Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 4, Episode 10 - Moonshine River - full transcript

Josh and Bill go for broke on a triple batch run. Tickle sacrifices his own livelihood to save his partnership. Tim is ready to see once and for all if the Asheville distillery can produce his Climax Moonshine.

Narrator:
Tonight on "moonshiners"...

[ cutie pie barks ]

...A still site
gone to the dogs...

Josh: Cutie pie.
Hunting dogs.

...A shiner in over his head...

[bleep] going on here?

Narrator: ...And landlocked
in north carolina.

Mark: Whoa.

Help!

Man: This is how
we make the moonshine!

Captions paid for by
discovery communications



Narrator:
As the days get shorter,

Moonshine season
kicks into high gear.

There's just a few weeks left
before the leaves start to fall

And moonshiners everywhere lose

The natural camouflage
of the forest canopy.

But two smoky mountain shiners
are already exposed.

Mark. Over yonder.

That's a sheriff.

This season, mark and digger,

Former stillhands of
the late, great popcorn sutton,

Have come out of retirement to
make authentic tennessee shine.

What do you think
about maybe us making
a little bit of liquor?

I ain't above it,
long as you don't tell my wife.

But their season may be over
before they know it.



Hey.

I didn't...

We've got to be
super, super careful now,

Because this ain't the last time
we'll see these guys.

It's not a matter
of why we don't stop.

We simply can't.
Quitting's not an option.

Narrator: While one partnership
is being tested,

Another's being torn apart.

When tickle come down here,
he was all gung-ho,

Talking about how he was
good to go, taking this
shine back to virginia.

But I ain't heard a damn thing
out of him.

I'm sitting down here,
struggling to feed my kids.

If he thinks
he's gonna walk off to virginia

With that damn liquor
and not bring no money back,

He's got another thing
coming.

Oh, that's right.

Chico and tyler have entrusted

Thousands of dollars
in kentucky shine to tickle,

But they haven't been paid
in weeks.

So, how long you reckon
it might be

Before you get rid
of all that?

Something 'bout that
don't sit right with me.

He can't move 60 gallons?

Chico: I can tell when
somebody's peeing on my boot

And telling me it's raining,
you know,

And that's the feeling I get.

Narrator:
It's been radio silence

Since that call five days ago.

With their patience run dry,
the kentucky boys have decided

To take their finances
into their own hands.

I think this is it.

Tyler: There's a big demand
for good moonshine

Right here in kentucky,

And we're gonna try
to supply some of that

While we're waiting to see
how the virginia thing goes.

Go ahead and drag it out
the way, there.

Tell you what. We need to step
things up a notch.

We moving
in the right direction,

But, damn, we ain't moving there
fast enough.

[ sniffs ]
dang.

Still smells good,
don't it?

Yeah.
Seems good, all right.

Good and strong.

At this point right now,
we're gonna push forward.

I'm not gonna dwell on tickle.

We're gonna get
what we got to get done.

We're gonna make our year
successful.

I'd kind of like to know
what is going on up there.

I mean, we supposed to get
our percentage.

We got too much going out,
not enough coming in.

I don't trust nobody.
You know that.

[ sighs ] well, I believe
that's all of it there.

Let's get this [bleep]
on the road, get it out of
here, and go get this money.

Chico:
When that liquor left kentucky,

All I heard was,
"no problem, man. It's sold."

I ain't got no money. I'm
sitting here, starving to death.

So we gonna do something
different. We got to.

Narrator:
In a business filled

With back-door deals
and double crossings,

Partnerships built on illegal
booze can be shaky at best,

Even more so during prohibition,

When a betrayal of trust often
cost a bootlegger his life.

In 1931 detroit,
the infamous purple gang

Held control over all the hooch
in the city.

The gang was led by the ruthless
bernstein brothers.

When ray bernstein caught wind
of dissension in the ranks,

He called the upstarts
to a peace talk

At 1740 collingwood avenue,

And had them all executed
on the spot.

The incident would become known

As the collingwood manor
massacre,

A warning to any future would-be
dissenters to stay in line.

[ cellphone rings ]

What's going on, bubba?

How long you know
this fella?

Mnh-mnh.

Couple months?
Yeah.

That him right there?
Mm-hmm.

Get this [bleep] out of here
and get the [bleep] out of here.

We got something to drink
in here.

Got five gallons here.

Yep. 110-proof.

Man: Geez.

All I need is my money, brother,
and we'll get out of your hair.

Here you go.

Fair enough?

Well, I believe
you a little short.

Counting
on a discount.

What do you mean
a little short?

Well, there's $400 here.
You got five gallons.

You know,
it'd probably be easier

To pay for what it's worth
than to have problems, you know.

[ tires screech ]

It is what it is.
We got $500.

Oh, yeah.
Come on with it.

Narrator:
While chico and tyler are taking
their moonshine to the streets,

Two shiners in north carolina
have run out of road.

It's coming together quick,
ain't it, mark?

In robbinsville, the cops
have been laying the heat

On mark and jeff.

[ siren wails ]

We done had a closer encounter
with the law this year

Than we really want.

[ pounds ]
ha ha!

So, you know, it's got us all
kind of on edge.

Narrator: With a big buyer
waiting in tennessee,

Mark and jeff are borrowing
a page from bootleggers past,

Taking their shine downriver.

Mark, you know what? That's what
we've been waiting for.

It's all closed in.
Yeah, boy.

But with the law coming at them
from all directions...

Come up with a new plan.
Oh, okay.

...They can't take any chances.

So mark and jeff are adding
one more component

To work
with their secret trapdoor --

A stash spot
hidden beneath the boat.

That'll work.

With the help
of too many pontoons,

This 3'x5' box will serve as
a floating secret compartment.

Mark and jeff plan on tethering
this buoyant booze box

Directly under the trapdoor,
between the two larger pontoons.

If the law
were to come on board,

The shine would be safely hidden
from view.

Jeff:
We're selling about 90% of our
alcohol in one place this year.

We lose this big order
in tennessee, we're broke.

Let's see what this thing
looks like with a jug
sitting up in it.

Oh.

Oh, yeah. Perfect.

Well, the box
turned out good.

It'll hold 50 gallons
a run.

Narrator: 50 gallons of shine
can bring in 5 grand tax-free.

That's it.
I believe that got him.

That's pretty good deal
right there, jeff.

Yeah.
I believe that'll work good.

Yeah. I believe we should've got
us another boat, here, jeff.

Yep.

[ chuckles ]

Narrator:
150 miles to the east,

Two shiners haven't produced
a drop of shine in weeks.

Josh: I'll be glad
to get some liquor made, man.

Man, once this thing
starts working,

It's gonna be paying off
in dollars coming out that worm.

Not just damn nickels
and dimes -- dollars.

Josh and bill's season
should be rolling by now.

But after being put on notice
by the law...

If y'all messing with
the moonshine, I'd
advise you different.

...They've been forced to take
their shine underground,

Turning a beat-up truck
into a doorway that leads

To a subterranean
stash house.

That's it right there.

Now we just
got to camouflage it all.

The tanks can hold 600 gallons
and are ready for liquor.

Josh and bill
have already mashed in.

There's almost 750 gallons
in their submarine pot.

It's been fermenting for a week,

And it's time
to put the fire to it.

But after their still explosion
earlier this season...

...They're taking extra measures
to reinforce their entire pot.

What I'm thinking is just take
the damn nail punch

And nail punch it
all the way across,

Then drive a row of nails
in it just like we did
all the way around.

Ouch.

That board
makes it almost impossible.

That board is flexible a bit
until we get her in, ain't it?

Yeah.

I heard something
rumbling there.

Thought it was a plane.
Was it just us?

Able to get down pretty tight
if you bend any.

[ cutie pie barks ]

Cutie pie, come here.
Hold up, girl.

[ barks ]
shh! Cutie pie.

[ dog barks ]

Cutie pie!

Cutie pie!

Get your ass over here
before they eat you up.

Good girl.

They's hunting dogs.

I'm glad it's just the dogs
and not the hunters.

Right.

I guarantee you
the hunters ain't far, though.

It makes me nervous
about beating on this thing.

[ growls ]

Get your ass out of here!

I don't know if they been
hunting here more than once

And they been running
with their dogs or what,

But makes me
kind of nervous.

Coming up...

I got to pull it out
of my own account.

Narrator:
...Desperate measures.

Tickle:
Bad feeling to be broke.

I can't blame this
on anybody but me.

Narrator:
One shiner fires it up...

Tim:
Something wrong with this thing.

Got to find out
what sensor's doing what here.

Narrator:
...And two old pros get more
than they bargained for.

Ramsey: That's all I need now.
Digger: We're losing it. Whoa!

Narrator: Deep in the hollows
of south carolina,

Josh and bill are almost ready

To fire up their newly-built,
750-gallon submarine pot still.

[ cutie pie barks ]
bill: Cutie pie, come here.

Hold up, girl.

But two four-legged fiends

May have just jeopardized
their secret still site.

[ dog barking ]
[ growls ]

Them was coon dogs.
They had trackers on them.

That ain't good.

I don't know if they been
hunting here more than once

And they been running
with their dogs or what,

But makes me
kind of nervous.

And we're out here damn
beating and banging on our pot.

I mean -- ain't no way, really,
to be quiet about it.

I guarantee you one thing,

The hunters know
exactly where they are.

Dogs have gps trackers on them.

Their masters know
where they're at.

If their masters know
where they're at,

The masters are knowing
where our still site is.

What you want to do?
Knock off for a little while?

Bill: The risk level,

Now that we got hunting dogs
poking around down here,

Has gone up just exponentially.

You know
what we ain't checked?

What?
Game cam.

I'd forgotten
we had a game cam up

Until, actually,
we saw the dogs.

But I'm glad we did put it up,
'cause now we can see

If anybody's been messing
around our site.

If those had been atf agents
and they'd snuck up on us

Like those damn hunting dogs
did...

Pssh, eh, I don't even want to
think about it, man.

All on the sd card.

Let's just check this thing out
before we go.

It's got a motion sensor
on it,

And it'll snap a picture
or snap a video.

If somebody's been
around our still site,

We're gonna be able to see them.

That's us.

Yeah, we was arguing about where
we was gonna strap that thing

Is probably
what we were doing.

Now, we're down here,
to the next one, there.

Look at that.

It's a german shepherd.

That wasn't either one
of the dogs we saw today.

Another dog.

That's a damn
huge-ass hound dog,

Damn...
Peeing on our damn pools.

Josh: There's like three, four,
five dogs, different dogs,

Coming through our still site.

Let's go to the house.

Kind of makes a man think.

Might want to get this thing up
and running,

Make as much moonshine
as fast as you can,

Get this [bleep] the hell out
of here so we don't get busted.

Narrator:
Josh and bill aren't the only
pair on pins and needles.

In eastern tennessee, a recent
visit from the town sheriff

Has two old-school shiners
shaken up.

Well, he didn't find
nothing,

But he found enough
he's got reasonable suspicion.

Somewhere or another, somebody
has seen or heard something,

Or we wouldn't be sitting
right now

With our hearts a-thumping.

We can't quit.
Well, we got to hammer down.

I mean, we got to do it
and do it fast.

Their diehard commitment to
the craft of old-time moonshine

Has mark and digger
back in the woods.

Trouble is something that
we want to avoid at all costs.

But you have to have a profile
to some degree.

Popcorn always said

That you can't sell it
if nobody knows you've got it.

Narrator: This time, they
brought some backup --

Popcorn sutton's
own shotgun condenser.

You ever fooled
with a shotgun?

I mean, I know how they work,
but I ain't never run one.

The legendary popcorn sutton
attributed

His world-famous shine
to his super shotgun condenser.

Built by popcorn himself,

It has a whopping
184 copper tubes inside,

Providing an unprecedented
amount of surface

On which shine can condense.

This condenser right here

Would probably run
a 12 or 14-, 16-barrel still.

I mean, you can't...
Crank wide open.

You can lay to it
with them.

Yeah, right there.

Let's see
if we can get that burner going.

This gas coming out of this tank
is unregulated.

It comes out at full throttle.

I'm glad it's your turn
to blow up.

You're hot
coming out the back.

[bleep]

Damn it.

That's all I need now.

We're losing it. Whoa!

That would've been fun.

I got to tinker with it
a little bit, digger.

Thinking we can block up
that back hole and get it a
little something different.

Ramsey: I mean,
it's a homemade burner.

I've not had a lot of experience
with them,

And they're
a tricky little thing

To get your air adjustment
just right.

You want blue flame.
You don't want yellow flame.

The blue flame produces much
more heat, burns more efficient.

I don't...

Oh, it's looking better.

Well, it's getting hot,
ain't it?

Yeah, it's getting hot.

If it wasn't for this little bit
of episode with the sheriff,

I wouldn't care
to keep on making it.

But we can't.
We got too far to...

Well, that's another thing
that's scaring me, too.

I ain't liking how good
I'm liking making it again.

I'm telling you.
I'd kind of got the notion

Out of my system
a little bit.

Now I'm kind of...
I'm kind of hot on it again.

It might come out of that thing
all right.

It should.

[ gasps ]
oh, hell, dude.

It's starting to drip.

We've got liquor here, buddy.
Yep.

Narrator:
A typical 200-gallon still
will produce about 20 gallons.

But if the shotgun condenser
is successful,

It should pull 25% more whiskey
in one run.

I say it's 160, 170 proof.

It gets all blended together,
it'll be much better.

Damn.
That's an instant drunk.

[ coughs lightly ]

I really feel good
about the shotgun.

We've made 26 gallons here.

Got to make hay
while the sun's a-shining.

I believe that all signs
are right on us right now.

Just on the other side
of the appalachians,

It's the day of reckoning
for tim smith.

Hey, tim. How you doing?
Tim: Good. You?

Took care of your worm for you,
so you're all set to go.

I see you got all that
up there.

And troy...

Went out to lunch.

So, he'll be back
in just a little bit.

Okay.
I got this thing, then.

I want to make
the first batch, anyway.

You know, with the new worm
and everything.

I want to make it right.

With his backwoods modifications
finally in place,

Tim's ready to see
once and for all

If asheville can re-create
his father's recipe.

Gonna make the first batch.

This is gonna be the best climax

Ever been made
in north carolina,

With the big, souped-up worm
in there.

Narrator: But getting to this
point hasn't been easy.

No, but it ain't
my moonshine, though.

Tim's fought every step of the
way with his new partner, troy.

I want to change all this.

You want to build this,
it's on your dime.

But when troy learned
what happened to the
last distillery...

Somebody came in and
tried to burn the place down.

...She lost trust in him.
Is this for real?

It bothered me that
he didn't just right off
the top tell me about this,

And I don't know
if tim is worth it.

Narrator: Now the only way
they can move forward

Is to get the shine flowing.

I guess I've got to build
this trust bond and that,

Like I did with steve beam,
that, you know, it'll be okay.

I know what I'm doing.
I've did this before.

And I really hope that she
has faith and trust in me.

We're gonna start this still up,
and we get it going.

How do we get this thing
heated up?

I got the steam turned up
right now.

We got the worm in there.
It's full of water.

Everything's working
like it should.

Them guys has gone to lunch.

Soon as they get back,

I'm gonna have a good taste
of climax moonshine.

Narrator: At 1,300 gallons,
troy's is the largest still

Tim's ever attempted
to run on his own.

And with a high-tech
computerized system,

It's also the furthest thing

From a traditional
backwoods setup.

Tim:
There's something wrong with
the temperature on this thing.

I don't know
if it's not reading right

Or what's going on with it.

Say, something ain't right
somewhere.

I don't know if it's the sensor.

I mean,
it doesn't feel that hot.

I mean, I can put my hand on it.

Narrator:
174 degrees is the point
at which alcohol turns to vapor.

It's kind of hot.

Narrator:
If the still runs too hot,

It could scorch the mash and
lower the proof of the shine.

I don't know what's going on
with this thing.

Thing right here is,
like, changing different
colors and stuff.

I don't know what's going on
with that.

And it has
a pressure-relief valve

That keeps acting up on it.

So I'm not for sure
if all of the mechanics on it's

Working properly or not,

Or am I working properly
with the mechanics.

What is it?
Hey, wait a minute!

[bleep]
what's going on here?

I want it filling.
Oh.

Can you get that?

Oh, it's done turned red again.

Oh, the condenser's
getting too hot.

[ groans ]

[ steam hissing ]

Ohh...

Got to find out
what sensors doing what here.

Narrator: Coming up, josh and
bill are out of their league...

Bill:
This still is 10 times the size

Of what we were running
in the copper pot damn
'fore it blew up on us.

I mean, so far,
nothing's gone wrong,

But, I mean,
hell, the night is young.

Narrator: ...And a plan
is turned upside down.

Mark: Whoa!

Help!

Narrator: In north carolina,
moonshiner tim smith

Is in the middle of his first
real run of climax in asheville.

Tim: I don't know
what's going on with this thing.

Narrator: But troy's
million-dollar distillery

May not be cooperating with his
backwoods modifications.

Whole lot of pressure
in the thing.

Whew.

Damn.

Ball:
What are you doing?

I'm just regulating
the heat.

It got too hot, and everything
started coming out down here.

We have everything set
exactly --

This isn't such
a simple little still, you know?

I got to get it right.

[ laughs ]
I got to get it right.

I'm running the still,
I'm looking at different things,

And it's changing from blue
to red, so something's wrong.

And I went back and forth,

I found out
what valve actually did what.

It's a moonshine still.

A little vapor does come out
here and there, so that's okay.

It don't feel
like it's that hot.

I just know
about the feeling of the still,

And looking at it
and see what's happening.

All I got to do is look at this.

There's no more guessing game.

It's a lot
of different mechanics to it.

It's computerized.

I'm kind of getting
used to these numbers now,

'cause the numbers is telling me
exactly what the temperature is

As it's coming over
and coming out.

For me,
it's just a learning phase.

I'm gonna get there.
I'm gonna get there.

Oh, and it's going good
right now.

Temperatures's
being controlled good.

Looks like this vapor's coming
over. Doubler's working great.

It's got a good, even flow.
No leaks.

It's not like the backwoods, you
know, when you got to go around

Putting paste on things
because it's leaking everywhere.

Look at that.

Yeah, it still is coming out,
but it's getting closer.

You can tell by smelling of it.

All right, troy.

You need to come over here
and see this.

Bring a jar.

I want to see what it looks like
'cause, you know...

Mmm!

See?

It has a great nose.

That's the difference.

The first day that
we actually met, she was like,

"no way I'm gonna get
involved with you in
making legal moonshine."

But at the end of the day,
you got one

Of the finest moonshine
that's ever been made.

Hey, look at that.
First bottle, climax moonshine.

My dad's backwoods recipe made
in a million-dollar distillery.

After a whole lot
of modifications

And a lot of sweating on my
part, it looks like it worked.

I think, you know, it's gonna be
a good business decision

For me
to have taken the leap here.

Now what we got to do is win
an award with this whiskey.

I think we can.
Let's try.

Narrator: Far from the gleaming
distilleries of asheville,

Two shiners are settling in
for a long night in the woods.

I think the rain's gone.

I hope so.

We cannot afford to get
rained out at this point.

Josh and bill thought they'd
found the perfect still site...

[ dog barks ]

...But game cams proved they
weren't the only ones using it.

Huge-ass hound dog damn peeing
on our damn tools.

And with the law
snooping around...

All this metal and stuff
you got here looks like

Some of the makings would go
for a moonshine still.

...It's just a matter of time
before they get caught.

For most shiners, this would be
a sign to pack it in.

But josh and bill have decided
that tonight,

It's all or nothing.

We come way too far
on this still site

To shut it down just 'cause
we got hunting dogs here.

There's no time to shut down
and start worrying about it.

We just got to try to make as
much liquor as we possibly can

Before this thing
does get discovered,

And we got to shut down
and get the hell out of here.

Narrator:
So the boys are buckling down
for a marathon night

Of three straight runs
back to back.

First, josh and bill will cook

The mash already
in their submarine still.

A hose connected to the worm box
will route the finished shine

Downhill into a collection tank
50 yards away on josh's truck.

They have enough mash on site
for two more runs.

So once the first batch
is complete,

Their plan is to pump in
new mash and make shine

Until their 300-gallon tank
is filled to the brim.

Bill: It's time to roll now.
We gonna keep on going.

We got no other choice
but to damn say,

"it's time to make
some damn liquor."

Yep, yep.
Let's light her up.

Let me turn the gas on.

She be rolling
in no time.

All right, buddy.
You got gas.

Crank her up.

There she comes.

Man, this thing
gonna be

Damn bubbling and steaming
in no time.

Sweet.

Right on, right on.

'bout ready
to cap this thing?

Set her in.

Bang, bang.

Right on.

All right.

Nothing to do now but damn
wait for her to damn heat up.

Man, it's been
an incredible amount of work

Getting this set up.
Well, damn hopefully

We gonna have a damn
incredible amount of liquor

Damn coming off this thing
by the time we get done.

Honestly, I don't know exactly
how this thing's gonna behave

Once we get it up
to temperature.

I mean, it --
I don't know.

This still is 10 times the size

Of what we were running
in the copper pot damn
'fore it blew up on us.

And it's kind of behaving
like I thought it was going to.

I mean, so far,
nothing's gone wrong,

But I mean,
hell, the night is young.

Here, have a sip of this.

Dang.

[ coughs ]

Easy.
You're slopping on me.

That was liquor.
It wasn't slobber.

That was liquor.
Safe.

Josh: Oh, man, we're losing a
lot of liquor right here. Look.

It's time to put
the batter on it.

Man, she is singing out of there
like a damn steamboat.

Yeah, it is.

It won't be long,
we gonna have liquor, brother.

Well, I mean, we're hotter
than blue blazes.

What's our damn money piece
look like?

Oh, hell.
She's spitting out.

She coming out?
Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

We rolling?
Oh, yeah.

Hot dog.
Look at that.

Josh: Things couldn't be going
any better.

We already got moonshine
coming out of the worm.

Man, she's rolling.

It's about time

To start catching
the heads and the hearts.

It's on.

Bill: Nothing
but a waiting game now.

I don't want to jinx us, man,
but damn.

I don't think we've ever made
a run of liquor

That damn started out
this smooth.

Man, why you got to even say
something like that?

It's gonna blow up
or something.

Nah, it ain't.
No, it ain't. Damn, I...

I think she's gonna run
without a hitch tonight.

Narrator: Coming up,
sink or swim for mark and jeff.

Let's go see
if she'll float.

We lose this big order
in tennessee, we're broke.

Narrator:
And don't drink and shine.

Reckon it's any good?

[ laughs ]

It's the dead of night
in the south carolina sticks.

Damn, it's a lot of work
to get 100 gallons of moonshine.

The first of three runs
is finally finished,

And the boys are exhausted.

But there's no rest
for the weary.

They still have to fill
their submarine pot

With the second round of mash
and do it all over again.

I'm gonna go turn
our mash on.

Damn.
This a steep-ass hill.

All right, man.
Turn her on.

Josh:
We do not need to have this
set up in the woods right now.

We need to make as many runs
as fast as we possibly can...

She's about full.

...Get this thing out of here
in the next week or two,

'cause if we don't,
we're gonna end up in jail.

It's a big risk being down here.

Right on.
Let's fire her up.

Bill: We got a long night
ahead of us, damn.

Lot more mash,
damn flow down the hill,

Damn lot more of that liquor,
damn...

[ sighs ]
lot more liquor to run.

Josh: Wow.

How in the [bleep]
did that happen?

And we're cooking, y'all.

Coming out the worm?
Yeah.

Josh: Once we fill this up,

We're gonna have 300 gallons in
this tote of killer moonshine.

You want to talk
about sweet victory.

Josh: We got two more runs
to do, brother.

I'd say we're gonna probably be
here hours before we're done.

I'll sit here and drink beer and
the damn liquor we're making.

[ sniffs ]

Reckon it's any good?

[ laughs ]

And we finally
damn get liquor going,

And I've been drinking
a little bit and josh been
drinking a little bit.

Maybe a little bit too much
quality control.

[ coughing ]

It's a little hot.

Me and bill
both drinking a little bit,

But that's just making it
more fun.

We're making moonshine.
We're making money.

I'm having a blast.
I'm all about it.

Ow!
[bleep] damn.

[ groans ]

That moonshine's
kicking my damn ass.

Holy [bleep]

Bill: What'd you do?

How partial are you to that
guitar case? [ laughs ]

It's got a guitar in it.

Yeah, the guitar's okay,
but the case ain't.

What's up with it?
What'd you do?

I melted it.

Melted it? With what?
The lantern.

Listen, we got good moonshine.
That's all that matters.

No, that's all that matters.
Listen --

Get out my [bleep] damn
way, man.

Listen,
we got good moonshine.

Oh, you ain't upset about
that guitar case, are you?

Well, you [bleep] it up.

Is it smoking?

[ guitar strumming ]

[ off-key ]
¶ middle of the night,
josh burned my guitar case ¶

¶ I don't know why, but I
want to hit him in the face ¶

¶ we just got this run done ¶

¶ and you want to [bleep]
my [bleep] up ¶

¶ I didn't think you were trying
to start a fight ¶

¶ well, I ain't in the [bleep]
damn mood for it ¶

I think you need another
drink and your song
will sound even better.

¶ josh and bill are having

The best luck they've ever had
upon a still ¶

Narrator: Halfway
through their second run,

Josh and bill have banked
150 gallons of shine.

But their celebration
may be premature.

With one more batch to go,
their night is far from over.

And as the sun rises,
just over the state line,

Two shiners are getting
their day started.

Back up.

Mark and jeff have built
a bootlegging pontoon boat

To deliver a large order of
shine to a buyer in tennessee.

Mark: Well, the best thing
can happen to us, it'll float.

And worst thing could happen
to us, it'll sink.

We'll just have to put it in
and see.

We really don't know.

Mark, I believe
we got her tied down.

Let's go see
if she'll float.

Put her in.
Okeydoke.

Narrator: But just getting
this behemoth to the water

Will be no small feat.

It gets to rocking too much,
it'll turn over.

Yeah. Ain't near as bad
on the pavement, the rocking.

No.

It feels pretty heavy.

Now, you can't tell
in this truck.

This thing got
so much horsepower

That you can't tell
if nothing's heavy or not.

Yeah. And it's deep.

You can swing real wide
right here.

Real slow.

That rocky.

[ laughs ]
made her, though.

Yeah, I figured
it'd rock a little there.

We just have to ease down
through here.

Mm-hmm.

Steep curve here,
ain't it?

These curves,
you don't mind much of it --

Lord, that rocked her big.
Lord have mercy.

Whole thing
makes me nervous.

Yeah.

Oh, god.
Boy, it rocked.

I don't like that rocker,
betty.

Yeah.

Mark: Whoa!

[ metal creaking ]

Come here and help!

I need another man or two
on this --

Pull on this thing.

Come here
and help!

Narrator: Coming up...

I got to pull it out
of my own account.

Narrator:
...Tickle's tapped out.

Tickle:
Bad feeling to be broke.

I can't blame this
on anybody but me.

[ keyboard playing ]
it's a cha-cha.

[ holds a note ]

No.

Narrator: On a winding back road
in appalachia,

A bootlegging boat may be sunk
before its maiden voyage.

Mark: Whoa!

[ metal creaking ]

Come here and help!

I need another man or two
on this --

Pull on this thing.

Come here and help!

Little more.

Little more.

There it goes.

[ grunting ]

Ah.

It's heavy.

Put a little dent
in the back of it, there.

I hit this, it eased over.
Pbht!

We'll just have to put it in
the lake and see what it does.

With damages sustained
to one of the pontoons,

There's no guarantee
this rig will stay afloat.

All right.

We're fixing to back this thing
into the water,

And, really, I don't know
how it's gonna set.

But we gonna find out
one way or the other.

You can back me on in
there, and I guess I
can just let it down.

Okeydokey.
Here we go.

I'm gonna back him out.

Okay. Back him up there
and fire him up.

Are you a-floating?

We're floating.

Sitting good?

Motor runs real good.

It sits good in the water, too.

It worked better
than I thought it would.

When I bring it back, we're
gonna be hauling some moonshine.

Narrator: The pontoon
test-launch is a success.

But over in virginia,

One shiner is struggling
to keep his business afloat.

Tickle:
It's a bad feeling to be broke.

Narrator: This was supposed
to be a record year for tickle,

But a combination of shipping
costs, junkyard payoffs,

And a series of bad deals have
put the squeeze on his earnings.

Tickle: It's right here, man.
It's not an easy thing to do.

Narrator:
Tickle's still trying to sell

His remaining
60 gallons of shine...

I got to send tyler and chico
some money.

Narrator: ...But his partners
need money now.

They've run out of patience.

Tyler: And I'm not gonna dwell
on tickle.

We're gonna get
what we got to get done.

We're gonna make our year
successful.

Narrator: To keep
the partnership from imploding,

Tickle needs to send tyler
and chico a show of good faith.

It's just done come
right down to it.

I got to pull it out
of my own account.

They need money right now.

I don't have it to send them.

[ atm beeping ]

Pretty much broke now.

But what am I gonna do?

I got to send this money,
you know?

They've done their part.
They've sent it to me.

And I'm having a terrible time,
you know,

Selling this stuff
and getting my contacts right.

Can't blame this
on anybody but me.

Onto the post office.

This hurts, right here.

This is my line of work.
This is what I do.

I'm gonna make this work
one way or the other.

Narrator:
Next time on "moonshiners"...

Tickle: This is a make-or-break
situation right here.

Narrator:
...Roadside jitters...

...The morning after...

Josh: We've been drinking
since yesterday,

And I wished he'd hit
the dirt, 'cause he's done
getting on my damn nerves.

Bill: Josh?

[bleep] damn it.

Narrator:
And trouble on the water.

Hey, huck.

Yeah?

I got a lot of bad news.

What's wrong?