Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 5, Episode 6 - Scotch on the Rocks - full transcript

The dog days of summer
Have arrived in the south.

But searing heat

And setbacks are causing
Some shiners to lose their cool.

You know how close we got
To actually going to jail?

Go big or go home.

-I'm ready to go home.
-I need to find another partner,

Is that
What you're telling me?

In eastern tennessee,

It's the sip
That will decide a season.

And double trouble
In north carolina...

The what?



♪ 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

She done dried out, camouflaged
In nice since last week.

I mean, I hardly didn't even
See it coming up on it.

Deep
In the south carolina backwoods,

Two battle-hardened shiners
Are gearing up for another day



Of grunt work
On their bunker still site.

I'm really worried
About this roof being

Too low
With that much heat.

I really feel like
We should have built this

A little bit bigger.

3 or 4 feet or something.
It's got to be higher, man.

This thing
Is totally polluted.

In their quest for
A record 100,000 grand season,

Josh and bill have suffered one
Devastating blow after another.

Whoa, whoa, whoa,
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

*bleep*

Christmas, brother.

Now, without a single drop
Of liquor sold,

Their bunker and the season are
Falling short of expectations.

That's too low.
That is way too low.

I'm gonna
Throw something at you.

All we got to do is take
These 2x4s right here

And lift
This whole thing up.

And we can go up to the same
Pitch that we got back there.

We could get another two foot
Or so out of this, easy,

And not have to tear the whole
Thing back to the back loose.

I'm with you.
We got to pick this thing up.

We gonna have the seven-foot
Clearance at our high spot,

And that's not gonna
Be near enough to put

A hot still plus a burner.

So we're gonna
Take the screws out,

Take a couple rafters loose.

And I'll see
If we can pick our main post up.

And hopefully, we can get
Enough clearance on this thing.

Just gonna be
One more safeguard,

Just to keep our rubber roof

From melting or catch
Our dang camouflage on fire.

We're already behind schedule.

But we just got to backpedal
And get this thing fixed

Before we move farther --
Any further.

There it goes.

The two shiners learned
The dangers of still fires

Through the mistakes of
Their mentor, barney barnwell.

Don't tell nobody.
This *bleep* is illegal.

Barney moved the operation
Into this little camper,

In the field,
In the backyard.

That good?

Yeah, a couple more licks.

While he was inside
Making a sandwich,

Something caught on fire.

The whole operation blew up.

People from all around
Came running.

The fire department, the police,

Everybody's there
Asking questions and stuff.

Tell you what.

I wouldn't ever
Build a house like this.

Bill and I know that you
Can't take too many precautions

To keep yourself safe.

There it is.
There it is.

Basically got napalm here.

You're cooking down
Right there.

It'll stick to you like glue,

And it will
Take your hide off.

It looks good.

How about it, bill?
When we came in here a while

Ago, this thing was,
Like, right here.

Now, we got this much.

We'll have
A good bit more room.

It's getting hot.

Ain't no doubt.
It's summertime in the south.

I'll be glad to see a bunch of
Liquor in the dang stash house,

Cash in the bank.

We really haven't decided

Exactly how big
Our still pot is.

You know me. I'm like,
"Let's go big or go home."

It's a lot easier to make
A absolutely perfect liquor

On a smaller pot
Than it is on a big one.

I want to go big.
I don't want --

But I just want to go smaller
And make better liquor.

I want to downsize
Just a little bit.

But the payout
Will be a whole lot more.

After all the highs
And lows of last year

And everything else
This season already,

I'd about be willing
Just to downscale a little bit.

What's reasonable?

If we could get
120 gallons.

What?

We were doing
Almost 700 gallons

Last year
And doing good with it.

We got doing ridiculous
Last year.

We were selling to people
That we didn't know.

You know,
Yes, we were making money.

But the risk
That we took last year,

Selling all that liquor
To all those people,

I mean --
Well, you got tased,

For god sakes, man.

You know how close we got
To actually going to jail?

Okay,
So go big or go home.

-I'm ready to go home.
-I need to find another partner,

Is that
What you're telling me?

♪♪

Yeah. Them was the good ol'
Days, wasn't it?

In the rolling hills
Of eastern tennessee...

You ready, digger?

I'm ready.

Hey!

...Sweeping change
Is under way.

This season...

I think that's fine.

...Mark and digger have built
An innovative two-pot still

To make apple rye brandy.

But after
A fouled first run...

I don't know
What the hell's wrong with it,

But I ain't getting no rye
Out of it at all.

...The two called on backwoods
Brewing expert jim tom...

...To fix their rye recipe.

This is the taste
Me and digger was looking for.

You done it.

Now, they're ready to blend
The new rye mash

And apple mash together
For the first time

And find out
If their liquor will bring them

The same distinction
As their mentor, popcorn sutton.

Popcorn, he was a legend
For his corn whiskey.

Well, we gonna lay the rye
To you, jim tom.

If we can make this top-notch
Apple rye whiskey,

Maybe in 30 years,

Somebody will say, "Look here,
What mark and digger done.

This is their legacy."

Apple rye,
Tennessee style.

Let's watch yourself now.

I don't want to
Blow you up today.

I'm back
In my working britches now.

It ain't scaring me like it
Was them first couple of times.

Oh, there's my trouble.

Love the smell
Of that *bleep* heating up.

Mark, digger, and jim tom

Are running their apple
And rye mashes

In separate pots simultaneously,

Giving them apple rye brandy
Straight from the condenser.

Another hour and a half
Or so,

We'll have apple rye
Out of here.

Before we get to capping
This up,

Let me ask you something.
-okay.

-me and mark been talking.
-okay.

You been awful good coming
In here and helping us.

And I appreciate you
Coming down.

We believe it's only fair
To cut you in on a third

Of what comes
Out of these stills.

You can take that in money
Whenever we take it and sell it,

Or you can take in the product.
Which one do you want?

Well, you ain't done it to us.
We're doing to you.

So you tell us
Which one you want.

Rolling them dice.

It might be bad liquor.

Hell with that.

Hello, mark.

Hey!

In the great smoky mountains,

Jeff, mark, and lance
Are on the road to a comeback.

They set up on a remote stream

To make
The family-recipe scotch.

But an early summer storm nearly
Swallowed up their site...

Ruining their entire
Stock of mash...

...And a potential
$3,000 payday.

Now, they're back
To make repairs

And take another swing at making
The family-recipe scotch.

We don't like to be a-waiting
Around, you know.

We need to keep
The money coming in.

Normal scotch
Is made from yeast.

We don't use yeast.

ouch.

While their corn smokes

And mark's dog, hershey,
Stands guard,

The three mountain men

Prep their hideaway
For the long haul.

Hershey, come here.
Hershey.

Coming up,
A swamp sale goes south...

He's got somebody
With him.

I wonder who that is.

...Three seasoned shiners
Get smoked.

...And gravity sucks
In south carolina.

I want to do it
Right the first time,

Even if
It takes a little --

Oh, god darn!

Back in north carolina,

Jeff, mark, and lance
Are busy prepping their scotch.

But mark's hound,
Hershey, smells trouble.

Hershey, come here.

Hershey, quiet.

Come here.

Come here!

Get! Get down the road.
Get.

Get.

Runs off of satellite.

And the hunter,
He's got a receiver.

Just like the techniques
Used for still concealment,

The methods of securing
Still sites

Are as varied
As they are inventive.

Long before high-tech motion
Sensors came onto the market,

Moonshiners would run
Sewing thread

Around the perimeter
Of the still site.

If any had been broken
By morning,

They knew the site
Was compromised.

When passive protection
Didn't bring the desired level

Of security,

Moonshiners rigged their sites

With hidden bear traps sharp
Enough to snap a human leg.

Some moonshiners even used
Trip wire-triggered explosives.

No booby trap instilled fear
Like the moonshiner trick

Of hiding rattle snakes
In the shine storage cooler.

But the most effective means
Of protecting the still site

Is the same
As it's always been --

The trusty watchdog.

Yeah.

The what?

The smoker needs
Time to cool and be cleaned

Before they can smoke
Another batch of corn,

A setback that will keep
Them working through the night.

♪♪

I just want to go smaller
And make better liquor.

What's reasonable?

If we get 120 gallons.

What?

Back in south carolina...

The risk that we took
Last year,

Selling all that liquor
To all those people,

I mean --
Well, you got tased,

For god sakes, man.

...Josh and bill's partnership

May have reached
Its breaking point.

Go big or go home.

I'm ready to go home.

I could get back
On my stove top.

Do I need to find
Another partner?

Is that
What you're telling me?

We could be making
Hundreds of gallons of moonshine

At one time,
And you won't go for it.

It'd be less
Ass-busting work

For us to do smaller batches
Of higher quality.

I know
The market is out there.

But also, the bigger we go,
The closer we get to prison,

Not just the damn county lockup,
To prison.

I'll compromise with you
And, like,

Maybe go, like, 100 gallons
Smaller or something.

But I can't see
Downsizing any smaller.

Let's get back to work.

Me and bill
Are just totally different.

He sees the things
That I don't see,

And I see the things
That he don't see.

And that's
What makes us stronger.

The two shiners will
Make space for the equipment

By adding 25 square feet
To the bunker.

I'm cool with that.
That's perfect.

Can you do me a favor
And pitch me my speed square?

Thank you, sir.
-and we're running out of time,

But we need
A good work area.

We're gonna
Have a big still here.

That only leaves this little bit
Of area in here.

I want it to be comfortable
And be right.

And I want to do it
Right the first time,

Even if
It takes a little --

Oh, god darn.

Damn, brother.
I'm sorry, man.

That is the worst timing.
I'm sorry, brother.

I'm glad it was a square
And not a hammer.

I apologize, brother.
-it felt like the hammer.

I know.

I was kind of
Stretched out on top,

My ladder's
All crooked on the hillside,

And I had my speed square.
I was marking my last line.

And somewhere, damn it,
It came from a grassy knoll

Up above and knocked
That speed square off.

It came down
And hit josh's head.

I swear, I had nothing
To do with it.

It was
A man on a grassy knoll.

Perfect.
Perfect.

We got her framed up,
Popping the last of this rubber

On here and a little bit
Of camouflage.

Other than that,
Our structure's done.

All right.
Now, we're cooking with butter.

But I'm not ready to start,
You know, doing cartwheels

Or kicking back,
Drinking cocktails just yet.

We got a lot of work
To be done.

More than enough room
Under this thing.

We still got to get the stills
All together and soldered up.

We got to keep everything
Moving forward

If we even hope
To stay in business this year.

♪♪

I like the going in the
Woods like this, riding around.

This is living right here,
Ain't it?

800 miles to the west,

Louisiana shiners
Are looking to cash in.

It's doing
What it's supposed to be doing.

Patti and david have turned out
A string of successful runs.

Boom.

My goal this season
Is to make a bigger still.

I plan on making
Twice the amount of shine,

Expand my business
And make a lot more money.

Stockpiling
Seven grand worth of shine

Violates multiple state
And federal laws,

So patti is taking extra steps
To conceal her contraband.

I never stash my shine
At the house.

I mean,
If the law comes to my place,

And I've got gallons
Of moonshine,

I lose my kids and my house,
Everything we own.

There's a well over here
In the woods.

Abandoned man-made wells

Are common
Throughout northern louisiana.

I'm sure it was probably,
Like, an old home site

At some point in time.

Here it is.

Drop one in.
You can see.

One evening, I shot a deer.

And we trailed it through the
Woods, come across this well.

So I was like, "Yeah.

This would be a good place
To stash the moonshine."

I'm just gonna cover
This up with pine straws.

Got those hid now.

I feel a little better about
Not having that on hand.

I've been through this sort of
Woods all my life,

So I know them
Like the back of my hand.

I'm not gonna lose any shine
Anywhere.

Lose your shine,
You lose your customer,

And you lose your money
When you do stuff like that.

Come on, daddy.

I like to do drop-offs
In the woods.

I mean, I can get my jeep
Down into the woods.

We don't have to really worry
About cars and cops.

It's still danger.

It's just not as much danger

As driving it
On the main highway.

He's supposed to be
Meeting us up here.

Look.
Whenever he pulls up,

Y'all put those down,
Those cameras.

This sale will help cover
The cost of the copper needed

For the new still patti
And david are building.

We'll make us 500 bucks
If he takes it.

Why wouldn't he, huh?

I don't know.

He ought to be getting up --
Oh, here he is.

He's in that loud machine
He's got.

He's got somebody
With him.

Y'all
Put those cameras down.

Coming up, judgment day
For mark and digger.

And the bottom drops out
For josh and bill.

It will be seven days
Before we can get

A piece of copper.
-you're like,

"Let's slap it together
With what we got.

And if it *bleep* blows up,
It *bleep* blows up."

He ought to be getting --
Oh, here he is.

He's got somebody
With him.

Back in red river parish...

Y'all
Put those cameras down.

Get the shine.

See what he thinks.

...Patti and david thought
They were making some easy cash

For their new copper still.

I thought you was coming
By yourself.

Should have told me that you was
Bringing somebody else with you.

You can try it
If you want it.

Taste it
And see if you like it.

That's 500 bucks.

Thank you very much.

Nice doing business
With y'all.

Brother-in-law, you better
Lose my face out of your brain.

With half a grand
Now padding their pockets,

Father and daughter can pony up
For some copper sheets.

You think
He'll keep his mouth shut?

♪♪

Hang on there.
We got it.

Back in cocke county, tennessee,

Mark, digger, and jim tom

Are putting the new two-pot
Still to the test.

Well,
Let's get that in her.

They're banking on
A breakthrough apple rye brandy

That could shake up
More than just their season.

It's gonna be something.
It's kind of revolutionized

The liquor business as far
As the mountain operation goes.

I don't know of any big-time
Liquor distilleries, legal ones,

That blend their flavors
In the thump keg.

Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey.
Come on down.

I'ma craving whiskey
With my spout.

I'm gonna drink a drink
And sit right down.

Imagine I'm in texas
With my gal.

Boys, I'm excited.
I tell you, I am.

Exactly right.

Looky here.

Boys,
We got liquor coming out.

Hey!

There you go, old bud.

Throw that down
Over in the weeds.

Get us some of that
Out of there, digger.

It's the time of truth.

I'm gonna be honest with you.

I'm a little nervous about it

'cause my expectations
Of it's really high.

You ain't never had a whooping
For holding your breath,

Have you?

I call it damn good.

I call that some
Of the best liquor

I've ever had in my mouth.

Thank you, jim tom.

I think popcorn
Would be proud of us.

Popcorn had his own legacy
With the corn recipe.

But this recipe here,
With the apple rye,

It's mine and mark's.

We take pride in it.

We want to make sure
It's the best possible liquor

Anybody
Could buy off the shelves.

Because of its higher
Price, their apple rye blend

Could fetch over $7,000
From the first run alone.

I feel like
Dancing a jig.

Stomp us out one, jed.

♪ old man, old man,
Was a-hoppin' along ♪

♪ mark came along ♪

♪ digger said,
"Oh, you seen me" ♪

♪ he goes, me -- I -- ♪
Damn. I got mixed up.

You hear that?
You can feel the apple rye.

♪♪

I'm ready to hit
The ground running.

I'm sick of *bleep* around.

With the bunker
Finally finished,

South carolina shiners
Josh and bill

Get cracking
On their new copper still.

I've been feeling a lot
Of pressure.

We're running out of time.

We've really
Haven't made any shine,

You know, worth drinking.

Being a moonshiner, you
Need a bunch of different tools.

And right now,
We really needed a toothbrush.

Where'd you get
That toothbrush?

Brand new.

Believe it or not, I do
Believe in good dental health.

Give me a spark of hell there.

I wanted to build
About a 100-gallon pot.

And he was talking
800 or bigger.

375 gallons or so
Is what we're hoping to hit.

Well, that's about
40 gallons worth of liquor.

Both of us are learning
A lot better how to compromise.

We're a lot happier
If we ain't fighting.

And we'll get
A lot more stuff done.

-I believe that's about it.
-yeah.

I feel good about it.

It's not gonna
Win any beauty contests.

But I bet it'll stay
Together long enough

To damn make
Some liquor for us.

What I'm worried about
Is it supporting itself.

The bottom
Needs to be super thick.

If it ain't got
The structural integrity,

Then we're really
Playing with dynamite.

Did they send us
The wrong piece?

There just ain't
Nothing to it.

It's just --

It's way too thin.

What gauge is this?
-this is 24-ounce.

We need a piece this thick
For the bottom.

They need at least
24-ounce-per-square-foot copper

To build a pot
Sturdy enough to safely handle

Almost 400 gallons
Of boiling mash.

I don't really know
What to do right this second

Without ordering
A piece of metal.

And that really
Screws things up.

What we gonna do?

I think we try to make it work
With what we got.

I mean, it's -- if it's gonna
Be sitting on something --

It's too thin.
Look at this.

It will be seven days before
We can get a piece of copper.

That's super thin.
That's tinfoil.

It's the thinnest *bleep*
We've ever had.

How can you sit and force
That on me when --

Well,
'cause we're stuck.

Right now,
For all practical purposes,

That's the last piece of copper
In the freaking world.

Bill's immediately
Trying to figure out

How we can get around
Waiting a couple more days

To get copper.

But using this thin copper,
It's really not a good idea.

This is where our teamwork goes

Right,
'cause I want to use it,

And you want to wait a week
Until we can get another one.

I want to make it right.

We blew a still up
Last year.

And you're like, "Let's slap
It together with what we got.

And if it *bleep* blows up,
It *bleep* blows up."

I'm not gonna
Build it to blow up.

And I understand,
You just want to get it done.

I got this right here,
And I can do it with this.

But, you know,

You can make a window
Out of freaking cardboard.

But that'd make it --
You know what I'm saying?

It's too thin.

Get me the right piece.

Coming up,
Stopped cold in carolina.

And father and daughter
Reap mother nature's wrath.

I've never seen it
Like this.

I hope my stash
Ain't flooded the heck off.

About ready to start this?

In louisiana...

Yeah,
We're gonna do 30 gallon.

...Patti and david
Are ready to put hammer

To nail on a powerhouse
Copper still

That could double their profits.

So we don't want
To make no mistakes.

My job on running moonshine

Is usually running
The liquor, bootlegging.

And my daddy,

He's more the engineer type
In this process.

Down here,
It's bad to have a boat

And not have a name for it.

I think I'm gonna
Name my still big mama.

I mean, I think
That'd bring me some good luck.

Ow.

Oh!

Did I bruise it?

Itty baby.

So,
Now what we gonna do?

The part of the still
That helps transfer

The alcohol vapor from pot
To cap is called the cape.

But to most shiners,

It's better known
For being the toughest piece

Of the still to build.

The cape must taper to the cap
Perfectly

And provide an air-tight seal.

Any slip-up in the design

Or construction can leave gaps
For the liquor to leak out,

Exposing the alcohol vapor
To the burner

And transforming the entire
Still into a blazing inferno.

It'll be a tricky job here.

No.
Needs to be out over here.

Oh.

What you want me to do,
Throw my foot up there?

Man.

It's on the line
Perfect now.

Cook us a dadgum steak
On that,

That's sizzling so good.
-mm-hmm.

-that's it, huh?
-yeah.

Now it's the moment of truth.

We're gonna fill it up
With some water.

And I'm praying no leaks.

It's always better
To check for leaks

Before you put
The real stuff in it,

I mean, 'cause you're taking
A chance of blowing yourself up

And whoever's helping you up.

So far, so good on the bottom
And around the drain pipe.

All right.

Oh.

Here's a leak.

In order to keep track
Of the leaks,

Patti marks the still.

Wait a minute.

Oh, my *bleep*

We're gonna have to
Completely resolder

All around this cape.

♪♪

I'll get it.

Back at their
High country still site...

...Jeff, mark and lance
Have finished mashing in

And are finally set to fire up
Their first batch of scotch.

Mark, jeff, and lance

Are sticking to
The traditional method

Of using a wood-fired furnace
For their still.

Waiting and waiting.

It's coming.

Coming up,
Wiped out in western louisiana.

God dog.

That's money
Down the drain.

1929 model a ford.

Runs like a sewing machine.

You're talking about
A fine vehicle.

It wouldn't crank.
It just, "Boom. Bang. Boom."

Dadgum!

I hear it.

It's coming.

High in the great
Smoky mountains,

Jeff, mark, and lance thought
They had finally struck gold.

I could see it from over there,
But I don't see it --

Just a single opening in the cap

Can allow alcohol vapor
To seep out

And shut down a profitable run.

And if the high-proof vapor
Reaches the furnace,

The entire still
Could go up in flames.

Yeah.

Once they age
Their scotch,

The 15 gallons
Will fetch close to five grand,

Three times the price
Of typical shine.

Tastes good.

♪♪

Yeah.

Yep.

With precious weeks
Already past,

Jeff, mark, and lance
Are determined

To wait out the weather
And keep the whiskey flowing.

A similar set of violent storms

Has already made its mark
Throughout northern louisiana.

The red river in louisiana
Is threatening dozens of homes.

The water behind me has not
Reached this high since 1945.

Louisiana's national guard
Worked late into the night

Filling sand bags,

Serving as a line of defense
Against the overflowing river.

I've got a stash place
Back here.

I hope my stash
Ain't floated the heck off.

This morning, patti and david

Are getting their first look
At the damage.

With the flood,
The whole landscape has changed.

I mean, it's pushed
All the critters out.

Another snake.

I like to stash my shine
In the swamps.

No one's usually
Poking around in there.

It's all changed
From this water.

With the flood,
Everything looks different,

So it's gonna be
Hard to find.

I think
It was right up in here.

Dang. It's done washed up so
Much debris, I can't tell now.

Patti hid her entire supply,
$5,000 worth of shine,

In stash spots
Along the water's edge.

See it?

I thought it was
Around in this area.

There's a jug,
Right there.

Yeah.

We got to get that
Out of there.

Better hurry.
It's fixing to float off.

Oh.
You almost had it.

God dog.

That's money
Down the drain.

I had 50 gallons of shine,
You know, stashed.

And now, it's just all gone
Because of the floods.

We've gotten behind,
So we need still to catch up.

It's kind of aggravating.

But my grandma always said
It's better to be pissed off

Than pissed on.

So I'm figuring
The other ones are the same way.

So there's really no sense
In looking for them.

No.

I wasn't thinking
About that flood.

I should have come down here
And got the stupid crap.

This flood caused me
To lose moonshine.

But that's nothing compared
To what people here has lost.

I mean,
They've lost their homes.

I mean, I can make more shine.

They can't bring their house
Back out of the swamp.

Oh,
We ain't never gonna get ahead.

Well, that's the chance
You take in this business.

Next time on "Moonshiners"...

Are you *bleep* me?

...Six feet undercover
In tennessee.

I'm a little bit creeped out,
But I think it's a great idea.

We take this
Honey moonshine

And put it
In these bourbon barrels.

...Two kentucky outlaws
Are back in the game.

It ain't gonna be something
That everybody can go get.

There ain't nothing like this
On the store shelf.

...And bad news
For tim's old buddy.

-what's up?
-tickle?

They busted me
With my sawed-off.

You got caught
With a sawed-off shotgun?

I'm really in a lot
Of damn trouble, man.