Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 5, Episode 15 - Presidential Shine - full transcript

As cold winds blow
South towards appalachia,

Outlaws know that if they want
To survive the winter,

It's shine now or shine never.

You don't know
What I've been through for this.

In south carolina,
A season comes down to a sip.

That was a horn.

Intruders in north carolina.

That ain't no good.

And the long arm
Of the law reaches tennessee.

"Sorry I missed you guys."

Says sheriff.



♪ no one can hold me down ♪

♪ or make me change my ways ♪

♪ so don't waste your breath
Saying ♪

♪ crime never pays ♪

♪ we're going for a ride ♪

♪ running to survive ♪

♪ and living outside the law ♪

♪ we're living
Outside the law ♪

This is how
We make the moonshine!

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

Ho!

Oh, yeah.

In south carolina,
Two shiners

Have begun their maiden run
Of an appalachian classic.



Oh, yeah.

After losing his partner...

I just can't work
With you no more.

...Josh enlisted the help
Of a legend.

Cherry bounce right there.

The duo are trying to revive
A heritage moonshine blend

Of mountain cherries
And sourwood honey...

But have yet
To run a single drop.

I got to tell you,
Jim tom,

I can't believe
I got you down here.

Oh, yeah.
You got it.

How about it, cutie pie?

I think she likes you,
Jim tom.

Oh, sure.
Cutie pie knows me.

Cutie pie's a damn good
Judge of character,

And she loves jim tom.

Look at her
Hugging on you.

Anybody good enough
For cutie pie,

Hell,
They're good enough for me.

This thing
Should be running any time.

And we're running, jim tom.

What's that?

That's what barney calls it,
The money piece.

Barney and jim tom are a lot
Alike in a lot of ways.

Ooh, that's crazy.

I knew that working with barney,

When I look back at it, it was
Gonna be something I cherished.

And the same thing
In working with jim tom.

Just one in a million.

I'm a little nervous.

It's a family recipe,
But I've never made it before.

You can do everything right
And still not have it right.

Here, jim tom, I want you to get
The first taste.

Okay.

Boy, smells good.

If josh's cherry bounce
Isn't up to snuff,

The gamble will have
Cost time, money,

And his shot
At 1,000-gallon season.

Ahh!

You don't know
What I've been through for this.

Ahh. It's got a good
Flavor, don't it?

Man, I been bee stung,

I've been in fights,

I've sweated, I've cried,

I've done just about everything
You can think of

To get to where we are today,

And finally, I've got
Some cherry bounce.

You taste fresh honey
And fresh cherries,

And I think it tastes amazing,

And I'm damn sure
My family would be proud.

Here's to you
For coming down here

And helping me with this.

Even though jim tom's here

Helping me make
This cherry bounce,

I wonder what the heck
Bill's doing, you know?

I wonder
If he's making moonshine

Or at the bar or --

Just kind of wondering
What he's up to.

The first successful
Run of cherry bounce

In over a century

Has yielded josh 60 gallons
Of his legacy spirit.

♪ won't you come and go
With me back to robbinsville? ♪

♪ we'll go out snow bird ♪

♪ and show you my big still ♪

Digger, we need to go back
And check our old still sight.

Well, we can if I can stay awake
Long enough.

You about had it,
Ain't you?

Every time I ate a big ol'
Plate full of mexican food,

Like a four-pound ambien.

In cocke county, tennessee,

Mark and digger's season
Is in the home stretch.

You know, it's awful
Early in the year

For the leaves
To be coming off.

Yeah,
They're coming off quick.

This is crazy.

A flash flood sent them packing,

But after a series
Of successful runs

On their camping trip...

Man, that's the best corn liquor
I've tasted in many a moon.

...The tennessee two are in
Striking distance of their goal.

Well, we're going back
To our still site

And make one more run.

You know, it's end
Of the season,

And them winter months
Are a whole lot easier to bear

When your wallet's thick.

What the hell?

Well *bleep*

-that ain't no good.
-damn.

Tore our damn stuff
All to pieces.

Why would you cut up somebody's
Damn mash barrel?

I don't know.

We walk up and looks like

Our mash barrel's been
Cut in half.

They didn't come
To steal nothing.

I mean, our tiki torch
*bleep* still here.

What's that?

"Sorry I missed you guys.
I'll catch you later."

Says sheriff.

Are you *bleep* me?

We found a nice little note
From our sheriff.

He'd signed it.
He autographed it for us.

This ain't just about tearing up
These barrels.

He's --
-no, he's sending us a message.

Damn it.

This is real serious business.

It's not fun and games
At this point.

I'll tell you
What I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna heed the message.

-yeah. Yeah.
-put it back in there.

-put that back -- how was it?
-just like that.

That's the way
We'll leave it alone,

Like we ain't never
Been back here,

And let's get our ass
Out of here.

Make it look
Like them leaves fell on it.

Ain't that some *bleep*

While empty
Mash barrels aren't illegal,

Mark and digger are now
In the crosshairs of the law.

Had there been
A still left at the site,

These two shiners
Would be in cuffs.

You know, at this point,

We're completely
Out of business.

Yep, this site's burnt out.

It's over.

He'd be proud.

That's what it's about,
Is carrying on the tradition,

Your heritage.

In the heart
Of red river parish,

Two louisiana shiners
Are striving to finish strong.

-smells good, don't it?
-mm-hmm.

Patti and david
Have set the swamp ablaze

With their jalapeño shine...

I like it.

...And are close
To having their best haul ever.

-you got the money, huh?
-yeah, I got the money.

But unwelcome neighbors
And the new fracking well

Could leave them
Running on borrowed time.

You think
Them fracking those wells

Is gonna mess this stream up?

Hydraulic fracturing,
Or fracking,

Is a process
Through which natural gas

Is liberated from beds
Of shale deep underground.

Fracking well operators
Drill down 6,000 to 10,000 feet,

Passing through several aquifers
And layers of rock

Until a deep layer
Of shale is hit.

Then a mix of water, sand,

And hydraulic fluid
Is pumped into the well

At pressures high enough
To fracture the shale

And release the natural gas
That permeates it.

Problems can arrive
If toxic hydraulic fluid

And natural gas seep up
Through the rock

And into the aquifers above,

Poisoning the water used
For crops,

Livestock, human consumption,

And in some cases, moonshining.

This season's ending.

I'm trying to get as much shine
As I can ran.

I'm trying to get supplied up
For a client

That I have
That buys a big bundle

From me at one time.

Now we're officially
Committing a felony.

Starting to heat up right here.

Should be coming out.

There it goes.

That's the heads of it.

And now we're making
Money, huh, daddy?

-yeah.
-I'm gonna proof it

And see what it's coming out at.

Me and daddy
Always try to make a bet.

Whoever loses has to clean.

I'm gonna say 150.

150.

Mm.

Looks like
You're gonna be cleaning.

Whew! It's hot.
It's good, though.

I ain't got none of that.

The last six-gallon run

Of patti and david's
Cajun shine

Caps off their most productive
Season yet.

Just hide that still.

Put some of that camo
On it for now.

Hey.
You lost the bet.

Where you going?

Ow.

-"Oh, ow."
-give me that thing.

A lot of times,
I have to keep him in line.

Now we can start hauling
Out the shine.

I'm not gonna
Be holding onto it long.

I have a buyer,
But I don't want to go to jail,

So we're gonna just
Stash it today,

And I'll get it moved
Around another day.

Who the heck is that?

That's our neighbor.

God darn.

Coming up...

What you reckon
Bill's up to?

Partner or not,
Once a shiner, always a shiner.

Oh, hell.
I'm losing liquor already.

And high anxiety
In north carolina.

Who the heck is that?

Back in louisiana,

Patti and david's cover
Has been blown.

Let's get back.
We got to get that still moved.

That son of a gun's
Fixin' turn us in.

Right now, we fixing to have
To move the still now.

That neighbor
Is just getting too close

And watching us too much.

And I guarantee you
He's on the phone

With the law right now.

It's a frantic type situation.

My main concern
When we got down the hill

Was get the still, the thumper,
And the worm.

Let's go.
Come on, daddy.

We threw it in the woods
Over here, remember?

The first thing
That entered my mind was

I hope I make it home
To my kids tonight.

You always have a plan
Of escape.

We discussed earlier in the year
Where we was gonna store

The still in case
Something happens, you know?

We went straight to that site,

Secured that still
As quickly as we could.

With a neighbor on their trail,

If patti and david can't sell

100 gallons of shine
Immediately,

They might need to dump it,

Ending the season in ruins.

People slack off
When they're trying

To do stuff illegal
And trying to get it done fast,

And that's when you get caught.

With us having problems
With the neighbor,

We have to get rid of

The whole load of moonshine
That I had tonight.

Y'all, kill that light.

We got cars coming.

Under the palmetto state's
Harvest moon...

Got cars driving up and down
This highway.

I'm out here
Trying to unload copper

And everything else.

...As one shiner gets his season
Off the ground...

Let's check on our mash,
Cutie pie.

...Another is hitting
His stride.

That's gonna be some good stuff.

You know, I can crank out a lot
More liquor with a bigger still,

But I'm okay
With downsizing my operation.

Stupid hose
Is about aggravating.

Normally bill would be
On the other end

Of this thing
Holding it down there.

All right.
Now we're in the business.

We set for mash.

I got two stills out here,

And that should yield me
About 2 1/2 gallons per pot.

So, if I can pull off
Five gallons,

I mean, that's 500 bucks
For a couple day's work.

In order to make the most
Of his smaller operation,

Bill is using a two-pot still.

The design heats the same amount
Of mash as larger stills,

But in half the time.

Here we go.

20 gallons of mash.

We're ready
To fire this thing up.

This mash worked off
Perfectly.

I'm gonna go ahead
And fire this baby up.

We got fire.
All right.

Now we're kind of
At a waiting game.

You know what?
You're a damn good partner.

You don't let anybody
Think they're gonna sneak up

On my dad's still site.

Oh, no, they get bit.

You want me to bite them?

What?!

What you think, cutie pie?
What you reckon bill's up to?

Think he's running shine
Like we are?

About ready to cap up.

These 12-gallon pots I got,

They're gonna
Heat up really fast.

I mean, I'm gonna be
Spitting off liquor in no time.

Hot dang, lookie there.

Go through all this trouble

And still end up losing liquor
By steam getting away from me.

I'd be upset.

We're soldered up.

Yeah, that creek's pumping.

Oh, hell.

Damn.
I'm losing liquor already.

Damn. Where's my batter?
Where's my batter?

It's looking like
The biggest problem

I'm having with this little rig,

It's going a little bit faster
Than I can keep up with.

You know, normally, you know,
With a big still,

You got an hour,
A couple hours

Before it starts steaming,
Before it starts boiling.

This thing got ahead of me.
Losing liquor.

I'm just flat-out losing liquor.

I sound like josh now.

If you could talk,
I know you'd be

Telling me some crazy *bleep*

It's not as fun being down here
By myself.

It don't seem right
To not have bill here.

What you looking
At me all funny for?

What?

Perfect.
It's running perfect.

Oh, oh, oh.
Them got liquor coming out.

So far so good.
We're looking good.

Catch a little bit
Of the good stuff

And see what we got.

Cherry bounce
Smells like pie crust.

Damn sure don't taste
Like pie crust.

I wish I had my hydrometer.

Got about 4 1/2 gallons.

It's not quite as much
As I was expecting off this run,

But a successful day.

Been a bunch of damn work,

But almost five gallons
Of liquor pinched off.

I'm finally hitting my stride.

I mean, I got my entire
Operation up and running.

It's just not quite right
Without bill here.

Yeah.

Across state lines
In north carolina...

Yeah, I brought it.

...Jeff, mark, and lance
Are risking their necks

By running
In a compromised location.

Reckon this mash is ready,
Mark?

It's good.

It's ready to go.

There been somebody here.

A security breech
Sent them packing

130 gallons short
Of their season goal.

Now jeff, mark, and lance
Hope that a whiskey

With roots
In the american revolution

Will save their season.

First crafted in 1797,

George washington's rye whiskey

Became one of the most
Popular spirits

In our then fledgling nation.

Jeff, mark, and lance

Are carrying
The tradition forward.

Ready?

She's lit, boys.

As an extra precaution,

Lance will run surveillance
Around the perimeter.

Looks like we got
Liquor running.

Get rid of this fingernail
Polish remover.

Yeah.

Yep.

I'll do 'er.

Come on, let's go.

Come on, let's go.

Hershey, come here.

Coming up...

Oh, hell.
Here comes a car.

A midnight rendezvous
Gone awry.

Looks like they're stopped.

Back in
The blue ridge mountains...

...Mark is learning
A hard lesson

On why this still site was
Abandoned in the first place.

Come on, hershey.
Let's go.

No.

Yeah.

You know, we finally
Got our whole run done.

We wound up with 20 gallons
Of george washington.

You know, it makes me nervous

When people are hunting
And dogs all around.

We're pushing our luck.

Did they stop or anything.

We're just
Gonna keep pushing our luck.

Well,
Let's get out of here.

After yet another
Run-in with their neighbor,

Patti and david
Are rushing to bootleg

Their last 100 gallons
Of the season.

9:00 I told him,
So we got to get going.

This right here's
How I like to sell it.

All one good time.

But I wasn't
Expecting it tonight,

But the neighbor
We saw there on the road

Made us have
To kick it into overtime

And get rid of this
A couple days earlier

Than what we were planning,

So I'm just glad
My buyer was available.

This guy here, he usually

Buys a big amount
From me at a time,

But this is the biggest
He's ever got from me.

We're excited
To get it off our hands.

Transporting or bootlegging

Is when shiners are most
Vulnerable to law enforcement.

So making a quick escape is key.

One bootlegger famous
For the speedy getaway

Was robert glenn johnson jr.,

Better known as junior johnson.

He started driving
As a 14-year-old,

Bootlegging for local shiners --

A job that eventually led him

To an 11-month stay
In federal prison.

But the skills
He learned evading the police

Along the back roads
Of appalachia

Proved an ideal training ground

For what became
An illustrious racing career.

Junior johnson went on to win

An unprecedented
50 racing titles.

But his ultimate victory
Came 30 years later

When president ronald reagan

Granted him a full
Presidential pardon

For his moonshine conviction,

Restoring his cherished
Right to vote.

Yeah.

Let's go make this money.

Let's do it.

If the transaction
Is successful,

Patti and david
Will make $15,000 --

Their largest single sale ever.

This is very tense moment.

I'm nervous
With every drop, really.

But this one here's really,
Really big drop.

I mean, we've got 100 gallons.

Okay.

You're gonna have to get out.

I don't know who that is,
But I'm fixing to find out.

Where's *bleep*

You got my money?

All right,
Let's get it unloaded then.

I don't know.
*bleep* sent her.

That's his buggy,
So we got our money.

That's all that matters.

Oh, hell, here comes a car.

Bring that tarp, daddy.
Hurry up.

Coming up...

Fanning the flames
In north carolina.

hello?

And everybody has a price
In tennessee.

We're empty
For the winter.

That's 50 bucks
More a gallon.

Oh, hell,
Here comes a car.

Bring that tarp, daddy.
Hurry up.

Bring that tarp.

On the back roads
Of louisiana...

...Patti and david
Have some unwanted guests.

-we got one more.
-one more.

Looks like they're stopped.

Come on, people.

We got it.

Keep going.

Man, that was close,
Wasn't it?

Too close.

-that's it.
-that's it.

Patti and david finished off

Their most productive season
Ever...

All right, let's go, daddy.
Thank you.

...With a $15,000 night,
Tax free.

Whoo!
Got that sale done.

We got the heck out of there,

Didn't get caught by the law.

I'm excited.
We had a hectic season.

But we made it through it,
We didn't quit.

We kept on going, and that's
The end result right there.

When I see this right here,
I'm happy.

My kids are gonna be happy,
My daddy's happy.

That's all that matters.

My daddy's an excellent partner.

If I was gonna have anybody
Out here with me,

It wouldn't be
Anybody else but him.

It's been a rough year,
You know, but we come back.

We was able to get on track,

And in fact, we surpassed
Where we were last year.

Moonshining
With patti is a blessing to me.

-160 proof.
-yeah.

We've always done
Everything together.

She's been my sidekick ever
Since she big enough to walk.

This here's gonna be the winner
This year.

I know she's got
My back covered

And I got her back covered.

She's the best daughter
A person could have.

I love her to death.

Gonna ride up there
And look at that place

Where I thought about putting
The pots to bed for the winter.

I called old ed earl,
And he said it's all right.

We can put them stills
In there.

He didn't think
Nobody'd bother them at all.

Yeah, you're talking
About that old chicken house

That they just store
Their stuff in nowadays.

Let's go look at it,
See what you think.

With their season
Coming to an abrupt end,

Tennessee shiners
Mark and digger

Are scouting locations to hide
Their copper for the winter.

You know, we've had a lot
Of bad omens this year.

You know, we had a flood come
Right through our still site,

Sheriff found our still site
Now that we've moved to.

It's time
To just wrap it up for a year

And hope for better luck
Next year.

Hello?

Hello?

What's going on?

We're kind of buttoned up
And empty for the winter.

Huh.

That ain't --
That ain't too shabby,

But I believe we're gonna keep
Everything put up, man.

We've had a little bit
Of heat on us.

Uh...

I'll have
To talk to mark, man.

He knows our product.

He's had it before,
So he's willing to pay.

The question is,
Are me and digger willing

To take the chance?

Let me talk to him.

I might be able
To talk him into it.

I'll call you back here
In an hour or so, man.

Usually when you hear that
Magic number game

Where they're offering you
A price, offering you a price,

Offering you a price,

You figure it's a setup.

Ain't nobody ever pay money
Like that for liquor.

But, you know,
When it's somebody you know,

You don't think that.

I'll tell you,
Let's go on down here

And look at this spot.

In the meantime, we'll come
To some type of decision.

I think we'll have to go ahead
And put these stills to bed.

I believe we should, too,

Right after we make this
Big ol' run of liquor.

I put a lot of faith in digger.

I just can't let our greed
Over-cloud good judgment.

That's 50 bucks more
A gallon.

I know.
That's awful teasing.

I ain't feeling that good
About it.

We've not had the best signs

From the moonshine gods
Look our way lately.

We got to hunt a still site.

We can find a still site.
I feel confident in that.

Ain't you up
To living to the challenge?

Don't you remember
"Smokey and the bandit"?

You know,
Winter months are thin,

And we still have bills to pay.

And they're not as thin
If your billfold's big and fat.

All right.
If you're happy with it,

Let's do it.
-I'm good with it.

I just want
To run it one more time --

Just this one last time,
Daddy.

It's more than
We could make in twice the time.

When this one's done,

You happy with
Putting them in here

And storing them
For the winter?

Yeah, I'm good with it.

If you're good
With this one last run.
-all right.

Well, you know, these
Short days and cool nights,

I mean, the leaves are
Coming off the trees.

We're losing our cover fast.

So, we've got to get out here
And hunt a spot quick like.

Damn it.
Let's do it.

Coming up, flying solo
In south carolina.

Oh, crap.

It's just kind of bittersweet
'cause I don't have bill here.

Aah!

That part sucks.

I can't believe
It's this late october.

I've been waiting all season
To use this water truck.

Come on, cutie pie.

Fresh off two successful runs
Of cherry bounce,

Josh is finally ready
To move shine in quantity.

Last season, josh came up
With an ingenious way

To bootleg in plain sight.

I thought this thing
Was supposed to say then

"Mountain spring water."

What's it say?
-"Can-ow."

-"Can-ow."
-"Can-ow."

*bleep* happens.

This truck is awesome.

Now he's planning to use
The same recipe for success.

-thank y'all.
-appreciate it.

But he's missing
One key ingredient.

Oh, crap.

All the hardship's
Led to this moment right here,

But it's just kind of
Bittersweet

'cause I don't have bill here.

Aah!

That part sucks.

About to go meet my buddy

And deliver 60 gallons of shine.

I'm pretty excited to be making
Some of this money back.

Josh's distinctive
Cherry bounce moonshine

Will fetch
A hefty $200 per gallon.

There is light
At the end of the tunnel.

I just got to get the truck
Loaded, get it sold,

And then start all over again.

You know, I shouldn't have
Filled these things up

In here 'cause
It stinks in here now.

It smells like damn liquor
Like crazy.

It ain't
Even really nowhere near getting

Where everything's gonna
Be froze completely up,

So with my contraption
Down at the creek,

I should be able to hit
The 1,000-gallon mark this year.

It feels good
To end my season off,

Well, with a bang.

Finally, we're gonna get
To sell some shine.

After a week of successful runs,

Carolina shiners jeff, mark,
And lance

Are one last batch
Of george washington rye

From reaching their season goal.

I'll keep close check
On it.

Lance said there hadn't
Been no traffic here,

So we're gonna try
To get this last run in.

I'm gonna go ahead
And mix our oats up here.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We got 15 gallons.

You know,
I'm happy with that.

I think we've had
A successful season.

There you go.

Kind of sad that
After all the effort

That we put into this site,

We've got to tear it all down,
Pack it all up.

Leaves is falling.

You know, our season's done.

Mother nature,
She kind of shut us down.

Next time on the season finale
Of "Moonshiners"...

Trapped in north carolina...

A wing and a prayer
In tennessee...

That's a damn helicopter.

Got to get the hell
Out of here.

You can't outrun
A helicopter.

I got this leak
Going on here.

That thing's
Got to get fixed, chuck.

...And a season on the brink.

Uh-oh, uh-oh!
Boiling there too hot.

Oh, man.