Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 4, Episode 13 - Bros Before Hooch - full transcript

I feel like it, too.
Yeah.

[ coughs ]

Dang right.

Narrator:
Tonight on "moonshiners"...

Tickle: I got one guy
willing to take all of it.

Narrator:
...A shiner left high and dry...

I just can't sit here no longer.
I'm getting out of here.

Narrator:
...A still site in ruins...

You think
our still beer's ready?

Oh, hell.
What is it?

Hell,
all our stuff's gone.



...And caught
in the high beams...

What's the matter,
cutie pie?

[ cutie pie barks ]
shh! Bill.

Cutie pie,
come here now!

Man: This is how
we make the moonshine!

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Narrator: In late autumn,

Cooler temperatures slow
mash fermentation,

And bare trees
make for poor cover.

So a cold snap
in the mountain air

Sends a clear message

To the backwoods shiners
of appalachia --

It's time to start packing up
and cashing out.

And on a lake that spans



The north carolina-tennessee
border,

Two shiners are taking
a second shot at their payday.

All we got to do
is just move slow.

Got her tied up.

Narrator:
Mark and jeff have a major buyer
at the other end of the lake.

The last time they hit
these waters,

Mark lost more than 40 gallons
to the drink.

So this time,
he's taken extra precautions

Because if they fail to make
this delivery a second time,

Their season is sunk.

Jeff: Let's go.

[ engine revs ]

Mark: If they pull up on me,
I'm caught.

I can't run.

All I can do

Is jump in the water
and cool off a little,

'cause it's over.

It's risky
crossing state lines with it.

They always looking
for out-of-staters.

You're moving it further, too.

You just take a bigger chance,
you know,

And they'll burn you up,
cross the state line with it.

Narrator:
Mark and huck's 15-mile journey
will take them

Through a system
of lakes and tributaries

Across north carolina
into east tennessee,

Enabling them to cross
state lines

While keeping off the roads.

Mark: It's a little dangerous
sometimes, doing things,

But you still got to do it.

Hook us up
to that tree there.

We get her.

Narrator:
Mark can finally breathe easy.

This sale just netted him $5,000

And secured them a new market
in tennessee.

But they could soon have
some competition.

I mean, these guys is ready
to hand us cash.

They excited about getting
this top-shelf liquor.

Tyler: The buyer that we've got
down here in nashville,

He's tied up
in the country-music scene.

These guys,
they don't play around.

They got big-time money.

I need my money, like, now.

Narrator: After a slow start
to shine season

With tickle's sluggish sales
in virginia...

How much
have you got gone?

...Chico and tyler
switched gears,

Brewing up
a top-shelf honey shine

To put them in the black.

Chico:
We stepping up to a clientele
that's on another level --

Suit-and-tie,
titty-bar type.

Pretty much.

Now tyler's landed
a big tennessee buyer

For their first batch.

We get down here,
talk to this guy,

You know, this is gonna answer
our problem

With getting this moonshine
moved out of state.

[ groans ]
well, I don't know, man.

This is a lot bigger scale
than what we was thinking.

And to close
this cross-state deal,

The shiners are taking flight.

I'm gonna line us up
a private airplane down here,

Pick up this liquor,
and take it to nashville

So that we don't have
to drive it in a vehicle.

Well, these people

That I'm talking to
down in nashville,

They good folk,
they got money.

They ain't nothing
to worry about.

Yeah, that still
don't stop somebody

From setting us
the hell up, man.

What's going on?

Oh, pretty good.

Talked to a guy
down in nashville,

Said you might be doing
a little delivering for us.

Yeah? We gonna make sure
you took care of.

I ain't never been
in no airplane.

This thing look like a toy

Come out of a cracker-jack box,
you know?

My truck weighs more
than this airplane does.

And for all I know,

He hits a blue jay,
he's going down.

Narrator:
Chico and tyler aren't the first
to bootleg by air.

During prohibition, a handful
of adventurous bootleggers

Took to the skies,

Exploiting the lack
of air-traffic laws

To sneak
up to 50 cases at a time

Across international borders.

When making a drop-off at night,
bootleggers on the ground

Would line up along
an abandoned field,

Fire up their headlights

To create a makeshift
landing strip,

Unload the shine
into their cars,

Then speed off into the night.

What we talking
about here is,

We don't really want
to be on the radar.

You know, they probably got logs
and everything here.

That's awesome.

Oh, that's perfect.
Yeah.

You done this before,
ain't you?

[ chuckling ]
it ain't none of my business.

You got something
we can kind of look at

To kind of get a squared-up idea
of where we gonna be headed?

Oh, lord.
How you read that thing?

Okay.

Yep. I know right where
that road's at.

So, we call you, tell you
what time we gonna be there,

You can meet us there,

We can load it,
get it off the ground.

Yeah, well,
the way I got it figured is,

We gonna go ahead
and get you paid half up front,

And when you drop it off,

They gonna pay you
the other half.

We appreciate you, man.

Hopefully, it'll be
the easiest money you ever made.

Well,
that old boy seems like

He's done something like that
before.

Yeah, well,
that's why he's connected

With these people
that I'm talking to.

That's what
they use him for.

Still, we trusting somebody
with a whole lot of money.

Yeah, but we gonna make
a whole lot more back.

We ain't seen
no money yet.

Narrator: Up in virginia,

Chico and tyler's former partner
is having worse luck.

I'm right worried
about this thing.

I hadn't drove it
in a long time.

It's not acting quite right.

Narrator:
After a series of setbacks
selling his kentucky shine...

Tickle:
He stole the damn shine, man.

Narrator:
...Tickle was finally
hitting his stride...

...Until tim decided
to take back his territory.

I know you've been
taking care of business,

But, you know, you don't
have to do that no more.

Now forced to sell
outside virginia,

He's rushing to meet a buyer

Who can unload
all that's left of his shine

Safely out of state.

Tickle:
Having this much shine on you
is not good.

Narrator: But he's running low
on more than just time.

[ engine sputters ]

My fuel gauge don't work.

We're running out of gas.

[ grunts ]
come on.

Dang it.

[ groans ]
that's not good.

[bleep]

[ sighs ]

This thing ain't acting right.

I don't like
the way it's feeling.

She's acting like
she don't want to go.

I'm having to really push it
hard to make it do anything.

Let me see what I can do here.

Know what?

This thing's just gonna be
like gas.

I just need a little bit
to get me there.

Narrator:
Already behind schedule,

Tickle hopes
to jump-start his engine

By pouring shine
into the carburetor.

But this could cause
more problems than it solves.

For decades,
when gasoline was scarce,

Moonshiners used
high-proof shine as ethanol

To run their cars.

Auto makers recommend

Using 100% pure ethanol
to run an engine,

But alcohol as low as 75% pure,
or 150 proof,

Has been known to work.

However, the remaining 25%,
made mostly of water,

Can quickly rust a car's
cylinders and piston heads.

Before long, the corrosion
will cause the engine to seize.

Tickle:
I tell you what, boy.

If this thing backfires,
this will not be pretty.

All right.
That right there.

[ parking brake disengages ]
all right.

That right there should have
caused all that to turn loose.

[ engine sputters ]

Really?

[ engine revs, rattles ]

Well, you know...

This is really risky,
me doing this right here.

Luckily, there's a gas station
right here.

This feller right here,

He's just gonna
have to understand.

[ groans ]

Any other way,
I'm dead in the water.

I better turn her off.

[ engine stops ]
phew!

How in the hell do I get myself
into things like this?

Narrator: Coming up --
a legacy on the line.

I got to know if I meet
your standards or not.

Cops close in
on mark and digger.

Oh [bleep]
don't even slow down.

Oh, man,
that's a sheriff's got him.

Damn.
Ooh.

And later, radio silence.

Josh, where you at?

Narrator: Home to america's
oldest english settlement,

Virginia's coast and mountains
were the sites

Of the country's first
whiskey stills,

And today, a proud descendent
of that tradition

Is hoping to prove
that virginia

Is still the home
of american whiskey.

Going to see my old buddy
chuck miller.

I got to strike
when the iron is hot.

Right now, I got the opportunity
of a lifetime.

Narrator:
Climax moonshine is finally
legal for distribution

In tim's home state.

We gonna really have to make
some corn whiskey now.

We're gonna make
some climax moonshine.

But a rush job of 2,000 cases
in 20 days

Left him and local
micro-distiller chuck

Little time to bask
in his hard-earned victory.

Tim: Both of us
kind of worked together,

And we got the ingredients
together.

The mash is ready.

Narrator:
With his mash ready,

The first batch of climax
will determine

Whether or not he can make
the state's delivery schedule.

But the proof
will all be in the taste.

Hey, it's tim, man.
Come on in.

I'm glad to see you.

So, how we looking?
We got the mash going?

Well, you know,
I think it's ready.

Wha-- w-what?

I didn't know
you had a copper tank

That you put the mash in.

Well,
copper's an old-time metal

That they used for moonshine
for years.

I know the still is copper,
but not the mash tank.

Copper's ability
to remove sulfur from alcohol

Makes it the preferred metal
for condensing shine,

But because of its high cost,

Tim has never used it
to ferment mash yet.

I'm a little shaky
about the fermentation tank

'cause, you know,
I love stainless steel.

So this is
a traditional metal.

There's nothing wrong with it.
It just may change the taste.

But you're gonna love it.

I can smell it already.
Yeah.

Wow.

I'm gonna do a taste test
right now.

There you go.

Narrator:
If the flavor of the mash

Doesn't match
the state's approved product,

They'll have to dump the batch

And tim's chances of making
his deadline along with it.

I got to know if I meet
your standards or not, tim.

That's pretty good.

Aw, you can taste it,
can't you?

Yeah.

You could get drunk
off of drinking this.

You know, you don't have
to run it through distillation.

Just sit down
and have a party.

I think it's ready.

Here you go, chuck.

All right,
but we're gonna check the brix

To make sure it's finished.

See what it looks like, then.
All right. Let's go, huh?

"brix" is the measure of sugar
in a liquid.

Chuck's hydrometer is calibrated
to float on zero brix

When there's no sugar
left in the mash to ferment.

The closer the brix is to zero,
the higher the proof.

Look at it.
Look, look.

Looky there, huh?

That brix is right on zero.

It's ready.
It is finished.

Why don't we just put it
in the still?

Let's do it.
Let's just do it, tim.

Fire it up.
You ready?

Turn on the pump,
turn on the valve.

All right.
I'm gonna let her roll.

[ machine whirs ]

How's it doing?
We got it pumping?

Yeah, it's going down.

The next thing we need, tim,
is some heat.

You gonna turn the boiler on?

Yeah,
and fire this thing up.

Turn the fire on.

[ bell dinging ]

We gonna get her
rolling now.

On his 3,000-gallon setup,

Chuck has installed
a smaller collection chamber

Which will allow them
to test the taste and proof

As it comes
off the condensing unit.

Chuck, I can't wait
for it to hurry up and come out.

You know,
this is gonna be the first time

Climax moonshine
is made in virginia

In a legal distillery.

We are making history
here, tim.

We got something coming.

Good.
I hear it.

You can hear it.
But I don't see it.

Damn.
It ought to be there, tim.

I know.
[ chuckles ]

Look at that, look at that,
look at that!

Look at that!
Look at that!

Oh, yeah,
we got some whiskey falling.

About time.

Tim, you know what?
150 proof.

That tastes like
your whiskey.

[ both laugh ]
it tastes like my whiskey.

Chuck -- I trust chuck,

I've been knowing chuck
for many years,

And this is gonna make me
more moonshine.

That's what it's all about.
We got to make more.

Narrator:
With 1,800 gallons left to brew,
the hard work has just begun,

But tim, the former outlaw,

Has made his first legal whiskey
on his native soil.

What do you think?
That's pretty good.

Pretty good, is it?
That's climax.

And 400 miles to the southeast,

Another budding enterprise
is taking shape.

A new water-delivery service
is launched

On the roadways
of south carolina.

This truck is awesome.

Unless
we're getting ratted out,

I'm not too paranoid
about them finding the liquor.

Under the guise
of a legitimate business,

Josh and bill can bootleg
massive amounts of shine

In 10-gallon water jugs.

I'm gonna go
and throw the switch on it.

Do it.

All right.

We're in business now,
brother.

Things are finally
coming together.

We got this water truck,

We've made a ton of liquor,
a ton of money,

We're on top of the world.

That one's full.
That one's full.

You want to go ahead and cut it
here, just take what we got?

'cause we got plenty.

We got 50 gallons --
I mean, we got 100 gallons?

We've got almost 200 pumped out,
and we've only got --

Oh, yeah. We're done.

[ chuckling ]
man, she got a good bit

Lot more weight on her,
doesn't she?

Sure does --
200 gallons worth.

Narrator:
There's $20,000 worth of shine
in the back of this truck,

All of it tax-free.

What's up, man?

Bill: We were running that big
submarine pot this year.

I mean, we've been sitting
on more liquor

Almost than we know
what to do with.

$500?

It's all there, dude.
Thank y'all.

Appreciate it.

If we can keep on going
like this,

I bet we'll be looking good.

Bill: Not this one.
Next driveway.

Yep, this one right here
with the rocks.

Cutie pie,
you stay here, girl.

How's it going, man?

Since we got this truck,

We can make sales
of like 100 gallons at a time.

We got more money
than we've ever seen.

Appreciate it, man.

Good deal, brother.

Thank you, man.

If we go in the woods,

Back to over
to the damn still site,

We can fill up
another 300 gallons of liquor.

Take care, man.
That's gonna be our stash.

That's gonna get us
through the winter

And hopefully get us through
all the way to next season.

We ain't gonna quit yet,
damn it.

It wasn't no damn easy path,

But it's starting to look
like we know what we're doing.

I'm ready to keep running

Till we got more moonshine
than we know what to do with.

Narrator:
While josh and bill

Have finally found their footing
as moonshiners,

Two old pros
are rediscovering theirs.

This is a little bit
off the beaten path,

But not too far.

Mark and digger
have come out of retirement

To bring heritage shine
back to eastern tennessee.

Yeah, it's far enough
to be out of eyeshot, I hope.

They've perfected
an apple-rye whiskey,

Which is ready
to take to market.

It takes you a second or two.
You'll get that apple.

This will be
their first big sale

Since they worked
with popcorn sutton

Almost a decade ago.

I like a notion of selling
this whole big load

At one whack, you know,
to one person.

We're meeting
our friend barry today.

He's buying a whole load
of liquor from us.

You can make some money
selling it a jar at a time,

But it's a whole lot
more risky.

Yeah, you got 50 people
to tell on you instead of 1.

Yep.

I know barry well.

I've known him a lot of years.

I got a lot of faith in barry,

But, on the other hand,
you know,

How good
do you ever know anybody?

Yeah,
right up yonder hills.

There he is.

Digger: What are you doing
there, old man?

[ car door closes ]
hey, barry.

How you doing?
You're on time.

There you go, buddy.
That's high-proof liquor.

I guarantee it,
it's over 100 proof.

Digger?
Yep. Hand them to me.

I'll hand them to you.

[ grunting ]

All right.

We're going?

You good? All right.

Appreciate you, brother.

[ car door closes ]

Narrator: This haul earned them
a cool two grand.

Ramsey: I gave barry an account
number with a fictitious name

For him to deposit our money
into that account.

Barry has been in trouble,

And if the money that he would
have given us was marked,

Then, time it goes
through the bank,

The chances of us
getting that same money back

Will be slim to none.

I'm glad to have that load
dropped off and delivered.

Yeah. Me, too.

[ cellphone ringing ]

Oh, there he is now.

What the hell is that?

What you doing, bud?

Oh, man.
You broke down?

Who drives
a [bleep] truck?

I don't like that.

We jumped on this
too quick,

Sold it to the first guy

That come down the road
with money.

Phew.

Oh [bleep]
this ain't good.

Don't even slow down.

Oh, man,
that's the sheriff's got him.

Damn.

[bleep]

Narrator: Coming up --
foul play afoot.

Oh, hell.
What is it?

All our stuff's gone.

Gone?!

And last chance for tickle.

Tickle: This guy's
supposed to be here by now.

[ siren wailing ]

Something's not right
about this.

Narrator: On the far edge
of eastern tennessee...

Digger:
That's the sheriff's got him.

Ramsey: Damn.

...With their associate
apprehended,

Two shine veterans are fleeing
the scene of the crime.

We need to go
get that still broke down.

We need to get it ready
to come out of the woods.

With no way of knowing

What barry may or may not
have told the law,

Mark and digger are leaving
nothing to chance

And heading
straight to the woods

To tear down their site.

Things went awry a little bit
for us.

We got to be extra,
extra vigilant.

We got to make sure
we didn't leave nothing behind

That could be traced
back to us.

Digger: We've got to move
someplace else.

It's better be safe than sorry.

Oh, lord.

Guess we'll try
to go to the creek with it.

Yep. I'm gonna get rid
of any sign of it.

Narrator:
Any incriminating evidence
has to go,

Including the last 100 gallons

Of digger's
premium apple-rye mash.

Boy, that right there
breaks my heart.

Well, them damn fish
will be happy.

Just like good, old days,
though, ain't it?

Man.

Damn,
it's such bad luck.

All right. You got it?

I got it.

You reckon we ought
to go someplace and hide

Till it gets
good and dark?

Uh, maybe.
May not be a bad idea.

Narrator:
En route to the virginia-
north carolina border...

Tickle:
Oh, yeah, the brakes is feeling
a lot better.

We got gas in this thing.

Narrator:
...Tickle's racing to a sale

Where he hopes to unload
his entire stash

While honoring tim's request

To keep his shine
out of virginia.

This guy, he's taking the stuff
out of the state,

So I ain't hurting tim's sales.

Chico and tyler?

Well,
they're getting their money.

Well, the only one who ain't
really getting paid is me.

Ain't too happy about
meeting this guy over here

Where he's wanting to meet.

I'm going to a place
I don't know

To meet someone
that I don't know.

Ain't got a whole lot of choice,
though.

All right.

We're just about to where we're
supposed to meet this guy at.

There's a cop right there
turning in front of us.

I mean, especially
with this much shine in here,

I mean,
this thing is loaded down.

All right.
I think this is it.

[ engine stops ]

Well...

This guy's supposed to be here
by now.

Let me call this dude, man.

Ain't got no signal here.

[ siren wailing ]

Oh [bleep]

Something's not right
about this.

Narrator: The stars stand watch
over north carolina

As two shiners
head back into the bush.

Have you ever run any whiskey
in the night?

Yeah.
Have you?

You heard of working after dark
as "moonshining," ain't you?

Well, this is moonshining.

This season, jim tom and roy

Pulled a century's worth of
combined moonshine know-how...

Does that suit you?
Oh, yeah.

...To build and run
their own still.

But getting their setup
up to speed...

...Has taken the better part
of the season.

Tonight, they're finally ready
to run some good corn whiskey.

You think
our still beer's ready?

I --
oh, yeah. I know it is.

It's been working long enough.
It's ready.

Just hold your taters,
as they say.

Now let's go back
up through here,

See if we can see anybody.

Get this over with.

If not,
go right up through that holler.

[bleep] to getting it.

Pretty night for this,
ain't it?

You ready?

Get this over with
and get out of here.

Whoop.

Oh, hell.
What is it?

Gone?!

Well, god,
it is gone, ain't it?

It's supposed to be
a shut and run thing.

They damn sure ruined us,
didn't they?

They poured every bit
of that dang still beer out.

They poured every --

Hey, let me see.
It ain't been too long since --

Poured out.

It ain't been two days
since they poured that out.

Now I go to the water line --
they didn't bother with that.

They got the bigger
stop keg, see.

They got
the big copper one.

They didn't care
about that.

They was --
I know what it is.

They was after
that scrap copper.

They poured that beer out
for meanness,

And they got the still
to either use

Or to sell for junk.

Narrator: With copper prices
at an all-time high,

Reported thefts in the u.S. Have
tripled in the last five years.

Looking to turn a quick buck,

Copper thieves will hit
construction sites, railroads,

And sometimes,
an unattended still site.

Jim tom: It pisses me off.

I gone had a lot of money
tied up in this, didn't we roy?

Yeah.

That just makes me
want to cry, really,

But I'm tougher than that.

Yeah.
I've had this done before.

They ain't got us
whupped out.

Let's get what little stuff
we got left here,

Get it in the truck,
get the hell out of here.

I don't think
it was the law, do you?

No, no.

Probably would have.

Somebody
may have been up in here

Looking around and found it,
some of these young boys.

Yeah. Yeah.

Hey.
We don't give up.

No. We ain't giving up.

We'll dig them in,

We'll put beer
right back in them,

And then the next time --
we can't come back to this.

Well, roy, take me home.
I'm all upset.

Oh!

Yeah.

Narrator: Coming up --
these hills have eyes.

What the hell is that?
[bleep] was that?

I'll be back in a minute.

And a moonshiner shut down.

Tickle:
I just can't sit here no longer.

I'm getting out of here.
This is not good.

Narrator:
Under the dark of night...

Bill: Them dogs got me
nervous as hell right now.

...Two shiners are prepping
their last run of the season.

Josh: Hold on a minute.
Thing's heavy, man.

Josh and bill have sold
over $25,000 worth of shine,

And they're not ready
to call it quits yet.

[bleep] that thing.

It weighs a ton.

This is gonna be
the fun part right here.

But returning to these woods

May be their riskiest decision
to date...

[ dog barking ]

...Because this site has
attracted unwelcome guests.

[ growls ]

And where there are
hunting dogs,

There are hunters.

I'm gonna go
turn our mash on.

All right.

Josh:
So, the law's on our ass.

We got dogs
coming in our campsite.

That means their owners
probably aren't too far away.

She should be running.

[ liquid trickling ]
yep, yep.

We got to make as much moonshine
as fast as we can and get out.

Whew! I didn't think that stuff
was ever gonna pump down.

Right on.
Let's fire her up.

Nothing to do than let her
heat up, get her capped up,

And then we'll have liquor
in no time.

All right.

[ metal rattling ]

All right, brother.

That her?
Yep.

Whew!

Waiting game now.

Nothing but a waiting game.

Why don't that look clear?

It is.
Them jars' dirtier than hell.

How hot she is.
You getting ready to mud?

Oh, yeah.
Yeah, it's time.

She's definitely ready.

Do you have the flour?
Bill: Yep.

I know you don't want to use
this hot water.

Let's see it a second.

It doesn't need much.

It doesn't need much.
That's too much.

Dude, you look like

You making mashed potatoes
over there, man.

You want a bite?
No.

You done put
too much damn water in it, man.

It's gonna be sticky as hell.

It's perfect.
It'll work.

Well, it'll work,
mr. Perfectionist.

Yeah.

[ twig snaps ]

The hell was that?
[bleep] was that?

Here,
mud this thing up and I'll --

You hear that?

You gonna check it out?

I'll be back in a minute.

What's the prognosis, man?
Where you at?

[ radio beeps ]

Come back, man.
Where you at?

What was that?

Narrator: In a back alley
in southern virginia,

Time's running out on tickle.

This guy's supposed to be here
by now.

This guy don't show up
in another couple of minutes,

I'm gonna have to get out
of here.

Narrator:
He's ready to finally offload

All that's left
of his high-proof whiskey,

But the buyer is a no-show.

Tickle:
I'm sitting here forever
waiting on him.

[ sirens wailing in distance ]

[ sighs ]

And why is there no service
here?

I just don't like this.

Mm.

[ lighter clicks ]

I've been almost an hour
waiting on this guy.

I got one guy
willing to take all of it...

But I just can't sit here
no longer.

I'm getting out of here.

Hell, I got somebody
pulling in here now.

Ugh.

Tickle: Man, I've been waiting
here forever for you, man.

I was fixing
to take this stuff home.

It has been a bad day.

All right?

I need cash.

All right.

All right.

That looks about right,
right there.

That one done lost its top.

She's got to go.

And the last five back there.

All right. That's it.

[ speaks indistinctly ]

We'll see you!

Luckily, he finally shows up.

Everything's all good.
We load this stuff out, right?

I'm back in the camper, and
I'm hauling butt down the road,

Hoping I never see that alley
again in my life.

Narrator: This final sale
nets tickle $5,000 --

Enough to pay off his debts
and break even for the season.

I ain't really making no money.

Tyler and chico,
they're happy --

They got their money.

Tim, I didn't really affect
his sales,

And I'm gonna be eating beans
for a long damn time --

Beans and bologna --
but you know what?

Ain't nothing wrong
with beans and bologna.

Hell, I kind of like 'em.

Narrator: Coming up --
cutie pie goes awol.

[ cutie pie barks ]

Josh: Shh!

Cutie pie!
Shut up!

Tim: Chuck tells me he's got
a tank down here in the woods,

So we got to go down here
and find his tank.

And then chuck gives me
this truck to drive

That don't have a door on it,
and it's raining.

It's like old school right here.

I think chuck was an illegal
moonshiner at one time,

'cause this is like
a moonshiner truck.

It's like a quick getaway,
you know?

You can, like, jump out and go.

Well, wonder if I could jump out
and walk beside the truck.

Would that work?
Yeah, that'll work.

[ cameraman laughs ]
okay. Good luck.

Okay, now we're back.
Well, that was good, wasn't it?

I need some water.

[ grunts ]

Oh! There's my water right here.

Mm.

So, it makes it good
to get in and out of the truck

And get a bottle of water.

How about that?

Want some water?

Narrator: Deep
in the south carolina woods,

Josh has wandered off
into the darkness

Because he and bill
may not be alone.

What's the prognosis, man?
Where you at?

[ radio beeps ]

Come back, man.
Where you at?

[ radio beeps ]
josh: What was that?

Listen, just be quiet
and let me meander around.

[ radio beeps ]

All right, man.

[ radio beeps ]

I don't know,
but I heard something

Moving around up in here
or something.

To hell with it.

What we got, brother?

I don't see nothing,

But there's a damn trail
wore slick in here.

I'm hoping
that it's just a deer trail.

I'm probably 60 yards
from the still site,

And it's lit up
like a christmas tree,

And I can see everything.

We're sitting ducks
down here.

Bow hunters in the woods,
the dogs in the campsite.

We need to run this thing
wide open

And get it tore down
and get it out.

Well,
if you don't see nobody,

Get your ass
back down the hill, man.

Let's finish up this run

And then
get the hell out of dodge.

Myself, I'm a bow hunter,
I'm in the woods.

I know for a fact

That people
are in the woods right now

Because I've been out
hanging my tree stands

All over god's creation.

Hell, she's already steaming
over at the worm.

She spitting out yet?

I don't know.
Let's go see.

Oh, yeah.
She's running now.

She's coming out, bill.
All right.

Bill: As of right now,
we've got enough mash.

We get our underground tank
stocked up.

That's gonna be our stash.

That's gonna get us
through the winter

And hopefully get us through
all the way to next season.

Narrator:
With another 100 gallons

To add
to their winter stockpile,

Josh and bill can finally
call themselves

Full-time shiners.

There went the heads.

And it's been a long journey.

Bill, we finally
just about got this down.

We about to start
to get a game plan
on some of this stuff.

I don't think we could have made
any more mistakes, honestly.

It's been a long road
to get here.

When we first started out,

Then once we get
to start cooking,

I'd be like, "turn it up!
Turn it up!

Damn, I want to see some liquor
coming out of this thing."

I wanted to hear a thumping,
son.

We learned our lesson with that,
didn't we?

[ chuckling ] yeah.

What did it taste like?

Oh, when we scorched it?
Yeah.

Burnt pan of cornbread

At the bottom
of the damn dirty dishwater.

You ate cornbread
from the dirty dishwater?

Well, in a pinch,
an apocalyptic situation.

In an apocalyptic situation?
Yeah.

This thing's got to be
about to wind down here.

What's she tasting like?

[ slurps ]

That's pale.

You might as well
turn that off.

Whew!

I'm getting completely out,
dude.

I am ready to lay down.

[ cutie pie whines ]

What's the matter,
cutie pie?

[ cutie pie barks ]

Shh! Bill.

Cutie pie!
Cutie pie, come here!

Cutie pie!
Cutie pie!

[ cutie pie barks ]

Shh!
Cutie pie!

That's the damn law, bill.

[ cutie pie barking ]

Cutie pie! Shut up!

[ cutie pie barks ]

Oh, my god.
He heard that [bleep]

Narrator:
Next time on the season finale
of "moonshiners"...

It's a whole lot different
than the way we used to do it.

...The virginia boys are back.

Tim: If we're gonna meet
this shipment,

We got to be there on time.

They would cancel
the whole order.

Deputy chuck stewart
has his day.

Chuck:
What's this door here?

That's my little door
that I carry stuff in.

And...
Bill: What the [bleep]

[ siren wails ]
...Shock and awe.

Get on the ground!
Stop! Police!

Stop! Police!

Where's your partner
going?

Hey,
shut that camera off.