Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 2, Episode 5 - A Shiner's Last Stand - full transcript

Tonight on "Moonshiners"...

There's supposed to be a creek
Right around here.

You know,
I'm out here sweatin'.

Tickle should be out here
Helping me.

He's gonna get into something
Over his head.

Push!

Josh,
You got to pick up further.

I'm walking away
For a little while,

'cause I'm about to get pissed.

We can't win!

And one moonshiner goes down.



Fire!

Moonshine is a part
Of our history.

It exists, but it doesn't,
Almost like a myth.

I'm america's
Most-wanted moonshiner.

That's not a good feeling
To be wanted by the law.

I live on the edge of anarchy.

Police! Search warrant!

It's very hard
To catch moonshiners.

Let's skedaddle.

They're very smart.

There can only be one chief.

I'm wondering if we're gonna
Pull this thing off.

Uh-oh.

Golly, that's good.



We could supply
The whole world with moonshine,

And everybody would be happy.

If you really love your country,

You're gonna have to
Love moonshine.

Across southern appalachia,

A deadly storm has wreaked havoc
On moonshine country.

In its aftermath,
Two rookie moonshiners

Have had their underground
Still site demolished.

Oh, my god.
Did that really happen?

Yes, sir,
That really happened.

This is the worst-case scenario
Right here.

Oh, my god.

That's not good.

The plumb hollow music festival

Is now just two days away.

5,000 people
Are expected to arrive,

And to make matters worse
For josh and bill,

Police and security will be
Crawling all over the site.

I've had a lot of setbacks.

I actually felt like
We were getting somewhere,

And then I come back to work
And my project's collapsed.

I just don't know how much more
Of this I can stand.

I'm ready
For something to go right.

The rain's messed us up,
That's for sure.

There's more rain coming.
The sky's turning black.

The last underground still
That barney had,

It flooded out the entire
Underground still site

And ruined everything.

There's nothing easy
About moonshining.

120 miles to the northeast,

Veteran moonshiners
Jeff, mark, and jim tom

Are heading
Back into the woods

To assess the damage from
Last night's storm.

The rain seeped into the mash
And diluted the alcohol content,

'causing an unusually low proof.

This could mean
$3,000 tax free down the drain.

Now they'll soon find out

What hand mother nature
Has dealt them.

If the still is destroyed,

They'll have to start
All over again.

They need to salvage
Their half-brewed run

From the night before.

Without it,
They're at a standstill.

Nearby in the county police
Headquarters...

It's a good day
For deputy sheriff chuck.

This is chuck, sheriff's office.

He's just got the strongest lead

He's received all season.

The informant, or c.I.,

Has tipped him off to a big-time
Moonshine distributor.

Johnston county, north carolina.

The moonshine kingpin
In the making is under siege.

To other shiners,
He's known only as moonshiner x.

He's trying to assemble
A vast moonshine empire.

And he's asked for his identity
To be concealed.

In any given season,

Moonshiner x
Could potentially pull down

Up to $200,000, all tax-free.

But with the season
Nearly halfway over

And limited supplies
Due to a nationwide drought,

He's in the cross hairs
Of every lawman in the region

And he doesn't have one dime
To show for it.

Meanwhile,
Back in graham county...

Mark and jim tom continue
To clean up the still site.

They've got
To get to brewing quick.

Cash and supplies
Are running low.

The runoff from the storm
Has blocked the flow of water

From the dam to the still.

Even though the still
Is back in working order,

Jeff, mark, and jim tom
Aren't out of the woods yet.

They'll need
The half-brewed mash

They abandoned the previous
Night to pack a punch.

This is all new territory
For these shiners.

300 miles north in virginia...

The concrete foundation
Of tim's distillery is set,

And now he needs to remove
The wooden forms

In order to raise the walls.

We got to get
All these screws out,

Get this wood off
So we can see what we got here.

As we're going along with
This legal distillery,

I'm learning every day
It's a lot more difficult

And a lot more details
That has to be looked at.

But his right-hand
Man, tickle, has gone rogue,

Leaving tim high and dry.

I'm out here sweatin',
Trying to get this going.

I got j.T. Helping me out,
Which is good.

But tickle should be out here
Helping me.

We started this thing together.

So the question is,
Where is tickle at now?

I want to go legal with tim,

But right now,
There's just not enough money.

A week ago,

Tim and tickle
Got into a nasty fight.

I'm thinking about getting
Somebody else to help me.

You know what?

I'm thinking about
Getting somebody else

To help me do this, too.

And you're gonna get somebody
Else to help you get in jail.

Tickle stormed off.

Now each is operating
On his own.

Well,
What happened to tim?

Tim don't want
To do anything illegal.

Tim don't really want to come
Out in the woods and make a run,

So I had to branch off
And do it on my own.

I called my buddy howard.

I'm getting him to help me make
A few runs of liquor

So we can get
Some money coming in.

Tickle gave me a call,

Said he needed some help
Making some moonshine.

I figured
I can come on out here,

Learn the ins and outs
Of moonshining.

As far as I know about it
Is just drinking it.

I ain't never made none.

I drank plenty in my time.

I'm hoping to make some money.
That's the main deal.

You gonna line my pockets?

Yeah.

That's what matters.

Coming up...

Bill, is it raining?

Yep.

We can't win!

In south carolina,
Josh and bill are faced with

The aftermath
Of a devastating rainstorm.

In order to get back on track,

They must pump the rainwater
Out of their flooded still site.

Stand in water
And play with power.

It's flowing now.

Man, it's making a mess
Of this hillside.

The water level's
Going down, though.

I ain't standing
In water no more.

A pond of water in the field's
A damn hell of a lot better

Than a pool of water
In our hole.

For josh and bill,
The hits keep on coming.

The water damage also caused
Part of their tunnel to cave in,

So now they need to shovel
Hundreds of pounds of dirt

Out of their still site.

Bill, is it raining?

Yep.
It's started back again.

We can't win!

Rain or shine
Or flood or monsoon,

It's not an option to quit.

We got our tunnel caving in.

We got to get it shored up.

There's supposed to be a creek
Right around here.

You see where it ran,
But it ain't here now.

My bet is
It's down that way.

I've always had tim there

To show me
What I was doing wrong.

Now I don't have him.

You do something wrong
In this game,

There's a whole lot of things
That could happen.

You could blow the still up.

You could get busted.

So it scares me a little bit,

But it's just something
I'm gonna have to deal with.

This creek is dry.

You can see where this creek
Used to be 10-, 15-foot-deep.

Well, let's go check
Something else out.

All right, brother.

The storm system
Has left jeff and mark

In uncharted territory.

For the first time in their
Storied moonshining careers,

They had to stop mid-brew.

And now they're unsure

That their partially brewed mash
Is salvageable.

But they've got an ace
In the hole --

Legendary shiner jim tom
And his 60 years of experience.

To dilute his liquor
Down to a market strength,

A moonshiner must test
The liquor's proof.

Proof is expressed
On a scale of zero to 200.

100% pure alcohol
Would be 200 proof.

The most common market strength
For moonshine

Is around 100 proof,
Or 50% alcohol.

The most common way
To proof liquor

Is to use a device
Called a hydrometer.

But to the best moonshiners,

They proof their liquor using a
Method known as the shake test.

They fill a jar about halfway
With moonshine,

Give it a few good, hard shakes,

And then watch the bubbles
That form.

The larger the surface bubbles,
The higher the proof.

Incredibly,
A select few moonshiners

Are accurate to within one-half
A percent with this method.

The half-brewed mash
Turned out as punchy as ever.

The old master
Was right all along.

Back in johnston county...

...Moonshiner x is spooked.

He suspects someone
In his circle has been turned

And is talking to the cops.

Deputy sheriff chuck
Is on his way to see the c.I.

He knows he's closing in.

In order to keep the c.I. Hidden
From the public,

They decide to meet
At deputy sheriff chuck's house.

Coming up...

Deputy sheriff chuck

Has spent years developing
A confidential informant

Who has a direct line
To a moonshine kingpin.

Chuck is going out on a limb.

The two have decided to meet
At chuck's house.

It's safer than meeting
In a public space.

A c.I. Will provide information
Either for money

Or to work off prison time.

A bad one will mislead police

In an attempt to buy time
For partners

Or to stall his own prosecution.

Back in south carolina, things
Have gone from bad to worse.

And we still got dirt
Coming down.

I mean,
It's coming out in chunks.

Josh and bill have
Shoveled and pumped their way

Through thousands of gallons
Of water and mud.

Now water-clogged walls that
Could collapse without warning

Surround them.

This tunnel's caving in.

We need to get this thing right

Before it all
Comes tumbling down on us.

This is a very dangerous
Thing we're doing right now.

We're trying to figure out a way
To stabilize it.

We're gonna put some posts
And some plate steel,

And we're gonna put this dirt
Back into place.

Oh, boy! You better look out!Whoo-hoo!

Did it cut you?

I felt it.

It didn't get my knee.
It got the jeans.

Whoo-hoo!

Why in the world
Did you just do that?

I was just trying
To hold the beam up.

Scared me, man.

Whew.

That's snug.

That looks like
It'll work.

For now.

No rest for the weary.

After a successful run,
Jeff is back at it.

Reaching the midway point
Of the season,

Jeff has to face a reality

That all moonshiners
Are dealing with.

The nationwide drought
Is affecting corn supplies,

And the costs are booming.

Tickle and his new
Partner in crime, howard,

Are on the hunt
For the perfect still site.

Unlike previous
Moonshine seasons,

Tickle is the new boss man.

I hope you're ready to do
A little bit of hard work.

I am.

A good still hand

Is gonna have to be able
To do a number of things.

You got to move
These stills around.

I also need somebody that can
Be there when I call him.

You can be the best still hand
In the world,

But if I need you
And you can't be there,

You're not worth anything to me.

Also, he's got to be able
To keep things quiet.

I like the looks of this place.

It looks pretty secluded,

Like nobody's been around
For a while.

Tickle has found
A good secluded spot,

But it's missing
One crucial element --

A natural water source.

The perfect setup
Is find a creek

And be able to set up
Downhill from it,

Let gravity do the work,

And there's no noise
From a pump.

But a spot like that's
Not easy to find.

Tickle, whatever you say
I'm going with.

All I'm worried about is filling
My pockets with a little cash.

In moonshine history,
There's one man that stands out

As the robin hood
Of moonshiners.

His name
Was lewis richard redmond.

In 1876, when he was
Just 21 years old,

Redmond shot and killed
A u.S. Deputy marshal

Who tried to arrest him
For illegal distilling.

He immediately became
An outlaw hero.

People started calling him
King of the moonshiners.

His legend continued to grow.

While on the lam,
He forged on selling moonshine

And giving the proceeds away
To the poor.

He spent the next five years
Crisscrossing the south

And moonshining
As he ran from the law.

But ultimately,
He paid the price.

A former accomplice
Tipped off law enforcement,

And he was arrested
Outside a farmhouse.

He died seven years later
In prison.

Deputy sheriff chuck
Is building a case

Against a suspected
Moonshine distributor.

He's acting on a tip
From an informant

That a moonshine drop
Has been made in these woods.

One wrong move,

And chuck could completely
Sabotage his own case.

Some c.I.S
Are actually double agents

Used to suss out what
The cops know and don't know.

Sumbitch.

Holy smokes.

That looks like
Three 1,500-gallon pots.

My god.

Can we use those?

I don't think
We can use 'em.

I mean,
The metal's so old now.

It's awful tempting,

Because somebody already found
A good spot.

But being as
It's an old still site,

That can draw attention
To it itself

Because who knows
Through the years

Who's come by and found it.

You could have people
On four-wheelers,

People hunting, people hiking.

And once the talk starts,
It's gonna get to the wrong one,

And the wrong one's
Gonna come find your still.

And that's the one
That's gonna try to bust you.

We got the big heavy rains
Come down on us.

We had a big cave-in.

That started to give us
A lot more serious concerns

About the safety of this tunnel.

So we engineered something
A good bit stronger

Than we'd originally
Been talking about.

Josh and bill
Have secured the tunnel roof

With wood beams
To avoid a collapse.

But if they're going to
Complete the still

In time for the festival
And be ready to moonshine,

They have to install
A more permanent solution.

There's no way me and bill
Can get this done on our own.

We've had to call in
Reinforcements.

Dang. Did you bring a big enough
Piece of metal?!

Good gosh.

We're gonna cut
A piece of plate steel

So we can use as our barrier
For our tunnel.

It's gonna hold our roof up.

We got to get the tunnel fixed,
And we got to get it done today.

Watch out!

All right,
Now stabilize it for me.

The metal plate
Dangling above his head

Weighs close to 600 pounds.

We're gonna all pick this up.

We're gonna slide it
Into place.

We're gonna put two jack stands
In either corner.

And then we're gonna
Fit the post.

Oh, my jesus.

If they're not careful,

14,000 pounds of dirt
And the plate

Could collapse on top of them.

All right.
Now, put it where I want it.

Watch your fingers, vince.

Josh, you got to
Pick up further.

Straight in.
Straight in.

Push it!
Slide in.

Push! Push!

Push it!
Hold on.

Just outside
Of stroudsburg, south carolina,

Josh and bill are attempting
To fix a collapsing tunnel

In their underground still site.

Oh, my jesus.

If they're not careful, 14,000
Pounds of dirt and the plate

Could collapse on top of them.

Watch your fingers, vince.

Josh, you got to
Pick up further.

Push it!
Slide in.

Push!
Hold on.

All right.
Feed that corner in right there.

Hold it. Twist.

All right.All right.

It ain't going nowhere, guys.Jack her on up.

We got this thing set in.

And for the first time
Since we dug this tunnel,

I'm feeling comfortable
About standing up under it.

Whew!

120 miles to the northeast...

After a fruitful run,

Jeff, mark, and jim tom
Weigh their options.

The nationwide drought
Has ravaged american crops,

Causing the price of corn
To skyrocket.

Unlike traditional moonshine,

Where the main ingredient
Is corn,

Scotch whiskey relies on barley,

Which is plentiful
And unaffected by the drought.

Jeff has to do what
No moonshiner ever wants to do.

He has to bring in his wife
And son to pick up the slack.

Back in virginia,

After stumbling upon
An abandoned still site,

Tickle and howard decide
To push deeper into the woods.

Tickle leads the charge.

I got to find me a site
And find it fast

Because I'm not making money

Until there's liquor
Coming out the worm

And I'm putting it in a jug.

See how it's getting green

And it comes down
And you make a dip right here?

If we follow this, I bet we'll
Run up on some water right soon.

This is looking good.

Tickle has finally
Found a water source

That may support his still.

You know, we got a great creek
Right there.

I see. I see. We got
A good stream right there.

If we dam up right here,
This'll be great.

Whatever we got to do,
I'm on board, brother.

You ain't never
Steered me wrong.

I look at this stream,

I don't see water flowing
Through this stream.

I see money flowing
Through this stream.

My man.

We're gonna
Make this *bleep* happen.

You gonna make me
A rich man.

400 miles to the southwest...

Josh and bill have less than
48 hours to conceal the hole,

Put the final touches
On their steamer still,

And brew their first batch
Of moonshine of the season.

The festival is in two days.

I really don't have
Any more time for any problems.

It has to go just right
From here on out,

Or I'm in hot water.

I think we ought to waterproof
From that corner to this corner.

I don't think it's coming
In the first six foot.

Whatever, dude.
It's puddling up.

You know
It's seeping through.

You want to start fights
This close to being done?!

If we put, like, a 2x6 or --
Just listen!

It don't need
To go that high.

It doesn't need
To go that high.

Whatever.
Never mind.

If we get it up to stage level,
It's gonna be plenty.

Whatever.

Bill and myself have
Butted heads on a lot of things.

And we're both chiefs,
And we don't want anybody
Telling us what to do.

You don't think
I'm right?

I mean, I don't want to argue,
But damn.

I'm just sick of you
Doing that to me.

I'm sick of it, and I'm about to
*bleep* get pissed.

You change design
Every 10 minutes, dude.

It goddamn sprung
A *bleep* leak!

I know. That's why
We're gonna run the stuff up.

I'm walking away
For a little while,

'cause I'm about to
Get pissed.

I'm frustrated with everything.

I've just had enough of somebody
Telling me what to do.

I designed this *bleep*

I started this goddamn project.

And now having somebody come in
And tell me what to do,

It's *bleep* pissing me
The *bleep* off.

I've been putting
Every dollar I got,

Every spare minute I got --

Hours, days, weeks, months,

Years I've been working
On this project.

It's really questionable

Whether we're gonna get done
Before the festival.

I've just had enough.

Back in graham county,
North carolina...

Jeff, mark, and jim tom

Have been forced
To expand their operation.

They're on the hunt
For a second location

To brew a batch
Of barley scotch moonshine.

To keep both stills running,

Jeff has to bring in his wife
And son to pick up the slack.

The location is close enough
To their current site

So that mark can keep
A watchful eye on the family

And be able to warn them
At the first sign of trouble.

The stakes
Have never been greater,

So they hunker down to formulate
A game plan to keep them safe.

Deputy sheriff chuck
Is acting on a tip

That a moonshine drop
Has been made in these woods.

It's chuck's first big win
Of the season.

He's struck gold.

Fresh corn liquor.

He's tapped into
The moonshiners' network,

And they don't even know it.

Chuck's plan is to lay low.

Now that he knows
Where the drop-off is,

All he has to do is wait
And go in for the kill.

Back in franklin county,
Virginia,

Moonshiner tim is prepping

To move a stash
Of prized illegal moonshine

From his underground
Storage cellar

To a nearby tobacco field.

Tim has been living
A double life.

By day,
He's the town's fire chief

Constructing a legal distillery.

But in the shadows of the night,

He's been devising
The perfect place

To hide his huge cache
Of illegal moonshine.

The plan must go perfectly, or
Else he risks losing everything.

I'm working by myself.

I really don't like doing it.

You should have somebody
On the outside looking for you.

I don't have it right now, so
I just got to do it all myself.

Tim is hiding the
Moonshine under bales of hay,

Which will keep his shine
Out of sight

While he transports it
To the new hiding spot.

This is everything I got.

I've got to move this stuff.

And if I get caught with it,
I'm finished.

Coming up,
A moonshiner's last stand.

What was that?

Come on.

Let's go. Come on.

The first time we started
Riding the bike,

I had been leaving her at home,

And I noticed
She'd been pouting.

She looked at me like,
"You're gonna leave me here?

Can't believe this."

That's a good girl.

So, I said,
"All right. Come on."

And she jumped right up
On the harley

And stood right up on the tank
Just like she belonged there.

And we got to the first curve.

She kind of leaned
Into the curve.

I knew it was meant to be.

So we rode all day that day.

We ended up going to a bar
That's kind of a biker bar.

I said, "Hey, I got this dog
That rides my harley with me,

And it's really hot outside,
And I don't want to leave her."

They was like, "Hell, yeah.

Any dog that rides a harley can
Come in this bar anytime."

And she sat up
Just like she was a person.

It was the funniest thing ever.

Say, "Vroom vroom."

In franklin county, virginia,

Tim is transporting
His stash of illegal moonshine

To a secluded tobacco field
In the dead of night.

This is very dangerous.

What happens
If your truck breaks down,

You know,
Have a flat tire?

Anything can come up,

But, sometimes,
You got to take risks.

So you have to be careful.

300 miles south,

Mark is back in the woods
Surveilling the area

That they've chosen
For their second still site.

Back in johnston county,

Moonshiner x is feeling
The heat.

The police are close,
But he's going to roll the dice

And risk everything
For one last run.

Meanwhile, deputy sheriff chuck
Is closing in.

Tim wastes no time
Unloading his jugs of shine

Into the tobacco field.

Next time on "Moonshiners"...

♪ rye whiskey, rye whiskey
Please don't let me down ♪

♪ I'm gonna take me a drink,
Then I'll roam around ♪

Not good.
Not good at all.

can't believe
I just *bleep* did that!

God *bleep*

I need this
To make my first run,

And once I make my first run,
I can pay you.

What are we doing,

Layaway with this thing,
Then?

We got water, brother.

No.

This ain't good.