needs to be,
they'll spoil on you,
then you can't use 'em.
These traditional barrels
and some white oak
charred barrels,
cut the lids out of 'em
and mash 'em in.
It'll give the same concept
of what we're doing
in the pot itself.
We gotta mash
these blueberries up,
just like anything else.
So, I've got a fruit press,
a manual one.
We'll just throw these
blueberries in there
and turn the knob.
Two different set
of gears in there
that just sucks that fruit
down in there and crushes it,
and throws it
right in the barrel for you.
Then we can put
our hot water in on it
and steep it in,
and it's good to go.
And putting this on it
right here,
we're gonna have something
wrapped and ready.
Ho-ho!
That's gonna make some
blueberry kool-aid
right there, baby.
When you mash in
a fruit mash,
you turnin' it into
wine first.
You distill it off
and make a brandy out of it.
This is a little bit
longer process,
but
everybody in america
wants something different.
All right, buddy, we'll get
this blueberried up and in.
They want something new.
They love to see
the times change
and that's what
me and jerry's doing now.
Gonna be a lot of money, son,
if all this works out.
Five barrels of mash
sitting here.
-And after the rye run
that we made...
-Yeah.
...And putting berries in
on top of that,
man, it's gonna be good,
bubba.
We put about 20 gallons
of blueberries per barrel.
These white oak
charred barrels,
it's gonna give
a really great
deep and bold flavor
to this mash.
This is beautiful sight.
It smells so good out here
in these woods,
I believe it's gonna be
one of the best runs
we've ever done.
Hell yeah.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
What's in your other hand?
You ain't got nothing
in your other hand?
yeah, both arms full.
They might be
the two lightest things,
but they're both full.
three states away
on the louisiana bayou,
opportunity is knocking for
richard and his brother craig,
if they can produce
an authentic absinthe recipe
for a discerning new orleans
bar owner.
I got the magic potion
right here, man.
Let me see what
that smells like.
-Oh, yeah.
-Yeah.
-It hit me
straight off the lid.
-Whoa.
Making this absinthe has been
a multistep process.
We started with 30 gallons
of basic sugar wash.
We ran that through our still
and got three gallons
of high-proof neutral spirit.
Then we had to mix in
about a dozen different herbs.
It's green now.
When it comes out that pot,
it won't be.
Yeah, it'll be clear.
Today, we're gonna put it back
into the still, run it again.
That's gonna come down to
one gallon of a very,
very nice white absinthe.
And then, we're gonna take
that white absinthe,
and we're gonna turn it
into a green absinthe.
This is a lot
of substance in...
This right here.
This is a lot of work for
one gallon of product,
but this is a real big
investment into our future.
Our buyer wants to pay $250
for this one gallon
of absinthe.
But if we can impress him
with this product,
there's no telling
how much money we can make.
you don't wanna
strain it?
No, no straining.
We're putting all this
in the pot.
Most of the time,
we would strain.
But in a situation like this,
we need the oils
and we need the fragrances
and the taste profiles
that come out from
being in there.
Can't waste any of this, man.
This is precious.
This guy that we're selling
this to is a true absinthian.
We wanna make sure that
it's right when they get it.
All we gotta do is
get some water in here.
That water is gonna help
carry over some
of the essential oils
and flavors into our absinthe.
all the botanicals,
you're not worried about
scorching the pot?
A little bit, but
we're about to get a stick.
We just gotta stir it
in the beginning,
make sure it doesn't stick
to the bottom of the pot.
I'm gonna start
setting stuff up for you.
Man, this actually
smells delicious.
If this absinthe tastes
anything like it smells,
man, we are in the green.
My instincts are telling me
we can cap this thing off.
-That's hot.
-It's hot.
I can't wait for this...
To come out of there.
And we can put it in, uh...
Here.
Which is where
it's supposed to be.
you ready to get busy?
we gotta get with it.
we need to pick us out
a spot first, don't we?
Check out and see where
exactly we want to set up.
You know, we got permission
from john
to do a run at
his spring site.
Right there looks like
it's got the best ground
right now.
We're gonna mash in today
and try to replicate our
tennessee whiskey recipe
using english mountain
spring water.
I mean, honestly,
if this turns out
a very good,
exceptional product,
then we gotta
figure out a way
how to get access to
this water all the time.
hang on, I'm gonna hook
that other one up to it.
We got permission to run here
at english mountain spring
for an experimental run.
What do you reckon?
He didn't understand about...
"hold on, I was gonna connect
the second hose to it."
damn it.
hell,
before I get close and
he's yanks on it again.
If you don't slow down,
we ain't gonna
have enough hose.
We're no strangers
to wet, muddier
tiresome working conditions.
I don't mind, but I'm not
a spring chicken anymore.
And a damn hose,
if anything can hook,
hang, tangle, it will.
You got water?
it's a-coming.
don't tug on it none.
I hope you got all you need.
that's about
a full stream right there.
Let's get a-something
a-cookin'.
It's a slow stream,
but it's steady.
you know,
any old-timer
that's been involved
in this craft will tell you
that water's the most
important ingredient.
You don't have good water,
you ain't gonna
make good liquor.
John's doing us a solid,
though,
by letting us
make this run here.
You ain't just a-kiddin'.
Anything that man asks for,
shy of hiding a body,
we need to do it.
Time to get my grain
measured out.
This holds two pounds,
so I just have to keep track
of how many I dump in there.
We're gonna use
the same grain bill,
of the barely, corn and rye.
The water is gonna make
a huge difference in this.
This water has
been scrutinized
by the best in the business,
and it has been declared
the best water in the world.
It's good water,
it'll make good liquor.
But how good
is what we've gotta find out.
Now if you'll get busy
stirring that,
I'll get us another pot going.
the goal here is
to produce good liquor,
so, you know,
that's all we wish for.
We're not wishing
for miracles,
we simply want to
make a good product
with the ingredients
that we're working with.
All right, you ready?
john, gave me
a copy of his water analysis
for the mineral content.
And, honestly, it's better
than that spring in town.
Right here is
one of the best still sites
that could ever be.
Let me make motion here
on something.
Making a motion.
Maybe for
future endeavors,
however much this makes us,
let's just give it all
to john.
I'm all for it.
He might look at us
in a different light
if he likes it really good.
You know, we're having
a lot of conversations about,
if it's good, how are we gonna
approach john about
maybe staying here or
what we're gonna do to
continue using this water.
There's a lot of questions
running through our mind.
You know, it maybe
a good opportunity
for john to expand
and, bully for him,
-I'm all for that exactly.
-If we can.
if this lives up
to our expectations,
then he's gonna have
something to brag on.
Sure he does.
John's a business man
and he's a sharp
business man at that.
There's a demand
for limestone water,
and I'm sure he thinks,
"well, maybe
we can go further here
and maybe I can start
selling this to distilleries."
I'm ready to dump some of
this yeast in there.
Well, you know,
as it stands,
if this makes the best
tennessee whiskey
that's ever been seen,
then that's another dilemma.
We ain't gonna need
this stuff no more.
-No, we can load it up.
-Let's take it home.
We're not guaranteed
access beyond this run.
But, maybe if john
tastes this
and sees how good it is,
maybe he'll let us continue
on working right here.
I'll see you
in the morning.
all right.
it's coming
in the worm, buddy.
It's in the worm.
how we looking?
-Where is the coon pecker?
-Here we go.
Boy, we're dripping, too.
- there we go,
our first drips.
-Looking good.
We're out here running
our white absinthe
and we're hoping to
knock it out of the park.
Oh, I'll be damned.
That's a good shine.
when it starts flowing,
I'm blown away.
I could not believe
all the flavors
that carried over.
That's pretty damn good.
Man.
This ought to be
against the law.
It is against the law.
This is awesome,
we could deal with this.
I'll drink to that, damn it.
We drink to anything
that is good and positive.
This is absinthe
and this is only
one part of it.
Now that we have
our white absinthe,
we have to turn it green
by infusing it.
We have to be
really, really careful.
We need to get
our color and flavors
perfect on this one.
But we don't have
a lot of alcohol to work with.
So, we're gonna do this
in small quantities
to make sure we get it right.
If we make a mistake on this,
we'll ruin the whole batch.
You got some more lemon balm?
I got some more.
Now, this is the...
...The raw stuff right here.
I want you to gimme
some of that spearmint.
As if the work wasn't
hard enough already,
now we have to balance flavors
and make sure
that we turn this green,
and make sure
that the end result
is a proper louche.
A louche is when you introduce
cold water into absinthe.
It turns kind of
a cloudy opal
greenish color.
That looks pretty good.
Wormwood
with the lemon balm.
We're using herbs that
we already have as flavor
in our drink already.
I'm gonna do hyssop.
There's a balance here
that we're gonna have
to accomplish
between color and flavor.
We don't wanna
overpower our absinthe
with something
that's already there.
That's a nice
pretty green color.
You know what?
This *bleep* is good.
This is this.
It is? Let me see.
I swear it is.
There's no change
in the taste.
None, it's only green.
Wow!
And look at it green.
This might be it, craig.
We're gonna see if we can get
a louche with this thing, man.
That's a good idea.
The flavor's perfect,
the color's perfect,
but if this absinthe
doesn't louche properly,
it's not a true absinthe.
When you add cold water
into this drink,
the water causes
a chemical reaction
that releases the oils.
The oils bounce around
at the bottom of the glass.
Kinda reminiscent of
the little fairy,
the green fairy.
That's what
a proper louche is.
That's what a proper absinthe
will give you.
We're gonna just
see if it works.
-Ooh, look at that.
- oh, yes.
Wowie!
look at that.
This is what
it was supposed to do!
Tell me what it tastes like.
Oh, I can drink this
without burning.
Little slight bitterness,
slight spiciness,
slight liquorish
and my friend, mr. Fennel,
comes through in the middle.
Man, this is so awesome.
It tastes real complex.
I actually made a drink
that I can taste five
different flavor profiles in.
All right, we got it.
This is the verdict.
Gotta get a good
gallon of that going
and bring it to the man.
And collect the l'argent.
Give me my money.
I'll drink to that.
Just gonna check this, man.
Make sure it's ready to roll.
Yeah, our blueberry mash
has been working off
for a couple of weeks now.
It's time to run this stuff
and see what
it's gonna taste like.
I can drink that
just like that, hey.
That's damn good, son.
We're running our fingers
down in there
and tasting this mash,
it's phenomenal.
That can be strained out
of them barrels
and bottled right now.
You can taste the char
from the barrel.
The whole nine yards.
If we can get half
of this taste
out the other end of the worm,
we gonna be on to something.
All right, man, if you wanna
start kind of seeing
if you can get a fire started,
I'm gonna get this thing
capped off and connected up.
all righty.
The unique thing
about our setup,
it's going out of a white oak
american charred barrel,
fusing that flavor in lightly
through a clear brandy.
Well, you know,
the big question is
if it's gonna work.
We'll soon find out.
Get her fired up.
We're smoking a little.
Damn it.
It's so wet, man.
That's why it won't light.
I'm sick and tired
of trying to make
wet wood burn in
this damn thing.
You know, the whole idea is
that we didn't have to
pay for fuel this season.
We've got to come up
with something
more consistent than this,
man.
-We've got too much
blueberry mash sitting here...
-Oh, I get it.
...To run. Five barrels.
-I agree.
-You know.
Especially when we're
running this slow.
I mean,
wonder what could we do
to make it burn consistent.
Well, we just need
a different fuel source.
So, it's got to be either like
charcoal pallets or something.
-They use wood pellets
on a lot of wood stoves now.
-Hmm.
That'd definitely be
a good consistent heat.
All we just need is a little
catch basket to be able to
hold 'em in place 'cause
I can't lay on the bottom.
We pile up,
it'll block our oxygen,
-and it won't burn, so...
-It won't burn.
So we gotta hold
them up a little bit.
If you'll manage right here,
I'll run down here to
the store real quick,
little hardware store.
Try to keep
this damn thing burning.
What me and jerry's thinking,
maybe to go to pellets.
Something that's already been
treated and dried out.
-I'll be right back.
-All right.
Something that'll burn
real hot and clean.
Looks like today
may be the day, puss.
Right here's where
the rubber meets the road.
ooh!
-It's bitter.
- got some octane.
I believe it do.
we're gonna
run this mash
that's made out of
english mountain spring water.
We're gonna see
if it does, in fact,
make as good liquor
as we think it's going to.
Just jump up on it,
there you go.
Careful, we don't want it to
go to the center of the earth.
We've got a brand-new still,
and this one,
it was custom built
by a friend of ours.
It's a primo little
piece of equipment
and I'm excited about
putting it to work.
It requires no paste.
It has tri clamp fitting
with neoprene gaskets.
We have access to the thumper
inside should we need it.
It's a state of the art
little still.
I'm just gonna put
these down here.
Let's see what that gets us.
You'd think, because
we're out in the woods,
we're just slap-happy
willy-nilly. No, we're not.
We're gonna take
all the pains we need to
to make sure we've got
zero solids in this pot.
We want nothing to scorch
that would offer any
off-flavors to our run.
I'm a-hopin'...
That this tastes as good,
if not better
than what we made there
at the spring in town.
We want nothing
to get between us
and what we want to see
at the end of this run.
This thing should
take off pretty quick.
But you're gonna have to
do something about that hat,
it's growing damn
canker in it.
That black mold's
growing right there.
oh, that ain't
black mold,
that's lard and *bleep* off
my fingers.
That's what feeding that mold.
Man, there's another story.
we're getting...
...Hot here.
Oh, hell yeah, boy!
We better get us a catch jug.
We only have permission
to do one run here.
It's a catch-22.
If this is really good liquor,
we may have a problem,
we're not allowed
to stay here.
If it isn't as good
as what we've been running,
where do we go from here?
we gotta
catch heads here.
there we go, heady.
English mountain spring water
tennessee whi'key.
well, you know,
it's the way
tennessee whiskey's
supposed to be made.
-In tennessee.
-In tennessee.
That ain't nothing but fine.
Boy, it's good though.
Damn, it's just perfect.
Liquor that good
will mess you up.
Oh, my god!
Can you imagine when it
comes out of the barrel?
this liquor
is outstanding.
It's better.
It's got a sweeter note.
Everything comes across
well in the palate.
It's a shame that
we can't set up here
and just make camp right here
and work for
a couple of years.
This is the water source
for tennessee whiskey.
I won't ever
miss that water
in town again...
-No.
-...If we can have this water.
I think it's
better than
what we've been making.
It's dandy, dandy liquor.
This is where our problem
just begins.
Now, we have got to find a way
to get permanent access
to this water.
This is a dilemma for us bad.
if he loves it,
then we're in business,
he'll want more of it.
come see.
This is what
we got to do real quick.
What you got?
And don't laugh at
how I draw.
This is that fountain.
Absinthe has a bit of
a ceremony to it.
It starts by
dripping cold water
into the liquid.
This process is
called a louche.
I'ma gonna call tim, man.
I mean, he helped us out
on our first deal.
-He helped us out on
everything...
-Oh, man, everything.
...And everything else.
We're gonna build
an absinthe fountain.
Drinking absinthe is
a whole ritual,
and the fountain is
the center of it.
hello.
Tim, are you in town?
Yeah.
I need some help. You think
you can give me a hand?
All right.
All right, I'll see you then.
I wanna build
an absinthe fountain because
I wanna present this product
the proper way.
at the peak of
absinthe's popularity
in the late 1800s,
european bars and cafes
developed tools
known as absinthiana
to enhance
the drinking experience.
The most important was
the absinthe fountain,
used to slowly drip ice water
into a round of
absinthe glasses
for a proper louche.
By the turn of
the 20th century,
fountains emblazoned with
the logos of absinthe makers
could be found in bars
from paris to new orleans.
The center piece
of a social ritual
forever tied to
the liquor itself.
that looks
like it's tim.
Tim can do this
while he's sleeping.
Tim's been with me
since the beginning of
my moonshining days.
-Tim, what's going on tim?
-What's up, rich?
-What's happening man?
- how y'all doing?
Tim's a master plumber,
he's an architect also.
He's really into
things like this.
I need tim's help
because I don't have time
to mess around with this.
We're meeting this buyer
tonight,
and this fountain
needs to work.
What y'all trying to do?
This is
an absinthe fountain, man.
The only way to
truly enjoy absinthe
is to, uh, take some
cold water, some ice water,
and just drip it in slowly.
What you think?
-This sale that--
-you need to make
a dripper.
Something that's gonna drip.
But I need this dripper
to look like something
-that would be...
-Yeah, a pretty dripper.
A pretty dripper.
- a descent dripper.
-yeah.
I don't see no problem.
-You don't see no problem?
-Nah!
Let's make a dripper.
All right, let's see.
Let's go shopping here in your
truck, tim, what you got?
Man,
I brought an
assortment of stuff.
Brought some copper,
some fittings.
That tubing ought to be
perfect right there.
Tim's got everything.
I mean, he's got pipe, plates,
tubing.
I mean, you name it,
he's got it.
You could actually wrap
the copper around.
And that way, it kinda
looks like a worm.
To make it look like
a condenser.
Yeah.
Oh!
Coming from the glass.
I got these little fancy
things.
we're gonna use some
basic steel pipes
to build a base
to this fountain.
I think something
like this, richard.
Let me see that jar,
let me see
what that would look like.
that's perfect.
let's do some coiling
and see if we can get
these things
looking like a condenser.
Yeah, I can see it already.
Kind of bore it out
a little bit.
We can take this
and we put that through it.
Wrap the base,
get our worm fabricated.
for the dripper,
we picked up some
copper tubing
and a couple of small valves
for a nice slow flow.
like this.
Bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop.
and little spigots.
good tight end seal.
get that jar
for me right there.
When we finish with this,
it's gonna look like,
it's dripping right from
the worm
out of our still.
snug it up.
Moment of truth, man.
We gonna find out right now.
But, look,
if this right here works,
I'ma run and jump
in that bayou.
oh, I gotta see that.
yeah,
that's what I needed
to see, man.
Oh, yeah! Thank you, bro.
that's the dripper.
that's what I needed
to see right there.
This is the final piece
of the puzzle.
We got our taste,
we got our color.
Now, we got our presentation.
Man...
Thanks, bro.
No problem.
I just hope it meets
this guy's expectations.
just holler if you
need something.
- I sure will.
- all right,
we sure will.
I don't know, man.
This damn thing.
Looks like I'm coming in
about the right time here.
Yeah, you might be.
I'm sick of it, man.
We're gonna get 'er
done real quick,
right here, just a minute.
pellets are
all kinds of hardwood.
It's been kiln-dried,
ground to a powder
and then compressed
into hard little pellets.
we'll do the fort
down in there
where it kinda of makes
a "v" in the bottom of it.
-Yeah.
-And then we can just
bring it up
and kind of just fold it
over the top, that'll hold it.
Basically, all we making
is a bird's nest basket
to set down in this thing
to pour the pellets in,
where they'll stop
at a certain point,
and where we can light 'em up
and then they'll just
self-feed down through there
and try to burn.
I don't think
it's gonna work, man.
damn, I hope it does.
get her fired up.
Jerry comes waddling on
back into the still site
and he's got
a big bag of pellets,
which I get in there
with the thrower,
blow into to it...
oh, she's picking up
steam now.
yeah, buddy.
It immediately lights up,
and we're good to go.
I hadn't seen it
burn like that yet.
that's a really
consistent burn, too.
It is.
See now, we can
do what we gotta do.
We know it's burning,
it's not going out.
And it's consistently burning
with the right amount
of damn oxygen.
Come to just
stanley gettin' it, baby.
Whoo! I'm liking it.
This is a brand-new rig
made of a white oak
charred barrel.
We got a copper core going
through the center of it
from top to bottom.
And we're gonna be open flame
from the bottom
all the way through this core,
out the chimney.
It's very important
to run your liquor
at a consistent temperature.
You've got to have
that sweet spot
and that's what we got here
with these pellets.
Feel that, jerry.
-That son of gun is getting
warm right there already.
-Whoo-hoo!
Now, this right here
is gonna be
the name of the damn
game for us.
We can run this thing nice
and slow and consistent
and get everything that
we need to get out
of this run.
It's doing great.
-Nice.
-I say you ought
to be getting close.
Yeah, starting to look like
it's getting a little...
Looky there.
Wowzers, *bleep* yeah!
We got it, don't we?
Look at that stream, son.
we got alcohol,
don't we?
Smell that--
those notes in there.
Yeah, the notes of them
blueberries, for sure.
-And that char.
-Mmm-hmm.
The char's in there
really good.
It's got a good
rich smell to it.
that blueberry's
coming through.
You can smell those notes
from the charred barrel,
from the blueberry
coming through.
We gonna wait till it kind of
tempers itself down,
getting them harsh.
We gonna
take this to swallow.
Now, we're in the business end
of it right now.
That's what we're looking for.
The bed in the sand.
You know, I'm ready to taste
this brandy right now.
I'm getting nervous on
how it's gonna taste.
I can smell those good notes
coming from the barrel
and the blueberries.
But it's time to take us
a swallow and see--
see really what me
and jerry's done here today.
Looks like we about
to another jug, brother.
we on it.
Don't, don't...
-Don't spill on it.
-Don't spill it.
Let me hold on to that.
We gotta try it, don't we?
I am super excited
about this right here.
There you go.
I'm smelling
the blueberries
a lot better than
it was before.
Wow.
That's blueberry damn brandy
right there, buddy.
The notes of the charcoal--
-it's there.
-...The chars there.
I'm really, I'm loving this.
Mmm.
This stuff tastes amazing.
I mean, one of the best runs
we've ever made.
And we taste like
blueberries but not...
Coated in damn sugar.
Yeah.
I like it.
It's good.
I believe it'll sell.
I'm tickled with it.
It's got the wood charred
notes in it,
it's got the blueberry
coming through it just right.
I believe this stuff is gonna
sell like crazy.
It's perfect, I mean,
don't touch it,
don't fix it
if it ain't broke.
This stuff is great.
that's
about it, ain't it, bubba?
Yeah, we're pushing
right down there
in the bottom of the tails.
So...
Yep.
We don't need to push it
no more.
all righty.
let's get this stuff
loaded up
and get it out of here.
I reckon it's about
that dadgum, ain't it?
- oh, sure is.
- oh, damn!
this ain't as easy as
carrying the buckets,
though, but...
hell, yeah! Dang.
Blueberry brandy though, baby.
We have done it, son.
look at all this
big money over here,
big buildings,
big lights.
This is big money
out here, man.
We in new orleans, louisiana,
we're on our way to
make a sale right now.
It's a big city, man, to be
just walking in and saying,
"here, look,
we got shine for you,"
I'm kinda nervous.
It's the first time we've
ever tried anything like this
and we have to put a drink
in front of someone
who knows about it.
What I wanna do is I wanna
stop, get the fountain ready,
so we can do a louche
for this dude.
This guy's a real
absinthe aficionado.
Let's hurry up, man,
we don't even know
where we at over here.
We don't wanna be
doing this at the site.
We're gonna
fill this up with ice.
We're gonna try this out
and see how it works.
I'm anxious to
get this drink in his hand
and hear his response from it.
Three to one,
water to absinthe ratio.
This is what does our louche.
Just a little drip
like that...
Is all it takes
to release the flavors
and the oils
and the botanicals from state.
He doesn't know that
we did this for him,
it's just something that
we wanted to do
to make sure that we give
a customer the right thing.
And these things
can get quite expensive.
I mean, you can go buy one for
$300-$400 out of the store.
Or you can contact us
for 19.95,
-you can have this one
right here.
-Plus shipping and handling.
-Come on, let's go.
-We oughta get in the business
of making these things.
Hey, man, you think I ain't
been thinking about it?
We make it seem like
this is fun and games,
but we are really going
to sell some alcohol
to someone that
we really don't know.
Selling alcohol to anyone,
you can go to jail.
I mean...
I'm a big little dude,
but they'll call me
strawberry in jail.
I don't want to go to jail.
let's
set this thing up, man,
and get outta here.
I don't like it.
Yeah, this ain't the bayou,
this is a different
kind of jungle.
This is a concrete jungle
here.
-Let's bring it in.
- I think, that's him
right there, man.
oh, yeah,
that's him. There he go.
who's richard?
Whoa!
so you're the one
wanting the absinthe?
yeah, I want that absinthe.
Yeah, james said you like
this absinthe stuff.
Yes, sir.
Look, we put a fountain
together for you.
We're gonna just show you
what this thing does.
Do a proper louche,
you know.
Look how beautiful that is.
that's nice,
yeah, it's pretty.
it's looking like it
should be in new orleans.
Now, that's a proper drink
right here, man.
And it tastes...
Just as good as it looks.
I'll take the first sip
and show you we're real.
As this guy takes his sip,
I'm thinking about
all the work
we put in into this drink.
I mean a whole lot of
time and money.
coming up...
it's about 95 proof.
Is there any chance at all
you'd let us set up here
for an extended period?
That's a...
That's a big question.
well, this is our
wall of fame.
A lot of unique bottles that
we've done over the years.
John, has this
big nice showcase
full of assorted bottles
and they simply
all contain water.
these are
swarovski crystals.
Uh, this one's sold anywhere
from $75 to $125.
Dang.
At one time, it was the most
expensive bottle of water
in the world.
Wonder if we'd put us
some shiny trinkets
on a mason jar,
you put premium liquor in it,
hell, there's no telling
what it would be.
That's insane.
I'll take the first sip
and show you we're real.
oh, yeah,
it smells right.
as this guy takes his sip,
I'm thinking about
all the work
we've put in into this drink.
I mean, a whole lot of
time and money.
And it all comes down to
whether or not our absinthe
tastes like the stuff that
he's used to drinking.
That's what it smells like
back in the day?
Oh, yeah, and it tastes good.
Tastes just like it, man.
-Oh, yeah, yeah, this is it.
-That's it.
we had this way back
in the '60s and '70s, man.
Our family used to drink this.
- really?
-Yeah, yeah.
I'm glad
you like it, my man.
it's gonna be $250.
Okay, you take crypto?
Crypto, yeah.
oh, yeah,
we definitely take crypto.
okay, that's what
I'm talking about.
There you go.
By the time we get back
to the bayou,
this crypto better be
going up in value.
If not, I can promise you,
craig is gonna be working
some overtime.
How much more of this
can I get?
'cause a lot of people are
gonna ask for it.
well, we can make
as much as you need.
Oh, man, you gonna make
a lot of people happy.
This guy wants as much
absinthe as we can make.
And for $250 a gallon,
I'll make as much as
he can take.
We'll get right on it
as soon as get back home.
I appreciate it.
-See y'all later.
Get home safe, bye-bye.
-All right, thanks, my man.
we're in
the big leagues now.
I mean, we gotta get back
to the still site
and figure out how to
upscale this recipe.
so excited,
I'm dropping the keys, man.
Yeah, man, but we can't take
our time out here tonight.
That's when you go to jail
right now.
I got scared.
yeah.
Let's hit the highway
with this money.
damn, there goes
them butterflies,
flipping and flopping
in my belly again.
Them bubble guts.
God almighty.
I gave john a call,
he's gonna come on over.
I can't say that
I'm not uneasy at this point.
Hi, mark, hey, digger.
- hey, johnny.
- hello, john.
I gotta break
the question to him.
"can we stay here
and run on for a while?"
this right here,
made on your water,
tempered on your water,
I don't think you can get much
prettier and clear than that.
- no.
-You can tell that
it was a lonely man
who tightened that lid up.
-strong hands.
-I'll tell ya, it's, uh...
I'm proud of it.
it's about...
95 proof.
that's just right.
That's smooth.
That'd get you hurt
in a hurry.
That's like a good marriage.
It'll put you on
your knees quick.
guys, I'll tell you,
I just...
I've had some moonshine,
I've never tasted anything
that's like this.
this water's so cold
and that's the secret.
When you're condensing it,
the colder you can keep it
-the less fire--
-get back the vapor
as efficiently as possible.
...That it gets into
the taste, the finish of it.
You know, that's your water.
That's...
-And I had no doubt...
-Wow.
...That it would do that.
Is there any chance at all
you'd let us
set up here for
an extended period
to make a little liquor?
that's a...
That's a big question.
Well, guys, you know,
I mean, it's...
As much as I like it, and
as much as I like the product,
you know, we run a...
A very legal business,
and you all run
a very illegal business,
and I just...
For right now,
under those pretense,
I just don't see
the two mixing.
I feel in our heart of hearts,
that was the answer that
we knew we would get.
We've never ever
been in a more perfect spot,
but...
We understand
your situation as well.
You know, I'm feel like
I've been slapped away
from a table for farting
and...
But it's...
Also, it's not a surprise.
Let me ask you something.
Yes, sir.
Have you ever thought about...
Would you consider
going into a partnership?
You don't have
to answer me now.
I mean, it may not be
something y'all consider,
but I've always wondered
about our water,
you've proved it now.
I'm just
throwing it out there.
I mean, that's the first thing
that hit my mind,
you know.
That's awful attractive.
He thinks that
he and I and mark need
to form a partnership
and build a legal distillery
from the ground up here
on this spring.
You know, I don't even know
what it would take
to build a distillery.
This is a golden opportunity.
But this is not just
selling recipes
and putting your face
and name on a jar.
I don't know. That's--
I've never been
presented with that
before in my life ever.
it's gonna be
a big endeavor.
But it ain't everybody
that gets to make liquor
on a spring
that's this quality
and this size.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.