Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 7, Episode 3 - Lightning Strikes - full transcript

♪♪

Narrator: for many,
The beginning of shine season

Is an endurance test marked by
Setbacks and false starts.

But any veteran of the illegal
Liquor trade will tell you

The most important rule
Of moonshining is never give up.

In louisiana,
Water, water, everywhere,

But not a drop to drink.

Patti: we got to
Get mashed in today.

Well, I don't know
What to tell you.

Well, I didn't think
It'd take two days.

You're gonna have to watch
What you say.



In north carolina,
One shiner stumbles...

Man! *bleep*

Narrator:
...While another shiner falls.

Josh: take me to the hospital.
I'm dizzy as hell.

Please help me.
I'm so sick.

♪♪

♪ no one can hold me down ♪

♪ or make me change my ways ♪

♪ so don't waste your breath
Sayin' ♪

♪ crime never pays ♪

♪ 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

Will we get this pot done today,
You reckon?

I believe we will.

I'm not gonna say we're gonna
Get anything done,

As damn aggravating
As this rascal's been.

In the mountains of
Eastern tennessee,

Mark and digger
Are making the final push

To finish their ambitious
Three-pot still.

I need to get this rascal
Up on something.

Yeah.

Ramsey: we think we see a light
At the end of the tunnel now.

Every time that I think
That we're gonna get

A whole lot done,

Something seems to jump up
And bite us in the hind end.

Man, we're just dead in the
Water until we build this still.

Are you *bleep* me?

Narrator:
Their hopes for an early start
To shine season were crushed

When a 60-foot tree uprooted
And destroyed their still...

We got to
Come up with a plan.

I want to run
A three-barrel still.

...And the expansion
Of their two-pot still

Has been a steady procession
Of frustrations.

*bleep* damn it!

It ain't
Meant to be.

Yet, the shiner duo
Are undeterred.

And presto.

In spite of the difficulties,

The expansion will be
A distinct improvement

As each run will produce close
To 90 gallons of moonshine,

Which can sell
For over $13,000.

When you cut into it,
That's the point of no return.

It looks like
A hole.

To safeguard against
Scorched mash,

Mark and digger
Design their stills

With a heating chamber
In the center of the pot.

How 'bout that?

That don't look
Too bad.

Well, it's just a matter
Of getting it soldered up.

Ramsey:
We got to get up and running.

We've spent all of our money
From last season.

We don't have no choice.

We done spent
This much time on it.

But it's gonna test
Our patience.

There's still a tremendous
Amount of work to be done.

You know, we've never worked
With a pot this big.

Digger: we're beating ourselves
To death,

But there's no doubt in my mind

That this is ground-breaking as
Far as the moonshine world goes.

♪♪

Yeah,
That's plenty.

♪♪

We got to cut these slots
In these tubes here.

That's where our flame
Will exit from.

Narrator: mark's testing a new
Burner that mixes more oxygen

With the propane,
Resulting in a hotter flame.

The right-proportion mix
Is crucial.

Fuel buildup as a result
Of an incorrect ratio

Can trigger an explosion.

Holy moly.

But caution gets short shrift
When looking down the barrel

Of a four-week late
Start to the season.

Damn,
That smell hotter.

I feel singe-y.
*bleep*

Ramsey: well, we're making
A little bit of progress

On building this pot,

But we have to get this thing
Into the core

And make moonshine liquor.

We're behind.

We've killed a lot of time
Building this rascal.

And as of now, we've not made
One drop of moonshine.

♪♪

About time something
Went right for us, ain't it?

Hell, yeah.[ imitates explosion ]

♪♪

Mike: us moonshiners --
We try to stay discreet

About everything that we do.

If I can just
Get this stuff down here

Without somebody calling in
On me or tattling on me,

I'll be in good shape.

Narrator:
In the great smoky mountains,

Two partners forge ahead
On separate fronts.

♪♪

God almighty.

After a road-building crew
Obliterated their still site...

Everything's ruined.

...Mark and mike were forced
To change tack for the season.

♪♪

Mark:
A lot of good water.

Narrator:
Mark's never-quit attitude

Is key to success
As a moonshiner,

Especially when he's pushing
To get his season back on track.

Mark: moonshining --
It's a hard job.

It's a lot of work in it,

And there's always something
Comes up or something happens.

But that's the fun of it.

You don't never know
What's gonna happen next.

This is a good place
To put my furnace.

We'll run our system this way --
Our thumper and flake stand.

That way,
Our water can drain good.

A lot of rock
To build my furnace with.

It's about as good a location
As I've ever seen right here.

I believe this is
The spot right here.

♪♪

Narrator:
20 miles to the southwest,

Mike is feeling the time crunch.

A week of fermentation
To complete before distilling

Puts him right up against
His client's deadline.

Yeah, I need to make a quick run
To fill my 25-gallon order.

Me and mark's made
15 gallons already,

And I've got 10 more gallons
To get out.

Mark's scouting out
A new still site,

And hopefully, he'll find one.

But it's gonna take mark so long

To get another site
Put up and everything,

And so I've had to split off
And make this order happen.

Man! *bleep*

[ grunts ]

♪♪

Hell,
This here's my mash barrel.

I can make one big run
In one day's time

And have enough liquor
To supply all my customers.

I'm gonna see if I can
Get this water flowing,

And we'll be good to go.

I believe I already got water.

We'll be good to go.

All righty.
Fixing to fire this one up.

You know, I got everything
Hauled in here and set up.

Soon, I can get something
Run off and get it sold.

But it's a challenge. It's hard.

♪♪

Man, that's sweet.

All righty.

It's a lot of pressure
On me right now,

That I'm mashed out here
All by myself.

All right.
I'm gonna get out of here.

♪♪

This sucks a big fat one.

If I could just fix this thing
Like I want to,

I wouldn't be having
These problems.

And I can't seem to spend enough
Time to get my *bleep* straight.

And that frustrates the hell
Out of me.

Narrator: in the tar heel state,
A makeshift plumbing system

Has josh feeling the heat.

I don't think it's too bad...

If it ain't full of water,
And it is.

I've got plum aggravated
With my water system.

I got a killer dam
Built way up the stream,

But I tried to cut corners
Because of cost.

You know what I mean?
We used a cheap-ass pipe

That ain't made
To have pressure in it.

What a bitch.

I've just had a hell of a time
Getting my still site set up.

I've had no help.
I've had to do it all by myself.

I've had to do all the thinking,
All the planning,

All the putting together,
All the chasing *bleep* down,

All the moving stuff around,

All the piecing together,
All the digging.

It's just been a damn --
What I call a rigamarole.

I'm just so ready to get done
With this pipe,

Get this still site done,
And just start busting off runs.

♪♪

It's hotter than hell in here,
Ain't it?

Like a sauna.

One would think that it would be
A little bit cooler

Right on the creek.

Not on thatcreek.

It's hotter than hell.

*bleep* I don't feel like
Dealing with this.

I'm light-headed as hell.

I got overheated or something.

I'm out here working to death.

Feeling nauseous.

I fell like I'm gonna pass out.

I'm over this *bleep*

All I can think about
Is getting to red dog's,

Getting a cold glass of water,
And getting in the a.C.

[ breathing heavily ]

[ coughs ]

♪♪

Red dog,
What made me sick?

Red dog: I don't know.
It could be the heat.

Close to 100 degrees
Right now.

I'm dizzy as hell.

Gonna throw up?

[ coughs, gags ]

Oh *bleep* me.

[ coughs ]
Please help me.

[ groans ]

Please help me.

I'm so sick.

♪♪

Narrator:
Coming up...

Golly!
I didn't sign up for this!

...The never-ending search
For clean water in louisiana.

Don't walk through that brush.
You might get up on a snake.

Big sloppy.

And in tennessee,
The end is finally in sight.

It's a-lookin' great, digger.Yes, it is.

It'll be like nothing
Anyone else has ever seen.

Holy moly.

♪♪

[ sighs ]

It's hotter than hell in here.

I'm light-headed as hell.

[ groans ]

Narrator: untold hours
Laboring in the carolina heat

Took its toll on josh.

[ groans ]
Please help me.

And now,
After succumbing to heat stroke,

He's taking a doctor-ordered
Break from outdoor work,

Spending time on
One of his favorite hobbies.

[ groans ]
Where's the rivets at?

[ breathing heavily ]

I got freakin' heat exhaustion,
Heat stroke.

Yeah, I was dizzy.
I got sick to my stomach.

I got so sick,
It was all I could do

To get in red dog's truck

For him
To take me to the hospital.

All I remember
Was getting to the hospital

And people dragging me in.

The rest is pretty much a blur.

I really need
A little bit of a break here,

So it's a good day
To be working on a race car.

Narrator:
With a few days' rest,

Josh will soon be
Back in the fight.

That right there's
Gonna cut the tire.

Man:
What's going on in here?

What are you trying to do,
Put that fender back on?

Josh: this guy, crazy chuck --
Known him for years.

He's a harley-riding,
Hard-core buddy of mine.

Whatcha been into,
Chuck?

Piddling around a little bit
Here and there,

Doing what I can
To get by.

You're working
Too hard, man.

You're making metired.

That's what
The problem is.

Yeah.
Let's take a break or something.

Where did I put
The break?

[ laughs ]

♪♪

Hoo-wee!

You like that,
Do you?

Ain't no baby drink.

I'm totally exhausted.

I really need some help.

Maybe ol' crazy chuck
Will come and help me out.

Chuck, I've been needing
A little help --

Mainly just
Bringing in the grains

And hauling out the liquor
Kind of thing, maybe.

Yeah.

I know that I can trust him.
He's not gonna rat me out.

And he seems like a hard worker,
So it's a good fit.

Well, if you trust me
To come down to your site

And make a little money,
Then I'm in for it.

I don't want this
To come between us, though,

'cause one of my partners --
We got into it quite a bit.

You ain't gonna punch me
In the damn head.

No.

If you do, it's gonna hurt.
[ laughs ]

Josh -- I known him for a while.

He's a little reckless.

But a man got to do
What he's got to do.

I'll take good care of you
If you come help out, though.

You gonna take care
Of me?

I need some help.Lord have mercy.

I need
A place to live.

Dawg, I can't
Help you out like that, now.

I can help you make
Enough money, though.

That's what
They allsay.

Be good, son.
See ya, man.

Josh: moonshiners are
A tight-knit family.

It's better to stick
With people that you know

And that you trust,
And I trust chuck.

I got a damn hole in my lip.

♪♪

Golly!
Whose idea was this?

I didn't sign up
For this.

Narrator: down in
Red river parish, louisiana,

Father and daughter shiners
David and patti

Make their way
Through the dense brush

In search of a new still site.

God dang.

We're looking for good water.

It's harder to make moonshine
In louisiana

Than it is in the mountains,
'cause they've got

All that fresh water
Anywhere you want to go.

I'm ready to get set up
And mashed in.

Patti:
I'm excited.

If we get
Our moonshine still going,

I'm gonna make different-type
Flavors this year,

But, I mean, a big challenge
Is finding the water source.

If you can find that, to me,
That's all that matters.

Narrator: last season, patti
And david executed a strategy

Allowing local harvest
To dictate

What types of shine
They would make.

The plan paid off
When they scored

Their biggest successes
With pear and mayhaw shines.

Nice doing business
With you.

They wrapped up their season
With a big sale

To a commercial fishing vessel
In the gulf of mexico.

Patti: we made that big
Cash money, daddy.

I'm happy,
Happy, happy.

♪♪

Get on here.
Don't walk through that brush.

You might
Get up on a snake.

Patti: last year, we had a goal
Of 600 gallons of moonshine,

But we kind of fell short
At 435.

This season, we're gonna run two
Of our most popular moonshines

That we ran last year,
Which was mayhaw and pear.

I feel confident if we do that,
We can meet our goal

Of 700 gallons of moonshine
This season.

My phone
Has been blowing up

With calls
Wanting moonshine.

I'm getting
A lot of calls from down south

At the shrimp boats and
Just right on the gulf there,

So what I want to do is get just
A big stockpile of moonshine

Made up and then do
One big haul down there.

It's a lot more work,

But it doesn't matter
If you get more money.

If I can fill all these orders,

It's gonna be
Our best season ever.

♪♪

Look here.

♪♪

That's off a --

Sure is.

That means somebody
Had a moonshine still back here,

Didn't they?
Yeah.

I chose this site right here

Because a guy told me about it
Last year,

And he said
That there used to be a still

Back in these woods somewhere.

And I think
We're pretty close to it.

The story is that the man
That bought this land right here

Years and years ago,
He paid for it by moonshining.

But since this man paid
This 40 acres off years ago,

He's running a still that long,

There's got to be
A good water source.

Narrator:
Throughout the 20th century,

Louisiana has cut
Its own distinct path

Regarding alcohol production
And consumption.

With the exception of a few
Of the more religious

Baptist and methodist parishes

In the northern part
Of the state,

Most residents
Staunchly opposed prohibition.

True to form,
When the 18th amendment passed,

Louisianans went right to work

Identifying methods
Of getting around the law.

There was so much open defiance
To prohibition,

Many say that drinking liquor
Became much more popular

In louisiana
After it was declared illegal.

And the state's politicians
Did little

To staunch the flow
Of illegal booze.

When asked what
His administration was doing

To enforce the 18th amendment,
Louisiana governor huey p. Long

Famously responded,
"Not a damn thing."

Well, this is it, ain't it?Yeah.

It's pretty back here.

It's good and cool,
Ain't it?

David: yeah.

Patti: we have
Plenty of clean water here.

Can't ask for anything better.

Put that still
Right there.

Got a lot
Of coverage there.

We'll dam it up
Right here if we can.

We'll just dig a big hole
And put our pump in it.

Narrator: patti and david
Will dam the creek

In order to create
A pool of water to use

When cooling
The still's condenser.

They'll also dig a hole

At the springhead
In the bank of the creek

To create a pool of potable
Water to use when making mash.

David:
We found a good still site.

The water runs in there 24/7.

It's good and shady.
It's back in the woods.

I think it's gonna be
A good spot for us this year.

All righty.I love this site.

♪♪

I'm glad to have somebody to
Come out here and help me, man.

It's a lot
Of hard work.

This'll be
The first run

I've been able to make since
We left our old still site.

Narrator:
Back in north carolina,

With a new still site
And a freshly hired still hand,

Josh is ready for
His first run of the season.

Try not to put them
On this metal part, right?

Yeah.

Josh wants to run cherry bounce,

But the demand for corn liquor
Is high

And he doesn't want
To turn down easy money.

Josh: I've put the still site
All together all by myself.

The snakes ain't gonna stop me.

The heat's not gonna stop me.

Mother nature is not
Gonna stop me, you know?

It's what I do.

All right.

You got the stainless pot
Going here.

Man,
That's a big-ass worm.

It's a big still.
It's a big operation.

He's gonna have to teach me all,
I mean from the beginning.

Let's take
Our mash out.

I don't know how
He's been doing it by himself.

Whew.
Good stuff, buddy.

How many pounds of sugar
Did you have to run in them?

Can't give away
All my secrets.

I'm here to help you.
[ laughs ]

I got to lot of customers
I got to keep up.

I'm really
In a race against time

Because if I don't get
Some moonshine made

And make
All my customers happy,

I'm gonna lose them
To somebody else.

You see that lightning?You got enough?

[ thunder rumbling ]

Hey,
I heard thunder.

Told you
I saw lightning.

I don't know if we're
Gonna be able to bust
This run off or not.

[ thunder rumbling ]

Whoo, doggy.
[ chuckles ]

Sounds like it's right
On top of us, don't it?

Josh: I don't like working
In a lightning storm.

And I know when I'm standing
Under one of the tallest trees

That I'm liable
To get struck by lightning,

Being underneath it.

[ thunder rumbling ]man.

I don't think we should
Fire it up right now.

What's the big problem
About running in the rain?

The burners are covered.

Well,
First of all, chuck,

I don't want
Struck by lightning.

And two,
When the still gets cold,

It starts condensing
On itself.

Narrator: to make moonshine,
Fermented mash must be heated

To at least
173 degrees fahrenheit,

The point at which the alcohol
It contains can vaporize,

Then travel up into the cap
And onto the rest of the still.

However, in a rainstorm,
The cooling effect

Of water on the still
Causes the alcohol to condense

And fall back into the pot

Before it can complete
The distillation process.

Josh: 100% chance
Of a bluebird day.

It's been crazy.

I mean, the damn weatherman
Can't make his mind up.

I don't know
What the heck he's smoking.

Well, we can get one step done,
Maybe, see where it goes.

Is it about full?

It's about full, josh,
About here on the sight glass.

All right.
We don't want any more in there.

We're good.
All right.

[ lightning crashes ]holy *bleep*

[ thunder rumbling ]

It hit
Right there!

Looked like it hit
Red dog's house!

We ain't gonna make
No money this way,

But we gonna be alive.

Hey, I ain't getting struck
By lightning, y'all, sorry.

If you would go to church
Once in a while,

You might not
Get struck by lightning.

[ thunder rumbling ]narrator: coming up,

Elbow grease and grit
In north carolina...

Mark: hard to carry something
That weighs more than you.

[ sighs ] lot of work
Getting these big rocks.

Hard on your back. [ sighs ]

♪♪

[ engine rumbling ]

Josh: man, that was
A nasty little storm.

[ grunts ]

That lightning popped. It said
[imitates thunder rumbling].

Man, it scared
The *bleep* out of me.

The lighting popped a tree
And boom!

*bleep* damn brick of thunder
Damn lit out like crazy,

And I started panicking.

I ran to damn side-by-side,
Jumped on it,

And it's time to go.

Yeah, I believe
The rain's quit for now.

Narrator:
In north carolina, the storm

And threat of lightning
Have passed.

Josh and chuck return
More determined than ever

To kick off
Their first run of the season.

We should get a broom
And get some of this mud up

So I can move around here
A little better.

It's a good thing that josh
Decided not to start the run.

Had he lit the still,

The batch would almost certainly
Have been ruined.

I'm really getting
A late start this year.

I lost my partner.
I lost my still site.

I've had to find
A new still site,

Get it all set up by myself.

My dog's been bit
By a copperhead.

I really want to make
Cherry bounce to start off with,

But I got a lot of people
Asking for corn whiskey

And I need to start
Making some sales.

I think ol' crazy chuck's
Gonna be the guy to help me out.

I got to get this site
Up and running,

And I think
My luck's about to change.

Are we gonna
Fire this thing up?

♪♪

What do you think?

I'm excited
To be down rolling.

[ laughs ]

♪♪

Where'd that pipe go?

Here it is.

Josh -- he's gonna have to
Give me some pointers

'cause he definitely has got
A lot more experience than I do.

Josh, they call this
A thumper or a doubler?

Or a slobber box.

They call it
A slobber box

'cause it'll catch anything
That might puke over.

They call it a doubler
Because it doubles

The amount of alcohol
You can distill.

Well, it's fun.

Like I said, making the money
Is now one of the main things,

And learning my skills
And preserving the heritage

Of this moonshining art.

Josh: damn rain and the weather
And stuff,

I'm so far behind the 8-ball,
*bleep*

We're ready to run.

Is it hot?

It's real hot
Right there.

It's warm.

We're about ready
To make liquor.

♪♪

There it is
Right there.

That's a perfect stream.

♪♪

Hot damn, we got
Liquor now, boys!

Whoo!

Soon as the weather broke,
We went right back out there,

Fired the still up,
Finished out the run.

Narrator: josh and chuck's
First run will give them

30 gallons
Of traditional corn whiskey

Valued at $3,000.

All right.
We're making liquor now.

♪♪

Patti:
Here we are.

That was a heck of a ride,
Wasn't it?

David: yeah. Let's build that
Dam so we can get our water.

Down in louisiana,
Father and daughter shiners

David and patti
Arrive at their site

And are anxious to mash in for
Their first run of the season.

Let's put
Some plastic on it.

♪♪

David:
This right here,

We're building this
To catch the water

And use in the worm.

Don't need a lot of water.

♪♪

The dam -- it's just
A little water reservoir

So you have plenty of water
To run with.

It's a lot tougher
Moonshining in louisiana

Than in the mountains,

'cause they got all that good,
Clean, cool water.

Narrator:
The mostly stagnant,

Swampy surface water
In louisiana

Is a poor choice
For making moonshine.

But clean water
Does exist in abundance.

It's just deep underground.

Aquifers -- underground layers

Of water-bearing
Permeable rock --

Abound throughout the state.

The water in these aquifers
Can be extracted using a well

Or, like patti and david's
Still site,

Simply collected
From natural springs

That emerge along the surface.

The dam patti and david built
Will provide the amount of water

Needed to cool the condenser.

Now they're digging a hole
At the spring

To create a pool where
They'll insert a filter and pump

To provide water
For their mash.

God dog.

Patti:
Some people say

The more work you put in
At the beginning,

It makes it easier
For the end time,

But to me, it's hard work
All the way around.

Moonshining is not easy.

If it was, then everybody
In the world would be doing it.

How long
You think it'll be?

We ain't gonna be able
To mash in today.

Narrator: if the water
In the bucket doesn't clear,

They won't be able to begin
The process of making shine,

Potentially losing
A consistent client.

Daddy, we got to get the mash
Mashed in today.

Well, I didn't think
It'd take two days.

I told them people
About five or six days,

I'd have them some,
And now here we are.

We're gonna be another day
Before we can mash in.

Well, the next time
My phone rings,

I'll just give you
My phone,

'cause they are
Blowing my phone up.

I'm getting impatient
Because I don't even have

The first mash barrel going yet,

So, I mean,
I want to get this done

So we can start
Making some money.

Well,
We're gonna lose clients.

♪♪

Narrator:
Coming up...

You told me you wanted
30 gallons of clear moonshine.

I brought 30 gallons.

...Tempers flare over buyer's
Remorse in north carolina.

We can whip your ass,
How 'bout that?

♪♪

Narrator: back in the great
Smoky mountains,

Mark is setting up a new
Still site remote enough

To ensure it doesn't suffer
The same fate as his last one.

Hard to carry something
That weighs more than you.

[ sighs ]

I'm gonna try to get me
A level place dug out.

Narrator: first task
Is to build his still's furnace

Using stones found in the area.

The sooner
Mark gets this site set up,

The faster he and mike
Will be back

To running at full capacity.

Building a furnace,
You can use all sizes of rock.

♪♪

This might work better.

It's a lot of work
Getting these big rocks.

♪♪

Hard on your back.

♪♪

This is an old pot here.

Made a lot of liquor.

You got to have something
To catch your beer in

When you get done a-running.

I just dug it out deep enough

To set a five-gallon bucket
Under there.

That way, I can catch the beer
And get mike's back in, so...

A lot of people don't know
How much work it is

Just setting up a still,

But that's where
All the work's at.

Once you get to running,
You know, it's --

You sort of slow down.

But it just takes a lot
To get ready.

And then once you get
Your run made, your work begins.

It's a lot of work
Setting back up.

So ain't nothing easy about it.

Narrator:
Mark is mixing the mortar

That will hold the stones
Of his furnace together.

♪♪

That's one thing.

If mike was here helping me,
I could be a-gathering rocks.

He could be a-mixing the cement
Or something, you know?

It's just, I got to do
Everything myself now.

It's just a whole lot more work.

♪♪

I like to make them look good
And like for them to work good.

I just go by a site, and it
Seems like it always works out.

We got to have a space
Between the pot and the rocks

So heat can go around it.

I start out a little wide
At the bottom,

And I work my way in.

I've got to be worked
In enough time

I get up here to where
I can seal it off.

Furnace gonna be about
This high, right here.

We'll just take our time
And do a good job on it.

Narrator: the furnace works
By circulating the heat

Around both the bottom
And sides of the pot

Rather than just applying flame
Directly to its bottom.

♪♪

Mike: this here's my pride
And joy right here --

Hand-built by yours truly.

Narrator:
20 miles to the southwest,

Mike is ready
To put flame to pot.

Mike:
Get this bad boy fired up.

♪♪

Narrator: he needs to fire up
A still by nightfall

In order to run
The last 10 gallons

Of the 25-gallon order in time.

This right here is my paste.

I like to use flour and oatmeal.

Narrator: vapor escaping
From a still means

Profits vanishing into the air,

So moonshiners use an
Oatmeal paste to seal any leaks.

Mike:
Don't take much at all.

Not to brag or anything,
But I'm real proud of myself

To be sitting here
Running liquor now,

To get this accomplished, man.

I'm gonna tell you,
It's been something else.

It sort of makes me think now,
What can I do on my own?

I might not even need nobody
Out here to help me.

Yeah, boy.
It's getting hot now.

Yeah, it's fixing to run
Just any time.

Whew. God almighty.

There she is.

Yeah.

Good, slow, constant drip --

That's the way I like it
To run right there.

Catch these heads
And throw them off.

♪♪

Making corn liquor.

We'll get this man's liquor
Bucketed up,

Get it on back to him.

Yeah, I'm gonna say
It's about 150 right there.

That's what we're looking for.

Between 140 and 150
Makes a good run.

Narrator: mike's run yields
The 10 gallons of corn whiskey

Needed to complete and deliver

The first order of the season
On time,

Putting him 25 gallons closer
To his 1,200-gallon season goal.

♪♪

Mike:
I'm headed over here right now

To deliver this order
To my customer,

And I'll do anything it takes
To make it happen,

Keep my customer happy.

What do you say,
Old buddy?

All right,
Man.

I've run liquor
For a long time.

Moonshining's
Part of my heritage.

I tell you what.

Moonshining's the most exciting
Part of my life.

Looks like
We're good to go.

We'll see you
On the next trip.

And I'm gonna moonshine
Till the day I die.

♪♪

We got 30 gallons of liquor
In the back of the truck.

We're gonna run over here
And make this old boy --

Make a drop-off.

Narrator: in north carolina,
New hire chuck accompanies josh

To a $3,000 sale.

I've done
A little bootlegging before,

But nothing
On this scale, you know?

If you're gonna do it,
You might as well do it.

You might as well do it.Yeah.

Today's payday.

Today's payday.

That's all I really
Need to hear.

♪♪

Josh is delivering a 30-gallon
Sale in six 5-gallon buckets.

He'll be here
Any time.

Bootleg sales are always tricky
For moonshiners.

Not only do they risk arrest
By the authorities,

But there's no means of recourse
If robbed or cheated

By an ill-intentioned buyer.

Six buckets,
Just like you wanted.

That's what
You said you wanted.

You had me bring six out,
So you're gonna get six.

It's all or nothing.

We can whip your ass,
How 'bout that?

♪♪

♪♪

Josh: you mean
You're gonna have me bring

Six *bleep* buckets
Of moonshine out here,

And you're only
Gonna take three?

You've already
Started it,

If you had me bring out
Six buckets

And you ain't gonna take any.
It's all or nothing.

I could sell this *bleep*
Right down the road.

I ain't got to play this game
With this *bleep* head.

You told me you wanted
30 gallons of clear moonshine.

Now you're gonna tell me
You only want some of it.

It don't work
Like that.

Chuck:
Josh, don't you think

At least get
A little bit of money?

We're just right here
Right now, just one time.

You got the money
For three?

I'll never do business
With you again.

This'll be the last time I ever
Sell you any *bleep* thing.

Ain't how
I do business.

That's some
Horse *bleep*

♪♪

Josh: what kind
Of bull *bleep* is that?

Chuck: that was
Ass-whooping time.

I've never had somebody
Meet me with what they want

And then say,
"I only want half of it."

That took a lot
Of damn brass to do that.

I was ready
To whoop his damn ass,

Take his money,
And keep the liquor.

Crazy chuck ain't called
Psycho for no reason.

Yeah. [ chuckles ]

Hell with it.

Cod-head *bleep*

No, that *bleep* don't fly
Around these parts.

That's an ass-whipping.

I won't never sell that *bleep*
No more liquor.

♪♪

Digger: well, that's plenty
Of angle, ain't it?

Yeah.

Narrator: deep in
The great smoky mountains,

Mark and digger
Are assembling the cape

And connecting column,

Moving them one step closer
To the inaugural run

Of their three-pot still.

What do you think?

I think
It's gonna be all right.

We got to get
Some liquor running.

We're getting
Way behind.

I'm gonna be happy when we got
Them twins out here with it

And it's a-pumping liquor out
900 mile an hour.

Damn.

It ain't too bad.

I mean, it's a little cockeyed,
Sigoggle.

Let's call him
Big ugly.

Big sloppy.
[ laughs ]

Yeah,
I'm good with that.

Big sloppy
And the twins.

Digger:
Well, we're at the point now
We got big sloppy ready to run.

Now it's time
To bring in the twins

And pair them up
With him or her,

Whatever that might be -- it.

♪♪

Damn, digger.

Maybe we're moving forward
A little bit now, puss.

*bleep* damn,
We ought to be.

[ sighs ]
God almighty.

Ramsey: bringing in the twins
From last season.

We don't have time
For any more mistakes.

We got a tremendous amount
Of hard, frustrating work in it.

But we got a ton of money
In this rascal, too.

Digger: we want our stills
All on the same level.

That way all of our pipes
Are coming in level

To that manifold.

Well, you know,
This sawdust right here

Is like a self-leveling compound

You'd use to level a floor
Before you tile it.

It's high right here, but it'll
Mash down considerably.

We have to move
As cautious as we can.

I'm in a hurry
To get some liquor made,

But if you want something
Done right, it has to take time.

Bring her in here,
Big poppy.

We still got a lot to do,
But ain't that awesome?

Mm-hmm.

We bring in
The thump keg.

We've got our thump keg in here.

Now it's time
To bring in the manifold.

Let's see how
That's gonna fit in there.

♪♪

This manifold is probably the
Most custom piece of equipment

We've ever built.

Ramsey:
With having the three pots,

We can run
Three different mashes

Each in individual pots.

And if this still will do
What we intend it to do,

I mean, it'll make
A perfect blended liquor

Regardless of whatever flavors
We choose to use.

And it has the potential
To produce twice as much liquor

As the twins alone.

There you go.

How 'bout
Them apples, mister?

Looks good to me.

Ramsey:
Holy moly.

We're gonna move forward.

Try to get the furnace
Around this rascal.

We put a lot of labor
Into these furnaces,

But we got to have them.

You'd be wasting a hell of a lot
Of propane up in there.

We use landscaping brick.

It'll actually perform
Two functions.

It'll hold heat in, but they
Also heat up theirselves,

So in essence, they're radiating
The heat back in

Once they get hot.

I reckon I'm done.
I'm out of block.

It's a-looking great, digger.Yes, it is.

Ramsey:
Thank the lord

We finally got
This three-pot still set up.

Took nearly a month
Of building this.

It's put us way behind.

You know,
It's time to get mashed in.

I mean, it'll make
A very smooth, delicious,

Blended moonshine

That'll be like nothing
Anyone else has ever seen.

And we're gonna double
Our production,

So that's the gamble
We're taking.

♪♪

Narrator:
Next time on "Moonshiners"...

Hogs and liquor
In north carolina...

We're getting a lot
Of customers.

You bring something
We can taste?

Yeah,
I got some right here.

Narrator: ...Awakening the beast
In tennessee...

Let's get us
A little tasty of that.

...And in virginia...

Well, hell.
Somebody's sitting right there.

...The prodigal son returns.

It looks like tickle.