Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 3, Episode 3 - Swamp Shiners - full transcript

Tonight on "Moonshiners"...

What is this?

I'm doing
Some modifications.

I'd rather not have my name
Attached to something

That's got fruit
On it, man.

Whatever, man.

Do you keep your weapon or rifle
Or something on?

No.

Damn.

And for the first time,

A secret world of shiners
Is revealed



Deep in america's swamp land.

This is how we make
The moonshine!

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

It's midnight in north carolina.

While most of the state sleeps,
Jeff and mark are on the prowl.

They're using the moonless night

To help camouflage
Their 500-gallon still,

One of the largest
In the region.

If they get caught
With a still this size,

They could face years in prison.

The still's hard
To keep hid.

And mark can't shake the feeling
That they're being watched.

We get it all set up tomorrow
And get started.

While jeff and mark
Set up a new still,



Over in kentucky,
Tim is overhauling an old one.

He's getting ready to lock horns

With the giants
Of the whiskey industry

By engineering a few
Backwoods upgrades

To the limestone branch
Distillery.

I just want to put
A thumper in it.

You got to have a doubler
In this system.

And we're gonna make it
Into a souped-up distillery.

But while tim is tinkering,
Liquor isn't flowing,

And his new partner steve
Is running out of patience.

We need to get this
Wrapped up as soon as possible

Because we need to make product,
We have orders.

People are wanting things,
And we need to get it out.

Is it on?

Yeah, it's on.

No leak.
Oh, it's leaking.

All right, shut it off.

Now...

Holy *bleep*

It's coming out the side
Over here.

The vacuum pressure
Created by tim's upgrades

Proved to be too much for
Steve's delicate copper still.

All of a sudden,

It started sucking
The condenser barrel in

And made a hole in it.

Now we have to deal with this.

It's just a continuing line
Of problems, one after another.

Now it has water shooting out
The bottom.

Turn it on
And open the valve.

I got it.You got the valve open?

Yeah, but it's still
Leaking out.

I'm gonna let the water
Drain out of it.

I'm draining out
Pretty quick here.

I forgot about the vacuum.

I didn't know it was gonna
Suck it back like that.

If you have a still
Without a condenser,

If you had no way
To cool the coils,

Then the still's worthless.

We got a problem.

Yeah, we got a problem.

Now we got this hole
In there,

Not to mention
All these dents

That I don't even know
How that's gonna come out.

god.

In the south carolina woods,

Josh and bill
Are also at a standstill,

Sidelined by the sudden illness
Of their third partner,

Cutie pie.

Cutie pie!

Man, I hope she sin't got sick
Or something.

I don't know what I'd do if
Something happened to my baby.

She's been coughing
And hacking up.

She sounded like there was
Something in her throat.

She was hurting pretty bad.

Besides being like
The best watchdog

We could ever have
Around a still site,

She's just the best-natured dog
You could ever imagine.

if something
Ever happened to her,

I know josh would be devastated.

There she is!
She's back in action.

Supposedly
She's got some allergies.

But she got some shots.

Had me worried sick.

Had me worried.

Nothing on this earth
That I'd trade for that dog.

She's my family.

With their team back together,

Josh and bill can return
To working on their dam.

There's not a moment to waste.

Their windfall
Of strawberry mash

Is about to become a truckload
Of useless vinegar.

Not quite sure why we picked the
Hottest day of the year so far.

I don't think we picked it.

I think it just happened
That way, bro.

That big stainless steel
Rig that we built last year,

It was way too big
To be dragging

In and out of the woods
All the time.

This season, we're looking
To get a copper pot

Still put together.

I'm tired.
I'm ready for some rest.

Moonshiners work damn hard
For their money.

You know what I tell people
That want to start moonshining?

You better love it.
You won't be doing it long.

265 miles away,

Moonshine school is in session,
Tennessee-style.

I'm getting really deep
Into the woods here, man.

Tickle is heir to
Tim's former moonshine empire.

He's expected to provide shine

To the largest county
In virginia,

But the still pots
At his old site

Are ready for the scrap heap.

Son of a bitch!

Tim's done tickle a solid
By connecting him to mark,

The right-hand man to legendary
Moonshiner popcorn sutton.

You're on time.
That's a good sign.

Mark has agreed to teach tickle
A cornerstone of a dying art --

How to build a tennessee
Copper pot still.

I know we got off to a little
Bit of a rocky start there,

But it looks like I'm gonna
Learn a whole lot of stuff

That I didn't know before.

And that's the whole reason
For this trip --

To help my business out
And help me be able to expand

And help me be able to provide
The amount of liquor

That I'm gonna need for the
Territory I've got to supply.

In your area, you use
The submarine pots, right?

Yes, we do.

We always use
The submarine pots.

See, they're not at all popular
In our area.

I mean, you ask
The old moonshiners here,

They wouldn't know
What a submarine pot was.

We do copper pots.

We'll build
A one-barrel pot,

And that'll give you a chance
To tweak your recipe.

You can use it.
You can make small batches.

And then you can make you one
As big as you want it.

Tickle is used to working

With a black pot
Submarine still.

Built for quantity production,

Both fermentation
And distillation

Take place in these massive
800-gallon pots.

Full metal construction
And soldered seams

Make the copper pot still
The shiner's choice

For brewing high quality liquor.

With this method, the mash
Is fermented in a barrel,

Then strained
Before adding it to the still.

The transfer of only liquid
To the pot

Eliminates the danger
Of scorching the mash.

This is an old-timer's version
Of a compass, I guess.

You know, I think
That this is gonna go over

Pretty well in virginia.

I mean, this copper pot
Is not something

You really ever see there.

It's really something that
I think could be successful,

Especially if I use a bunch
Of smaller ones.

I can keep them in several
Different locations,

And I think they'd be easier
To haul around, too.

Only reason I make
These old pots --

You know,
It's just our heritage.

Yeah.

I don't want
To see it die out.

Maybe if I can teach
Somebody else,

When I'm dead, well,

Somebody else will know how
To make them, you know?

It's our history,
Like it or not.

Tickle needs
To start shining soon.

His old customers could already
Be looking for a new supplier.

And once they move on,
They won't be back.

The lure of copper, moonshine,
And cold hard cash

Has taken its hold on
Another shiner in the making.

Former deliveryman wayne thinks
Moonshining may be the only way

To pay for his son's
College education.

So he's put an order in with
Master still-builder jim tom.

Where you at, jim tom?

Ha!

You're working on it?

Yep.

I thought you were supposed to
Have it ready for me by now?

My mash
Is almost ready to go.

It's gonna ruin
If I don't get it cooked.

I got to get this still.

I mean,
You put me in a bind.

I'm kind of getting nervous
About getting caught.

Hmm!

Oh, I ain't said nothing.

They don't really know.

I hadn't told them.

You think
They'd report a fella?

When you're running,
Do you keep your weapon,

A rifle or something on?
No.

I hadn't thought
About all that.

I'm already too far into it
To back up now.

Tomorrow evening.

I'll get me a box
And I'll bring my truck,

And I'll see you tomorrow.

All right.

Wayne is right to be anxious

Because just 10 miles away,

Two veteran shiners hell bent
On destroying upstarts like him

Are ready to kick production
Into high gear.

We're gonna try to get
Our barrels up today

And get them ready.

It a-raining.

I don't think anybody'd
Be in here today -- no way.

okay.

Jeff and mark
Are poised to flood the market

With their highly prized shine.

But heavy spring rains have
Thrown a wrench into the works.

*bleep* *bleep*

Coming up...

there's a big hole. it's a big hole.

You got somebody
Who can fix that tank?

We really need the money.
I'm sick of struggling.

I ain't making no damn
Apple juice damn liquor, man!

And for the first time,

A journey into a hidden world
Of moonshining few have seen.

If you're gonna make moonshine
In a swamp,

You're gonna have snakes,
Alligators,

Law enforcement
May be through here.

In north carolina,

Two days of rain might be good
For the crops,

But it's hell on shiners.

For mark and jeff,

The rough conditions
Are a drawback

To working this deep
In the woods.

*bleep*

It's been an unusual spring.

We've had a lot more rain
Than usual.

The weather might be
Better back in kentucky,

But there's a storm brewing

Inside the limestone
Branch distillery.

All right, let's get
This little bit right here.

Tim's small improvements
To the distillery

Have opened a huge rift between
Him and his new partner steve.

Steve was really, really unhappy
With the situation.

And, yeah, I was a little bit
Shocked myself.

Oh, god.
It is a big hole.

It's a big hole.

You got somebody
Who can fix that tank?

That's gonna take
A lot of time.

How long that's gonna take?

I don't know.

But we're gonna
Call somebody.

All right.

With production
At a complete standstill,

They're hemorrhaging thousands
Of dollars per day.

Danny.

Hey,
What you got going on?

This thing sucked in,

And it put me a hole
Right there.

And it's all copper.

All right, danny. What do you
Think? What do we got?

We'll put a little bit
Of air pressure on it.

How much pressure do you think
We need to put on it?

Three to five pounds,
Something like that.

Not much.
I don't want to rupture it.

You want to give it a try?Okay.

For $1,000 and the promise
Of some future shine,

Danny solders the hole and pumps
Air into the dented still.

Yeah, I see it.
I see it. That's enough.

We'll leave it at that.

We didn't know that the system

Was gonna cause that vacuum
Back on it,

So we're gonna install
A valve in there

To kind of fix that problem.

It's a learning experience,
You know?

And that's the way I roll.

If something messes up,

We're gonna get on it
And we're gonna fix it.

We're gonna learn
From our mistakes,

And we're gonna drive on.

You're back in business.Thank you.

1,000 bucks in the hole

And not a drop of shine
To show for it.

Meanwhile,
Tickle has yet to start.

You need me to pull
A little more?

No. No, that's good.

All right.

He's in tennessee to learn
The ways of the copper still.

If he can master
These techniques,

He'll have a fighting chance

Of holding on
To tim's old territory.

Let's see if we can stand it up
On that table.

All right.
Oh, yeah. There we go.

This type of pot,
I think, is gonna go great

Because one,
It's highly portable.

That can keep me out of trouble
Right there.

That looks pretty good,
Buddy.

Yes, it does.

It's a smaller pot,

Which is gonna actually
Be really good

For running
Your high-dollar brandies.

And three, I'm doing something

My competitors
Are not gonna be doing,

And that's gonna make
My moonshine

That much different
From theirs.

And as long as it's different,
Everybody wants it.

We're really getting this thing
Moving on here, ain't we?

Back in south carolina,

With the dam
At their still site complete,

Josh and bill need to get
A still built -- fast.

If the hot summer sun has
Turned their mash to vinegar,

They'll be back at square one.

Time's about run out.

I'm hoping this stuff
Ain't turned sour on us yet.

Huh.

Mine's behaving differently
Than yours'n is.

Yours is working,
And mine's not.

It might be done.

Oh, that's for sure wine.

That's strawberry wine.

This one was covered up.
This one wasn't.

Well...

I'll even taste it.

Ew.

No way.
That's nasty.

Gross.

That's some fairly
Strong wine there.

That's ready to run.

The mash in this barrel

Is crusted over
From sun exposure.

But fortunately, the liquid
Beneath is still good.

Both barrels are ready
To distill,

But josh and bill are not.

We have gotto get
This stuff running.

Wine-making is supposed to be
A little bit slower process,

But we're out here with
The barrels in the sunshine,

And they started to ferment

A little bit faster
Than we expected.

Scoop all that solid off.
I got a dipper I'll go get.

I got my hands.
Why the good lord gave me hands.

But it looks like
Josh and bill's good fortune

Is about to go sour.

If they can't get the still up
And running in a matter of days,

It all goes away.

We don't know
If these strawberries

Are gonna turn on us,

If our strawberry wine's
Gonna turn to vinegar

Before we get the chance
To run it down.

In kentucky,

The broken still is back online,

But tim's partnership with steve
Still needs fixing.

Did you get it working?

We got it working.

And we got this ballooned
Back out, too.

Well, sort of.

I know, sort of,
But I mean --

If this was a car,

You wouldn't call that "Done,"
Now, would you?

Steve really loves
This still,

And I can understand
That he's very proud of it.

But now I've changed it
A little bit.

I mean, he may get bent out of
Shape for a little while,

But once he sees what I'm doing

And he knows how much better
It's gonna work,

Then I think he'll be happy
With it.

This thing was sucked in
Like this much.

Yeah, I remember.
And it was poking out here.

And it had a big hole
Right there.

That was the problem.
Right.

And now I don't have
A hole there.

We got a valve here that when
We cut the water off,

You got to open this

So that it doesn't have
The vacuum effect.

But right now,
It's ready to operate.

Tim has these ideas
And his ways,

And I'm trying
To be amenable to those.

But sometimes I don't think he
Thinks it all the way through.

We got it working.It's working.

All right.

It's about time.

Steve's always
Wanting to slow down

And, you know, draw blueprints
And, you know, think about it,

And I don't have time
For that stuff.

I just want to get it done.

Coming up...

And for the first time ever...

A secret world of shining
Is revealed.

We're going
Against the government.

So if you don't have
That rebel spirit,

You may as well stay out
Of the moonshine business.

Southwest of
The appalachian mountains

In a region known more for
Gators than gallons of shine,

A secret world of shiners
Is getting ready

To fire up their pots.

In mississippi's vast
Pearl river swamp,

A lone shiner navigates
The murky waters,

Searching for a site
To set up shop.

When people think
Of moonshine,

They usually don't think
Of mississippi.

But there's been moonshine
Made down here

Ever since there's been people
Down here.

Most would call
This sprawling maze

Of cypress, mud, and gators
A watery hell,

But mike has called it home
For as long as he can remember.

I was born down here
In south mississippi.

My family has been
Down here forever.

I been making moonshine out here
In the swamp

For quite a few years.

There's a big reward to making
Some good moonshine,

Selling it to people,
And making a profit with it.

And it's not just
About the money.

It's part of history, and you
Got satisfied customers,

And it gives you a feeling
Of accomplishment.

The mississippi bayou
May seem like a far cry

From the appalachian backwoods,

But these waters have been
At the center

Of the moonshine trade
Since the birth of the nation.

During the prohibition era,

Al capone's rum runners brought
So much swamp whiskey to chicago

That it soon became the backbone
Of his empire.

It wasn't long before the small
Delta town of kiln, mississippi,

Became known as the moonshine
Capital of the world.

In 1966, mississippi
Became the last state

To repeal prohibition.

But even today,

Nearly half of mississippi's
Counties are still dry,

Creating the largest market
For illegal liquor in the south.

Just like in appalachia,

Shiners here have a price
On their heads.

And there are dangers
Lurking around every corner.

If you're gonna make moonshine
In a swamp,

You're gonna have all kinds
Of challenges

You have to deal with.

You're gonna have snakes,
Alligators,

Law enforcement
May be through here.

Moonshining is going
Against the government.

We're going behind their back.

We're making something,

And they're not gonna get
Their cut out of it,

Which is one of the reasons
I think people love it so much.

So, I don't mind making a little

And the government not getting
Their cut out of it.

If you don't have
That rebel spirit,

You may as well stay out
Of the moonshine business.

Back up in north carolina,

Jeff and mark are getting their
Own taste of swamp shining.

Try it again.

Heavy rains have washed out
The logging trails,

Putting them days
Behind schedule.

By this time last year,
They were already shining.

Any more delays and they risk
Losing ground

To other shiners in the region.

But jeff and mark are
Resourceful mountain men,

And they're not gonna stand
For any more setbacks.

If partnerships are the key
To shining,

Then tim and steve
Are in trouble.

Hey, tim.

What are you
Stirring that with?

I used a hoe.

See, it's got them holes in it
Right there?

You got to use
Stainless steel.

You have to use a paddle.

This is what I always use.

This is what we use in the woods
'cause you rake it like that.

We're not
In the woods anymore.

You have to use

Government-approved
Stainless steel.

Tim's learning the hard way,

The rules for making shine
In kentucky

May have little to do
With quality.

It's not made right.

Maybe we need to bend it
On the end

And put some holes in it

And put a long handle
And make a hoe out of it

Instead of a paddle.

I mean, come on.

I'm not making a cake.

I been using a hoe with holes
In it for 20 years.

So why do I need
To change it now?

Tim's chafing
At changing his methods,

But his old partner, tickle, is
Ready to learn some new tricks.

How high
You want this thing?

You've got to boil the piss
Out of that corn

To break down the starches
And whatnot in it.

How they do it
Here in tennessee

Ain't quite the same as the way
I do it.

But you know what?
I'm glad to be learning it.

Oh, yeah.
There we go, tickle.

Yeah, she's boiling.

She's ready
For ingredients.

Tennessee, we use corn,
Rye, and barley.

You can paddle it there
A little bit.

Smells delicious.

The rye gives the whiskey
Its spicy flavor.

The more rye,
The more the spice.

It's just there
As a flavor ingredient

More so than fermenting.

Yeah.

We add sugar.

It doesn't really enhance
Or take away from the flavor,

But you produce
More whiskey.

It's time
We get our barley.

Try not to pour too heavy
So we don't clump.

Yeah, boy.

Papa said that'd make
An old man feel young

And a young man
Just want to feel.

There you go.

Tickle's about to run

His first batch of shine.

But that's still a pipe dream
For josh and bill.

Their mash is ready to go,

But they lack
The most important tool

For shining -- a still.

We been saving this stuff here
For a rainy day,

And it's definitely
A rainy day

If we're even gonna stay
In the game.

If they can sell
These few remaining jugs

From last season's only run...

It's strong enough.

...They might be able to buy
Enough copper to build a still.

With the flavor of it,

I know we can't get $100
A gallon for it.

I been trying to do the math

On just how we're gonna make
What we got stretch

Just to be able to afford to do
What we need to do.

We need as much money
As we can possibly get.

The liquor -- I ain't
Gonna say it sucks, but --

It doesn't suck. I mean,
It ain't the best in the world.

I'm suggesting
That we cut it with fruit.

Give it some good flavor,
Get another extra gallon.

I ain't making no damn
Apple juice damn liquor, man!

Okay. Well, let's put
Some strawberries in it.

Just hear me out.

It's not that good
Of liquor.

We really need the money.

I'm sick
Of struggling, man.

And every dollar counts.

Man, I done been over this
A hundred times, man.

You know how I feel about
Cutting liquor down, man.

The man that makes liquor's
Got to be proud of his product.

Even when mixing their liquor
With fruit,

Shiners will always start
With good quality shine

That stands on its own.

I really don't want
My name on it

If it's such bad liquor
That we have to put fruit on it.

I mean, that's not something
I'm ready to brag about.

I don't see
What the big deal is.

Why do I have to argue with you
About everything?

Coming up...

What is this?

I'm doing
Some modifications.

So, you're gonna throw me
Under the bus.

I don't know this man.
I don't want to know this man.

And I don't want to put my name
On this liquor.

And a never-before-seen secret
Of the swamp.

In kentucky,

Tim and steve are butting heads

Over how the distillery
Should function.

Now with steve out on a run,

Tim's going to sneak in
A few more upgrades.

It looks pretty heavy.

I hope we get this done
Before steve gets back.

His problem is he wants to know
What I'm doing before I do it.

Well, I don't know what
I'm doing before I do it yet.

I just got to do it.

Once I get it done,
Then I tell him about it.

Tim wants to duplicate
The moonshining process

He used for decades
In the backwoods of virginia.

This means a major overhaul

To the distillery's
500-gallon still.

In order to double
The still's output,

Tim plans to replace
The one-inch condenser coil

With a larger two-inch worm.

With more flowing liquid
That needs to be cooled,

Tim is also doubling down

On the condenser barrel's
Outflow pipes.

Finally, tim will install
A thump keg.

The thumper distills the shine
A second time,

Doubling the proof

And setting
Tim's moonshine apart

From any standard
Kentucky whiskey.

Uh-oh.

What is this?

I'm doing
Some modifications.

I see you're
Doing modification.

This is only a year old.
It's brand-new.

We just had it.
It works fine.

It works great,
As a matter of fact.

But it's too little.

It's insane.

Well, you got to see it.
I mean, you can't see it.

You got to look at it first.

Tim, when he's ready to do
Something, he just does it.

He doesn't really think too much
About how this decision

Is going to affect
Something else down the line.

Holy *bleep*

What do you think?

Well, it looks like
It's just sitting in here.

How's it gonna...

Well,
We ain't finished yet.

You come in too early.

You were supposed to have been
Not back for two more hours.

Well, I got to come back

'cause I never know what
The hell you're gonna be doing.

I don't know where
This relationship's gonna go

If he can't get
With the program.

Steve,
You got to trust me.

*bleep* damn.

You got to trust me
It's gonna work.

Just get it done.

Okay.

Down in the mississippi bayou,

Even experienced locals get lost

Trying to navigate this shifting
Tangle of waterways.

So mike always makes sure

To bring along
A second set of eyes.

I've never made
Whiskey before.

This is a new experience to me.

But I've known mike
Ever since he was born,

And he's been pretty straight
With me.

I trust him.

How you doing, mike?All right, how you doing?

I'm doing all right
This morning.

Don't want to be an outlaw,

But I guess I'm gonna have to be
If I moonshine.

Everybody got to have
A little money.

Shot's lived
On the river his whole life.

A corn farmer by trade,

Times are tough
On the family farm.

So this year, shot's crops
Are moving off the dinner plate

And into the stills.

A barrel of corn, if I sold it,
I'd get about $80 for it.

If mike can get $1,000
Out of a barrel of corn,

It'll be definitely a lot better
Than farming.

$1,000 versus $80 --
I'll take the $1,000 anytime.

You ready for water?

Yeah, we can drag
A hose out here.

The mountain streams
Of appalachia

Are ideal for shining.

But you can't make liquor
With muddy swamp water,

So mike's forced to bring it
To his still sites in barrels.

Shot, this is
Pretty good-looking corn.

That's some of that that you
Grew that I got from you.

Yeah.

I got it ground out there
Right by your house.

Got a boat coming up
The river.

The river provides
Cover for mike and shot,

But it's also a draw
For fishermen.

And where there are fishermen,
There are game wardens.

They're the eyes and ears
Of the river,

Patrolling 24/7,

Armed, and on the lookout
For illegal activity.

You ready to go?

Yeah.
Let's go.

Never before shown to outsiders,

Mike and shot have a secret
Method to shining in the swamp.

They've spread
Their shine operation

Among the hundreds
Of small islands

Scattered across the bayou,

Hiding their mash
In dozens of locations.

All right,
Turn the water on!

Not too bad.

All right.

Put three of the corn
In each barrel.

One sugar in each barrel.

I got some yeast
I need to put in there.

It'll probably be a week
Before it's ready,

Maybe a little bit longer.

Then we can bring
A still out here

And get started making
Something,

Making a profit.

Back up in south carolina,

Hoping to get more money,

Josh and bill are cutting
Their shine with fruit.

I still can't believe we got
To throw damn fruit on it.

But as they finish up the work,

Bill is having a crisis
Of conscience.

I've always felt that cutting
Your liquor jars down

With 1/3 fruit, it's kind of
Cheating, you know?

But we got to do
What we could do

To get as much money as we can

Just so we can keep our heads
Above water.

Josh has put the word
Out that he has shine to sell,

And diluted or not,
Moonshine moves fast.

Hello.

Yeah, I got some, man.
I got about six gallons.

Sounds good.
I'll meet you then.

Hey, bill.
Yeah?

Hey,
Let's take a ride, man.

I got somebody wanting
To get that moonshine.

They gonna buy our liquor?Yeah, 600 bucks.

Let's roll.

Man!

It was $600 a minute ago.
Now it's $500.

Damn!

How'd you do that, man?

I don't know, man.
I can't believe that happened.

Another $100 down the tube.

Ugh, I'm sick.

I can't believe that.

What do you mean,
I'm gonna run it on my own?

I'd rather not have my name
Attached to something

That's got fruit on it, man.

Oh, so you're gonna throw me
Under the bus.

I don't know this man.
I don't want to know this man.

And I don't want to put my name
On this liquor

Until I can get something
Out there that I'm proud of.

I don't want the market
To already think

That we're gonna rip you off
By packing a jar full of fruit

Or just the liquor's no good.

I hate to bail on you,

But I don't want to be
Associated with this one.

Whatever, man.

Drive safe.

Cutie pie.

Look at her.

Cutie pie, you're a mess.

She's rolling in doo-doo.

She looks like
One of those crazy deer

That's been shedding
Their antlers and stuff.

I kid you not, all summer long,

You know how
There'll be dead stuff

All over the place, you know?

Dead birds, dead squirrels,
Whatever.

She goes to every job
With me, right?

I get back in the truck
And I'll be like,

"Something just don't
Smell right."

And then all of a sudden
I'll notice

That she had rolled
In something dead,

And I'll be like, "Oh, my god."

I don't know what to do
About that.

I don't want to deal with it.

In mississippi,

Mike meets up
With his partner, shot,

For another day of swamp shining

On the backwaters
Of the pearl river.

Morning, shot.How you making it?

Pretty good.

Mike's method is backwoods
Ingenuity at its finest.

His mash is at secret locations
Throughout the bayou,

And he's turned his boat
Into a moveable still.

All right.

He simply pulls up
And cooks at each site,

Brewing his way
Through the swamp.

We're getting this water
Stripped out

Of these mash barrels,

And we're gonna take it

Over to where we got
The still hid.

Even though it's a lot
Of trouble

To get back there with it,
We think it's worth it.

We better roll
'cause we got a lot to do

Before the end of the day.

We don't want to come out
Of here after dark.

We're pumping that wash
That we took

Out of those barrels earlier
Over into this fire pot.

And I'll hook it all back up
And light the fire,

And we should start making
Some moonshine.

I think it's gonna be
A good idea

For me to use shot as a lookout

Because once I get
That jet burner going

Under that little still,
I can't hear anything.

Holler at me, shot,
If you see anything!

All right.

So, I'm gonna have to have him
Off a little distance

From me to protect me.

In north carolina,

After two days of heavy rains,

Mark hustles to get the site
In working order

While jeff makes a run
To town for supplies.

They have hundreds of thousands
Of dollars on the line,

And each day they don't shine
Is money down the drain.

Mark could face
Years in prison

If he's caught with a still.

And lawmen are fanned out
Across these hills,

Looking to bust shiners.

The second a moonshiner
Makes a mistake,

Deputy chuck is ready to pounce.

I kind of get anxious.

I want to rush him up
A little bit

'cause I do need to get started.

I need to make some money
Before the season's over with.

Mr. Jim tom, I'm here.

You ready?
I'm ready.

That looks good to me.

What's that?

I can't wait to fire
That thing up.

Oh, yeah.
I got your money.

You can take
Your girlfriend out now.

That's the finishing touch.

Make $100,000
With that now, huh?

I'll try not to bend it.

Here you go.

All right, now.

Transporting a still
During the day is a big risk.

Buckle up our seatbelt.

I'm in it now.

The law is patrolling
These back roads,

Waiting to take down
A careless shiner.

Hope that cop's not sitting out
Here like he was before.

Next time on "Moonshiners"...

You a big boy.

Mom and daddy
Took care of me.

That's wine for sure.

It's ready to run and we ain't
Even got our still finished yet.

That's 180 proof.

The damn batmobile will run
On that, buddy.

Now...

God.

This don't look good.

What the hell is going on?