Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 7, Episode 8 - Stash and Grab - full transcript
Mark and Digger recruit a retired shiner; Josh and Chuck run an old family recipe; Lance enlists the help of a bootlegger to move his product; Sondra has to think fast.
♪♪
♪♪
Why am I risking losing
Everything I got
And going to jail?
I do it because the thrill
Of it, the heritage of it.
It's all about making money,
And I just love moonshine.
♪♪
I don't think,
Because of tax dollars,
That's to stop us
From being able
To make some booze
That you can drink,
And people like me who are
Out here making moonshine,
They will take you to jail,
Take everything you own over
A little bit of corn whiskey.
That's crazy.
♪♪
A moonshine operation is busted
Right here in the metro.
We have seen a resurgence
Of moonshine.
Recent sting
Operations have sent shock waves
Through appalachia, but because
Moonshine demand is soaring
And prices are higher than ever,
Many moonshiners
Are taking risks
And ignoring
Important red flags.
A moonshiner with dollar signs
In his eyes
Is the most likely
To be led into a bust.
In north carolina, two shiners
Consider a big order
Might be too good
To be true...
There might be a sting
Or something.
Have you ever thought
Of that?
So, if they're feds,
And this is a sting,
This would be how they would
Go about doing it.
♪♪
...In graham county,
A risky decision
Could lead to an ambush...
The sheriff's department is?
♪♪
...And in kentucky,
Bad decisions could make
A first sale of the season
The last of a career.
♪♪
♪ 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 ♪
This is how
We make the moonshine!
Captions paid for by
Discovery communications
♪♪
This will work a lot better than
Us handing liquor to somebody.
I feel a lot safer
Doing this.
Nobody even sees this truck
Go up the road.
On the dirt roads of kentucky,
Chico and sondra
Are transporting 20 gallons
Of their
Strawberry-banana brandy
To their new
Dead-drop location.
I've got a spot that's
Going to be easy for them
To access
From the road,
But nobody ever sees us
Out of the woods.
Tools are what a man
Relies on to do his job.
I've got an off-road vehicle
That's dependable.
Think about building
A doomsday demolition car
That can outrun the police
And handle like a ferrari.
Aah!
I have to start putting
Some money back in my pocket.
After spending
Too much time and money
On their still site...
We're losing days.
...Chico and sondra
Pushed onward
And bottled their first run
Of the season.
It's good, mama.
You smell the banana
In there?
♪♪
A 20-gallon sale could lead
To 5 years in prison,
So shiners have to get creative
To avoid the long arm
Of the law.
Is this it right up here?We're getting there.
We ain't got to
The best part yet.
When you go to thinking
About drop spots...
So, I need to think
About access for them
Where they can get
Their load and get going,
But, mainly, I need to think
About how iget there.
Hold on, baby girl.
Aah!
This truck has no papers,
No title.
It's got
The horsepower we need,
And in all honesty,
It's pretty badass.
I don't want people seeing it.
I want to be able to leave
This thing in the woods,
And it doesn't exist.
It's a bigfoot.
This truck is a virtual monster,
You know?
Watch your eyes.
Aah!
This is fun.It is fun as hell.
I told you
I knew a spot.
So, we're just going to
Leave it in here?
The spot that I picked,
It actually locks up
With the creek,
But it's
A deep enough drop-off,
And the banks are so steep,
That you can't see the truck.
You're going out
The front.
I ain't getting
My damn feet wet.
Chico and I
Can never be too careful.
How can we do this and make it
As safe as possible for us?
And I have already got
A customer in dano.
He is a guy
That I sold to before.
He says he wants 20 gallons.
Hey, all right.
I mean, this is $3,000.
And the only thing has been
Under here looks like
Is critters.
I've got
Some old tool boxes,
And we're going
To lock the boxes,
But we're actually just going to
Sell our buyers the key.
Chico and sondra are using
The dead-drop method of sale.
They'll transport the moonshine
To a clandestine location
Known as the drop point.
They'll place the order
Into a metal box
Hidden under a bridge
And secure it with a keyed lock.
With the shine
Safely locked away,
Chico and sondra
Will meet their customer
And exchange the key
And box location for cash.
Because no direct exchange
Of money for product
Ever takes place,
The method provides an extra
Layer of legal protection,
Keeping both parties
One step further from arrest.
I should have picked
A taller hole, honey.
When you've got liquor
In a vehicle
Or on your person,
Moving it around,
It's just a matter of time
Before you get hit.
You done?
But if I sell this cat this key
To this lock on this box,
You're not exactly
Committing an illegal act.
That's awesome.
It works.
That was perfect.
♪♪
♪♪
It's about time we get
To make some mash.
I've been wanting to make
Some cherry bounce all year.
Oh, I'm excited about
Making cherry bounce.
In north carolina,
Josh and chuck are
Mashing in a classic.
All right, big boy.
Watch it.
It's an owens family recipe
That's been around
For over a century.
It'll look good
And juicy.
I've been selling this
Corn whiskey to these bikers,
And I really wanted to up
The ante a little bit.
♪♪
After red dog introduced him
To a biker moonshine
Distributor...
There's plenty of that
Where that come from.
...Josh has been supplying
His lone buyer
With traditional
Corn whiskey in bulk.
Now he's focusing
On making cherry bounce,
A liquor popularized
By his great-great-uncle.
It's full, josh.
You got a lighter,
By chance?
I believe I do.
♪♪
Famous family recipe.
You going to show it to them?
Well, I've
Changed it up a bit,
So it won't be
The exact recipe.
Moonshine runs
Deep in my veins.
It comes all the way back
From overseas.
We've got the cherry bounce
That amos owens has been making
Since the 1800s.
Cherry bounce occupies
A unique place
In the history
Of american moonshine.
♪♪
The country's first president,
George washington,
And his wife, martha,
Made their own version
Of cherry bounce in the 1700s,
But it was josh's
Great-great-uncle,
Amos owens who enhanced
The famous concoction.
At age 23, owens bought
A stretch of land
In rutherford county,
North carolina,
Known as cherry mountain,
Which took its name
From the abundance
Of delicious wild cherries
That grew on its slopes.
After the harvest each june,
Owens combined those
Ripe cherries with corn
And locally-sourced
Sourwood honey
To create his legendary elixir.
The unique flavor made
Cherry bounce a sensation
That soon found its way
Into every nip joint, barroom,
And liquor lover's hands
In southern appalachia.
This is our last
Bucket of cherries.
We'll be done with the mash
Of the cherry bounce.
I was about to forget to dump
The honey in there.
Oh, my lord.God almighty, chuck.
You about got me
Messed up.
Whoa!
♪♪
The cherries are hard
To get a hold of.
This is premium stuff.
Let's get out of here.
This is enough for one day
Right here.
Mmm, mmm.
♪♪
Oh, that's
Proper business right there.
Is that one good?
Oh, yeah.
Pretty, ain't it?
Yeah, it's pretty.
All mashed in
In the great smoky mountains,
Mark and digger are joined by
Legendary moonshiner j.B. Rader.
Yep.
That's high "Alky-hall"
Right there.
The maple smells
Awful good.
Well, let's start
Capping these *bleep*
All right.
♪♪
After a successful run of
Their vanilla-maple recipe...
It's kind of like 3:00 in
The morning at the waffle house.
...The shiner duo
Switch gears to fulfill
And sell a specialty order
Of cantaloupe shine.
That's what we want.
♪♪
Now they're ready
To test the limits
On their three-pot still
With a full-capacity run
Of their vanilla-maple shine.
Let's get these burners
Lit just a dab.
♪♪
One more eyebrow gone.
I'm going to go over here
And help j.B. Taste.
We ought to have 90 gallon
Of liquor if this goes good.
You know, by the time this gets
Through running, hattie boy,
We're going to be
Wore plumb out.
Us three can't physically
Keep this pace going.
Fortunately, we've got more
Customers than we have product.
♪♪
I've been against
Bringing somebody in
For four or five years.
Digger has been
Trying to get me to,
And I see know
That digger is right.
You've got liquor coming?
Yep, liquor's
A-rolling.
Bread and butter
In a jar.
We got liquor coming --
Perfect stream.
Hotter than a bitch wolf
In a forest fire, god almighty.
It takes a long time
To run a big still
And especially
Three of them.
We're going to be working
Late into the night.
♪♪
We've got close
To 30 jars full.
♪♪
Boy, I tell you.
It smells good.
Hell, I'm game.
Are you ready?Yeah.
♪♪
Damn.
Wow!
Damn. Look at you.
Your eyes bugged out,
And your face
Turned blue.
That vanilla is strong
As hell, ain't it?
Mm-hmm.
It's 2:30 in the morning.
We've had a very successful run.
We're coming back in tomorrow,
And we're going to
Get mash running again.
Maybe we'll think of somebody
To bring in, help us,
But I kind of doubt
It at this point.
We're still --
Jury is out on that.
Boy, we've had a good night,
Ain't we?
Yeah.Yeah, we have.
♪♪
That's $22,500
From one sale.
In moonshine country,
If it seems too good to be true,
It's probably a trap.
It's awful strange that somebody
Would ask for that much.
It's not normal, is it?Unh-unh.
♪♪
We've got everything
To you mash back in with.
In graham county,
North carolina, jeff and lance
Are mashing in another batch
Of their popular corn whiskey.
That's good.
But, without a bootlegger
To distribute their product,
The duo isn't making
Any sales.
We're making no money.
We're spending money.
Bills is piling up.
We got to make some money,
Or we're going to be
In bad trouble.
♪♪
Lance squandered
A chance of early-season profits
When he ruined
A batch of mash.
But he was able
To redeem himself
With a successful first run.
You're a pain in the neck,
But you make damn good liquor.
Ow!
In order to turn their moonshine
Inventory into dollars,
They need to figure out
How to get it into the hands
Of their once-loyal customers
Without taking the risk
Of bootlegging it themselves.
You know what that
Means right there?
That means dollar signs.
Mm-hmm.
The sweeter it is,
The more liquor you get,
The more money we make.
Our basic corn,
It's a great liquor.
The market is there.
You just have to supply it.
We don't need to get
Caught bootlegging.
That wouldn't go over good
With your mama.
Dad, he still
Considers me a kid
That don't really know
What to do, but I'm an adult.
He's that age now that he wants
To do his own thinking,
I guess,
The way to put it.
I mean, I know we got to get
Somebody we can trust.
No, they wouldn't
Say that.
I mean,
That's my biggest fear.
♪♪
♪♪
We need some help
To shore up our corn
And rye liquor
Production.
Stretched thin
In tennessee, mark and digger
Are meeting up
With a moonshiner friend
Who they hope
Will take the reins
Of their
Corn liquor production.
We're coming up here
To meet kelly.
He was raised in this neck
Of the woods
Around old liquor men
Just like we were,
And we want to put a little
Proposal on the table for him.
We'll make him an offer.
We don't need to be going,
In my opinion, no higher than
$15 to $20 a gallon,
But, you know,
He's got to be willing
To make it up
To our specifications.
If we're selling it
As ours,
It's got to taste
Like ours.
♪♪
Well, I see him.
Hell, let's see
How this goes, digger.
What do you boys
Got going on good?
Well, man, we're just
Running and gunning,
But we're doing more running
Than we are gunning.
We're kind of
Under the gun.
We went to making
All them recipes,
And everybody got
To liking them too good,
And it put us behind
On the corn and rye production.
We know you give up
Making liquor several years ago,
But we need some help.
Would you consider, for a fee,
Firing back up for us?
♪♪
Well, I don't know.
I sort of promised mama
When daddy died
That I wouldn't.
It's the reason I quit.
We understand you got
Out of this business,
But it just ain't
Anybody and everybody
That we can trust
And count on to do this.
If I was
Going to do it,
We'd have to talk
About the money.
You tell us
What you got to have.
♪♪
Well, yinz still
Selling your regular
At $100 a gallon,
Ain't you?
Yep.You're buying everything.
You're furnishing
The jars.
Yep.
I'll do it
For $30 a gallon.
Hmm. Damn.
You got to remember.
Our risk is more high.
We're on the highway hauling
A half a ton of sugar to you.
Just the time alone,
I could be doing
Something else now.
Well, we understand that,
But you can't get this *bleep*
Out of your blood
Once you get it in you.
$20 a gallon,
Final offer.
Okay.
Is that good?
Now, we would like to have
50 gallon a week.
If you can make 100,
We'll take 100.
When it comes
To backwoods negotiation
Or backwoods dealing,
A man's word is his bond.
Be a good boy.
We'll see you in a day or two.
And that handshake, to me,
Is as good as a contract.
-sounds good, boys.
-be a good boy.
-thank you.
♪♪
♪♪
With 20 gallons
Of strawberry-banana brandy
Secured to the drop spot,
Chico and sondra
Prepare to meet the buyer
And sell them
The key and location.
This one is the first
Sales of the season.
We can't waste it.
After what we've put out
With site and mash materials,
This liquor will
Actually help us
Get over the top of the hump.
We've got to sell it, and
We've actually got the buyer.
One of us needs to stay here.
You want me to go? I know him.
Or you want to go?
It's dano, is who it is.
Supposed to meet shortly.
I don't know no dano.
Dano is a customer of mine.
He's bought from me,
You know, several times,
And he's going to
Come buy this key.
He's bought
From me before.
This is one of the dudes through
Your girly stuff.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.So, I don't know this cat?
No.Earlier in the season,
Chico and I had decided
That I could set up the deals.
He was going to be the one
Out there making sales,
But he has no idea
Who dano is.
You all right doing it?
Yeah, I think
I'll be good.
I usually don't let sondra
Do the bootlegging, you know?
That's where I step up and be
The bigger person and say,
"No, I take the risk."
There's the key
To the lock.
But I don't know
This dude.
It might be against
My better judgment,
But that's one of the reasons
Why we sell keys.
Hey, bring me back
My money.
I got it.
♪♪
I have dealt with dano before,
But he has never bought
This much alcohol, you know?
This is 20 gallons.
It makes me a little nervous
That it's that large
Of an amount, you know?
Each gallon is just
Another charge,
So if I had never dealt
With him before, there's no way
I would be selling him
20 gallons.
Our bank account
Is negative right now
When it comes
To the shine season.
All the building of the site,
That's expensive.
To get a hold of this
Big chunk of change,
$3,000 sale, it's not going to
Jump us way ahead by any means,
But, hopefully, it'll
Climb us back up to even.
Once I get there,
And he gets there,
If it takes longer
Than 30 seconds,
It's taking too long.
♪♪
Where the hell is he at?
Oh, come on.
He's got about...Five minutes
To get here before I peel out.
Even though I know dano,
And I know he is okay,
When you are doing
Something illegal,
That makes me
A little bit nervous.
Anything could go wrong.
Is that him?
That's got to be him.
Yep, that's him right there.
Here he comes.
Thank god.
♪♪
♪♪
Yep.
That's him right there.
Here he comes.
Thank god.
♪♪
I don't know this guy.
Sondra's first sale
Of the season turns suspicious
When the man
Who shows up for the key
Isn't the customer
Who made the deal.
♪♪
I don't know
What you're talking about, man.
I'm just broke down
On the side of the road.
He gave you some money
To give me for some keys?
Oh, I'm sorry, man.
Absolutely not.
♪♪
I'm coming back from this drop
Empty-handed.
I followed my gut.
If he's mad or not, I made
The best decision for me.
Well, who knows?
Maybe it's a setup.
I could go to jail.
What's up?
I've been sitting here
Long enough, my butt numb.
♪♪
That ain't money.
Yeah. Right.
I didn't make the sale.
What do you mean?
I couldn't do it.
It wasn't dano.
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.
Whoa. What?
Like, I mean, he supposedly
Knew dano, and I didn't do it.
I didn't sell it to him.
You didn't tell him
Where nothing was at or nothing.
Nope.
Sondra comes back and says,
"I don't have any money."
I have got to stop myself
From losing my mind like,
"What happened?"
You're mad?No, I'm not mad.
You're here.
Liquor still there?
Yeah.
You didn't trust
Your situation and got out.
That's what
I taught you to do.
Yeah.
You done good.
Yeah?We'll worry about it later.
You're not mad?
No. No.
I can't be mad
If you done the right thing.
She's back safe,
Nothing bad happened,
And we can keep moving forward.
Find somebody else
To sell it to.
♪♪
♪♪
Why don't you go
In front of us,
Because we don't know
Where we're going?
Deep
In the great smoky mountains,
Mark and digger
Are helping kelly set up
For his first
Run of corn whiskey.
You're worse than we are about
Getting off the beaten path.
Right now, we've got to help
Kelly mash in.
This liquor that kelly makes,
It's going into our stock
And ultimately be sold
To our customers as our liquor,
And that's why we're
Very persistent in the fact
That it's got to meet
Our flavor profile.
Well, I like
This spot, kelly.
This is a good one, man.
I'm telling you.
A lot of good overhead
Cover, canopy.
Kelly has made liquor
In the past.
He knows what
He's supposed to do.
Right in there is sort of
What I had in mind.
It's up to you.
We're just here to help you.
For us to help him,
It's going to get him up
And running quicker,
And the quicker we get corn
Liquor back into our stockpile,
The better off
We're going to be.
Hell, I want you fellows
To be happy, too.
I might die, and you have to
Come and get your liquor.
You care if we carry
The liquor out first?
no.
It won't make a hill of beans
To me, mark.
Mark and digger and I,
We've known each other forever.
How in the hell did yinz
Talk me into this?
I ain't worked this hard
In I don't know when.
The best I can figure, you was
A glutton for punishment.
I'm very comfortable
In the woods.
It's a place of peace,
But I realize
There's going to be a lot of
Hard work involved in this.
I tell you something.
I'm as proud of that
Little still and this location
As if it was my own,
Brother.
It's a nice,
Little outfit.
There ain't no reason
It won't turn out
Some mighty fine liquor.
All the ingredients
That we need,
And you're going to show me
How yinz want to do it, then.
Mark has got to take
His mama up for surgery,
But I'll bring some
Corn and some sugar,
And we'll get you your
First runs sweetened in.
Well, my mom has had
Some problems.
She broke her leg, and the lady
Who's supposed to take mom
To the doctor couldn't,
And I have to take her,
But, digger, he's the mash man,
And he can help kelly today.
White corn.
Here.
I'll hand you a can.
I know you can't stoop over,
Being old like you are.
Being old and broke
Down like I am.
Kelly is a good guy,
Knows what he's doing
And makes good liquor,
But it ain't like
We make liquor.
You got that gas on?
No, not yet, but I can.
Hell, I did
All right there.
Let me get this meal in here.
15 pound per barrel.
Well, I'm glad you're
Furnishing stuff
Because I'd have
Used cracked corn.
Yeah.
Kelly's process, it's
Not a whole lot unlike ours.
He uses cracked corn,
But we like to cook a finer
Coarse-ground cornmeal.
Shoot! Damn.
That's some hot water.
That ought to get it
Where it needs to be.
It breaks them down
More further, I think.
It's a more complete breakdown
Of the carbohydrates
Which, in turn,
Are turned into sugars
Which are processed
By the yeast
And eaten and peed
Out as alcohol.
And I'm just going
To dump sugar.
I'm going to put about
Half of this in this barrel.
And we stir?
And stir it up,
And then we'll heat it back up
That next run
Or two of water.
The sugar will cool it down
Just like an ice cube.
Yeah, I know it.
The final stage in this process
Of ours is the yeast.
The yeast makes all
The difference in the world
In the flavor of your liquor.
This is the same yeast
We've used
Since as long
As I can remember.
I don't know that I've ever used
This particular kind,
So that would have been
A difference, wouldn't it?
Yep.
It's been a while
Since I've run any liquor,
So having digger here is
Just great to help me with this,
Get us mashed in
The mark and digger way.
We need to stir
That in, won't we?
Well, that's what
I use water for.
It's just a little different
Than what I've always done,
So I'm happy to learn
A new way of doing things,
So we can keep
That going that way.
Looks good to me.That'll work.
Good first day
Of work.
♪♪
♪♪
Hell, I'd rather do the
Bootlegging myself, right now,
Until I get somebody
I absolutely trust,
And dad would be really pissed.
He still don't know
I'm bootlegging.
That would probably send him
Over the edge, there.
In order to generate
Much needed cash
And spread the word
That their popular corn liquor
Is back on the market,
Lance decides to sell two cases
Despite his father's warning
Not to bootleg it himself.
Bootlegging is a lot more
Trouble if you get busted,
But, me and dad, we've got to
Get some money flowing.
The risky endeavor
Could hit lance
With $10,000 in fines
And up to 5 years in jail.
I'm going to call some of
Our old client today.
I'm not going worry
About selling
A lot of liquor right now.
I just want to get the word
Of mouth out there that,
"Hey, we've got our stuff
Back on the market."
What are you into?
I've got some liquor
If you're interested.
No, this is just
Our old corn recipe,
And I think you're
Really going to like it.
All righty.
Well, I'll swing by.
♪♪
♪♪
What are you into?
You, too.
But this is a great start,
Money flowing.
I think we're going
To have no problems
Getting our customers back.
♪♪
How are you today?
I'm doing pretty good.
It's good stuff.
Got a couple sales
Under my belt,
Getting my confidence back,
Getting back into the swing --
You know, routine of things.
♪♪
Right now,
I just feel good
Getting the product
Back out there.
Hello?
I'm in town.
The sheriff's
Department is?
-yeah.
-oh.
Okay.
♪♪
I feel good.
I got money in my hand.
I got some liquor sold.
Lance is rolling
The dice in north carolina,
Bootlegging two cases
Of moonshine
To get the word out that he and
His father are back in business.
Hello?
I'm in town.
The sheriff's
Department is?
-yeah.
-oh.
Yeah. Bye.
In order to warn lance
Of impending police action,
His mother keeps her ear
Tuned to the chatter
On a police scanner.
I don't know if somebody
Saw us or what.
I don't want to get pulled over
With this much money
And alcohol on me,
So I'll just set
Right up here and sit.
We'll let the heat die down
A little bit.
You know, one wrong move,
And I'll be going to jail
For a long time.
♪♪
We'll sit here for a minute.
Now I can see them a-coming
Way before they were get here.
You're drawing a big target
On your back
Being a moonshiner
And a bootlegger.
I'd rather not worry
About taking that extra risk.
I'm really going to have
To sit down and find
A good bootlegger
For this season.
♪♪
♪♪
I'll be glad to get this
Cherry bounce run off.
I'm excited to finally be
Making some damn liquor, man.
Hell, yeah.
I hope this mash
Is ready.
I don't see
Why it shouldn't be.
It should have been ready
A few days ago.
It's been good and hot.
In south carolina,
Josh and chuck are putting flame
To still to run a centuries-old
Moonshine recipe.
What it look like?
That's wine
Right there, buddy.
Oh, yeah. Them cherries
Did the magic, didn't they?
She's ready.
We need to pump
Some mash over.
Which one do you want
To pump out of?
That one over yonder
Is fine.
This is the first cherry bounce
That I've gotten
To making all season.
I've been dying to make it.
You ready?
Yeah.
My family pretty much brought
The recipe from overseas,
So it's in my heritage
To make cherry bounce.
It's what I do.
Getting anything?
♪♪
It's coming out.
Okay, good.
That stuff looks good, too --
Like red wine.
Yeah, like cherry wine.
It is cherry wine.
It is cherry wine.
The cherry bounce is smooth.
It's good stuff, man.
That's the reason
That this recipe stuck around
For like 300 years.
How much is left
In that?
About it.
About it on that one?Yeah.
All right,
Let's switch barrels,
And let's fill
This next one up.
All right.
I think josh likes
Working with me
Because we're kind of
Two of a kind,
Because we're just crazy,
And he's kind of crazy, too.
We just don't call him
"Crazy josh."
That's going to be some
Good stuff, man. That's pretty.
Cherry wine is going to
Make us feel so fine.
That's right.
All right, big dog,
Here's a lighter.
All right.Let's fire this bad boy up.
♪♪
The gas is on,
So hit it.
♪♪
It's been a crazy season.
We've had all kinds
Of ups and downs,
And I've got these bikers
Wanting more
Than I can make,
And that's a good thing.
You want to load
These buckets?
You got a *bleep* load of
Buckets this time, didn't you?
Well, red dog called and said
These bikers wanted
150 gallons
Of the cherry bounce,
And that they weren't
Worried about the price.
They wanted it.
We got to come up with
30 buckets, and that would be...
I'm not real good with math.
Hold on a second.
150 gallons?
150 gallons.
Hold on a second.
So, these bikers like
My corn whiskey so much,
And they had caught wind that my
Cherry bounce was even better.
That's $22,500
From one sale.
That's big money
Right there.
These bikers are wanting
So much whiskey.
I can't keep up.
I'm going to have to double
My production.
As long as they keep buying
My cherry bounce,
I could really make a living
Just off of these guys.
You're working out a good plan
For this sale, ain't you?
What do you mean?
You know, we've got to be
Pretty careful
With this kind
Of money and stuff.
I don't know.
There might be a sting
Or something.
Have you ever thought
Of that?
When he told me we had
150 gallons to sell,
$22,500 at stake,
It's just a red flag to me.
I've never heard
Of anybody around here
Who even has that
Kind of money to buy that.
It's a lot
Of damn liquor, man.
Yeah.
Because
It's awful strange
That somebody would ask
For that much...
Yeah, that's
What I know.
...And for it to be
A higher price than normal
And to want more
Of it than normal.
It's not normal, is it?
Unh-unh. No.
♪♪
So, if they're feds,
And this is a sting, which --
This would be how
They would go about doing it.
A $22,000 moonshine bust, they'd
Nail us to the damn wall, son.
True that.
I don't know how long it would
Be before we would get out.
♪♪
I'm going to trust this boy
To bootleg for me.
Outsourcing risk
In north carolina.
♪♪
I tell you. I love
Both of you sons of bitches,
But I'm tired
Of being *bleep* on
Every time
We make a run of liquor.
You fart just as much
As we do.
No. Oh. That's where, sir,
You are wrong.
I stepped on a duck
There somewhere.
oh, damn.
you're a sorry bastard.
I love you like a brother,
But you're a farting machine.
Everybody has got
To be something.
damn.
♪♪
The way I see it is
If they're feds,
We're already busted
Because they're already
Watching what we're doing
Because they're already
Asking us to bring 150 gallons,
So they've already got us.
It's risk versus reward
Along the carolina border.
♪♪
With all the potential things
That could happen to us --
Getting robbed,
Getting put in jail
By the police or anything,
$22,500 is a lot of money.
♪♪
I'm prepared
To go for it.
Okay, that's all I need.
We're going to go out
In a blaze of glory.
Either that
Or hightail it and run.
I was at myrtle beach one time,
And these kids pull up.
They're in
A brand-new blazer.
We got in, and we didn't even
Make it two blocks,
And the cops started
To pull us over,
And so everybody
Jumps out and runs.
Yeah.
And I'm like,
"I'm not taking
The rap for this *bleep*,"
And I was running
From them.
They were behind me.
They were right there.
And, all of a sudden, this,
Like, sewage lagoon-like thing,
And I dove in there
Before I knew what it was.
Aah!
You jumped
In a cesspool?!
Yes. The cops,
They got me.
They grabbed me like this,
And they jerked me straight up
In the air like this.
Feet come
Way off the ground,
Slammed me face first
In the dirt
And put their knees
In my back.
Two or three of them
Were on top of me.
They took my damn hands and tied
Them back like this right here,
And they jacked me
Up again like that.
Ohh!
And I had all that sewage
And stuff all over me.
They were arguing over
Whose police car
I was going to ride in.
Because
You stunk so bad.
Yeah, I was
So bad a shape.
When they got me back
To the police department,
It was a woman jailer,
Right?
So, she took me
In the shower room
And then stripping off
And rinsed all that
*bleep* off of me.
When she hauled my clothes away,
She used a broom handle
And a trash bag
To haul my stuff away.
That was the beach trip
From hell.
You know, it's the hardest part,
The waiting game, chuck.
It might be
The hardest part for you,
But it's
My favorite part.
Why?
I brought a little
Something, something.
♪♪
Oh!
It's running now!
It's running!
Oh, *bleep*!
♪♪
Oh! You *bleep*!
ow!
What's wrong with you?!
You reckon
That *bleep* ready?
Hey, we're going to get us
A snort anyhow.
She's good and clear.Yeah.
Wow.
First drink
Of cherry bounce.
♪♪
That's smooth,boy.
What do you think?
Told you
It'd be worth it.
Oh, yeah.
Man, that honey comes through
Like nothing else
On the back end.
And, once it gets down
To about 120, it'll be good.
It's come out so good.
When it finally did hit my lips,
I mean, it was the best liquor
I've tasted
In a long time.
We've done it!
Josh and chuck made
45 gallons of cherry bounce,
A solid start on the 150 gallons
They need for their order.
All right, let's roll.
♪♪
♪♪
Yeah, being a moonshiner,
One wrong sale with
The wrong person watching,
And it all goes wrong.
So, levi, he's been onto me for
Years wanting to bootleg for me.
I'm just going to front him
A case of liquor,
Let him bootleg it off,
See how he does with that.
Increased
Police activity in graham county
Has lance following
His father's advice
To find another party
To bootleg their shine.
♪♪
Yep, I'm coming up
On our spot.
Let's get in here
And get this liquor stashed.
The dead drop is a
Time-tested mode of transaction
For most moonshiners.
Step one for lance --
Drop the liquor at
His father's secure stash site.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Easy as that.
I'm really confident that
This boy is going to work out.
He's a good, ol' country boy.
He would go on to be able
To do all my bootlegging,
And I'm going to trust this boy
To get this done.
♪♪
Next time on "Moonshiners"...
All right,
Well, let's roll.
I'm going to up to culpeper
And helping j.T.
...In virginia, an outlaw
Tries to cross county lines...
The probation office
Is up here,
But then I got
To get a travel permit.
I really hope this woman
Gives it to me.
If she don't, I may wind up
Coming back home.
I might not make it
To culpeper at all.
Hmm. Yeah, he told me
He would leave it
Right here
Next to these stills.
No answer.
I hope I didn't get ripped off.
...A missing
Bootlegger in north carolina...
If you don't get the money
For the liquor,
I'm going to keep
Your part.
No, you ain't.
Take a little gander
And see what you think.
...And rough justice
On the blue ridge.
That'll work.
One, two.
Hey, wait a minute!
Wait a minute! Wait a minute!
♪♪
Why am I risking losing
Everything I got
And going to jail?
I do it because the thrill
Of it, the heritage of it.
It's all about making money,
And I just love moonshine.
♪♪
I don't think,
Because of tax dollars,
That's to stop us
From being able
To make some booze
That you can drink,
And people like me who are
Out here making moonshine,
They will take you to jail,
Take everything you own over
A little bit of corn whiskey.
That's crazy.
♪♪
A moonshine operation is busted
Right here in the metro.
We have seen a resurgence
Of moonshine.
Recent sting
Operations have sent shock waves
Through appalachia, but because
Moonshine demand is soaring
And prices are higher than ever,
Many moonshiners
Are taking risks
And ignoring
Important red flags.
A moonshiner with dollar signs
In his eyes
Is the most likely
To be led into a bust.
In north carolina, two shiners
Consider a big order
Might be too good
To be true...
There might be a sting
Or something.
Have you ever thought
Of that?
So, if they're feds,
And this is a sting,
This would be how they would
Go about doing it.
♪♪
...In graham county,
A risky decision
Could lead to an ambush...
The sheriff's department is?
♪♪
...And in kentucky,
Bad decisions could make
A first sale of the season
The last of a career.
♪♪
♪ 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 ♪
This is how
We make the moonshine!
Captions paid for by
Discovery communications
♪♪
This will work a lot better than
Us handing liquor to somebody.
I feel a lot safer
Doing this.
Nobody even sees this truck
Go up the road.
On the dirt roads of kentucky,
Chico and sondra
Are transporting 20 gallons
Of their
Strawberry-banana brandy
To their new
Dead-drop location.
I've got a spot that's
Going to be easy for them
To access
From the road,
But nobody ever sees us
Out of the woods.
Tools are what a man
Relies on to do his job.
I've got an off-road vehicle
That's dependable.
Think about building
A doomsday demolition car
That can outrun the police
And handle like a ferrari.
Aah!
I have to start putting
Some money back in my pocket.
After spending
Too much time and money
On their still site...
We're losing days.
...Chico and sondra
Pushed onward
And bottled their first run
Of the season.
It's good, mama.
You smell the banana
In there?
♪♪
A 20-gallon sale could lead
To 5 years in prison,
So shiners have to get creative
To avoid the long arm
Of the law.
Is this it right up here?We're getting there.
We ain't got to
The best part yet.
When you go to thinking
About drop spots...
So, I need to think
About access for them
Where they can get
Their load and get going,
But, mainly, I need to think
About how iget there.
Hold on, baby girl.
Aah!
This truck has no papers,
No title.
It's got
The horsepower we need,
And in all honesty,
It's pretty badass.
I don't want people seeing it.
I want to be able to leave
This thing in the woods,
And it doesn't exist.
It's a bigfoot.
This truck is a virtual monster,
You know?
Watch your eyes.
Aah!
This is fun.It is fun as hell.
I told you
I knew a spot.
So, we're just going to
Leave it in here?
The spot that I picked,
It actually locks up
With the creek,
But it's
A deep enough drop-off,
And the banks are so steep,
That you can't see the truck.
You're going out
The front.
I ain't getting
My damn feet wet.
Chico and I
Can never be too careful.
How can we do this and make it
As safe as possible for us?
And I have already got
A customer in dano.
He is a guy
That I sold to before.
He says he wants 20 gallons.
Hey, all right.
I mean, this is $3,000.
And the only thing has been
Under here looks like
Is critters.
I've got
Some old tool boxes,
And we're going
To lock the boxes,
But we're actually just going to
Sell our buyers the key.
Chico and sondra are using
The dead-drop method of sale.
They'll transport the moonshine
To a clandestine location
Known as the drop point.
They'll place the order
Into a metal box
Hidden under a bridge
And secure it with a keyed lock.
With the shine
Safely locked away,
Chico and sondra
Will meet their customer
And exchange the key
And box location for cash.
Because no direct exchange
Of money for product
Ever takes place,
The method provides an extra
Layer of legal protection,
Keeping both parties
One step further from arrest.
I should have picked
A taller hole, honey.
When you've got liquor
In a vehicle
Or on your person,
Moving it around,
It's just a matter of time
Before you get hit.
You done?
But if I sell this cat this key
To this lock on this box,
You're not exactly
Committing an illegal act.
That's awesome.
It works.
That was perfect.
♪♪
♪♪
It's about time we get
To make some mash.
I've been wanting to make
Some cherry bounce all year.
Oh, I'm excited about
Making cherry bounce.
In north carolina,
Josh and chuck are
Mashing in a classic.
All right, big boy.
Watch it.
It's an owens family recipe
That's been around
For over a century.
It'll look good
And juicy.
I've been selling this
Corn whiskey to these bikers,
And I really wanted to up
The ante a little bit.
♪♪
After red dog introduced him
To a biker moonshine
Distributor...
There's plenty of that
Where that come from.
...Josh has been supplying
His lone buyer
With traditional
Corn whiskey in bulk.
Now he's focusing
On making cherry bounce,
A liquor popularized
By his great-great-uncle.
It's full, josh.
You got a lighter,
By chance?
I believe I do.
♪♪
Famous family recipe.
You going to show it to them?
Well, I've
Changed it up a bit,
So it won't be
The exact recipe.
Moonshine runs
Deep in my veins.
It comes all the way back
From overseas.
We've got the cherry bounce
That amos owens has been making
Since the 1800s.
Cherry bounce occupies
A unique place
In the history
Of american moonshine.
♪♪
The country's first president,
George washington,
And his wife, martha,
Made their own version
Of cherry bounce in the 1700s,
But it was josh's
Great-great-uncle,
Amos owens who enhanced
The famous concoction.
At age 23, owens bought
A stretch of land
In rutherford county,
North carolina,
Known as cherry mountain,
Which took its name
From the abundance
Of delicious wild cherries
That grew on its slopes.
After the harvest each june,
Owens combined those
Ripe cherries with corn
And locally-sourced
Sourwood honey
To create his legendary elixir.
The unique flavor made
Cherry bounce a sensation
That soon found its way
Into every nip joint, barroom,
And liquor lover's hands
In southern appalachia.
This is our last
Bucket of cherries.
We'll be done with the mash
Of the cherry bounce.
I was about to forget to dump
The honey in there.
Oh, my lord.God almighty, chuck.
You about got me
Messed up.
Whoa!
♪♪
The cherries are hard
To get a hold of.
This is premium stuff.
Let's get out of here.
This is enough for one day
Right here.
Mmm, mmm.
♪♪
Oh, that's
Proper business right there.
Is that one good?
Oh, yeah.
Pretty, ain't it?
Yeah, it's pretty.
All mashed in
In the great smoky mountains,
Mark and digger are joined by
Legendary moonshiner j.B. Rader.
Yep.
That's high "Alky-hall"
Right there.
The maple smells
Awful good.
Well, let's start
Capping these *bleep*
All right.
♪♪
After a successful run of
Their vanilla-maple recipe...
It's kind of like 3:00 in
The morning at the waffle house.
...The shiner duo
Switch gears to fulfill
And sell a specialty order
Of cantaloupe shine.
That's what we want.
♪♪
Now they're ready
To test the limits
On their three-pot still
With a full-capacity run
Of their vanilla-maple shine.
Let's get these burners
Lit just a dab.
♪♪
One more eyebrow gone.
I'm going to go over here
And help j.B. Taste.
We ought to have 90 gallon
Of liquor if this goes good.
You know, by the time this gets
Through running, hattie boy,
We're going to be
Wore plumb out.
Us three can't physically
Keep this pace going.
Fortunately, we've got more
Customers than we have product.
♪♪
I've been against
Bringing somebody in
For four or five years.
Digger has been
Trying to get me to,
And I see know
That digger is right.
You've got liquor coming?
Yep, liquor's
A-rolling.
Bread and butter
In a jar.
We got liquor coming --
Perfect stream.
Hotter than a bitch wolf
In a forest fire, god almighty.
It takes a long time
To run a big still
And especially
Three of them.
We're going to be working
Late into the night.
♪♪
We've got close
To 30 jars full.
♪♪
Boy, I tell you.
It smells good.
Hell, I'm game.
Are you ready?Yeah.
♪♪
Damn.
Wow!
Damn. Look at you.
Your eyes bugged out,
And your face
Turned blue.
That vanilla is strong
As hell, ain't it?
Mm-hmm.
It's 2:30 in the morning.
We've had a very successful run.
We're coming back in tomorrow,
And we're going to
Get mash running again.
Maybe we'll think of somebody
To bring in, help us,
But I kind of doubt
It at this point.
We're still --
Jury is out on that.
Boy, we've had a good night,
Ain't we?
Yeah.Yeah, we have.
♪♪
That's $22,500
From one sale.
In moonshine country,
If it seems too good to be true,
It's probably a trap.
It's awful strange that somebody
Would ask for that much.
It's not normal, is it?Unh-unh.
♪♪
We've got everything
To you mash back in with.
In graham county,
North carolina, jeff and lance
Are mashing in another batch
Of their popular corn whiskey.
That's good.
But, without a bootlegger
To distribute their product,
The duo isn't making
Any sales.
We're making no money.
We're spending money.
Bills is piling up.
We got to make some money,
Or we're going to be
In bad trouble.
♪♪
Lance squandered
A chance of early-season profits
When he ruined
A batch of mash.
But he was able
To redeem himself
With a successful first run.
You're a pain in the neck,
But you make damn good liquor.
Ow!
In order to turn their moonshine
Inventory into dollars,
They need to figure out
How to get it into the hands
Of their once-loyal customers
Without taking the risk
Of bootlegging it themselves.
You know what that
Means right there?
That means dollar signs.
Mm-hmm.
The sweeter it is,
The more liquor you get,
The more money we make.
Our basic corn,
It's a great liquor.
The market is there.
You just have to supply it.
We don't need to get
Caught bootlegging.
That wouldn't go over good
With your mama.
Dad, he still
Considers me a kid
That don't really know
What to do, but I'm an adult.
He's that age now that he wants
To do his own thinking,
I guess,
The way to put it.
I mean, I know we got to get
Somebody we can trust.
No, they wouldn't
Say that.
I mean,
That's my biggest fear.
♪♪
♪♪
We need some help
To shore up our corn
And rye liquor
Production.
Stretched thin
In tennessee, mark and digger
Are meeting up
With a moonshiner friend
Who they hope
Will take the reins
Of their
Corn liquor production.
We're coming up here
To meet kelly.
He was raised in this neck
Of the woods
Around old liquor men
Just like we were,
And we want to put a little
Proposal on the table for him.
We'll make him an offer.
We don't need to be going,
In my opinion, no higher than
$15 to $20 a gallon,
But, you know,
He's got to be willing
To make it up
To our specifications.
If we're selling it
As ours,
It's got to taste
Like ours.
♪♪
Well, I see him.
Hell, let's see
How this goes, digger.
What do you boys
Got going on good?
Well, man, we're just
Running and gunning,
But we're doing more running
Than we are gunning.
We're kind of
Under the gun.
We went to making
All them recipes,
And everybody got
To liking them too good,
And it put us behind
On the corn and rye production.
We know you give up
Making liquor several years ago,
But we need some help.
Would you consider, for a fee,
Firing back up for us?
♪♪
Well, I don't know.
I sort of promised mama
When daddy died
That I wouldn't.
It's the reason I quit.
We understand you got
Out of this business,
But it just ain't
Anybody and everybody
That we can trust
And count on to do this.
If I was
Going to do it,
We'd have to talk
About the money.
You tell us
What you got to have.
♪♪
Well, yinz still
Selling your regular
At $100 a gallon,
Ain't you?
Yep.You're buying everything.
You're furnishing
The jars.
Yep.
I'll do it
For $30 a gallon.
Hmm. Damn.
You got to remember.
Our risk is more high.
We're on the highway hauling
A half a ton of sugar to you.
Just the time alone,
I could be doing
Something else now.
Well, we understand that,
But you can't get this *bleep*
Out of your blood
Once you get it in you.
$20 a gallon,
Final offer.
Okay.
Is that good?
Now, we would like to have
50 gallon a week.
If you can make 100,
We'll take 100.
When it comes
To backwoods negotiation
Or backwoods dealing,
A man's word is his bond.
Be a good boy.
We'll see you in a day or two.
And that handshake, to me,
Is as good as a contract.
-sounds good, boys.
-be a good boy.
-thank you.
♪♪
♪♪
With 20 gallons
Of strawberry-banana brandy
Secured to the drop spot,
Chico and sondra
Prepare to meet the buyer
And sell them
The key and location.
This one is the first
Sales of the season.
We can't waste it.
After what we've put out
With site and mash materials,
This liquor will
Actually help us
Get over the top of the hump.
We've got to sell it, and
We've actually got the buyer.
One of us needs to stay here.
You want me to go? I know him.
Or you want to go?
It's dano, is who it is.
Supposed to meet shortly.
I don't know no dano.
Dano is a customer of mine.
He's bought from me,
You know, several times,
And he's going to
Come buy this key.
He's bought
From me before.
This is one of the dudes through
Your girly stuff.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.So, I don't know this cat?
No.Earlier in the season,
Chico and I had decided
That I could set up the deals.
He was going to be the one
Out there making sales,
But he has no idea
Who dano is.
You all right doing it?
Yeah, I think
I'll be good.
I usually don't let sondra
Do the bootlegging, you know?
That's where I step up and be
The bigger person and say,
"No, I take the risk."
There's the key
To the lock.
But I don't know
This dude.
It might be against
My better judgment,
But that's one of the reasons
Why we sell keys.
Hey, bring me back
My money.
I got it.
♪♪
I have dealt with dano before,
But he has never bought
This much alcohol, you know?
This is 20 gallons.
It makes me a little nervous
That it's that large
Of an amount, you know?
Each gallon is just
Another charge,
So if I had never dealt
With him before, there's no way
I would be selling him
20 gallons.
Our bank account
Is negative right now
When it comes
To the shine season.
All the building of the site,
That's expensive.
To get a hold of this
Big chunk of change,
$3,000 sale, it's not going to
Jump us way ahead by any means,
But, hopefully, it'll
Climb us back up to even.
Once I get there,
And he gets there,
If it takes longer
Than 30 seconds,
It's taking too long.
♪♪
Where the hell is he at?
Oh, come on.
He's got about...Five minutes
To get here before I peel out.
Even though I know dano,
And I know he is okay,
When you are doing
Something illegal,
That makes me
A little bit nervous.
Anything could go wrong.
Is that him?
That's got to be him.
Yep, that's him right there.
Here he comes.
Thank god.
♪♪
♪♪
Yep.
That's him right there.
Here he comes.
Thank god.
♪♪
I don't know this guy.
Sondra's first sale
Of the season turns suspicious
When the man
Who shows up for the key
Isn't the customer
Who made the deal.
♪♪
I don't know
What you're talking about, man.
I'm just broke down
On the side of the road.
He gave you some money
To give me for some keys?
Oh, I'm sorry, man.
Absolutely not.
♪♪
I'm coming back from this drop
Empty-handed.
I followed my gut.
If he's mad or not, I made
The best decision for me.
Well, who knows?
Maybe it's a setup.
I could go to jail.
What's up?
I've been sitting here
Long enough, my butt numb.
♪♪
That ain't money.
Yeah. Right.
I didn't make the sale.
What do you mean?
I couldn't do it.
It wasn't dano.
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.
Whoa. What?
Like, I mean, he supposedly
Knew dano, and I didn't do it.
I didn't sell it to him.
You didn't tell him
Where nothing was at or nothing.
Nope.
Sondra comes back and says,
"I don't have any money."
I have got to stop myself
From losing my mind like,
"What happened?"
You're mad?No, I'm not mad.
You're here.
Liquor still there?
Yeah.
You didn't trust
Your situation and got out.
That's what
I taught you to do.
Yeah.
You done good.
Yeah?We'll worry about it later.
You're not mad?
No. No.
I can't be mad
If you done the right thing.
She's back safe,
Nothing bad happened,
And we can keep moving forward.
Find somebody else
To sell it to.
♪♪
♪♪
Why don't you go
In front of us,
Because we don't know
Where we're going?
Deep
In the great smoky mountains,
Mark and digger
Are helping kelly set up
For his first
Run of corn whiskey.
You're worse than we are about
Getting off the beaten path.
Right now, we've got to help
Kelly mash in.
This liquor that kelly makes,
It's going into our stock
And ultimately be sold
To our customers as our liquor,
And that's why we're
Very persistent in the fact
That it's got to meet
Our flavor profile.
Well, I like
This spot, kelly.
This is a good one, man.
I'm telling you.
A lot of good overhead
Cover, canopy.
Kelly has made liquor
In the past.
He knows what
He's supposed to do.
Right in there is sort of
What I had in mind.
It's up to you.
We're just here to help you.
For us to help him,
It's going to get him up
And running quicker,
And the quicker we get corn
Liquor back into our stockpile,
The better off
We're going to be.
Hell, I want you fellows
To be happy, too.
I might die, and you have to
Come and get your liquor.
You care if we carry
The liquor out first?
no.
It won't make a hill of beans
To me, mark.
Mark and digger and I,
We've known each other forever.
How in the hell did yinz
Talk me into this?
I ain't worked this hard
In I don't know when.
The best I can figure, you was
A glutton for punishment.
I'm very comfortable
In the woods.
It's a place of peace,
But I realize
There's going to be a lot of
Hard work involved in this.
I tell you something.
I'm as proud of that
Little still and this location
As if it was my own,
Brother.
It's a nice,
Little outfit.
There ain't no reason
It won't turn out
Some mighty fine liquor.
All the ingredients
That we need,
And you're going to show me
How yinz want to do it, then.
Mark has got to take
His mama up for surgery,
But I'll bring some
Corn and some sugar,
And we'll get you your
First runs sweetened in.
Well, my mom has had
Some problems.
She broke her leg, and the lady
Who's supposed to take mom
To the doctor couldn't,
And I have to take her,
But, digger, he's the mash man,
And he can help kelly today.
White corn.
Here.
I'll hand you a can.
I know you can't stoop over,
Being old like you are.
Being old and broke
Down like I am.
Kelly is a good guy,
Knows what he's doing
And makes good liquor,
But it ain't like
We make liquor.
You got that gas on?
No, not yet, but I can.
Hell, I did
All right there.
Let me get this meal in here.
15 pound per barrel.
Well, I'm glad you're
Furnishing stuff
Because I'd have
Used cracked corn.
Yeah.
Kelly's process, it's
Not a whole lot unlike ours.
He uses cracked corn,
But we like to cook a finer
Coarse-ground cornmeal.
Shoot! Damn.
That's some hot water.
That ought to get it
Where it needs to be.
It breaks them down
More further, I think.
It's a more complete breakdown
Of the carbohydrates
Which, in turn,
Are turned into sugars
Which are processed
By the yeast
And eaten and peed
Out as alcohol.
And I'm just going
To dump sugar.
I'm going to put about
Half of this in this barrel.
And we stir?
And stir it up,
And then we'll heat it back up
That next run
Or two of water.
The sugar will cool it down
Just like an ice cube.
Yeah, I know it.
The final stage in this process
Of ours is the yeast.
The yeast makes all
The difference in the world
In the flavor of your liquor.
This is the same yeast
We've used
Since as long
As I can remember.
I don't know that I've ever used
This particular kind,
So that would have been
A difference, wouldn't it?
Yep.
It's been a while
Since I've run any liquor,
So having digger here is
Just great to help me with this,
Get us mashed in
The mark and digger way.
We need to stir
That in, won't we?
Well, that's what
I use water for.
It's just a little different
Than what I've always done,
So I'm happy to learn
A new way of doing things,
So we can keep
That going that way.
Looks good to me.That'll work.
Good first day
Of work.
♪♪
♪♪
Hell, I'd rather do the
Bootlegging myself, right now,
Until I get somebody
I absolutely trust,
And dad would be really pissed.
He still don't know
I'm bootlegging.
That would probably send him
Over the edge, there.
In order to generate
Much needed cash
And spread the word
That their popular corn liquor
Is back on the market,
Lance decides to sell two cases
Despite his father's warning
Not to bootleg it himself.
Bootlegging is a lot more
Trouble if you get busted,
But, me and dad, we've got to
Get some money flowing.
The risky endeavor
Could hit lance
With $10,000 in fines
And up to 5 years in jail.
I'm going to call some of
Our old client today.
I'm not going worry
About selling
A lot of liquor right now.
I just want to get the word
Of mouth out there that,
"Hey, we've got our stuff
Back on the market."
What are you into?
I've got some liquor
If you're interested.
No, this is just
Our old corn recipe,
And I think you're
Really going to like it.
All righty.
Well, I'll swing by.
♪♪
♪♪
What are you into?
You, too.
But this is a great start,
Money flowing.
I think we're going
To have no problems
Getting our customers back.
♪♪
How are you today?
I'm doing pretty good.
It's good stuff.
Got a couple sales
Under my belt,
Getting my confidence back,
Getting back into the swing --
You know, routine of things.
♪♪
Right now,
I just feel good
Getting the product
Back out there.
Hello?
I'm in town.
The sheriff's
Department is?
-yeah.
-oh.
Okay.
♪♪
I feel good.
I got money in my hand.
I got some liquor sold.
Lance is rolling
The dice in north carolina,
Bootlegging two cases
Of moonshine
To get the word out that he and
His father are back in business.
Hello?
I'm in town.
The sheriff's
Department is?
-yeah.
-oh.
Yeah. Bye.
In order to warn lance
Of impending police action,
His mother keeps her ear
Tuned to the chatter
On a police scanner.
I don't know if somebody
Saw us or what.
I don't want to get pulled over
With this much money
And alcohol on me,
So I'll just set
Right up here and sit.
We'll let the heat die down
A little bit.
You know, one wrong move,
And I'll be going to jail
For a long time.
♪♪
We'll sit here for a minute.
Now I can see them a-coming
Way before they were get here.
You're drawing a big target
On your back
Being a moonshiner
And a bootlegger.
I'd rather not worry
About taking that extra risk.
I'm really going to have
To sit down and find
A good bootlegger
For this season.
♪♪
♪♪
I'll be glad to get this
Cherry bounce run off.
I'm excited to finally be
Making some damn liquor, man.
Hell, yeah.
I hope this mash
Is ready.
I don't see
Why it shouldn't be.
It should have been ready
A few days ago.
It's been good and hot.
In south carolina,
Josh and chuck are putting flame
To still to run a centuries-old
Moonshine recipe.
What it look like?
That's wine
Right there, buddy.
Oh, yeah. Them cherries
Did the magic, didn't they?
She's ready.
We need to pump
Some mash over.
Which one do you want
To pump out of?
That one over yonder
Is fine.
This is the first cherry bounce
That I've gotten
To making all season.
I've been dying to make it.
You ready?
Yeah.
My family pretty much brought
The recipe from overseas,
So it's in my heritage
To make cherry bounce.
It's what I do.
Getting anything?
♪♪
It's coming out.
Okay, good.
That stuff looks good, too --
Like red wine.
Yeah, like cherry wine.
It is cherry wine.
It is cherry wine.
The cherry bounce is smooth.
It's good stuff, man.
That's the reason
That this recipe stuck around
For like 300 years.
How much is left
In that?
About it.
About it on that one?Yeah.
All right,
Let's switch barrels,
And let's fill
This next one up.
All right.
I think josh likes
Working with me
Because we're kind of
Two of a kind,
Because we're just crazy,
And he's kind of crazy, too.
We just don't call him
"Crazy josh."
That's going to be some
Good stuff, man. That's pretty.
Cherry wine is going to
Make us feel so fine.
That's right.
All right, big dog,
Here's a lighter.
All right.Let's fire this bad boy up.
♪♪
The gas is on,
So hit it.
♪♪
It's been a crazy season.
We've had all kinds
Of ups and downs,
And I've got these bikers
Wanting more
Than I can make,
And that's a good thing.
You want to load
These buckets?
You got a *bleep* load of
Buckets this time, didn't you?
Well, red dog called and said
These bikers wanted
150 gallons
Of the cherry bounce,
And that they weren't
Worried about the price.
They wanted it.
We got to come up with
30 buckets, and that would be...
I'm not real good with math.
Hold on a second.
150 gallons?
150 gallons.
Hold on a second.
So, these bikers like
My corn whiskey so much,
And they had caught wind that my
Cherry bounce was even better.
That's $22,500
From one sale.
That's big money
Right there.
These bikers are wanting
So much whiskey.
I can't keep up.
I'm going to have to double
My production.
As long as they keep buying
My cherry bounce,
I could really make a living
Just off of these guys.
You're working out a good plan
For this sale, ain't you?
What do you mean?
You know, we've got to be
Pretty careful
With this kind
Of money and stuff.
I don't know.
There might be a sting
Or something.
Have you ever thought
Of that?
When he told me we had
150 gallons to sell,
$22,500 at stake,
It's just a red flag to me.
I've never heard
Of anybody around here
Who even has that
Kind of money to buy that.
It's a lot
Of damn liquor, man.
Yeah.
Because
It's awful strange
That somebody would ask
For that much...
Yeah, that's
What I know.
...And for it to be
A higher price than normal
And to want more
Of it than normal.
It's not normal, is it?
Unh-unh. No.
♪♪
So, if they're feds,
And this is a sting, which --
This would be how
They would go about doing it.
A $22,000 moonshine bust, they'd
Nail us to the damn wall, son.
True that.
I don't know how long it would
Be before we would get out.
♪♪
I'm going to trust this boy
To bootleg for me.
Outsourcing risk
In north carolina.
♪♪
I tell you. I love
Both of you sons of bitches,
But I'm tired
Of being *bleep* on
Every time
We make a run of liquor.
You fart just as much
As we do.
No. Oh. That's where, sir,
You are wrong.
I stepped on a duck
There somewhere.
oh, damn.
you're a sorry bastard.
I love you like a brother,
But you're a farting machine.
Everybody has got
To be something.
damn.
♪♪
The way I see it is
If they're feds,
We're already busted
Because they're already
Watching what we're doing
Because they're already
Asking us to bring 150 gallons,
So they've already got us.
It's risk versus reward
Along the carolina border.
♪♪
With all the potential things
That could happen to us --
Getting robbed,
Getting put in jail
By the police or anything,
$22,500 is a lot of money.
♪♪
I'm prepared
To go for it.
Okay, that's all I need.
We're going to go out
In a blaze of glory.
Either that
Or hightail it and run.
I was at myrtle beach one time,
And these kids pull up.
They're in
A brand-new blazer.
We got in, and we didn't even
Make it two blocks,
And the cops started
To pull us over,
And so everybody
Jumps out and runs.
Yeah.
And I'm like,
"I'm not taking
The rap for this *bleep*,"
And I was running
From them.
They were behind me.
They were right there.
And, all of a sudden, this,
Like, sewage lagoon-like thing,
And I dove in there
Before I knew what it was.
Aah!
You jumped
In a cesspool?!
Yes. The cops,
They got me.
They grabbed me like this,
And they jerked me straight up
In the air like this.
Feet come
Way off the ground,
Slammed me face first
In the dirt
And put their knees
In my back.
Two or three of them
Were on top of me.
They took my damn hands and tied
Them back like this right here,
And they jacked me
Up again like that.
Ohh!
And I had all that sewage
And stuff all over me.
They were arguing over
Whose police car
I was going to ride in.
Because
You stunk so bad.
Yeah, I was
So bad a shape.
When they got me back
To the police department,
It was a woman jailer,
Right?
So, she took me
In the shower room
And then stripping off
And rinsed all that
*bleep* off of me.
When she hauled my clothes away,
She used a broom handle
And a trash bag
To haul my stuff away.
That was the beach trip
From hell.
You know, it's the hardest part,
The waiting game, chuck.
It might be
The hardest part for you,
But it's
My favorite part.
Why?
I brought a little
Something, something.
♪♪
Oh!
It's running now!
It's running!
Oh, *bleep*!
♪♪
Oh! You *bleep*!
ow!
What's wrong with you?!
You reckon
That *bleep* ready?
Hey, we're going to get us
A snort anyhow.
She's good and clear.Yeah.
Wow.
First drink
Of cherry bounce.
♪♪
That's smooth,boy.
What do you think?
Told you
It'd be worth it.
Oh, yeah.
Man, that honey comes through
Like nothing else
On the back end.
And, once it gets down
To about 120, it'll be good.
It's come out so good.
When it finally did hit my lips,
I mean, it was the best liquor
I've tasted
In a long time.
We've done it!
Josh and chuck made
45 gallons of cherry bounce,
A solid start on the 150 gallons
They need for their order.
All right, let's roll.
♪♪
♪♪
Yeah, being a moonshiner,
One wrong sale with
The wrong person watching,
And it all goes wrong.
So, levi, he's been onto me for
Years wanting to bootleg for me.
I'm just going to front him
A case of liquor,
Let him bootleg it off,
See how he does with that.
Increased
Police activity in graham county
Has lance following
His father's advice
To find another party
To bootleg their shine.
♪♪
Yep, I'm coming up
On our spot.
Let's get in here
And get this liquor stashed.
The dead drop is a
Time-tested mode of transaction
For most moonshiners.
Step one for lance --
Drop the liquor at
His father's secure stash site.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Easy as that.
I'm really confident that
This boy is going to work out.
He's a good, ol' country boy.
He would go on to be able
To do all my bootlegging,
And I'm going to trust this boy
To get this done.
♪♪
Next time on "Moonshiners"...
All right,
Well, let's roll.
I'm going to up to culpeper
And helping j.T.
...In virginia, an outlaw
Tries to cross county lines...
The probation office
Is up here,
But then I got
To get a travel permit.
I really hope this woman
Gives it to me.
If she don't, I may wind up
Coming back home.
I might not make it
To culpeper at all.
Hmm. Yeah, he told me
He would leave it
Right here
Next to these stills.
No answer.
I hope I didn't get ripped off.
...A missing
Bootlegger in north carolina...
If you don't get the money
For the liquor,
I'm going to keep
Your part.
No, you ain't.
Take a little gander
And see what you think.
...And rough justice
On the blue ridge.
That'll work.
One, two.
Hey, wait a minute!
Wait a minute! Wait a minute!