Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 7, Episode 15 - Lighted Up - full transcript
Mark and Digger confront a shiner who's been edging into their territory. Red and blue lights flash, and Josh makes a split second decision. Lance hopes a big sale could rectify past bootlegging blunders while Mike risks his sale,...
Narrator: on this episode
Of "Moonshiners,"
Warning shots
In the smoky mountains...
There's people over here
That will hurt you physically.
-right.
-they will do you bodily harm.
Mike:
Come on, you bastard.
Son of a bitch.
Some cop, even if he pulls me
Over to see if he can help me,
He's gonna discover
I got liquor in here.
...Failure to launch
In tennessee...
*bleep*.
There's the law.
There's the law,
Right there.
Josh: I'm fixing to go
Set this deal up.
We're gonna haul
All this liquor
In three different
Vehicles.
Narrator: ...And a shiner
On the lam in north carolina.
Hell, no.
Holy *bleep*
♪♪
♪ going for the ride ♪
♪ running to survive ♪
♪ when you're living
Outside of the law ♪
♪♪
♪ when you're living
Outside of the law ♪
This is how we make
The moonshine.
Captions paid for by
Discovery communications
I'm glad old kelly
Has called us, want to meet us
And bring us a little bit of
That liquor he's been making.
Yep.
I mean, this is done money
In our pocket.
We're pretty much officially
Bootleggers, ain't we?
At this point,
We're back to bootlegging.
Narrator: in the autumn twilight
Of the tennessee hills,
Mark and digger are meeting up
With their corn-liquor producer,
Kelly, to pick up
A load of shine.
I still can't
Believe it.
He was willing to make
This liquor for us.
Yep. And I was more than
Happy to give it to him.
I'd like to have two more just
Like him out there making it.
We still have dedicated
Corn customers,
And we were fortunate.
We was able to recruit kelly
To come in and step up
And help us with that.
Boy, she's clear now.
He's done shown he has potential
To make good liquor.
If there's anybody I think
That can replicate our liquor,
I believe it'd be him.
Well, we showed him.
I got all the faith
In the world in him.
♪♪
This barn was built for
A models and wagons.
It wasn't build
For f-150s.
No, it wasn't.
I left me enough room
To get out of here.
No, I...
You didn't leave me none.
-you boys doing all right?
-yeah.
How you doing, cousin?
Well, it's a dandy
Old barn.
This property's
Got some history.
There's a bona fide
Killing up here,
And then, a fellow hung himself
Out here in this barn.
Well, ah...
If I ain't mistaken.
Damn it.
You might not know this about
Mark, but he's be skittish.
Oh, hey, boy,
You ain't fidgety, are you?
He's getting behind me.
I know his moves.
He's gonna hit me, ain't he?
-hey.
Mark: okay, I don't want to talk
No more about this *bleep*.
You know I'm superstitious
About it.
You know, I'm not even
Gonna let myself think
Any negative thoughts
At this point.
I've done put those
Behind me.
Let's see if we can't do
Some liquor trading here
And forget
All this craziness.
♪♪
Got a good bead.
-some of this is
That run we run.
-yeah.
This is gonna be what we run.
I can tell with it right now.
Digger: the first thing I did
Was smell that,
And anybody that knows
How you taste,
You taste most of it
Through your nose.
That may be
That first run.
You taste it,
And see what you think.
I think it's
First run, but...
That tasted like the run
That we helped you with,
I mean...
-well, good.
Then, that's
The second run.
Digger:
I mean, there it is.
It's right on the money.
That's what we were looking for.
That's what we need
To sell this liquor.
Well, then, you hit it
On the money.
Mark: sure enough,
It's really decent liquor.
So, on that aspect,
As far as making liquor,
He's doing
The right things.
Digger: I don't know if anybody
Ever taught you
How to carry
A case of liquor,
But you always
Hold it on up to you.
They wouldn't
Bust out that way.
He's always got a better
Plan for something.
I'm gonna
Make him happy.
Let's go.
Narrator: with this exchange
Of corn shine, mark and digger
Are within striking distance
Of their season goal.
Mark:
Quality was fine.
Digger; hell, yeah.
It was spot-on.
I couldn't tell
Any difference
Between what
That second run was...
He's run it the way
We asked him to.
Yeah. Yeah, he ain't
Cutting no corners.
What did we run over
Just then?
It's probably
A dead body.
Yeah.
♪♪
♪♪
Mike:
I tell you what.
It's always a big risk
Bootlegging liquor.
I don't care if it's one jar
Or 20 gallons.
It's an income for me, and it
Means a lot to me and my family.
Narrator: on the windward side
Of the smokies,
Mike is crisscrossing
County lines
To supply buyers
All over eastern tennessee.
Mike: I've got this
First buyer lined up.
I've known him, probably,
10 years or better.
He wanted 6 gallons of high-shot
Liquor -- 120, 130 proof.
Got to get a little more money
Out of this deal.
I was gonna charge him
$150 a gallon for it,
And he's the only man
That I'll front liquor to
'cause I know he'll
Bring me my money back.
Narrator: along with supplying
His local customers,
Mike's ambitious plan to gain
New buyers in cocke county
Could help him
Hit his season goal,
Or put him in the
Crosshairs of moonshiners
Already controlling
The territory.
Mike: and here we are,
Right here.
♪♪
What did you say?
Where you
Want this at?
What are you doing,
Old white lightning?
Yeah.
That's your
High-shot liquor.
You know, I have to have
$150 a gallon for that.
That's $900 in all.
So, how long do you
Think it will be
Before you get the money.
That'll be fine.
What the hell is
The tire for, anyway?
Does he?
Yeehaw.
What's he
Gonna be?
Let me try.
Whoa.
Yeah.
Check that out, boo.
Got his horn, huh?
Ah. Ah.
Come here.
Get on him.
All right, buddy.
We'll see you man.
All right.
Take care of yourself.
I'm gonna tell you something.
So, I was playing
With that goat.
Boy, he's rough.
Smells like a rough night
In jail, is what it smells like,
If you know what I mean
About that.
♪♪
♪♪
Lance: will do.
Narrator: in graham county,
North carolina, jeff and lance
Are making the most
Of their presidential spirit.
Me and dad, we come down
To run our last bottle
Of george washington rye.
Narrator:
With a renewed focus this season
On their heritage corn whiskey,
As well as their high-dollar
George washington rye,
The father-and-son duo
Are slowly chipping away
At their season goal.
This is my money
Bucket, ain't it?
If you say so.
Well, yeah. If the money
Comes out right here.
Well, that's it.
Jeff: we've probably got around
40 gallons of george washington,
And I feel like
We're winning back
Some of the customers
We lost last year.
Well, you've got it
Figured out how to run it,
I mean, make it
A good, smooth liquor.
Now, the only problem is,
We got to get rid of all of it.
Lance: I've got a customer
Wanting a lot of it all at once.
Are you sure
He's got the money
Or is this another
Bootlegger deal?
He's told me he's willing
To front me
Half the money
Up-front.
I get the other half
Of the money,
Tell him where
The liquor's at.
Done deal.
You're better off to sell
To one person,
But to me, it sounds like
You're fixing to get set up,
Somebody willing to pay you
For something they ain't got.
Lance: this is gonna put $7,500
In mine and dad's pocket.
This is gonna set me
And dad up for the winter.
If you think you're
Gonna sell that,
Do it, as long as you
Got all our money
Before you tell him
Where the liquor's at.
Oh, we got
Liquor running.
Jeff:
Carrying on george's recipe
Makes me proud
To be a moonshiner.
This is head.
-yeah.
We don't want to get
That mixed up.
That's rye whiskey.
Narrator:
This successful run will yield
Jeff and lance 10 gallons,
Bringing the total
To 50 gallons
Of george washington
Rye whiskey.
Smells good, too,
Don't it?
And now, all we got to do
Is hurry up
And get rid of
All of it.
♪♪
♪♪
Josh:
Cutie pie, we're gonna have
To take a different truck.
My truck has done got
So doggone hot,
We're gonna have to
Find us another ride.
All right.
You ready?
All right.
Narrator:
On the carolina piedmont,
Josh is devising a plan
To safely bootleg 175 gallons
Of plum brandy.
Josh: I'm fixing to go set
This deal up.
We're gonna haul
All this liquor
In three different
Vehicles.
I'm afraid to put all my eggs
In my basket,
Like I did
After the fire.
All my stuff
Is burning.
Look.
Ah!
The whole 150 gallons of
Cherry bounce is up in flames.
This time, we're gonna
Split it up a little bit.
Red dog is gonna
Haul some, hopefully.
Chuck is gonna
Haul some.
I'm gonna haul some.
Narrator:
If josh can't get every ounce
Of his liquor to the bikers,
His largest shine sale ever
Will go south,
Ruining this and
Potentially future seasons
With his major distributor.
Josh:
All right, cutie pie.
I'm ready to
Get it over with.
So, I'm about to head over
To my stash spot.
I'm gonna get 60 gallons
Out of my 175-gallon stash,
Haul it to red dog's,
Begging for a favor.
I've done swapped up vehicles
And taken every precaution
I can to make sure that these
Guys get this load of liquor.
They're breathing
Down my neck.
So, I'm going the back way
Down this dirt road.
I got some stuff on me,
And I don't really
Want to get pulled over.
Cutie pie,
Did you let one rip?
Good god.
Holy crap.
[ gags ]
I can taste it.
[ singing ]
You can get a line
And I can get a pole
And we go down
To the crawdad.
♪♪
Got blue lights.
Hell, no.
♪♪
♪♪
Holy *bleep*.
Mark: we're not here
To threaten you,
But we're here to educate you,
Just a little bit.
Narrator:
An intruder in tennessee.
I can show you 30,
40 tombstones up here
That ought to be chiseled
With the words
"I was warned."
Josh: holy *bleep*
Narrator: in north carolina,
Josh is in a race for freedom.
They gonna get us
If we don't hurry up.
So, I'm about to head
To my stash spot.
So, I'm going the back way down
This dirt road, the last place
I was ever expecting
To run into the law.
What the hell?
I know that dirt road
Just as good as anybody.
I used that dust
To my advantage.
Narrator: even the small amount
Of moonshine in the truck
Could land him in jail
Long enough
To sever ties permanently
With his biggest buyer.
Josh: I knew if I kicked up
A bunch of dust
And I raised hell, he'd have
No chances on catching me.
I'm looking out
The rearview mirror.
All I see is a big dust cloud,
No cop in sight.
Oh, yeah!
Holy *bleep*,
Cutie pie.
Well, right now,
I guess I've outrun him.
Hell to the yeah.
Luckily,
I was on the dirt road,
Or I'd have never been able
To get away.
♪♪
All right, cutie pie.
All in all, we're pretty lucky,
Ain't we?
As long as we can
Stay out of jail,
We're doing okay,
Ain't we?
It's like a bullet
Fired out of a gun now.
There's no
Getting it back.
I'm sure the law has got
An apb out on this truck,
But I've got to
Get to the stash house,
Get the stash to red dog's,
Hide this vehicle,
And, well, we're going
To have to come up
With some other way
To make sure
That these guys
Get this load of liquor.
I've got to
Ditch this thing.
Shoot, did you poot?
♪♪
♪♪
-you got it?
-yeah.
Digger:
I just don't want to push on you
If I have to fall forward.
Mark: well, if it gets
Away from you,
You can turn the son
Of a bitch loose
And let it go
Where it wants to.
Digger: yeah, I just don't
Want to ram that hand truck
Up your butt crack.
Narrator: as the looming winter
Months wax on the horizon,
Mark and digger
Are taking part
In the centuries-old
Moonshine tradition.
Digger: me and mark are
Gonna make a little run
Our of everything
We had left over.
Every year, we'll find
Five or six bags of sugar,
Some barley,
And some rye.
We're gonna take
All these ingredients,
And we're gonna come in and
Make us a little old two-barrel
Run of mash
And use them up.
Narrator: the duo are mashing
In a two-grain rye whiskey
From their
Surplus ingredients
That could push them north
Of their season goal.
That little cold spell
Is bringing this
Leaves off of here.
Mark:
Fall is up on us, and our window
Of opportunities for this season
Is closing on us quickly.
But we feel very confident
We're gonna hit
Our 1,100-gallon goal,
But you know, there's still
Not any room for error.
We're gonna
Grab the barley.
The rye is
Already ground.
♪♪
Oh, yeah.
That's perfect, coz.
Oh, yeah. It's perfect.
Look at that.
Oh, I wouldn't stick it
In that hole for nothing.
Damn.
Sure is dusty liquor, ain't it?
Mm-hmm.
-you got it?
-I got it.
Hey, you fellows.
Did I sneak in on you?
Just a tiny bit.
There ain't nothing no good,
Or you wouldn't be here.
Well,
You're kindly right.
Got a fellow,
This season, around,
Been selling a little liquor
Over this way.
So, it ain't
A local boy.
No.
He's from a county over.
So, I figured I'd see
What you wanted to do.
Well, that ain't good business
To be coming
In somebody else's county.
You figured out
Who he is?
Well, I had to ask
Around a little bit,
But I know
Who he is and...
Well, he ain't too smart, or he
Wouldn't be doing this *bleep*.
It's an unspoken rule when
You're in the liquor industry,
You don't mess around
With other people's customers.
He's come over here
And he's trying to get
In our damn pocket book.
Not only is it hurting
Our business,
We know these other boys
That's in the business, too,
And it's hurting them
In our county.
Mark: we need to talk
To this young man.
That being said, I went ahead
And I made contact
To buy some liquor
From him.
Well, you just let us know, and
We'll be there ahead of time.
I don't want to get
Too stirred up, now.
-no, we ain't.
-we ain't gonna kill him.
That ain't our style.
It's better for us
To go talk to him.
I mean, he might run
Into somebody else
That ain't gonna
Be so pleasant.
If it had been 30,
40 years ago,
I know it wouldn't have
Been handled so nice.
Narrator: moonshine's
Lines of demarcation
Have long been paved
With bloodshed,
But no one was more ruthless
Than bootlegger
Dutch schultz.
While the rest of the country
Was suffering
Through the great depression,
Schultz was making
An estimated
$2 million a year moving
Illegal booze from new jersey
To parts of the bronx.
He eventually took over
The entire borough
By kidnapping his main rival
And blinding him
By wrapping gonorrhea-soaked
Bandages around his eyes.
From there, he pushed south
Into manhattan,
Running headlong into
Mob kingpin arnold rothstein.
The clash left
Schultz's partner dead
And rothstein assassinated
Outside a manhattan hotel.
Dutch schultz's
Cold-blooded tactics
Proved effective,
But short-lived,
As he was gunned down
In a jersey city steakhouse
By members of
The notorious hit squad
Murder, inc.
At the age of 33.
I'll let you know.
I'll see you later on.
Thanks, kelly.
That's them young ones that want
To get in this business.
They think
They know everything.
Digger:
Kelly set up a meet to buy
Some liquor from this boy.
Now, he doesn't know it, but
We're gonna be there, as well.
He needs to have
An opportunity to learn
The right way
Of doing it.
And then, if he's a prick
And he ain't no damn account,
Then we'll treat him
Accordingly.
♪♪
Mike: next fellow
I'm going to see up here...
I've got 10 gallons of liquor
On the back of the truck.
I ain't never sold
To this fellow before,
So I'm a little bit
Skeptical about it.
I want, you know, to see how
He acts and everything.
But I've got to
Take a chance,
'cause I'm expanding
My clientele.
Narrator: on the hillsides
Above the french broad river,
Mike is pushing
Into new territory
With a sale to
An unfamiliar customer.
Mike:
We're in a good location.
I ain't worried about
Nobody else seeing us.
The biggest thing
I'm worried about
Is waiting on the fellow
To show up, you know.
That's always
My biggest deal.
When you're doing
A bootleg run,
You've always got a particular
Time to meet up,
But somebody is gonna
Be late all the time.
♪♪
All right. Looks like
That would be him, right,
Coming down the hill.
Phew.
All right, now.
What do you say, bud?
I've got it
On the truck.
You want to taste it?
You got some money
On you, don't you?
All right, bud.
♪♪
Just taste
A little of it.
♪♪
Like it pretty good?
That's where...
Well, that's sort of my business
On about where it's made.
The only thing you
Need to know is, I make it,
And I'm here
To sell it to you.
It'll be $1,000
For both barrels,
If you want
Both barrels of it.
You'll take both?
I'll count her out,
So we'll see.
Let's get you loaded
And get you out of here with it.
Have a good one, buddy.
We'll see you, man.
♪♪
Got them benjamins, man.
Ready to get out
Of here now.
Hoo.
Oh, that makes me nervous.
Narrator:
Mike now needs to leave
The safety of the mountains
For his next big sale
In town.
I really don't like that,
You know,
Coming out in the middle of town
With a load of liquor,
Meeting her at a car lot
Somewhere, you know.
It sort of makes me nervous,
But we'll get it done.
I promise you.
Lord, it's a-popping some,
This four-wheel drive is.
I'm fixing to pull out here
On the main road.
I'd better go ahead and try to
Put it in two-wheel drive.
Come on, you bastard.
Son of a bitch.
This son of a bitch
Won't change back over.
I'm gonna have to
Sit here and...
Oh, god.
These people running 40
And 50 miles an hour
Up and down the road,
I mean, I don't know
What the hell
I'm gonna do until it
Goes back two-wheel drive
'cause I can't go down the road
At 5 miles an hour.
Anytime you're on an incline
In four-wheel drive,
That oil has settled to the back
And it takes, hell,
Sometimes an hour to get it
To go back into two-wheel drive.
It'll go back
Sooner or later,
But I'm worried about getting
This liquor delivered right now.
Let me text this woman
And tell her I...
♪♪
No, I don't know
What to tell her.
*bleep*
There's the law.
There's the law,
Right there.
Mike:
Come on, you bastard.
Son of a bitch.
Narrator:
Back in tennessee, mike is
Stranded in rival territory.
I'm worried about getting this
Liquor delivered right now.
Let me text this woman,
Tell her I...
♪♪
I don't know
What to tell her.
*bleep*
There's the law.
There's the law,
Right there.
I mean *bleep*.
Some cop, even if he pulls me
Over to see if he can help me,
He's gonna discover
I got liquor in here.
[ phone chimes ]
Man, this woman is getting
Impatient with my ass.
Yeah.
"Okay, man. I'm still waiting,
No longer than 10 minutes.
I've got a life, too,"
She said.
Yeah, no *bleep*.
You think I want to be
Stranded out here.
If she'll just sit there and
Wait on me, I'll be all right.
But yeah, if I don't
Get this liquor sold,
She'll go back
And tell people.
That can potentially
Cost me sales in the future.
I've been set level
A little while.
Put her in neutral.
Oh. There that son of a bitch
Goes, right there.
Let's get on down
The road with it now.
Let's turn
This *bleep* down.
Thank god.[ phone chimes ]
I'm a coming.
You ain't got to text me
No damn more now.
I'm almost there.
Get the hell
Out of the way.
Get your ass over.
I can go now.
If she can just wait
Just a second,
I'll be in here.
Hoo. Thank god.
I've got to get out
And try to make things right
With this woman now.
Sorry I'm late.
My truck screwed up on me.
I know you're aggravated,
But just let me get this liquor.
♪♪
Damn liquor is falling out
Everywhere.
Let me...
Let's get this stuff
Loaded up, boy.
I'm gonna --
I'm ready to get out of town.
$800, ma'am.
I'll count it out
Real quick.
I know it's all there.
I trust you.
Just get...
Yep.
Holler at me
On the next run...
-okay.
-...If you need anything.
Get the hell out of dodge.
Get the hell out of here.
I've had enough damn trouble
For the night, sir.
Out here in the middle
Of town, phew...
I'm just ready to get back
To the woods, where I belong.
♪♪
Lance: after this deal is done,
We'll have $7,500 in our hands.
Jeff: it just don't
Feel right to me.
It just don't feel right
To you 'cause it's my deal.
Narrator:
In graham county, jeff and lance
Are on their way to stash
The entire 50 gallons
Of george washington rye
For their largest sale
Of the season.
I mean, it feels to me like
You're getting set up today.
Jeff:
It might not be a setup.
It just may be somebody
That's wanting
Our george washington
That bad,
But it's odd that somebody
Is willing to pay $7,500
For something
They ain't even seen.
This takes the burden
Of bootlegging off my back,
Running liquor
All over kingdom come.
You have to take
A little bit of a risk,
But when the reward
Is this high,
You have to throw caution
To the wind.
We're moonshiners.
It's how we make
Our living.
I got a pretty good spot
Picked out.
You're gonna be looking
Down into a junkyard.
There's been nobody
Down there in a long time.
Is this the road?
This is it.
I don't know.
This don't feel right, here.
The best way to hide
In plain sight.
And a good way
To get caught, too.
Nobody is gonna expect
A thing out here.
We got all this junk
Laying around.
You know, I usually
Try to pick a place
That's more out of the way
To drop the shine.
To me, it's like
Unloading the shine
Right in the middle
Of town.
We can hide it right there
In the, behind that bucket.
Nobody is gonna see it
From over there.
Nobody is gonna see it
From up there.
Nobody is gonna know
That the liquor is here
Except me and you, and once
I've been paid, they will.
All right.
Let's get it unloaded.
I've tried to get away from
The bootlegging part of it.
You get caught,
And that's a federal offense.
But I made
An exception this time.
I drove it
To this dead drop.
To me, that's the safest
Way to do it.
That way, you're not
Connected with the money
And the shine together.
Lance: I'm gonna make sure
That everything goes
Exactly as planned.
We really need a payday,
And this is a big one.
♪♪
We'll close up,
And we'll get out of here.
Lance, let's get
Out of here.
-yep.
-you set it in there.
Jeff: this is the biggest risk
We've took all season,
But the reward is great.
And if we can make
This deal go through,
We'll be set on money
For all winter.
Don't you wish we could set
All of our deals up like this?
Oh, hell,
The deal ain't done yet.
♪♪
♪♪
We just outran the law
A little while ago.
We barely got away
From them.
I'm about scared to even be
Loading anything in this truck.
I know they're
Looking for us.
Narrator: with darkness
As his only ally,
Josh's freedom
Hangs in the balance
As he tries to get his shine
To red dog's.
This is about crazy, to get
On the road with this right now.
Right, now I'm like
A damn fugitive.
Any time you run into law,
If you get away,
You're a damn lucky
Son of a gun.
The best thing I can do is
Get my stash loaded up,
Get it to red dog,
Take this truck,
Get rid of it before
They catch me in it
And lock my heinie on up.
♪♪
♪♪
Well, we're almost
To red dog's house.
I need somebody I can trust to
Help me get rid of this liquor.
I'm asking a lot
For somebody that said
They wasn't gonna have
Nothing to do with it.
Hopefully, we can beg him for
A favor if we change his mind.
Red dog.
Red dog: hey, man.
What's going on?
You out late at night,
Ain't you?
I need to ask
A favor of you.
Oh, hell.
What's up, man?
You ain't in trouble,
Are you?
I'm kicked back,
Drinking a couple of beers,
Ready to watch
The football game.
And it's saturday night,
And I don't want to be bothered
With no moonshining crap,
But it seems he has got his butt
In some kind of trouble.
Before you say "No," you've got
To at least hear me out.
I've gotten myself
In a predicament and...
Imagine that.
I lost a bunch
Of my stash and stuff,
About lost my whole operation,
And I need you to do me favor.
I don't know that it's such
A good idea that I tell red dog
That I've been running
From the law,
But I really need him.
I know you're
In trouble, man.
I can tell by the way
You're acting.
Let me know
What the deal is.
I need you to haul
60 gallons of liquor.
*bleep*.
That's dumb as hell.
Man, there ain't
No damn police
Coming up my driveway,
Are there?
Would you do that
For me?
Well, you know, I just ain't
Into all that no more.
I won't make a habit
Out of it,
And I'll make it
Worth your while.
I'm too damn old to go to
Federal prison over a run.
I will not make
A habit out of it,
And I'll make it
Worth your while.
Damn.
I really need you
To help me.
Wait a damn minute.
Yeah, you've got somebody that's
Handed you a lot of money.
Got me on edge,
And I don't like it.
Narrator: cold feet
In north carolina.
I know you're
In trouble, man.
I can tell by the way
You're acting.
Let me know
What the deal is.
I need you to
Do me a favor.
I need you to haul
60 gallons of liquor.
*bleep*.
That's dumb as hell.
I'm kind of
In a rush right now.
I got a bunch
Of stuff going on.
Where's the liquor at?
I got it in the back
Of the truck right there.
We can unload it
Wherever you want me to.
I just need you to take care
Of this 60 gallons,
And I got to haul ass.
I don't know, man.
Just, can you get
To them for me,
And I can trust you
To do that?
[ suspenseful music plays ]
Yeah.
I didn't want to come out
Of retirement,
Get back into all this,
But he's gotten himself
Into a situation
Where he can't handle it
By himself.
All right.
I'm running --
I got...
All right.
So, I need
One more favor.
Aw, hell.
What is it?
I need you to let me borrow
One of the trucks
Or the vans
Or something tonight.
What's wrong with
That vehicle there?
There's nothing wrong
With it.
Well, why are you
Wanting to borrow one?
The truck may be in trouble,
But I'm not.
Ah, don't hand me
That *bleep*.
I offer to
Give you a hand.
You want my arm and ask
For my britches.
Your ass is in
Some kind of trouble.
Now, come on.
I was coming down
River road earlier,
And I had some stuff
On me,
And as soon as I pull out,
The law pulls out behind me.
You're running
From the police?
Well, technically yes, but I'm
Not running right this minute.
I got away.
You got liquor
On the truck,
You come straight to my house,
To where your still site is,
And want me to stash your liquor
And haul it somewhere.
Man.
I can almost smell the damn
Police coming up here.
I just need to hide
This truck for right now.
I'll come back with a truck
And a trailer later
Where I can
Haul it in close.
I'll get the truck out of here.
Don't worry.
[ laughs ]
All right.
Why don't we stash the truck
Out somewhere by the old barn.
That means
You'll help me?
Hellfire and three
Got matches, man.
What's wrong with you?
Yeah, you may
Leave here walking.
I don't know.
So, you'll let me stash
The liquor here,
And you'll let me
Hide the vehicle,
But borrowing a vehicle
Might be out of the question?
It might be, yeah.
So, I won't ever ask you
To do this *bleep* again.
Aw, hell, you'll be here
Next week wanting some *bleep*.
Supposed to have
Some old woman that'll come
And get you to haul
Your ass around.
Thank you, red dog.
Red dog has agreed
To do the bootlegging run.
He's agreed to loan me
A vehicle.
So, if I can just
Get home tonight
Without getting
Into any trouble...
I think I got an old tarp there
We can hide it with.
Me and chuck are gonna
Go get the rest
Of the liquor
In his truck.
We're gonna meet
These bikers,
Get this liquor sold,
And be done with it.
I appreciate you
Letting me use it, man.
Oh, man, I'm crazy,
And you are, too.
I'm going to
The house.
Don't leave home
After you get there.
We're all crazy as hell
For being into all this.
♪♪
♪♪
Digger: how do you
Want to handle this?
Mark:
I don't know.
We need to just kind of feel
This fellow out, I guess.
See what his intentions are, why
He's over here selling liquor.
Narrator:
In tennessee, mark and digger
Are on their way to confront
An out-of-town moonshiner who's
Encroaching on their territory.
Kelly has enlightened us
About this guy
That's bringing a little
Liquor in the county,
And he's stepping on
Some people's toes.
I understand if people
Are calling him
To buy liquor from him.
That's one thing, but they need
To go to him in his county.
Well, the thing about it is,
Ain't nobody gonna be calling
Nobody that they ain't never
Met before to buy liquor.
I mean, it's like
Popcorn said --
"You can't sell it
If nobody knows you got it."
It ain't just us.
It's affecting the whole county,
And it affects
The economy over here.
I talked to kelly.
He's supposed to meet
This fellow at 10 o'clock.
I don't want to have a big
Blown-up confrontation but...
No.
...When it comes down to brass
Tacks, I ain't above it.
In our little world,
You're in an industry
That doesn't need
Any undue attention.
But we want him to learn that
You got to be accepted by folks
Before you start coming in
And bashing your way
Into their world.
[ suspenseful music plays ]
-who the hell is this?
-this is mark and digger.
[ suspenseful music continues ]
-how you doing, young man?
-pretty good. How you doing?
We're all right.
So, you into peddling
A little liquor.
Well, yeah. Got a lot of clients
Wanting a lot of liquor.
Ain't there nobody
Over in your county
That wants to buy
No liquor?
I'm not coming over here,
You know,
Trying to pull customers
Or nothing like that.
There are people
Calling me wanting liquor.
So, I mean,
I've got to do
What I've got to do
To sell my liquor.
I'm not trying to step
On nobody's toes.
That may be where we have to
Agree to disagree a little bit.
We kind of feel
That you are stepping
On our toes
A little bit.
If you'd been raised up
Where we was in,
You respected people
That made liquor,
You wouldn't be stepping in
In another county.
I respect that rule.
I ain't try to
Come over here.
I ain't try to pull
No customer from nobody.
We're not here
To threaten you.
We're here to try to educate
You just a little bit
On what you may be
Getting into.
I don't know who y'all
Selling you.
-I understand that.
-people is calling me.
You just ain't getting
What we're trying to tell you.
There's people over here
That will hurt you physically.
-right.
-they will do you bodily harm.
Josh:
Come on, baby.
She said, "I'm a good girl, dad.
Am I getting a bath?"
I bet that feels good.
Don't it, girl?
For all you people out there
That keep saying
That I don't never
Give this dog a bath,
That's just
Her damn color.
It ain't me.
Oh, no, don't do that.
Wait.
You know what
Everybody says?
"When are you gonna give
That dirty dog a bath?"
That little dog is
Always just so dirty.
She's not dirty.
She gets into
Everything.
If there's a dead
Critter around,
She's gonna get in it,
Roll in it.
She's gonna go kill something
And gonna roll in that.
Old chicken crap --
Oh, that's her favorite.
Get out there and roll around
In the stinkiest chicken turd
She can find.
Every time she goes to the still
Site, what does she do
But get completely covered
In mud and dirt.
What do I got to do?
Come home and
Give her a bath.
Say, "I ain't no dirty dog.
I ain't no dirty dog.
I'm a clean dog.
Yeah, I'm a clean dog.
I just look dirty."
Yeah.
You just ain't getting what
We're trying to tell you.
There's people over here
That will hurt you physically.
-right.
-they will do you bodily harm.
[ suspenseful music plays ]
Digger:
And plus, on top of that,
If it turned out sorry liquor,
That ends up reflecting
On all of us.
Take a horn of it,
And see what you think of it.
All right.
That's fair.
If it ain't no good,
I'll go on and do my own
Thing somewhere else.
That's not bad.
No, no,
It's decent liquor.
Well, I wouldn't make
Nothing that ain't decent.
Man, you still ain't getting
What we're telling you.
You're making
Good liquor,
But we're the nice guys
In this neighborhood.
There's boys around here
That ain't nice.
I can show you 30,
40 tombstones up here
That ought to be chiseled
With the words
"I was warned."
I'm not gonna sell anything
To nobody that ain't no good,
And I'm not trying
To outdo nobody.
I'm telling you.
We're not the villains here.
-no, we're far from it.
We want to help you
Do something.
But you've got to pay your dues
Just a little bit.
I understand that.
So, I'm gonna assume
You're getting a minimum
Of 30 gallon a run.
30 gallon a run,
That's about right.
With a little bit of respect pay
On that 30 gallons a week,
$20 a gallon, we'll tell
The guys that you're all right.
We'll put the word out that
You've got a green light
To sell 30 gallons a week
In this county.
I'll tell you what I'll do --
And I'll be honest with you --
I'll give you $10
A gallon on it.
That's the best that
I can do, personally.
-digger?
-let's go.
We'll let him just fend
For himself.
You won't take
$10 a gallon.
$15 is all I can do.
That's all
I'll agree to -- $15.
Lay it to it.
That's your deal.
Whatever you see fit.
$15 for 30.
Respect me a little bit.
I've got a family
To raise.
$15 is good.
We've got a deal.
-we've got a deal.
-the deal stands?
The deal stands.
Only what's sold
Over here.
Only what's sold here.
Man: we've come to an agreement
Of me giving them
$15 a gallon
For every gallon
I run in cocke county.
You guys will get
Your money.
We're gonna live up
To our end of the deal.
You live up to yours.
Hey, my word
Is my bond, son.
-fair enough.
-you'll have your money.
I promise.
With your liquor there,
You need to load it up
'cause it's
No sale tonight.
♪♪
♪♪
Lance: we're going up here
And meet with my buyer.
He's gonna pay me
The second half of the money.
We'll tell him where
His liquor is at.
I don't know what
To expect up here.
Yeah, you've got somebody that's
Handed you a lot of money.
It's just got me on edge,
And I don't like it.
Narrator: on a long stretch
Of north carolina highway,
Lance is driving
Towards a big payday,
Or directly into a trap.
Lance: I'm a little nervous, but
I've got to get this deal done.
We'll just have to hope he's
Legit and this all pays out.
[ suspenseful music plays ]
[ suspenseful music continues ]
How are you?
Pretty good.
You're liquor is in place.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, it is.
Right there.
Yeah.
Go right down here
To the parts store...
-uh-huh.
-...And a little repair shop.
-yeah.
-take that road. Follow it out.
When you see a junk yard, see a
Bulldozer, right behind it.
I greatly appreciate it,
And hopefully, we can do
A lot more business together.
-appreciate it.
-thanks, man. Appreciate you.
We got paid.
It feels good to
Have the money.
[ phone chimes ]
-hello?
-I got the money.
Jeff: hell, I've been
Worried about it,
But if you've got the money,
I'm glad.
Lance: dad's happy.
I'm happy.
This guy is gonna be
A good customer.
This has put put $7,500
In mine and dad's pocket.
That money is going
To go a long way
Setting us up
For the winter.
It's a huge weight
Off my shoulders.
We got it done good.
We got it done right.
Narrator:
Next time on "Moonshiners"...
Man: which key is it?
There it is.
Narrator: ...No place to hide
In kentucky.
Who the hell is that?
He hasn't given in
To anybody yet, has he?
Tickle: no.
And tickle's future
At belmont farms
Is on a razor's edge.
Can we really risk
Our whole operation
On one guy
That might go sour?
Of "Moonshiners,"
Warning shots
In the smoky mountains...
There's people over here
That will hurt you physically.
-right.
-they will do you bodily harm.
Mike:
Come on, you bastard.
Son of a bitch.
Some cop, even if he pulls me
Over to see if he can help me,
He's gonna discover
I got liquor in here.
...Failure to launch
In tennessee...
*bleep*.
There's the law.
There's the law,
Right there.
Josh: I'm fixing to go
Set this deal up.
We're gonna haul
All this liquor
In three different
Vehicles.
Narrator: ...And a shiner
On the lam in north carolina.
Hell, no.
Holy *bleep*
♪♪
♪ going for the ride ♪
♪ running to survive ♪
♪ when you're living
Outside of the law ♪
♪♪
♪ when you're living
Outside of the law ♪
This is how we make
The moonshine.
Captions paid for by
Discovery communications
I'm glad old kelly
Has called us, want to meet us
And bring us a little bit of
That liquor he's been making.
Yep.
I mean, this is done money
In our pocket.
We're pretty much officially
Bootleggers, ain't we?
At this point,
We're back to bootlegging.
Narrator: in the autumn twilight
Of the tennessee hills,
Mark and digger are meeting up
With their corn-liquor producer,
Kelly, to pick up
A load of shine.
I still can't
Believe it.
He was willing to make
This liquor for us.
Yep. And I was more than
Happy to give it to him.
I'd like to have two more just
Like him out there making it.
We still have dedicated
Corn customers,
And we were fortunate.
We was able to recruit kelly
To come in and step up
And help us with that.
Boy, she's clear now.
He's done shown he has potential
To make good liquor.
If there's anybody I think
That can replicate our liquor,
I believe it'd be him.
Well, we showed him.
I got all the faith
In the world in him.
♪♪
This barn was built for
A models and wagons.
It wasn't build
For f-150s.
No, it wasn't.
I left me enough room
To get out of here.
No, I...
You didn't leave me none.
-you boys doing all right?
-yeah.
How you doing, cousin?
Well, it's a dandy
Old barn.
This property's
Got some history.
There's a bona fide
Killing up here,
And then, a fellow hung himself
Out here in this barn.
Well, ah...
If I ain't mistaken.
Damn it.
You might not know this about
Mark, but he's be skittish.
Oh, hey, boy,
You ain't fidgety, are you?
He's getting behind me.
I know his moves.
He's gonna hit me, ain't he?
-hey.
Mark: okay, I don't want to talk
No more about this *bleep*.
You know I'm superstitious
About it.
You know, I'm not even
Gonna let myself think
Any negative thoughts
At this point.
I've done put those
Behind me.
Let's see if we can't do
Some liquor trading here
And forget
All this craziness.
♪♪
Got a good bead.
-some of this is
That run we run.
-yeah.
This is gonna be what we run.
I can tell with it right now.
Digger: the first thing I did
Was smell that,
And anybody that knows
How you taste,
You taste most of it
Through your nose.
That may be
That first run.
You taste it,
And see what you think.
I think it's
First run, but...
That tasted like the run
That we helped you with,
I mean...
-well, good.
Then, that's
The second run.
Digger:
I mean, there it is.
It's right on the money.
That's what we were looking for.
That's what we need
To sell this liquor.
Well, then, you hit it
On the money.
Mark: sure enough,
It's really decent liquor.
So, on that aspect,
As far as making liquor,
He's doing
The right things.
Digger: I don't know if anybody
Ever taught you
How to carry
A case of liquor,
But you always
Hold it on up to you.
They wouldn't
Bust out that way.
He's always got a better
Plan for something.
I'm gonna
Make him happy.
Let's go.
Narrator: with this exchange
Of corn shine, mark and digger
Are within striking distance
Of their season goal.
Mark:
Quality was fine.
Digger; hell, yeah.
It was spot-on.
I couldn't tell
Any difference
Between what
That second run was...
He's run it the way
We asked him to.
Yeah. Yeah, he ain't
Cutting no corners.
What did we run over
Just then?
It's probably
A dead body.
Yeah.
♪♪
♪♪
Mike:
I tell you what.
It's always a big risk
Bootlegging liquor.
I don't care if it's one jar
Or 20 gallons.
It's an income for me, and it
Means a lot to me and my family.
Narrator: on the windward side
Of the smokies,
Mike is crisscrossing
County lines
To supply buyers
All over eastern tennessee.
Mike: I've got this
First buyer lined up.
I've known him, probably,
10 years or better.
He wanted 6 gallons of high-shot
Liquor -- 120, 130 proof.
Got to get a little more money
Out of this deal.
I was gonna charge him
$150 a gallon for it,
And he's the only man
That I'll front liquor to
'cause I know he'll
Bring me my money back.
Narrator: along with supplying
His local customers,
Mike's ambitious plan to gain
New buyers in cocke county
Could help him
Hit his season goal,
Or put him in the
Crosshairs of moonshiners
Already controlling
The territory.
Mike: and here we are,
Right here.
♪♪
What did you say?
Where you
Want this at?
What are you doing,
Old white lightning?
Yeah.
That's your
High-shot liquor.
You know, I have to have
$150 a gallon for that.
That's $900 in all.
So, how long do you
Think it will be
Before you get the money.
That'll be fine.
What the hell is
The tire for, anyway?
Does he?
Yeehaw.
What's he
Gonna be?
Let me try.
Whoa.
Yeah.
Check that out, boo.
Got his horn, huh?
Ah. Ah.
Come here.
Get on him.
All right, buddy.
We'll see you man.
All right.
Take care of yourself.
I'm gonna tell you something.
So, I was playing
With that goat.
Boy, he's rough.
Smells like a rough night
In jail, is what it smells like,
If you know what I mean
About that.
♪♪
♪♪
Lance: will do.
Narrator: in graham county,
North carolina, jeff and lance
Are making the most
Of their presidential spirit.
Me and dad, we come down
To run our last bottle
Of george washington rye.
Narrator:
With a renewed focus this season
On their heritage corn whiskey,
As well as their high-dollar
George washington rye,
The father-and-son duo
Are slowly chipping away
At their season goal.
This is my money
Bucket, ain't it?
If you say so.
Well, yeah. If the money
Comes out right here.
Well, that's it.
Jeff: we've probably got around
40 gallons of george washington,
And I feel like
We're winning back
Some of the customers
We lost last year.
Well, you've got it
Figured out how to run it,
I mean, make it
A good, smooth liquor.
Now, the only problem is,
We got to get rid of all of it.
Lance: I've got a customer
Wanting a lot of it all at once.
Are you sure
He's got the money
Or is this another
Bootlegger deal?
He's told me he's willing
To front me
Half the money
Up-front.
I get the other half
Of the money,
Tell him where
The liquor's at.
Done deal.
You're better off to sell
To one person,
But to me, it sounds like
You're fixing to get set up,
Somebody willing to pay you
For something they ain't got.
Lance: this is gonna put $7,500
In mine and dad's pocket.
This is gonna set me
And dad up for the winter.
If you think you're
Gonna sell that,
Do it, as long as you
Got all our money
Before you tell him
Where the liquor's at.
Oh, we got
Liquor running.
Jeff:
Carrying on george's recipe
Makes me proud
To be a moonshiner.
This is head.
-yeah.
We don't want to get
That mixed up.
That's rye whiskey.
Narrator:
This successful run will yield
Jeff and lance 10 gallons,
Bringing the total
To 50 gallons
Of george washington
Rye whiskey.
Smells good, too,
Don't it?
And now, all we got to do
Is hurry up
And get rid of
All of it.
♪♪
♪♪
Josh:
Cutie pie, we're gonna have
To take a different truck.
My truck has done got
So doggone hot,
We're gonna have to
Find us another ride.
All right.
You ready?
All right.
Narrator:
On the carolina piedmont,
Josh is devising a plan
To safely bootleg 175 gallons
Of plum brandy.
Josh: I'm fixing to go set
This deal up.
We're gonna haul
All this liquor
In three different
Vehicles.
I'm afraid to put all my eggs
In my basket,
Like I did
After the fire.
All my stuff
Is burning.
Look.
Ah!
The whole 150 gallons of
Cherry bounce is up in flames.
This time, we're gonna
Split it up a little bit.
Red dog is gonna
Haul some, hopefully.
Chuck is gonna
Haul some.
I'm gonna haul some.
Narrator:
If josh can't get every ounce
Of his liquor to the bikers,
His largest shine sale ever
Will go south,
Ruining this and
Potentially future seasons
With his major distributor.
Josh:
All right, cutie pie.
I'm ready to
Get it over with.
So, I'm about to head over
To my stash spot.
I'm gonna get 60 gallons
Out of my 175-gallon stash,
Haul it to red dog's,
Begging for a favor.
I've done swapped up vehicles
And taken every precaution
I can to make sure that these
Guys get this load of liquor.
They're breathing
Down my neck.
So, I'm going the back way
Down this dirt road.
I got some stuff on me,
And I don't really
Want to get pulled over.
Cutie pie,
Did you let one rip?
Good god.
Holy crap.
[ gags ]
I can taste it.
[ singing ]
You can get a line
And I can get a pole
And we go down
To the crawdad.
♪♪
Got blue lights.
Hell, no.
♪♪
♪♪
Holy *bleep*.
Mark: we're not here
To threaten you,
But we're here to educate you,
Just a little bit.
Narrator:
An intruder in tennessee.
I can show you 30,
40 tombstones up here
That ought to be chiseled
With the words
"I was warned."
Josh: holy *bleep*
Narrator: in north carolina,
Josh is in a race for freedom.
They gonna get us
If we don't hurry up.
So, I'm about to head
To my stash spot.
So, I'm going the back way down
This dirt road, the last place
I was ever expecting
To run into the law.
What the hell?
I know that dirt road
Just as good as anybody.
I used that dust
To my advantage.
Narrator: even the small amount
Of moonshine in the truck
Could land him in jail
Long enough
To sever ties permanently
With his biggest buyer.
Josh: I knew if I kicked up
A bunch of dust
And I raised hell, he'd have
No chances on catching me.
I'm looking out
The rearview mirror.
All I see is a big dust cloud,
No cop in sight.
Oh, yeah!
Holy *bleep*,
Cutie pie.
Well, right now,
I guess I've outrun him.
Hell to the yeah.
Luckily,
I was on the dirt road,
Or I'd have never been able
To get away.
♪♪
All right, cutie pie.
All in all, we're pretty lucky,
Ain't we?
As long as we can
Stay out of jail,
We're doing okay,
Ain't we?
It's like a bullet
Fired out of a gun now.
There's no
Getting it back.
I'm sure the law has got
An apb out on this truck,
But I've got to
Get to the stash house,
Get the stash to red dog's,
Hide this vehicle,
And, well, we're going
To have to come up
With some other way
To make sure
That these guys
Get this load of liquor.
I've got to
Ditch this thing.
Shoot, did you poot?
♪♪
♪♪
-you got it?
-yeah.
Digger:
I just don't want to push on you
If I have to fall forward.
Mark: well, if it gets
Away from you,
You can turn the son
Of a bitch loose
And let it go
Where it wants to.
Digger: yeah, I just don't
Want to ram that hand truck
Up your butt crack.
Narrator: as the looming winter
Months wax on the horizon,
Mark and digger
Are taking part
In the centuries-old
Moonshine tradition.
Digger: me and mark are
Gonna make a little run
Our of everything
We had left over.
Every year, we'll find
Five or six bags of sugar,
Some barley,
And some rye.
We're gonna take
All these ingredients,
And we're gonna come in and
Make us a little old two-barrel
Run of mash
And use them up.
Narrator: the duo are mashing
In a two-grain rye whiskey
From their
Surplus ingredients
That could push them north
Of their season goal.
That little cold spell
Is bringing this
Leaves off of here.
Mark:
Fall is up on us, and our window
Of opportunities for this season
Is closing on us quickly.
But we feel very confident
We're gonna hit
Our 1,100-gallon goal,
But you know, there's still
Not any room for error.
We're gonna
Grab the barley.
The rye is
Already ground.
♪♪
Oh, yeah.
That's perfect, coz.
Oh, yeah. It's perfect.
Look at that.
Oh, I wouldn't stick it
In that hole for nothing.
Damn.
Sure is dusty liquor, ain't it?
Mm-hmm.
-you got it?
-I got it.
Hey, you fellows.
Did I sneak in on you?
Just a tiny bit.
There ain't nothing no good,
Or you wouldn't be here.
Well,
You're kindly right.
Got a fellow,
This season, around,
Been selling a little liquor
Over this way.
So, it ain't
A local boy.
No.
He's from a county over.
So, I figured I'd see
What you wanted to do.
Well, that ain't good business
To be coming
In somebody else's county.
You figured out
Who he is?
Well, I had to ask
Around a little bit,
But I know
Who he is and...
Well, he ain't too smart, or he
Wouldn't be doing this *bleep*.
It's an unspoken rule when
You're in the liquor industry,
You don't mess around
With other people's customers.
He's come over here
And he's trying to get
In our damn pocket book.
Not only is it hurting
Our business,
We know these other boys
That's in the business, too,
And it's hurting them
In our county.
Mark: we need to talk
To this young man.
That being said, I went ahead
And I made contact
To buy some liquor
From him.
Well, you just let us know, and
We'll be there ahead of time.
I don't want to get
Too stirred up, now.
-no, we ain't.
-we ain't gonna kill him.
That ain't our style.
It's better for us
To go talk to him.
I mean, he might run
Into somebody else
That ain't gonna
Be so pleasant.
If it had been 30,
40 years ago,
I know it wouldn't have
Been handled so nice.
Narrator: moonshine's
Lines of demarcation
Have long been paved
With bloodshed,
But no one was more ruthless
Than bootlegger
Dutch schultz.
While the rest of the country
Was suffering
Through the great depression,
Schultz was making
An estimated
$2 million a year moving
Illegal booze from new jersey
To parts of the bronx.
He eventually took over
The entire borough
By kidnapping his main rival
And blinding him
By wrapping gonorrhea-soaked
Bandages around his eyes.
From there, he pushed south
Into manhattan,
Running headlong into
Mob kingpin arnold rothstein.
The clash left
Schultz's partner dead
And rothstein assassinated
Outside a manhattan hotel.
Dutch schultz's
Cold-blooded tactics
Proved effective,
But short-lived,
As he was gunned down
In a jersey city steakhouse
By members of
The notorious hit squad
Murder, inc.
At the age of 33.
I'll let you know.
I'll see you later on.
Thanks, kelly.
That's them young ones that want
To get in this business.
They think
They know everything.
Digger:
Kelly set up a meet to buy
Some liquor from this boy.
Now, he doesn't know it, but
We're gonna be there, as well.
He needs to have
An opportunity to learn
The right way
Of doing it.
And then, if he's a prick
And he ain't no damn account,
Then we'll treat him
Accordingly.
♪♪
Mike: next fellow
I'm going to see up here...
I've got 10 gallons of liquor
On the back of the truck.
I ain't never sold
To this fellow before,
So I'm a little bit
Skeptical about it.
I want, you know, to see how
He acts and everything.
But I've got to
Take a chance,
'cause I'm expanding
My clientele.
Narrator: on the hillsides
Above the french broad river,
Mike is pushing
Into new territory
With a sale to
An unfamiliar customer.
Mike:
We're in a good location.
I ain't worried about
Nobody else seeing us.
The biggest thing
I'm worried about
Is waiting on the fellow
To show up, you know.
That's always
My biggest deal.
When you're doing
A bootleg run,
You've always got a particular
Time to meet up,
But somebody is gonna
Be late all the time.
♪♪
All right. Looks like
That would be him, right,
Coming down the hill.
Phew.
All right, now.
What do you say, bud?
I've got it
On the truck.
You want to taste it?
You got some money
On you, don't you?
All right, bud.
♪♪
Just taste
A little of it.
♪♪
Like it pretty good?
That's where...
Well, that's sort of my business
On about where it's made.
The only thing you
Need to know is, I make it,
And I'm here
To sell it to you.
It'll be $1,000
For both barrels,
If you want
Both barrels of it.
You'll take both?
I'll count her out,
So we'll see.
Let's get you loaded
And get you out of here with it.
Have a good one, buddy.
We'll see you, man.
♪♪
Got them benjamins, man.
Ready to get out
Of here now.
Hoo.
Oh, that makes me nervous.
Narrator:
Mike now needs to leave
The safety of the mountains
For his next big sale
In town.
I really don't like that,
You know,
Coming out in the middle of town
With a load of liquor,
Meeting her at a car lot
Somewhere, you know.
It sort of makes me nervous,
But we'll get it done.
I promise you.
Lord, it's a-popping some,
This four-wheel drive is.
I'm fixing to pull out here
On the main road.
I'd better go ahead and try to
Put it in two-wheel drive.
Come on, you bastard.
Son of a bitch.
This son of a bitch
Won't change back over.
I'm gonna have to
Sit here and...
Oh, god.
These people running 40
And 50 miles an hour
Up and down the road,
I mean, I don't know
What the hell
I'm gonna do until it
Goes back two-wheel drive
'cause I can't go down the road
At 5 miles an hour.
Anytime you're on an incline
In four-wheel drive,
That oil has settled to the back
And it takes, hell,
Sometimes an hour to get it
To go back into two-wheel drive.
It'll go back
Sooner or later,
But I'm worried about getting
This liquor delivered right now.
Let me text this woman
And tell her I...
♪♪
No, I don't know
What to tell her.
*bleep*
There's the law.
There's the law,
Right there.
Mike:
Come on, you bastard.
Son of a bitch.
Narrator:
Back in tennessee, mike is
Stranded in rival territory.
I'm worried about getting this
Liquor delivered right now.
Let me text this woman,
Tell her I...
♪♪
I don't know
What to tell her.
*bleep*
There's the law.
There's the law,
Right there.
I mean *bleep*.
Some cop, even if he pulls me
Over to see if he can help me,
He's gonna discover
I got liquor in here.
[ phone chimes ]
Man, this woman is getting
Impatient with my ass.
Yeah.
"Okay, man. I'm still waiting,
No longer than 10 minutes.
I've got a life, too,"
She said.
Yeah, no *bleep*.
You think I want to be
Stranded out here.
If she'll just sit there and
Wait on me, I'll be all right.
But yeah, if I don't
Get this liquor sold,
She'll go back
And tell people.
That can potentially
Cost me sales in the future.
I've been set level
A little while.
Put her in neutral.
Oh. There that son of a bitch
Goes, right there.
Let's get on down
The road with it now.
Let's turn
This *bleep* down.
Thank god.[ phone chimes ]
I'm a coming.
You ain't got to text me
No damn more now.
I'm almost there.
Get the hell
Out of the way.
Get your ass over.
I can go now.
If she can just wait
Just a second,
I'll be in here.
Hoo. Thank god.
I've got to get out
And try to make things right
With this woman now.
Sorry I'm late.
My truck screwed up on me.
I know you're aggravated,
But just let me get this liquor.
♪♪
Damn liquor is falling out
Everywhere.
Let me...
Let's get this stuff
Loaded up, boy.
I'm gonna --
I'm ready to get out of town.
$800, ma'am.
I'll count it out
Real quick.
I know it's all there.
I trust you.
Just get...
Yep.
Holler at me
On the next run...
-okay.
-...If you need anything.
Get the hell out of dodge.
Get the hell out of here.
I've had enough damn trouble
For the night, sir.
Out here in the middle
Of town, phew...
I'm just ready to get back
To the woods, where I belong.
♪♪
Lance: after this deal is done,
We'll have $7,500 in our hands.
Jeff: it just don't
Feel right to me.
It just don't feel right
To you 'cause it's my deal.
Narrator:
In graham county, jeff and lance
Are on their way to stash
The entire 50 gallons
Of george washington rye
For their largest sale
Of the season.
I mean, it feels to me like
You're getting set up today.
Jeff:
It might not be a setup.
It just may be somebody
That's wanting
Our george washington
That bad,
But it's odd that somebody
Is willing to pay $7,500
For something
They ain't even seen.
This takes the burden
Of bootlegging off my back,
Running liquor
All over kingdom come.
You have to take
A little bit of a risk,
But when the reward
Is this high,
You have to throw caution
To the wind.
We're moonshiners.
It's how we make
Our living.
I got a pretty good spot
Picked out.
You're gonna be looking
Down into a junkyard.
There's been nobody
Down there in a long time.
Is this the road?
This is it.
I don't know.
This don't feel right, here.
The best way to hide
In plain sight.
And a good way
To get caught, too.
Nobody is gonna expect
A thing out here.
We got all this junk
Laying around.
You know, I usually
Try to pick a place
That's more out of the way
To drop the shine.
To me, it's like
Unloading the shine
Right in the middle
Of town.
We can hide it right there
In the, behind that bucket.
Nobody is gonna see it
From over there.
Nobody is gonna see it
From up there.
Nobody is gonna know
That the liquor is here
Except me and you, and once
I've been paid, they will.
All right.
Let's get it unloaded.
I've tried to get away from
The bootlegging part of it.
You get caught,
And that's a federal offense.
But I made
An exception this time.
I drove it
To this dead drop.
To me, that's the safest
Way to do it.
That way, you're not
Connected with the money
And the shine together.
Lance: I'm gonna make sure
That everything goes
Exactly as planned.
We really need a payday,
And this is a big one.
♪♪
We'll close up,
And we'll get out of here.
Lance, let's get
Out of here.
-yep.
-you set it in there.
Jeff: this is the biggest risk
We've took all season,
But the reward is great.
And if we can make
This deal go through,
We'll be set on money
For all winter.
Don't you wish we could set
All of our deals up like this?
Oh, hell,
The deal ain't done yet.
♪♪
♪♪
We just outran the law
A little while ago.
We barely got away
From them.
I'm about scared to even be
Loading anything in this truck.
I know they're
Looking for us.
Narrator: with darkness
As his only ally,
Josh's freedom
Hangs in the balance
As he tries to get his shine
To red dog's.
This is about crazy, to get
On the road with this right now.
Right, now I'm like
A damn fugitive.
Any time you run into law,
If you get away,
You're a damn lucky
Son of a gun.
The best thing I can do is
Get my stash loaded up,
Get it to red dog,
Take this truck,
Get rid of it before
They catch me in it
And lock my heinie on up.
♪♪
♪♪
Well, we're almost
To red dog's house.
I need somebody I can trust to
Help me get rid of this liquor.
I'm asking a lot
For somebody that said
They wasn't gonna have
Nothing to do with it.
Hopefully, we can beg him for
A favor if we change his mind.
Red dog.
Red dog: hey, man.
What's going on?
You out late at night,
Ain't you?
I need to ask
A favor of you.
Oh, hell.
What's up, man?
You ain't in trouble,
Are you?
I'm kicked back,
Drinking a couple of beers,
Ready to watch
The football game.
And it's saturday night,
And I don't want to be bothered
With no moonshining crap,
But it seems he has got his butt
In some kind of trouble.
Before you say "No," you've got
To at least hear me out.
I've gotten myself
In a predicament and...
Imagine that.
I lost a bunch
Of my stash and stuff,
About lost my whole operation,
And I need you to do me favor.
I don't know that it's such
A good idea that I tell red dog
That I've been running
From the law,
But I really need him.
I know you're
In trouble, man.
I can tell by the way
You're acting.
Let me know
What the deal is.
I need you to haul
60 gallons of liquor.
*bleep*.
That's dumb as hell.
Man, there ain't
No damn police
Coming up my driveway,
Are there?
Would you do that
For me?
Well, you know, I just ain't
Into all that no more.
I won't make a habit
Out of it,
And I'll make it
Worth your while.
I'm too damn old to go to
Federal prison over a run.
I will not make
A habit out of it,
And I'll make it
Worth your while.
Damn.
I really need you
To help me.
Wait a damn minute.
Yeah, you've got somebody that's
Handed you a lot of money.
Got me on edge,
And I don't like it.
Narrator: cold feet
In north carolina.
I know you're
In trouble, man.
I can tell by the way
You're acting.
Let me know
What the deal is.
I need you to
Do me a favor.
I need you to haul
60 gallons of liquor.
*bleep*.
That's dumb as hell.
I'm kind of
In a rush right now.
I got a bunch
Of stuff going on.
Where's the liquor at?
I got it in the back
Of the truck right there.
We can unload it
Wherever you want me to.
I just need you to take care
Of this 60 gallons,
And I got to haul ass.
I don't know, man.
Just, can you get
To them for me,
And I can trust you
To do that?
[ suspenseful music plays ]
Yeah.
I didn't want to come out
Of retirement,
Get back into all this,
But he's gotten himself
Into a situation
Where he can't handle it
By himself.
All right.
I'm running --
I got...
All right.
So, I need
One more favor.
Aw, hell.
What is it?
I need you to let me borrow
One of the trucks
Or the vans
Or something tonight.
What's wrong with
That vehicle there?
There's nothing wrong
With it.
Well, why are you
Wanting to borrow one?
The truck may be in trouble,
But I'm not.
Ah, don't hand me
That *bleep*.
I offer to
Give you a hand.
You want my arm and ask
For my britches.
Your ass is in
Some kind of trouble.
Now, come on.
I was coming down
River road earlier,
And I had some stuff
On me,
And as soon as I pull out,
The law pulls out behind me.
You're running
From the police?
Well, technically yes, but I'm
Not running right this minute.
I got away.
You got liquor
On the truck,
You come straight to my house,
To where your still site is,
And want me to stash your liquor
And haul it somewhere.
Man.
I can almost smell the damn
Police coming up here.
I just need to hide
This truck for right now.
I'll come back with a truck
And a trailer later
Where I can
Haul it in close.
I'll get the truck out of here.
Don't worry.
[ laughs ]
All right.
Why don't we stash the truck
Out somewhere by the old barn.
That means
You'll help me?
Hellfire and three
Got matches, man.
What's wrong with you?
Yeah, you may
Leave here walking.
I don't know.
So, you'll let me stash
The liquor here,
And you'll let me
Hide the vehicle,
But borrowing a vehicle
Might be out of the question?
It might be, yeah.
So, I won't ever ask you
To do this *bleep* again.
Aw, hell, you'll be here
Next week wanting some *bleep*.
Supposed to have
Some old woman that'll come
And get you to haul
Your ass around.
Thank you, red dog.
Red dog has agreed
To do the bootlegging run.
He's agreed to loan me
A vehicle.
So, if I can just
Get home tonight
Without getting
Into any trouble...
I think I got an old tarp there
We can hide it with.
Me and chuck are gonna
Go get the rest
Of the liquor
In his truck.
We're gonna meet
These bikers,
Get this liquor sold,
And be done with it.
I appreciate you
Letting me use it, man.
Oh, man, I'm crazy,
And you are, too.
I'm going to
The house.
Don't leave home
After you get there.
We're all crazy as hell
For being into all this.
♪♪
♪♪
Digger: how do you
Want to handle this?
Mark:
I don't know.
We need to just kind of feel
This fellow out, I guess.
See what his intentions are, why
He's over here selling liquor.
Narrator:
In tennessee, mark and digger
Are on their way to confront
An out-of-town moonshiner who's
Encroaching on their territory.
Kelly has enlightened us
About this guy
That's bringing a little
Liquor in the county,
And he's stepping on
Some people's toes.
I understand if people
Are calling him
To buy liquor from him.
That's one thing, but they need
To go to him in his county.
Well, the thing about it is,
Ain't nobody gonna be calling
Nobody that they ain't never
Met before to buy liquor.
I mean, it's like
Popcorn said --
"You can't sell it
If nobody knows you got it."
It ain't just us.
It's affecting the whole county,
And it affects
The economy over here.
I talked to kelly.
He's supposed to meet
This fellow at 10 o'clock.
I don't want to have a big
Blown-up confrontation but...
No.
...When it comes down to brass
Tacks, I ain't above it.
In our little world,
You're in an industry
That doesn't need
Any undue attention.
But we want him to learn that
You got to be accepted by folks
Before you start coming in
And bashing your way
Into their world.
[ suspenseful music plays ]
-who the hell is this?
-this is mark and digger.
[ suspenseful music continues ]
-how you doing, young man?
-pretty good. How you doing?
We're all right.
So, you into peddling
A little liquor.
Well, yeah. Got a lot of clients
Wanting a lot of liquor.
Ain't there nobody
Over in your county
That wants to buy
No liquor?
I'm not coming over here,
You know,
Trying to pull customers
Or nothing like that.
There are people
Calling me wanting liquor.
So, I mean,
I've got to do
What I've got to do
To sell my liquor.
I'm not trying to step
On nobody's toes.
That may be where we have to
Agree to disagree a little bit.
We kind of feel
That you are stepping
On our toes
A little bit.
If you'd been raised up
Where we was in,
You respected people
That made liquor,
You wouldn't be stepping in
In another county.
I respect that rule.
I ain't try to
Come over here.
I ain't try to pull
No customer from nobody.
We're not here
To threaten you.
We're here to try to educate
You just a little bit
On what you may be
Getting into.
I don't know who y'all
Selling you.
-I understand that.
-people is calling me.
You just ain't getting
What we're trying to tell you.
There's people over here
That will hurt you physically.
-right.
-they will do you bodily harm.
Josh:
Come on, baby.
She said, "I'm a good girl, dad.
Am I getting a bath?"
I bet that feels good.
Don't it, girl?
For all you people out there
That keep saying
That I don't never
Give this dog a bath,
That's just
Her damn color.
It ain't me.
Oh, no, don't do that.
Wait.
You know what
Everybody says?
"When are you gonna give
That dirty dog a bath?"
That little dog is
Always just so dirty.
She's not dirty.
She gets into
Everything.
If there's a dead
Critter around,
She's gonna get in it,
Roll in it.
She's gonna go kill something
And gonna roll in that.
Old chicken crap --
Oh, that's her favorite.
Get out there and roll around
In the stinkiest chicken turd
She can find.
Every time she goes to the still
Site, what does she do
But get completely covered
In mud and dirt.
What do I got to do?
Come home and
Give her a bath.
Say, "I ain't no dirty dog.
I ain't no dirty dog.
I'm a clean dog.
Yeah, I'm a clean dog.
I just look dirty."
Yeah.
You just ain't getting what
We're trying to tell you.
There's people over here
That will hurt you physically.
-right.
-they will do you bodily harm.
[ suspenseful music plays ]
Digger:
And plus, on top of that,
If it turned out sorry liquor,
That ends up reflecting
On all of us.
Take a horn of it,
And see what you think of it.
All right.
That's fair.
If it ain't no good,
I'll go on and do my own
Thing somewhere else.
That's not bad.
No, no,
It's decent liquor.
Well, I wouldn't make
Nothing that ain't decent.
Man, you still ain't getting
What we're telling you.
You're making
Good liquor,
But we're the nice guys
In this neighborhood.
There's boys around here
That ain't nice.
I can show you 30,
40 tombstones up here
That ought to be chiseled
With the words
"I was warned."
I'm not gonna sell anything
To nobody that ain't no good,
And I'm not trying
To outdo nobody.
I'm telling you.
We're not the villains here.
-no, we're far from it.
We want to help you
Do something.
But you've got to pay your dues
Just a little bit.
I understand that.
So, I'm gonna assume
You're getting a minimum
Of 30 gallon a run.
30 gallon a run,
That's about right.
With a little bit of respect pay
On that 30 gallons a week,
$20 a gallon, we'll tell
The guys that you're all right.
We'll put the word out that
You've got a green light
To sell 30 gallons a week
In this county.
I'll tell you what I'll do --
And I'll be honest with you --
I'll give you $10
A gallon on it.
That's the best that
I can do, personally.
-digger?
-let's go.
We'll let him just fend
For himself.
You won't take
$10 a gallon.
$15 is all I can do.
That's all
I'll agree to -- $15.
Lay it to it.
That's your deal.
Whatever you see fit.
$15 for 30.
Respect me a little bit.
I've got a family
To raise.
$15 is good.
We've got a deal.
-we've got a deal.
-the deal stands?
The deal stands.
Only what's sold
Over here.
Only what's sold here.
Man: we've come to an agreement
Of me giving them
$15 a gallon
For every gallon
I run in cocke county.
You guys will get
Your money.
We're gonna live up
To our end of the deal.
You live up to yours.
Hey, my word
Is my bond, son.
-fair enough.
-you'll have your money.
I promise.
With your liquor there,
You need to load it up
'cause it's
No sale tonight.
♪♪
♪♪
Lance: we're going up here
And meet with my buyer.
He's gonna pay me
The second half of the money.
We'll tell him where
His liquor is at.
I don't know what
To expect up here.
Yeah, you've got somebody that's
Handed you a lot of money.
It's just got me on edge,
And I don't like it.
Narrator: on a long stretch
Of north carolina highway,
Lance is driving
Towards a big payday,
Or directly into a trap.
Lance: I'm a little nervous, but
I've got to get this deal done.
We'll just have to hope he's
Legit and this all pays out.
[ suspenseful music plays ]
[ suspenseful music continues ]
How are you?
Pretty good.
You're liquor is in place.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, it is.
Right there.
Yeah.
Go right down here
To the parts store...
-uh-huh.
-...And a little repair shop.
-yeah.
-take that road. Follow it out.
When you see a junk yard, see a
Bulldozer, right behind it.
I greatly appreciate it,
And hopefully, we can do
A lot more business together.
-appreciate it.
-thanks, man. Appreciate you.
We got paid.
It feels good to
Have the money.
[ phone chimes ]
-hello?
-I got the money.
Jeff: hell, I've been
Worried about it,
But if you've got the money,
I'm glad.
Lance: dad's happy.
I'm happy.
This guy is gonna be
A good customer.
This has put put $7,500
In mine and dad's pocket.
That money is going
To go a long way
Setting us up
For the winter.
It's a huge weight
Off my shoulders.
We got it done good.
We got it done right.
Narrator:
Next time on "Moonshiners"...
Man: which key is it?
There it is.
Narrator: ...No place to hide
In kentucky.
Who the hell is that?
He hasn't given in
To anybody yet, has he?
Tickle: no.
And tickle's future
At belmont farms
Is on a razor's edge.
Can we really risk
Our whole operation
On one guy
That might go sour?