Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 7, Episode 12 - Highway to Hell - full transcript

♪♪

All I've got is 10 gallon.
I need 15.

Narrator: it's short supply
In tennessee.

You don't never want to promise
Nothing out that you ain't got.

♪♪

Sondra: we're
Getting soaked.

Narrator: mother nature
Threatens to shut down

Production in kentucky.

Rain harder!
That's what I'd do.

I would just
Rain harder.

Josh: this is $22,500
Worth of shine.



It's one of the biggest sales
I've ever made in my life.

Narrator: and where
There's smoke...

Josh: this ain't happening.

Narrator: ...There's fire.

All my stuff is burning.

Aaaaah!

♪♪

♪ goin' for a ride ♪

♪ runnin' to survive ♪

♪ when you're livin'
Outside the law ♪

♪♪

♪ we're livin'
Outside the law ♪

♪♪

Man: this is how
We make the moonshine!



Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

♪♪

[ whistles ]

Man, that's some
Shine, darling.

Get this done,
Right here.

Narrator: in north carolina,

Josh loads up
For his biggest sale ever.

Chuck: you know,
I think I've figured out

Two buckets is $1,500.

Josh: so, right now,
Me and old crazy chuck

Are trying to get
This trailer loaded up

With this 150 gallons
Of cherry bounce.

This is $22,500 worth of shine.

It's one of the biggest sales
I've ever made in my life.

I made my deal with
This big-biker distributor.

The guys I'm doing this deal
With, they want me to haul

The cherry bounce
Out to this big bike rally.

It's been over a month
Since I got this stuff made,

So right now,
We're on our way out west.

Don't forget.

We got to leave room
For these side-by-sides.

Narrator: to help
Conceal the cargo,

Josh will stop down the road
To load in his racing bikes.

I'm hauling this huge load
Of liquor and my race cars,

My motorcycles,
My side-by-sides.

Everybody out there is going
To be having a trailer,

So I'm going to blend right in.

[ sighing ] oh.

Damn trailer load
Of whiskey.

♪♪

So, this biker customer of mine,
It's a really big deal for me

Because he's got a huge network
Of people out west,

Take more shine than I can make,

And more demand
Equals more money.

All right, big dog.
You lead the way.

Watch out for cops.

Will do.

Chuck: josh gonna
Have me ride point,

So I'm going to run interference

And make sure no cops or nothing
Stop him.

If anything,
I'll do the speeding

And get stopped,
But he could go on.

Josh: if I get pulled over,

And they catch me
With this 150 gallons of liquor,

I could do like five
To seven years in prison.

It's going to be a long ride.

I expect the unexpected
At this point.

♪♪

I started shooting footage
On my phone

Just to document the trip.

I document damn near
Everything.

I love it.

I hope and pray that god

Will keep us safe
On this journey.

Narrator: due to
The high police presence

At the sturgis motorcycle rally,

Josh's buyer is adamant that

No cameras follow him
To the deal.

Josh: we're finally ready
To roll out and go to sturgis.

We're driving all the way.
We're driving nonstop.

Wish us luck.

♪♪

[ horse whinnies ]

♪♪

All right.
It sounds good.

Narrator: in graham county,
Jeff and his son, lance,

Are moving to a new stash site

After their bootlegger
Disappeared

With $300 of their liquor.

♪♪

♪♪

It's a good spot.

♪♪

After our bootlegger
Got locked up,

I don't guess
We'll ever get that money.

Oh, yeah.
I'll get the money.

I doubt it.Yeah. I'll get the money.

I'll bet you won't.

Put your money
Where your mouth is.

For $300 worth of liquor,

You're going to give me
A dollar?

Yeah.

Well, hey.
Give me that.

Let me show you
Something.

You know, george washington
Was our first president.

The first year
He made rye whiskey,

He made $7,000.

Today, that be
$7 million.

That give me the idea to mix up
George's recipe.

I've run it before.

I'm gonna learn you
To do it.

Narrator: america's first
Commander in chief

Was also the nation's first
Distiller in chief.

After leaving office in 1797,

George washington began
Producing and selling

Rye whiskey.

By the end of that summer,

Demand was so high
He needed to expand.

♪♪

Two months later,

Washington built
A new distillery on his estate

With five pots
And the capacity

To pump out
11,000 gallons per year,

Making the mount
Vernon distillery

The largest in the nation.

This was an unexpected
Turn of events

Considering just
Five years earlier,

Washington used federal forces
To crush a violent tax revolt

Led by distillers
In western pennsylvania.

So we're gonna add
Rye whiskey

With our corn liquor.

Lance, he's tasted
The rye whiskey before,

But he's never been with me
When I run it.

So I'm going to learn
You to do it,

And then that's another recipe
That you'll have.

Lance: I'm going to learn
This george-washington recipe

The way he wants
Me to learn it.

I want to prove to dad
That I can focus

100% of my attention
On moonshining.

I'll get the money.

You can kiss that money
Good-bye.

That's the bet --
We shook on it.

But let's get
This stuff unloaded

And get it in there.

♪♪

And I don't know exactly
Where you're wanting

To meet this fellow at,

But we surely crossed the line
Over here in cocke county.

Narrator: over in tennessee,
Mike's new still hand, daniel,

Has set up a sale outside
Their territory in cocke county.

The only problem
That we're facing

Is that we're a little
Shy of 15 gallon.

I don't know what we'll do
To work it out,

But we'll have to work
Something out with him.

Mike: we going over here
To make this sale,

And daniel has promised out
15 gallons of liquor,

And we ain't got it.

All we got's
10 gallons of liquor.

We had a big explosion,
And we blow a cap

And lose a bunch of steam.

A lot of liquor goes
Out in the air,

And we could only
Run 10 gallons.

♪♪

I don't have any idea
In the world

Who daniel is fooling with,

But I got to trust him
To get the sale done.

And he's a big, long-headed
Fellow, ain't he?

He's a big
Old-feller now.

Let's go ahead and see
What we can do.

I hope you can
Get rid of this.

I do, too.

[ spits ]

♪♪

I'd like for you to meet
My buddy, mike.

How you doing,
Buddy?

You've bought liquor off of me
Over the past few years,

But now this is actually
Mike's liquor.

This is the apple-blueberry
Brandy that you wanted.

I was 100% sure that
We'd have the 15 gallon,

But we couldn't.

We had some bad mishaps,

And I hope you'll still
Want the 10.

Yeah.

Let me go to the truck
Just a moment.

I'll get it out,
Let you try it.

Mike: I've made a few sales
In cocke county,

But I know the people
That I sell to.

I'm just hoping to get out of
Here with the skin of my teeth

And see that we get
This liquor sold tonight.

Open you a jar of that
Right there and taste that.

I know.

You don't never want to promise
Nothing out that you ain't got.

I've been expanding
My territory,

Going over into cocke county.

This the way I'm going
To get a new market going,

And I've got to do
What I've got to do

To feed my family.

♪♪

Josh: somebody
Help me, please!

Narrator: they say
The road to hell

Is paved with good intentions.

All my stuff is burning.[ siren wails ]

Please help me!

♪♪

All I've got for you here,
Tonight, is 10 gallon.

We promised this guy
15 gallons of liquor,

And we ain't got it.

And all I could do,
I saved out a gallon for myself.

If you buy the 10 gallons
From us,

That was my personal gallon

I was going to keep
For myself, man.

If you'll take that,
I'll give you that gallon.

That's $150 worth of liquor
Right there.

♪♪

You just give us our money
For 10,

This is yours.

I'll give him my extra
Gallon of liquor

If that's what it takes.

Ten gallons,
Brother.

All right.
It's all there, mike.

-sorry about the problem.
-yeah. Yeah.

Have a good one.

Over here in cocke county,

I want them to be able to come
Back and buy from me again.

That right there could have been
A bad deal going wrong.

It could have ruined
My name, you know.

At least we got the money
In your pocket.

That's it.

♪♪

Narrator: in north carolina,
Jeff is showing his son, lance,

How to make
George washington's rye whiskey.

Lance: our george washington --
It's a recipe I've never run,

So I've got to keep
My eye on the ball,

So it tickles me to death
To get tacks to come out here

And run it with dad.

Narrator: the recipe
Relies on malted barley

As a means of boosting
The alcohol content

Of the final product.

To malt barley, burlap is placed
On a nonporous surface.

On top of that, a roughly 1-inch
Layer of barley is spread,

Then another layer of burlap.

The burlap is kept damp
For about two days,

During which time,
The barley will germinate.

The barley sprouts
Are then dried, ground,

And added to the mash.

The ground barley sprouts
Will contain enzymes

That help convert
The grain starch into sugars

That the yeast can more easily
Convert into alcohol.

Did you get water
In both of them?

I already did.

There we go.

You ready?

Yep.

We got it ready now,
And, in a couple days,

We ought to have
Some malt.

♪♪

♪♪

Can you smell
The strawberries?

They're in the back,
And I can smell them.

That means they're,
Like, ready.

Yeah, but I don't want
To smell them

Until after
They've fermented,

And they running
In the jar.

The window is quickly closing
In kentucky

On chico and sondra's
Second attempt

At making
Strawberry-banana brandy

Before the fruit spoils.

Sondra: I better get these
Strawberries cut because,

If we don't mash in today,
They're no good.

Like, this...

Those are nasty.

You don't want those.

Narrator: a failed water pump
Ruined their first batch,

So chico swapped three jars
Of shine for a new one.

Running?

Uh-huh. Aah!
[ laughs ]

You got water up?

Yeah, I got water.
Damn it.

Here's the thing
About making liquor.

*bleep* breaks,
You've got to fix it,

Which happens a lot.

Something somewhere
Doesn't like me.

[ thunder crashes ]

Sondra: is it
Starting to rain?

Yep.

Back to strawberries.

♪♪

I'll get this lit.

♪♪

We're getting soaked.

Let's get some of
These bananas in here.

Ow! That's hot.

Nice.

Thank you.

Rain harder!
That's what I'd do.

I would just
Rain harder.

Looks good,
Smells good.

Give me a bucket.

That's scalding hot.
Please be careful.

♪♪

Now I got to go down
And turn the pump on

And fill this barrel up
Before we can start the yeast.

Chico: while we're mashing in,

The rain is not going
To really affect us.

Tell me when you got water.

It's not the ideal weather
To mash in with,

But we'll get through it.

Yeah, it's coming.

All right.
Just stir it.

I am stirring it.

He's in the truck.

You *bleep*.

Is it full yet?

Come check,
See if it's full, honey.

You just trying to make me
Stand out in the rain.

I'm not falling for it.

But if it starts raining
On us during the run,

It has potential to stop us
Dead in our tracks.

With this cold water
Dropping on the still,

It's automatically going
To condense in the cap itself

And run back down in the pot,

So we need to figure out
Some kind of shelter

Or some way of getting out of
The weather while we're running.

We need to put a roof
On that damn thing.

Sondra: yeah.

♪♪

It sure is a nice, pretty,
Sunny morning though.

Ain't it?
-yeah.

But I'm glad the fog laid down
For we can see

To get around up
In these old woods.

Narrator: in tennessee,

Daniel has an idea
For a new moonshine recipe.

Yeah, I've been up
In here before.

Yeah, but I love it back
In these mountains.

Me and daniel was driving
Around this morning,

Going to look for something,

An idea that he's got
To run some liquor with

Because the ingredients
Is getting scarce

This time of the year.

♪♪

This property
That we're at today,

It's actually
In daniel's family,

Has been for 100 years,

And so we could just
Harvest like we want to

And don't have any worries.

Oh.

You want to go ahead
And get these buckets out now?

Yeah, let's go ahead
And get them.

I know you're gonna
Like this idea,

So let's go ahead
And get them.

Look right here.

You ever seen
One of them?

That's a honey locust.

That's a honey locust.

I know what the tree is.

I just hadn't ever
Fooled with them.

The reason they're called
A honey locust --

They're full
Of sweet honey.

Daniel: honey locust looks
Like a big old bean,

And you just bust it open,

And it's got this green
Honey-type substance in it,

And, I mean, it tastes exactly
Like honey and kiwi mixed.

This right here will
Make some good mash.

Pop that joker open there
And look at that.

Well, there's some
Fruit in it, ain't it?

There you are.
Taste that.

That's sweet.
That's sugar.

Don't that taste like
Wild honey?

-yeah. Damn. That is good.
-oh, yeah.

I've seen honey locust before,

But I didn't know they was
Plumb full of honey

And that sticky,
Gummy paste in it,

But when daniel broke them open
And let me try that,

They plumb
Full of that stuff, man,

And it just tastes terrific.

It's sweet enough
To make good liquor.

Hell. Let's try it, buddy.

Let's get all we can get
Of these things.

I'm up for trying it.

Watch these thorns now.

That's the only thing I know
About a honey locust,

Pretty much,
Is they will hurt you.

They got thorns on
As long as your finger.

They'll bust a tractor tire
If you run over them.

Yeah, I'm telling you what,
Them thorns is rough.

♪♪

You know, we got a problem
Going on here.

-yeah.
-I just noticed.

Number one, I'm too
Damn short to pick them.

Yep.

What we going to do?

I ain't climbing
This thing.

Daniel: as we start filling
Our buckets up with

These honey locust beans,
We're reaching up,

And we're getting our hands
Stuck all to pieces,

And we both look at each other,
And we're like,

"There's no way that we're going
To be able to reach all these

That's in this tree."

What's that?

Will that tree come back
For another time, right?

It won't...

Well, as long as it don't
Kill it off, yeah.

Let's go get a saw
And cut this bastard down.

Let's do it.

[ engine starts ]

♪♪

♪♪

It'll grow back.
I mean, it's not hurting nature.

And, in five, six years,

We'll be able to come back
And pick some more off

This same honey locust tree.

Mm.

I'd love to have a biscuit
Right now to put that on.

That would be good.
Wouldn't it, buddy?

Yeah, buddy.

That's going to make
Some good stuff.

Everything that
We're running right now

Has got to be seasonal,

And this honey locust
Is seasonal,

And, luckily,
We've run into this,

And it's an abundance of it.

That's clean ground,
That.

I love everything
To be natural.

Anything I can get
From the earth,

Anything I can pick, grow,
Kill, or catch --

That's the way
I like to do things.

Hand me that saw.

I think daniel has
Done a good job.

I believe it's going
To make good liquor.

I couldn't have brought him
In at a better time

Because I was just
About out of ideas.

Yeah, buddy.

That's going to make
Some good mash, for sure.

[ both laugh ]

♪♪

-there she flies.
-there it comes now.

Narrator: the sweet taste
Of victory can be elusive.

It taste any good?

♪♪

Well, lance, let's check
This stuff and see

If it's got sprouted.

That's all we're waiting on
Before we can get

Our george washington
Started.

Yeah, I've got sprouts
On this end.

Narrator: after days
Of preparation,

Jeff and lance push forward
With their washington rye.

It's got the sprout.
We can use it for malt.

We'll go and mash in
And get it ready.

Well, your fire is lit.

I'll talk you through it
As we go,

Because, you know,

I ain't got the recipe
Wrote down for it.

I got it memorized.

You know, we don't never
Write nothing down.

Now, on this, we got to put
The sugar in it

And dissolve it.

Yeah.

Lance: it's a pretty big
Moonshiner's code.

You don't write things down.

If you write it down,
They're going to be able

To find it eventually.

Then we'll dump
Our corn in.

You just keep all the tips
And tricks in your head.

Jeff: and then take a whole bag
Of rye to each barrel.

That's one of the biggest
Reasons all the old moonshiner

Recipes and tips and tricks
Have died off,

Because the moonshiner didn't
Have nobody to pass it on to,

And when he died,

So did the recipes
And everything else.

See how thick
It is now?

Lance: mm-hmm.

Finish it up, then,
With the water.

♪♪

A lot of people grinds
Their malt way too thin.

We'll grind it, and then
We'll add it to our mash.

But you just need
The husk cracked on it

To where it'll make
Your mash go to working.

We'll wait till
It works off.

A couple of real quick stirs,
And we'll be done with it.

Narrator: the malted barley
Enzymes quickly go to work,

Converting the starches in
The mash into fermentable sugar.

It excites me
To get to run something

That our first president run,
You know.

I made a joke the first time
I run it --

Martha decided there wasn't
Enough money in being president,

So she put george to making
Liquor to make a living.

That ought to do it,
Lance.

We added the malted barley in,

And it take four or five,
Six days for it to work off,

And then we'll run it and see

What our george washington
Tastes like.

It's ready.
Let's get out of here.

♪♪

What have we got?
Well...

We ready to run?

The yeast and nature
Done its work.

We should be ready to run
At least this one.

Narrator: over in kentucky,

Chico and sondra are
Ready to run,

But only if mother nature
Cooperates.

Sondra: it's lit.

I'm worried about
The weather.

Chico: this is outside.

We're fighting elements
And mother nature constantly,

So, therefore,
We have to adapt.

♪♪

Around the tree.

-this one?
-yes, perfect.

Now bring it here.

Chico: while we're waiting
On the still to heat up,

I do want a roof to cover us
When it's raining,

So I'm going to take paracord.

We'll go from tree to tree
With the cord as I tie it.

All right. Cool.

We'll tie the tarp where
It spreads apart it even,

And I'll take the cord
And run it through the eyelets.

Thank you.

Sondra is using
This piece of pipe

To straighten out
The tarp as I tie it.

The roof has to have
A pitch to it.

It has to be able to run off.

Not a big deal while
You're mashing in,

But if it starts raining on us
While we're running this liquor,

The water can stop us
From completing

What we came down here to do.

-way to go.
-I'd say that worked.

Now, is that pretty good
And centered?

You're a damn genius,
I swear.

Now we can just watch our money
Right here. [ laughs ]

Now that we've finally got
All these problems addressed,

You know, we have a roof.

Now we can just sit and relax
And watch it run.

-hey, it's running.
-cool.

Grab your head.
See what you've got.

Is it clean?

Ooh, a little muck-y.

We need to bump
The heat down.

See how that's
Running off milky?

Yeah.It's running too hot.

What's the temperature on?
Way too hot.

Yeah, 200.
We're about 20 degrees too hot.

Cloudy liquor is the result
Of running the still too hot.

Bits of mash get ejected
From the pot into the thump keg.

Shiners call this
"Puking the still."

And there's a kink
In this return too.

There you go.
Now then.

Now let's try that.

Every time I'm out here, I feel
Like I learn something new.

I have my degree in moonshining,
I think,

But I'm refining it now.

-looking better?
-yeah. Running a lot slower.

Yeah, see?
-clear?

Chico: when we go to talking
About making liquor,

It's hard work,

But each time she learns
Something,

It takes off of me.

I can feel it between my eyes
A little bit, right?

It's what
It's supposed to do.

It makes it where I can
Work on something else

While the still is running.

I get a nice
Strawberry finish.

This run will yield 15 gallons
Of strawberry-banana brandy.

And it's not
Real heavy.

Yeah.
It's not heavy.

Like, the fall crawl was, like,
A more of a, like, a blanket.

But we're going to have to
Change gears here before long.

Fall is coming.

The new clientele
We've built up really

Like the strawberry-banana,

But strawberries
Are going out of season,

So it's time to kind of
Change gears a little bit

And start thinking about what
Our next step is going to be.

I'm tired of cutting up
Strawberries anyway

Because they're this big.

♪♪

Narrator: in illinois,
Josh and chuck experience a bump

In the road to sturgis.

Josh: we pulled over
At a gas station

'cause this stupid trailer hitch
Has been rattling like crazy,

And we realized
That the drop hitch

Wasn't positioned
In the right spot.

And it's got, like, a little
Soda machine key-top thing.

You know, you break the hitch
Loose, pull the pin out,

And we took
The pressure off of it

And went to bust
The lock loose,

And the lock was
Completely screwed up.

The only way to keep
The trailer hitch together

Was to put duct tape on it.

I'm not a rocket scientist,

And I'm not the sharpest tool
In the shed,

But, hell, duct tape
Will fix anything.

[ engine starts ]

We're back on the road.

Me and big chuck
Have been driving forever,

But we're just about out west
To the damn bike rally.

I guess we're going
To sign off now.

♪♪

[ thunder crashes ]

All the leaves has fell
A hella lot in two days.

I mean, it's coming down,
Got the road covered up.

Cold weather is
On its way.

It's coming,
And it's coming fast.

I guarantee you,

But we'll get up there
And get her mashed in.

I hope we don't get
Soaking-ass wet.

Time is of the essence
Right now.

Narrator: as rain falls
On the blue ridge,

Mike and daniel
Pick up the pace.

Get us a little water
And put in here.

The wintertime is coming.
The leaves are falling.

I'm stretched for time.

If we wait a little bit,
It'll fill up its damn self.

It sure will.

If I don't get this done,

I'll piss off a lot of customers
And let them down,

And I don't intend to do that.

I intend to push forward
And get this done.

Start breaking some of them up
While I hold this.

I can do her, buddy.

-all right.
-see?

That's going to make some pretty
Good stuff, ain't it?

Yeah. As much
Sweet and sugar

As they are in these
Honey locusts,

Yeah, I believe it will.

I want to extract every bit of
This goody out of this stuff.

Oh, yeah.
Well, look at that stuff.

It just looks like
Kiwi honey.

I mean,
That's what it is.

♪♪

We down here breaking up
All these honey locusts

Into our pot and added water,

Firing it up
And get to boiling it.

We're not worried about
The actual pods theirself...

Just take a handful of them
Like that and just...

...Because that's where
All the goody is at,

Is on the inside
Of those pods.

We're busting them in half.

It's amazing how much of that
Stuff is in there.

It's crazy.
Ain't it?

Cooking them down
And extracting all of that

Honey and sugar out of there,
Boil all that goodness out.

Boy, that thing smells
So good, don't it?

It does.
It smells real good.

Once we cook those down
And get all the sugars

And that honey-kiwi taste
Out of there,

That liquid turns brown
And green-ish looking,

That means we getting
Everything done.

It's making
A thick syrup.

We'll pour it over
Into the barrel,

Stir in our sugar,

Fill it up with
A little cooled water

To get the temperature down.

Uh-oh.

The water is stopped up.
I'll tell you what.

I'll run up there
And try to fix that.

All right.

Right there is how we want
The liquor to come out.

That ain't how we want our water
To come out.

The hardest time in the year
To run moonshine, man,

Is in the fall.

You're constantly having to walk
Up and down the mountain

To unstop your water pipe

Because all the leaves
Is falling.

Just another setback,
Just something else to drown us,

Looks like today.

Mike: packed full
Of leaves.

You got it, mike.
Come on down.

I got her going again.

We got a good
Full stream now.

We'll go try her again.

We got to have water to cool
My mash pot down

To be able to add
My yeast into my pot.

If I don't do that,
I have to come back tomorrow,

And I don't have
Tomorrow.

♪♪

Add the yeast to it.

♪♪

You never know how a new mash
Is going to turn out,

Especially when you take
A gamble on a new flavor.

All you can do is put one foot
In front of another

And just try it out.

Mike: that right there
Is a good smell

And a good-tasting yeast
Right there.

I think it'll work,
Right there.

Oh, man.
That'll bring it alive.

All right.
I believe that's enough.

I think it is.

Go ahead
And stir that in.

I'm going to cap it off
And load up and get out of here.

I'm about sick
Of getting soaking wet.

All we can do is hope and pray
For this mash to work out.

We're all mashed in today.

I'm going home to get my ass dry
And get in some warm weather

And come back on another day

To check it out and hope
And pray it works.

Let's get on
Out of here.

It ain't getting no drier,
Is it?

♪♪

♪♪

Lance: well, dad,
You ready to be

Running some
George washington?

Jeff: yeah, if it's ready to go,
I'm ready to run it.

It's just another day
On the job for us.

♪♪

It's ready, lance,

So let's get some of this
In there

And get it to heating.

Jeff: yeah. I feel like
We're winning back

Some of the customers
We lost last year

With us running
George washington.

I run it, you know,
Several times before,

And it sells like hotcakes.

♪♪

Jeff: that george washington
Is a lot darker in color

Than the corn beer,
Ain't it?

Yeah, that's actually
Some rough-looking beer.

It'll come out as clear
As a bell though.

Narrator: beer is another term
Shiners call fermented mash.

♪♪

Well, lance, I'm going
To build a fire

While you're making paste.

♪♪

Our customers
Really likes it.

Yeah.
They do love it.

Are you sure you're going
To be able to take this over

When I quit, lance?

You plan on quitting
Pretty soon?

No, but you got to pay attention
And listen to what I tell you.

What did you say?

I said, "You got
To pay attention

And listen to what
I tell you."

What did you say?

Now you're just being
A smart aleck now.

You never know how your health
Is going to be or anything.

You know, I'm getting
On up in years.

Don't worry.

I'll bury you out there
In the field somewhere.

Well, that's fine
With me.

I don't care if you just roll me
Over in the ditch

And leave me uncovered,

But I want you to be able
To carry this tradition on.

I don't want to have to smell
The smell, though.

♪♪

Lance, we got some george
Washington a'dripping.

Yep.

Tastes like
Rye whiskey to me.

It's good, too.

Lance: we've got liquor
In the bucket.

It tastes great --
Onward and upward for us.

I'm glad to have
Forward momentum.

I'm glad to get back in this.

♪♪

-it's high-proof liquor.
-good.

What do you think
We'll get out of it?

I'd say it's
150, 160.

I'm glad that I've finally
Got to learn

This george washington recipe.

Well, lance, we got
Another full jar here.

I'm gonna
Switch them out.

Okeydoke.

I can pass it on
To my kids one day.

Here's you
Another full one.

That's really important
For me.

Narrator: jeff and lance's run
Yields 5 gallons

Of george washington rye,
Worth $625.

♪♪

You got them in there?

Yep.

That's been a pretty good day
After all, though.

Yep.

♪♪

♪♪

Josh: look at this nasty storm
Forming behind me back here.

I don't know if that's the start
Of a tornado or what,

But it sure as heck
Looks like one.

Narrator: on interstate 29,
Josh is just hours away

From his biggest sale ever.

Josh: I'm on the road
To sturgis.

I got 150 gallons of cherry
Bounce in the trailer.

I just want to get
This sale made

Without getting in any trouble.

♪♪

Well, I'm still on the road.

I'm towing the trailer,
And chuck is my lead man.

He's watching out for me.

He's headed down the road
In front of me

If there's any cops,
Anything going on.

What the hell we got
Going on here?

So I'm starting to notice
Everybody swerving all around me

And blowing their horn
And flashing their lights,

And I'm, like, trying to
Figure out what's going on.

[ horn blares ]

[ bleep ]

So I'm looking
In my rearview mirror,

And I see a bunch of smoke.

I see flames.

Aaah!

This ain't happening.

Please, god, stop it.

This ain't my *bleep*
Luck, man.

My race-car trailer,

My pick-up truck,
My new bike --

All my stuff is burning!

Look!

Aaaah![ sirens wail in distance ]

Do you want to do something else
Beside just stand there?

I'm keeping
The cable straight.

I'm about done.

So you've cranked it
For five seconds,

I've been cranking on it
For hours?

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Your arms are stronger
Than me.

You're lazy.

I'm lazy?

Lazy.

Look what I found
In the car.

The kids
Left them in there.

We gonna work out
Some issues real quick.

Come on, homie.

No hitting in the ear.

No cheating out of my hand,
Either.

[ grunting ]

Time out.

I didn't hear no bell.

We done?
Yeah.

So, should I, like,
Make the appointment

Next week
For the counselor,

Or are you feeling
All right?

Well, I didn't have a problem
To start with.

Youse the one wanting to fight,
Being lazy.

I always love you.You're such an ass.

♪♪

All my stuff is burning.

This is the trip
From hell!

Aaaaah!

Narrator: the road to sturgis
Has led to a dead end for josh.

Josh: all my *bleep*
Is going to burn.

The whole 150 gallons of
Cherry bounce is up in flames.

I don't want to lose
My truck too.

My truck is going to burn.

Somebody help me!

Trying to get the trailer
Unhooked from the truck,

That's not a easy task.

Because the jack is broke
On the trailer,

There's no way to get it
Off of my truck.

This ain't my *bleep*
Luck, man.

The only thing I could do
Was pull the pin out,

But I can't get the pressure
Off of the pin,

So the pin wouldn't come out.

Water!

Please, help me!

I'm stuck with a trailer on fire
Stuck to my truck.

*bleep*

*bleep*

It's not going to be long
Before the law is here.

And I got all this liquor
In the back of the trailer.

The cops show up.

I immediately start panicking,
Thinking I'm going to jail.

My tailgate is about
To burst into flames.

[ police sirens wail ]

♪♪

♪♪

Daniel, I hope this honey locust
Is ready to run off.

It's been getting awfully
Cool overnight.

All right.
I think, probably, it will.

We've had several
Pretty good days.

Narrator: on a damp day
In tennessee,

Mike and daniel are ready to run

Their first batch
Of honey locust shine.

-want to check that mash?
-yeah.

We're down to the wire as far
As being able to run liquor.

We've had some cold nights,

And the yeast has to stay
Above 70,

75 degrees
To really ferment well.

-what do you think?
-by god, it smells right.

You know, we mashed
This honey locust in.

We're hoping for the best.

You're always taking a gamble
When you're trying to run

Something brand-damn-new
To give to somebody.

I'm hoping to knock it
Out of the park.

Give me a little dag
At it.

It's ready?

Yeah. Yeah.
It smells good.

I'll bet that'll be
Good liquor.

You know, with this honey
Locust, it's ready to run.

We're hoping for the best,
But we don't have no idea how

This *bleep* going to turn out.

♪♪

There we go.

We've took a gamble on mashing
This brand-new flavor in.

We've got to make this
And make it right.

You need some help?

You'll be all night pasting
That damn thing.

Dang-old fire
Is burning my legs off.

Starting to get hot.
Ain't it?

-yeah.
-it won't be long now.

Oh, it's getting
Real damn hot.

I can take it if you can.

[ laughs ]

I'm quitting.

All righty.

Yeah, you don't want
None of that now.

Unh-unh.

-there she flies.
-there she comes now.

You can smell
That honey-kiwi smell,

But we still don't know yet
How it's going to taste.

♪♪

That won't even make you
Make a face, son.

I mean, that's just
Good liquor.

You can taste every bit
Of the honey locust in that.

You dang sure can.

I mean, it's there.

I throwed that
Across my tongue.

It was just what I hoped for.

♪♪

It taste any good?

You can taste the honey
Locust in it.

My god. I mean, it tastes
Just like kiwi and honey

Mixed with just a little bit
Of citrus-y flavor in it.

Give it a shake
And see what we got.

I think maybe, after this,
I will have earned my position

As far as being

A still hand or a partner.

One thirty, 135 --
Somewhere along in there.

He seems to like it,

And we'll just see
How it goes from here.

You can't beat it.

This is the new fall liquor
Right here.

Me and daniel ain't never
Heard of nobody else

Ever running
Honey locust liquor.

We took the risk.

We didn't know how it was
Going to turn out.

It could have been a big bust.

Our season could have been over.

This is the best liquor I've run
All year long.

I mean, this is going
To be good liquor, son.

I believe it is.

And I thank you for coming up
With the idea, brother.

[ laughs ]

We've got to get it out there
And get a demand for it,

And we feel real confident
That that's going to happen.

That's good liquor.

Daniel: I like the flavor.
I'm satisfied.

♪♪

Josh: the whole 150 gallons of
Cherry bounce is up in flames,

$22,500 just in product.

That ain't including my trailer,

My motorcycles,
My side-by-sides.

There ain't no getting it back.

It's gone.

I just watched it burn
To the damn ground.

And I got this biker
Distributor.

These guys are expecting me to
Show up with all this *bleep*,

And it burnt.

I'm not being a man
Of my word now,

And I'm a man of my word,
No matter what,

So I've got to figure out
How I'm gonna fix this.

I don't know these dudes
Well enough to know

How they're going
To handle this.

They may go crazy on me.

They may, you know.
Who knows?

♪♪

I just lost it all,

Freaking unbelievable.

♪♪

Narrator: next time on
"Moonshiners"...

You know, I been getting
A whole lot of calls

From people...
-mm-hmm.

...Wanting me to make them
Some moonshine,

Illegal moonshine.

...A shiner struggles with
Temptation in virginia.

You'll go to jail.
You'll be back in jail again.

Well, I'm -- I got
To do something, champ.

♪♪

Man: you didn't deliver, man.
What happened?

Narrator: and rising
From the ashes...

Josh: I had a fire,
And I lost my trailer

And everything in it,
But that wasn't my fault.

Here I sat
Like a little fool.

Maybe I need to find
Somebody else.