Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 7, Episode 7 - Pass the Juice - full transcript

♪♪

♪♪

Digger: you know, people think
That, first and foremost,

To make good liquor you've got
To have good ingredients.

That's just part of it.

The biggest thing
You've got to have

Is a god's plenty of patience.

It ain't a hurried man's game.

You can make great mash
In a instant,

But it don't ferment unless
You've got some patience.

You've got to work with it,
And it's got to be your baby.



You don't just shove it
On down the road

And expect it
To do it on its own.

Narrator: with moonshine season
In full swing,

A new take on
Traditional moonshine

Is the order of the day.

But innovative product
Is only one hurdle in the game.

Dealing in the backwoods
Is a minefield

For even
The most seasoned shiner.

In tennessee, tough terms
At the bargaining table.

Mark: we got to be firm
On the price.

Narrator:
In virginia, history comes
To life for one young shiner...

Tim:
It looks like a antique.

J.T.: look at that.

...And danger at the doorstep
In louisiana.



-that's a cottonmouth.
-just stay there. Don't move.

♪♪

♪ 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

I think I got it.

Tim: we've done a long time
Trying to get this full.

Perseverance pays off.

I mean, we've been
Working on this

So long you'd think
It would never get it done.

Here we are now,
Got the last piece

In the puzzle
To the still.

Narrator: in virginia,
After two years of delays,

The new wing on tim's distillery
Is finally in the home stretch.

Tim:
The climax brand is growing.

The customers are buying it,
And we're expanding production.

It's all coming together.

It's done take two years
To get this far.

Unbelievable.

I did my high-altitude
Work for today.

And once we got water,
We're done.

We can just put some heat on it,
Put the mash in it.

We actually can make moonshine.

Tim, this is
A monumental undertaking, huh?

Oh, yeah.

J.T.: we'd been working on this
A very long time,

And, you know,
In the back of my head

I'm thinking, "Hey,
I want to do me a still now."

I want to make my own stuff.

Y'all got this done now.

What about, you know, maybe
Build another a little smaller,

For you know, maybe me
To experiment on a little bit?

J.T. Is all excited.

I'm ready to go.

He's out went and saw all these
Other guys making moonshine.

He wants to do his own
Little experiment and stuff.

We can do a little experiment
As long as we keep it legal.

Narrator:
With inspiration as the goal...

How much farther up this road
We got to go to?

I don't know. I haven't been
Up here in so many years.

...Tim took j.T. On a journey
To the inner sanctum

Of franklin county moonshine.

-oh, yeah.
-yes, sir.

Now j.T. Has decided to put
What he learned to use.

Well, I got a little
Experimental still.

I got to tell you now,
This is my grandpop's old still.

It's the one
He started with,

So you've got to be
Real careful with it.

It is registered
With the federal government,

So, yeah, they can
Go ahead and use it.

I got to make sure
Everything we do is legal.

Well, let's go to look
For that still.

Looking at j.T. After this road
Trip, he's really motivated.

He wants to experiment some.

He wants to make some recipes,
And this is what it's all about.

No, don't see nothing that
Looks like a still around here.

So I got tickle
To help j.T. Out

Because I need somebody
To kind of tutor him.

I'm hoping that accidentally
They're going to come up

With some great idea

And j.T. Could even
Develop his own brand.

There it is, tim,
In all it's glory.

It looks like a antique.

Look at that.

The still goes all the way back
To chuck's great grandfather.

Used it, like,
Over 135 years ago.

You told me you hid it
35 years ago...

Yeah.

...But you didn't
Tell me it was

100 years old
When you hid it.

-well, it was.
-so it's like 135 years old now.

It's really old, but I did
Remember to get it registered.

That tells the government
It is legal.

-serial number six...
-so they know where it is.

They know I got it.

We can do a little experiment
As long as we keep it legal.

Narrator: only licensed
Distillers are able

To register stills
With the state authorities.

We got tim, you know,
On the right side of the law.

We don't want him going back
Doing anything illegal,

So I'm going to keep
An eye on him.

I'll make sure he stays legal.

Well, put that on, now,
J.T., and just see would it fit.

How does that look?
Oh, that's so pretty.

Isn't that pretty?

That's just beautiful.

It don't really fit.

It don't fit.

I didn't say it was
Ready to run.

You got something here to work
With, you know what I mean?

The cap does not fit on the
Still, so we have to adapt it.

♪♪

♪♪

Digger:
We're making our second trip in

Thanks to stuck fermentation.

We've got a new yeast
And hopefully some more liquor.

We got to do it.

We got to do it, he says.

Narrator:
In the great smoky mountains,

It's attempt number two
For mark and digger

On their cantaloupe
Moonshine mash.

Boy, it sure does look like
It's ready to go, don't it?

Yep, but it ain't.

Mr. Tongue
Will tell you that.

Mark and digger's first attempt
Failed because the yeast died

Long before fermentation
Was complete.

Mark: there ain't a bit
Of alcohol taste to it.

No?

We're dead in the water.

They're placing their bets
On a slower-acting,

High-alcohol-producing
Yeast strain

That should be hardy enough
To complete the process.

This yeast,
I've never used it before.

It's a different strain.

At worst, we don't make any
Liquor, but we've got no choice.

We're behind in season.

This yeast here has more
Potential than any yeast

I've ever used
In my life.

Supposedly, it'll stand alcohol
Volume of up to 24%.

A precious commodity here.

I got all the faith in the world
In using this yeast.

This yeast requires
A lot of attention.

We've decided
We'd use a drill and our churn.

You've got to put a lot of air
Into your mash to keep it going.

Narrator: to propagate
A sufficient quantity

To complete fermentation,

Yeast initially need
An abundant supply of oxygen.

About like us,
We can't live without air.

No.
Not very long.

I've seen you
When you run out of breath.

You quit eating
For a minute.

[ laughs ]

It's kicked off, man.
I can smell it.

You never know which is
The longest minute,

A microwave minute
Or a treadmill minute.

Well, neither one of them.

It's waiting on mash to ferment

When you're so far behind
In your season.

Well, it's kicked off.

All it's got to do
Is keep on kicking.

♪♪

♪♪

Patti:
Think it's going to be enough
Lumber to make that kitchen?

David: I hope so.

Narrator: in red river parish,
Louisiana, patty and david

Are outfitting their site
With a full kitchen.

Where we going to build
This thing at, then?

I don't know.
Wherever you think.

Patti: we're going to be running
A lot of late nights

Because I'm getting
A lot of calls.

We got tons of orders coming in,

So we're building us
A little kitchen back here

And a little sink, have us
A little water flow in there,

And we'll have us a place
Where we can cook us something

And we can wash our hands
And clean up our dishes.

You know, we can just run 24/7.

We never have to
Come out of the woods

Other than
To re-supply our eating.

Narrator: with the addition
Of a second still,

The father-daughter team
Has been able to mash

And run their mayhaw moonshine
And pear brandy simultaneously.

Now, as they wait for another
Round of mash to ferment,

They turn to improving
The safety of their still site.

We need to get
That tree down, daddy.

Could fall
Over by our site.

Patti: you know, we had a storm
Come through here

A couple weeks ago, and there's
A dead tree right by our site,

And I don't want taking
A chance of the wind

Coming and a tree fall on us.

So it's best just to get
Something like that down

On the ground
Before we make our kitchen.

You ain't got to put
The rope far up there.

Huh?

Don't that rope need
To go way up?

That's good.
That's good.

When I tell you back up,
You back up.

Well, hang on a second.
It ain't going to hit me, is it?

No, it ain't
Going to hit you.

[ chainsaw revs ]

Narrator:
There's a time-tested method

To felling a tree safely.

First, decide where is best
For the tree to fall.

The part of the trunk that's
Closest to that felling area

Will determine where
To start the first cut.

Begin cutting on
A 20-degree downward angle.

The center of the cut
Will point in the direction

Where the tree will fall.

Stop when the cut is
25% through the tree.

That's called the top cut.

Next, make a horizontal cut into
The tree beneath the top cut.

That bottom, or undercut, will
End where the two cuts meet.

Remove the resulting
Wedge from the tree,

And you now have a notch
Called the felling notch,

Facing the direction
Where you want the tree to fall.

After that, clear the felling
Area of any people or animals

To a distance of
Twice the height of the tree.

Once that's done,
Begin to make a horizontal cut

On the opposite side of the tree

From the felling notch
And slightly above the undercut.

This is called the felling cut.

Stop cutting when 10%
Of the tree's thickness is left

Between the felling cut
And the notch.

This creates a hinge
For the falling tree.

To help the tree fall,
Hammer a wedge into the felling

Cut opposite of the notch,
Or use a rope tied to a vehicle.

As the tree begins to fall,

Move away at
A 90-degree angle to the notch.

Patti:
I'm worried about daddy being
Around the bottom of that tree.

Just the least bit of wind
Can shift a tree real quick.

I've had friends killed
From trees falling.

You walk away thinking it's
Going, and then it comes on you.

♪♪

You just be careful.

Back up.

Narrator: coming up, an ancient
Recipe resurfaces in tennessee.

Ain't no need in giving up
On old tradition if it's good.

Keep on doing it.

Narrator: and doubt sets in
In the smoky mountains.

Damn.

[ groans ]

I'm worried about
This thing producing.

It ain't going to hit me,
Is it?

David: no, it ain't
Going to hit you.

Narrator: in northern louisiana,
An unstable tree foils plans

For a still-site kitchen.

You just be careful.

Back up.

Timber.

Got it down.

You landed it
Right where you said.

I'm glad
We got that down.

We don't have to worry
About it blowing on us.

Patti: now we have to build
This kitchen.

You know, having us a kitchen,

We never have to
Come out of the woods.

You know, it's a long ways
In here, so you don't want

To have to go out
If we're in a run.

We want to get it done.

We're going to build it
With 2x4s,

Put plywood on it
As a countertop.

Had an old sink at the house
That we're going to use.

So you're going to
Drill it with that?

Yeah.

Using a bucket
For our water source.

We'll fill it up, have it
Gravity fed out of a hose.

Let's see.
Look at that.

But it will be
An advantage for us.

We'll be able to eat good,

And daddy can cook me
Some good meals.

We got us a good little kitchen.

-we ready.
-we ready.

I'm happy with the ending
Of this day.

We've got a lot done.

We've got 5, 6 days.

We ought to be back in here
Running that shine.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator:
In the great smoky mountains,

Moonshiner mike
Is dusting off a century-old

Recipe from his family's past.

Narrator:
Mark and mike have made progress
On separate fronts this season.

There's a complete order
Right there.

While mike successfully
Ran on his own

To fill their first order,

Mark put in hours
Of back-breaking work

Setting up
A more permanent still site,

But the duo has yet
To get back together.

Mike: I'm sitting
Dead smack in the middle

Of the pink-eyed purple hull
Season right now,

And this idea just come up in my
Head about the pea hull liquor,

And it feels real good.

I feel like I've accomplished
Something all by myself

And didn't actually need nobody.

But me and mark,
We still partners and all,

And I can get back
To helping him

After I get this order
Made myself.

My great grandfather
And my great-great-grandfather

Had canned the peas up,

Have something to eat
In the wintertime,

And used the hull
To mash in liquor with

Because you can make alcohol
Out of just about

Anything you want to.

Narrator:
While pea hulls might sound
Like an unlikely ingredient

From which to make liquor,
History demonstrates

That far stranger things have
Been used to produce alcohol.

For millennia, an alcoholic
Beverage named chicha

Has been consumed across central
And south american cultures.

One of the key ingredients
Of chicha is human spit.

Instead of germinating corn and
Water to achieve simple sugars,

The brewer uses
The enzymes in the saliva

To break down the starches
From the maize

Into the simple sugars
Necessary for fermentation.

Today, many unlicensed
Vendors in peru

Sell the drink directly
From their homes

To boost their family's income,

Much like the american
Moonshiners of past and present.

Perhaps the award
For the strangest ingredient

Goes to a liquor made
In the arctic circle

By the inuit people,
Aptly named seagull wine.

No one has documented
Anyone actually producing

Or tasting the stuff,

But seagull wine
Is said to be made

By putting a dead seagull
And water in a glass container

And leaving it to ferment
For several weeks in the sun.

While it's hard to say how this
Would produce alcohol,

It's smell alone
Might be intoxicating enough.

Mike: the peas are got a good,
Semi-sweet,

Earthy taste to them,

And the hulls hold
A lot more of that flavor,

And when you make
Liquor out of them,

Feel like you drinking something
Right out of the garden.

And I can mash in
Two 55-gallon drums of mash

With just two
Of these bucket of hulls

And probably yield
15 gallons of liquor,

And I believe people will
Really enjoy it and like it.

And we'll can these
And mash them in.

Think I'm about ready to go.

♪♪

Digger:
Well, this is our run day.

We got to run a mash
We hope is ready.

It ain't got no choice
But to be ready.

Narrator: back in tennessee,
Mark and digger

Are ready to run
Their cantaloupe shine.

Another failed attempt
Will squash their season hopes

Of selling 1,100 gallons.

Digger: this yeast,
It's got potential,

But that's if
Everything worked good.

Damn.

That's high-volume mash
Right there, baby.

Mm, wow.

This yeast works.

You know,
I'm going to be optimistic

And I'm going to say
We're going to increase

Our volume over half.

Let's light this rascal,
Dude.

Now go.

Whoa.

We're also worried
About taste.

We've never fermented
Anything like this before.

I've always got in the back
Of my mind,

"Did we run enough air into that
Mash to get it working good?

Did we get that yeast kicked
Back off strong enough?"

You can have 100 gallon
Of liquor, but if it don't taste

Worth a *bleep*,
Nobody wants it.

I don't know.
The mash smelled awful good.

The mash tasted awful good.

And it tasted good.
Yeah.

That ought to hold that.

Now just think,
4 or 5 days ago

You was ready
To dump that out.

You may be ready to dump it out
Again, again it's done.

We've got a lot of time, a lot
Of money invested in this still.

We got a lot of making up
We got to do.

And if we don't make it up
Right now, we may not.

I'm going to check
This thing, puss.

We ought to have
Some liquor out of --

This is crazy.

It takes a good quart
To fill that bottom

Of that condenser up.

Well, all we can do is wait,
There, hatty-boy.

Digger: that's kind of
Disheartening.

You'd think liquor would be
Coming off of there.

I don't understand it.

We ain't forgotten
Something, have we?

Oh.
Looky here, puss.

I told you
I was smelling alcohol.

Maybe you was right.
Hell yeah.

Hell yeah.
Bump up.

Oh, yeah.
Look at that baby, man.

That's a perfect stream.

Keep on doubting
My sniffer.

You know something this big
Don't miss much.

It's got
Its own zip code.

-I guess you're right.
-pretty much.

This is
The moment of truth.

If this jug don't come through,
I mean, we're doomed to fail.

Oh, that smells good.

♪♪

You know, the proof is in
The pudding on this run tonight.

Bet all these right here.

Digger: why don't you take
The first sip?

Narrator:
In cocke county, tennessee,

The moment of truth
Has arrived for mark and digger.

♪♪

What do you think?

Wow.

It is goozy pud!

Yeah, man.

Don't overpower
You with much melon, but...

I got it.
It is nice.

It's still
Too hot to drink.

No, it ain't.
I got two mouthfuls right then.

Wow.

For this specialty cantaloupe
Order, mark and digger

Have set the price point
At $200 per gallon,

A 100% mark-up from
Their base corn-liquor pricing.

Get that rag on it,
There.

This 30-gallon order
Will fetch the duo $6,000.

Well, we're at 40 gallons, and
We're still running good liquor,

So we're past what
It had made with normal yeast.

Look here.
That's about enough, ain't it?

Mark: whoa, damn.

It's still way over
120 proof, ain't it?

It's better than 120.

Mark and digger's gamble
On high-yield yeast

Has paid off big with
52 gallons of moonshine,

Close to double
Their expected output.

Digger: it was disheartening
At first, you know,

Trying to get this thing going.

You know, I was ready
To just throw in the towel,

Give it up,
But this yeast works,

And it gives us
Good liquor and good flavor.

I believe that we've got
Things going our way.

We're back in the wheel house,
And we're ready to go forward

And make a lot of liquor
I think.

That's some damn
Souped up yeast, baby man.

I'm awful proud of it.

♪♪

♪♪

I'm going to try
To get this water started.

Narrator: on the tennessee,
North carolina border,

Mike is mashing in a recipe

That hasn't been tasted
For a generation.

Mike: go ahead and dump
These over in here.

I've never had to set up a whole
Rig of this size by myself.

I thought I couldn't do it.

Me and mark, we still partners
And all, but you know,

I feel like I've accomplished
A whole bunch

In order to make some real mash.

All right.
Get me some sugar.

I've got this one customer.

He's an old-timer that's
Actually heard

Of mississippi pink eye
Purple hull liquor,

But he's never tried it before.

If my client likes this,

It could set me up
For some good sales.

Mark, he loves to build
A wood furnace,

But I prefer to use gas.

A man builds a wood furnace,
Somebody could see the smoke,

Alert the authorities,
They can come in and get you.

To me, gas is quicker.

Gas is cleaner,
So I go with gas.

♪♪

Back in my family,
The old-timers,

They'd shell all their peas
And put the peas up to eat

And then just take
The hulls and make liquor.

After it's all said and done,
You've got a lot of liquor.

It's money that can be made
And food on the table

All at the same time.

All right.
That's about it.

Put some water in here.

Get them both filled up
And add the magic dust to it.

In about 7 to 10 days,
We'll make some pea hull liquor.

Here we go.

I'm going to bring it back,

See if I can reintroduce
It to the world.

♪♪

♪♪

J.T.: you think you going
To get it to work?

If you can't get this
To work, no.

You got to get that pipe
In there and then you got

To get it to fit
On the still.

Yeah, I know.

Narrator: back in virginia,
Tim and j.T. Are restoring

Chuck's century-old still.

Tim: it'll be a great still
For j.T. To start out with.

But the cap does not fit,

So I was thinking let's work
With what we got.

Trying to retrofit everything
To get it up to standard

So we can operate it.

I'm hoping that he can
Get this thing

Done this evening, you know.

Go ahead and start
Making the mash up for this.

I've been thinking about this
For a very long time,

And, you know,
I want to hurry up and do it.

It's going to be
Five and two quarters.

Yeah.

I understand that j.T.
Is a younger generation

And he wants to hurry up
And get it done,

But I grew up in this business,

And I've seen a lot
Of beginner mistakes being made,

So we're going to take our time

And we're going to do it
Right the first time.

Yeah.

It's breaking loose
On the inside.

There's a 2-inch difference
In the still and the cap.

There it is.
-oh, you did good.

Resizing and shaping this metal
That's over 100 years old,

Not trying to get too far away

From the authenticity
Of this still setup.

Kind of free-handing this
Right here.

You going to try to bend it
Back over or just weld it?

We're going to bend it.
We got to weld it.

We got to do all of that.

This is part of history.

It is handed down
Three generations

Through chuck's family.

It's for sure
Needs to be in a museum.

All right.

You got a little...

Nice and hot.

Nice and hot.

Yeah.

We'll try to get it on here
While it's warm.

Working with my dad, I've always
Been the helping hand

As you would probably call it.

I never got to experiment with
My own flavors, my own recipe.

That's why I want my dad,
You know, to kind of guide me.

All right.
It's going to be right.

Making moonshine
Is the family business,

And I want to continue this on
For my family heritage.

Tim: we got the cap done.
We fit it onto the still.

It looks good. It's tight.

All right, so you know
What we got to do in there?

Make some mash.

We find if this still
Is going to hold water.

It ain't going to
Hold water,

It ain't no use
In making no mash.

J.T., he wants to see it
Coming out of the still,

But if you're not prepared,

Just be prepared
To be in trouble,

Because we'll be spending money
And we'll be back-tracking.

I think it's very important
That, you know,

I try to pass on
That knowledge

And all that wisdom that I
Captured from my father to j.T.

Let's see
What it's going to do.

See a little hole
Right here.

See that?

You see where
It's leaking there?

See. See.
Has a little hole right there.

Little pinhole.

Okay.

Well, we'll just go ahead
And fill it on up,

Because if there's another hole
We need to fix that, too.

I was hoping that thing was
Going to be ready to run.

Look at that
Right there.

Big leak.
Oh, boy.

Look at all that
Leaking out.

Leaking underneath
And right there.

We have a number of leaks,
So now we have to drain it out,

And you know, patch those holes.

It's pushing farther and farther
To get this thing going.

I know.
I mean, that's the way it is.

Narrator:
Coming up, a deal goes south.

Mark: honestly,
That's where we're at.

Yeah.
That's a hole right there.

Narrator:
In virginia, a leaky still
Will not moonshine make.

If it won't hold water,
It's not going to hold alcohol.

Yeah.

J.T.:
The still is leaking like crazy.

Now we got to work
On it some more.

It just seems like it's taking
Forever, because, you know,

I'm ready to throw the mash in
And get it cooking.

Well, think about it if you
Would have set it up and mashed

In and put the mash in

And everything would have
Started spraying out of here,

Then what would you do?

I understand
That j.T. Is anxious

And wants to get it going,

So we're constant
Back and forth.

I'm reminding j.T.
Of what's the race here.

The still has got
To be air tight.

Alcohol is thinner
Than the water,

So if it won't hold water,
It's not going to hold alcohol.

All right, j.T.
I think we got it.

Let's set it back up
Like we had it.

Let's put some water
In it,

And then we'll see
If it's going to leak.

Between me and j.T., I have
Probably more years experience

Illegally in the woods
Making moonshine than he is old.

Seems to be holding.
It's dry.

Yeah.
That's dry over there.

I have to go back to what my dad
Always says, you know.

You don't have time to do it
Right the first time,

But you've got time
To do it over.

Just like pot
A part on a stove.

You're cooking.
-yeah.

It's a working still
Right now.

And this was just to get
The mechanics together.

Yeah.

Because if we would
Have made the mash first

And then come here
And then this didn't work,

Then we would have had
The mash and then what

We're going to do
With it?

Looks good. What do you think
Tickle is going to think?

Do you think
He's going to like it?

I think he'll like it,
Really.

When you start thinking
About how you want to

Mix up a recipe
Or something...

-oh, I got it.
-oh, you got it. Okay.

Let's go.

♪♪

♪♪

Mike:
Check this mash out.

It's about ready to go.

Yep.

I believe that's going to be
Pretty good right there.

Looks like it's ready to run.

Narrator:
Up in the smoky mountains,

Mike is ready to transfer mash
To pot and start running.

*bleep* fired up, ready to go.

Narrator: it's pea hull shine,
An old family recipe

He wants to make popular again.

Mike: but I'm nervous on how
It's going to turn out

Because I ain't never
Done this before.

All I've got to go on is
The stories that my grandmother

Has told me of
How my great-great-grandfather

And my great-grandfather
Done it,

And try to do it
Like they done it.

But if back in them days,
Making moonshine is something

That they had to do
Just to make ends meet

And put food on the table.

God almighty.

That's a little sore.

Narrator:
Tobacco is naturally alkaline.

Its juices neutralize the
Acidic venom of an insect sting,

Reducing pain and swelling.

I'll tell you what.
I've worked my rear end off.

I've had to plant those peas,
Grow them,

Pick them at the right time

And shell each and every one
Of them with my two thumbs,

So it's very precious to me

And it could potentially
Set me up for some good sales.

I believe that's got it there.

All righty.
We'll get her fired up.

♪♪

All righty, well, all we got
To do is sit and wait now.

I'm really tickled and excited
To run this pea hull liquor,

See how it's going to turn out.

But I'm sure he'll like it.

He's an old-timer,
And he likes fresh ingredients,

And you don't get
No fresher than this.

Initially, I was going
To make 10 gallons

For this one customer, you know,
To help me and mark out,

But I think I can
Keep all the profits.

I don't want to sound
Greedy or nothing,

But I've done all this
Right by myself

And I'll be able
To feed my family off this.

That looks like it's running.

Yeah.

I'll go ahead
And set this jar back here

And go ahead and proof me
A jar right off the top.

It'll probably be a little
Lower proof than corn

Because your pea hulls ain't got
The sugar in it that corn does.

All right, that ought to be
Enough to try to proof now.

♪♪

It tastes earthy and fresh.

It's a little hot.

That's about 140.

That's pretty good.

I didn't think
It'd be that high.

That's a perfect proof
To start with.

That way, a man can temper it
Down and get a bunch of liquor.

I like it.
It's different.

Maybe my customer will like it.

God, I hope he does.

I yielded 15 gallons
This first time off of my

Purple hull liquor

And I'm really excited
The way it turned out this time

And I ain't going to do
A whole lot to mess it up.

Hope the man likes it.

♪♪

♪♪

Patti: you want to
Check on that mash?

Yeah.

Narrator: down in louisiana,
Patty and david

Are eager for another tandem run

Of their two
Most popular flavors.

David: we had two
Popular liquors last year,

The pear and the mayhaw,

So we decided
We just going to run

That all summer long this year.

This stuff ought to be
Getting close to running.

Patti: I'm ready
To get a fire under it

And start making
Some shine, you know.

I've got customers waiting.

Down at the gulf, down south.

God dog.

Uh-oh.

Aw, man.

What happened?

It's ruined now.

Yeah.
Look at the darn bugs in it.

Reckon how them lids
Got off?

Look at the bugs in there.

We ain't running this.

That's a big loss for us
Because you know,

We're ready to run this stuff,
And you know,

We've got a lot of money
Put into this mash.

That's $300 down
The drain, buddy.

Yeah, plus all the moonshine
We lost in it.

We would have made, out of
Each barrel, 6 or 7 gallons.

Now we got to
Re-mash in.

I knew we should have put
The darn lids on there somehow.

Put something
On top of them or something.

Yeah.

That's what happens whenever
You start getting in a rush

And you forget
Things like that.

We should have done it
The first time.

Yeah.

That's a set back for us.

That's a huge one
For us because,

I mean,
I've got customers waiting.

May as well
Dump this mess.

Makes me mad.

And I'm not going to
Cook up bug juice.

Money down the drain
Pisses me off.

David: we back to square one, so
Now we going to have to go out

And get more pears and mayhaws
And sugar and yeast and stuff

And come back in here
And start over again.

Patti:
Come on, daddy.

Patty,
That's a cottonmouth.

God almighty.

Go get that shovel.

Just stay there.
Don't move.

♪♪

Fishing is a lot like
The moonshine industry.

It's a rite of passage.

-no, no, no.
-what are you doing there, beck?

Somebody catch him
A limb bass.

Yeah.

Been like making liquor.
It's a process you got to learn.

You just can't run in there
And throw a line in.

You don't have enough weight
On that rod.

You want me to put
Some weight on there?

Yeah, you should put
A jig head on there.

Well, I didn't want to.

One day in beck's life,

I may pass along my knowledge
Of making liquor to him,

But everything I teach him
Up to that point,

That's preparing him for
Whatever vocation he chooses.

Always remember, son, no matter
Where you're at in life,

One upon a time
I was already there.

Maybe.

David:
Patty, bring me that shovel.

That's a cottonmouth.

-where do you see him?
-he's right up under here.

Patti: god almighty.

That'll hit you, wouldn't
Make it to the hospital.

That sucker is
That big around.

Narrator: in red river parish,
David and patti

Have stumbled
On a cottonmouth,

Also known as a water moccasin.

Able to kill a grown man
With one bite,

It's the most venomous snake
In north america.

Don't get bit.

Ooh.
Daddy, get out of there.

Yeah.

Missed him.
God dang it.

Patti: biggest water
Moccasin I've seen.

It can do
A lot of damage.

It could kill you.

Whew. Wait a minute.
He ain't dead.

-where did he go?
-right there.

He's on the other side
Of that log.

God almighty.

Oh, you got him.

David: I've been struck twice
By a cottonmouth.

Boom. Like that.

It's a feeling you won't forget,
And I don't like that feeling.

To be rid of him,
I feel a lot safer.

By god, he's dead now.
Whew.

Got that one,
Didn't we, papa?

I'm going to knock the hell out
Of you with this shovel.

Let's bury this sucker.

I'm glad
We got rid of him.

Moonshine, you know,
It's different every day.

You never know what you're
Going into to face that day.

We could have went out of here,
One of of us

Hurt really bad today.

I'm just grateful that he did
Not get struck by the snake.

Yeah.
That ain't easy.

♪♪

♪♪

I'm kind of glad to get rid
Of this damn liquor.

We've had a hissy fit
With it, ain't we?

It's been
A trifling run.

A damn
Stuck fermentation.

Narrator: over in tennessee,
Mark and digger

Are ready to reap the rewards
For all their effort.

They're on their way to sell
The cantaloupe moonshine,

Their first sale
Of the season.

-there he is.
-yeah, boy.

♪♪

-what's going on, bud?
-good to see you, man.

-good to see you.
-how you been?

-yeah.
-all right.

We've had a hell of a time
With this mush melon liquor.

But on the up side,
It turned out pretty damn good.

-oh, yeah.
-yeah.

You want to try
A little taste of it?

We got 30 gallon of it.

Yep. Now, we tempered
That to about 90,

Where it's a little
More palatable.

It's a little more
Palatable.

That's what we want.

It will make them feel a little
More amorous towards you, maybe.

Well, that's what
We always said.

What have you got there?

$4,500 is here.

We told you what me and mark
Were kind decided

On $200 a gallon.

Honestly, after the damn fit
That this stuff has give us

And as expensive
As it was to make,

We got to be firm
On the price.

Honestly,
That's where we're at.

Well...

-tomorrow evening?
-yeah.

I mean, I'm good with it
If mark is.

Well,
I'll tell you what.

I'm good with that.

Digger: when it comes to
Our backwoods dealing,

A man's word is his bond,

And that handshake to me
Is as good as a contract.

There's people
We extend credit to.

We let them buy liquor
On the cuff.

But if they ever try
To beat us out of our money,

They'll just say,

"What are you going to do?

I bought an illegal product
Off of you.

How are you going
To get your money?

You can't take me to court."

And he's right,
And we know that,

So we're careful
Who we extend credit to.

He's good
For that money.

Yeah.
He ain't going to beat us.

No.
Ain't no way.

I sure would like to have
The rest of it right now.

Ain't no doubt
About that at all.

Narrator:
Next time on "Moonshiners"...

That's a lot
Of damn liquor, man.

Yeah.

It's awful strange that somebody
Would ask for that much.

Paranoia on the piedmont.

Unless they're feds
And this is a sting.

This would be how
They would go about doing it.

Hello?

Narrator: crazy from the heat
In north carolina...

Woman: they're right across
From the car wash.

-the sheriff's department is?
-yeah.

If you got anything,
Get rid of it.

Narrator: ...And in kentucky,
Never talk to strangers.

Who in the hell?
I don't know this guy.