Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 7, Episode 9 - Arrested Development - full transcript

♪♪

♪♪

Grandpop, you know, he was
Into moonshine pretty heavy.

Sold a lot of whiskey,
Never got caught.

One day the revenuers
Raided the house.

Anyway, grandma knew
The sequence.

She had the rug
Over the trapdoor,

And she had
A rocking chair there,

And she'd sit in the rocking
Chair and start crocheting.

Grandpop came home
While they were still there.

He was really mad.



He took one of the police cars
All by himself

And rolled it down the hill.

Cops got all upset at him
And they beat him up.

Everybody thought
He was gonna die.

They called the priest out

And gave him the last
Rites and all that,

But he survived.

They didn't arrest him.

He didn't have anything, then
Went on back to his business.

Narrator: an outlaw
Moonshiner's survival

Depends on his ability
To craft quality liquor

And avoid the authorities.

But working in the backwoods

Also means having to
Battle the elements.



Don't get near it.

Serpents descend
Upon louisiana...

-hit him again.
-okay.

Patti:
Yeah, he ain't dead!

Narrator: ...An operation
Compromised in north carolina...

...And rough justice
In tennessee.

That will work, one, two.

Hey, wait a minute!
Wait a minute, wait a minute!

-you're under arrest, sir.
-*bleep*

♪♪

♪ 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

Well, this will be a fine day
To be working

Instead of going and
Getting sugar with me.

Well, we got to have sugar,
Or we can't work.

Narrator: on the move in
Tennessee, mark and digger

Are loading up on supplies
For their next run of liquor.

How much sugar
You reckon we need

To get ahold of this time?

We'll have to get half
A ton, shouldn't we?

[ cellphone rings ]

Look who's calling.

What the hell
Does he want?

-hello!
-hey, digger.

This is killer beaz.
-hey, man.

We get a phone call
From killer beaz.

He's our stand-up
Comedian friend

Who's set up our big jam deal

With ed king from
Lynyrd skynyrd last year,

And it's looking like
We're gonna deal

With beaz some more.

What?
Hey, hey, hey.

Where you at?

You on I-40?
-yeah.

You get off the 447 exit,

You'll come back up
By the interstate

Under a bridge
And a river.

-okay.
-just meet us there.

Yeah. We need to just
Talk in person, beaz.

Okay, cool, man.

-all right.
-all right.

I get nervous
Talking on the phones.

Yeah. We don't need to be
Talking on the phone.

Well, here's the bridge.

Come on, beaz.

-hell.
-he may be lost.

He's liable to be
In damn chattanooga.

That's it.

Let's see
What he's up to.

♪♪

Killer!

Well, look at this!

How you doing?
-beazley!

-mark.
-hey, beaz.

Hey, I have landed us
Another deal,

Another
National celebrity...

60 gallons of grappa,

250 bucks a gallon.

We got two full weeks.

[ laughs ]

Oh, come on, man.
You can do that!

It's a $15,000 deal.

It ain't about the money.

It's more so
About the time.

Digger:
Now, grappa is complicated.

We've got to get a recipe down.

We have to figure out, you know,

What's the best yeast
To ferment this with.

Narrator: high-quality grappa
Is rare and expensive.

Its main ingredient,
Grape pomace,

Is the leftover peels
And stems from winemaking,

That yields in a narrow
Harvest window each season.

I mean, you've got to realize
It's got to be

A slow, cold fermentation.

It's gonna be long, drawn out,
Lot of work, lot of figuring.

It's a whole different beast.

You can't take grapes
You buy in the store

And make wine out of it,

And you can't make grappa
If you ain't got no wine.

I know a guy that's got
A vineyard, but, you know,

I haven't talked to him
In quite some time.

This is obviously
A seasonal liquor.

We can't meet a deadline
If it isn't good.

We're not gonna put
Our reputation on the line

For an inferior product.

Yeah, I get that.

Mark:
This is a big risk.

We mess it up and we've taken
Weeks out of our season,

But, you know, if we can bring
Something new to the hills

Of tennessee and the liquor
Business, bully for us.

I'm gonna try to get down here
At this little vineyard,

And see if they've got any
Grapes that will work for it.

-let me know.
-I'll tell you in liquor.

Can we just not make him
A pan of lasagna?

I know how to do that!

I don't know if I can get
15 grand for lasagna.

Love you, man.
Thank you.

We've got to figure out
How to make this grappa.

I love a challenge, and $250
A gallon, that's $15,000.

That ain't nothing to sneeze at
In an old moonshiner's world.

I think that if we put our nose
To the grindstone,

I believe we can do this just as
Good as we have anything else.

What have we volunteered
Our dumb self to do now?

This.

If we can nail this grappa,
You know,

It's got the potential
Of opening up

A whole new network

Of high-profile,
Nashville-based customers.

That's a big round
Of liquor

For something
We don't normally do.

♪♪

♪♪

He's right up under here.

Oh, that's
Something there.

Narrator:
Down in the bayou state,

Patti and david's water source
Is crawling with cottonmouths,

One of the most venomous
Snakes in north america.

Me and david were walking
The creek again,

Right here by the site, and
Came up on another cottonmouth.

It's just as big
As the other one.

That would kill you.

Patti: daddy, don't you fall
And it get you, now.

Don't fall.
Ooh, get it.

Daddy, daddy, daddy.

Oh, my god.

Look at his mouth.

Hit him again!

Okay.

Oh, unh-uh.
Ah, he ain't dead!

That ain't good!

I mean, that's close
To our site.

It's too close,
Right there.

That's two of them.

You see
How fast they move?

Mm-hmm.

We'll have us a burial ground
Back here before long with...

Ah!
Oh, stop!

I ought to hit you.

I'm gonna hit you
One day, daddy!

That's two big ones.

Yeah.

Night runs is what
Concerns me the most.

You know, you out here, you
Can't see something like this.

That's a good one, buddy.

They've got to be coming out
Of that beaver pond

And coming up this creek.

Coming up this creek,
Fishing.

I think we need to get us
Some mothballs and throw out

Because that's supposed to
Make the snakes stay away.

I put these things in our house
Mainly for moths.

Yup.

We've already killed two
Water moccasins, you know,

And I've got an idea
Of using mothballs

And maybe just hanging it
In some trees

Around the perimeter
Of our still site.

Narrator: snakes navigate
And locate their prey

By using their tongues
To capture scent.

The pungent naphthalene
Contained in mothballs

Works as a snake repellent,

Temporarily disorienting
The serpent

And causing it to retreat.

Yeah.

Hang one on that tree there,
Across that creek.

Heck, all I smell
Is mothballs now.

David: that will do it.
It's all the way around us now.

My idea is, is that that scent
Will go down that creek,

Right straight
To where that den

Is where we killed
Those two snakes

And maybe it'll keep the rest
Of them away, you know,

And they not float up
That creek, coming toward us.

By dog, if I was a snake,
I wouldn't come around here.

I don't even want
To come around.

Moonshine, it's different
Every day.

You never know if you
Coming home alive

Or if you're going
Home arrested or what.

♪♪

-daisy.
-yeah?

Tickle: can you get me

The clothes out
Of the dryer, please?

-yeah.
-okay.

Do you need everything
In here?

Yeah, I think I do.

Narrator: in virginia,
Tickle is kicking off

The next chapter of his life.

Tickle: I just got out of jail
A couple of weeks ago,

Trying to keep myself busy,
And tim called me.

He got to telling me
That he wants me to help j.T.

So I'm packing my stuff up today
And now I'm hitting the road.

You ready?
-dad.

-what?
-no. Put it back.

Narrator:
After six months in jail,

Tickle's first call with
Tim turned into a job offer

To bring his outlaw
Moonshining skills

To tim's legal distilling
Operation and train tim's son,

J.T., in the craft.

Tim: since you don't have
Nothing to do,

Why don't you come
And help us out?

Tickle: tim is ready for me
To come up to belmont farms

And work at the legal
Distillery up there.

That's something new to me.

I think this can be what I need
To get me back

On the right track.

Just keep on
Heading straight.

Being as I don't have a license,

My daughter daisy
Is taking me up there.

Daisy:
When you get to culpeper,

What all is actually
Gonna happen?

Me and j.T. Are gonna
Start experimenting.

We're gonna get him
To come up

With some
Of his own recipes.

That way, he can really
Kind of come into his own

And be able to apply
Hisself to moonshining,

Instead of just running
Daddy's recipe.

Well, I'm not looking to get
In no more trouble,

That's for sure.

Being out of jail,
I've got a lot riding

On my shoulders right now.

I've got my daughter.

I've got my mama
To take care of.

I need to keep myself
Straight as I can.

You know, before I went
In this last time,

Tim had me up there helping him,
Trying to keep me busy,

Building his new
Stillhouse and all that,

And, you know, I really
Feel like I let him down

Because I went back in jail.

So I'm really looking forward
To going up to culpeper

And helping j.T.

Hey, look.
Before we leave town,

Got to head down
To the p.O. Office

And I've got to get
My travel permit.

I can't go anywhere
Without that.

Now that I'm out,
I've got probation to deal with.

They keep a pretty
Tight leash on you,

So if I need to go anywhere,
I've got to let them know.

All right.

The probation office
Is right up here.

I've got to get a travel
Permit, and, you know,

I don't know how
My probation officer

Is gonna feel about me
Working with alcohol.

All right.

I really hope this woman
Gives it to me.

If she don't give it to me,
I can't go.

I'll be right back.

I might not make it
To culpeper at all.

Narrator: a bootlegger goes
M.I.A. In north carolina.

All right.

The probation office
Is right up here.

Narrator: down in virginia,
Still on probation,

Tickle needs permission
To cross county lines.

Tickle:
I've got to get a travel permit.

I really hope this woman
Gives it to me.

If she don't give it
To me, I can't go.

I can't do nothing.

♪♪

-how did it go?
-okay!

Got my travel permit.
-awesome.

-I'm ready to go.
-great.

[ thud ]

-I didn't do it!
-it's all right, baby.

Curbs happen.

We're heading to culpeper.

I am.

I think this can be
A good experience

For me and j.T. Both.

And I tell you what,
Even if I think

He's gonna make
Something

That's gonna taste bad,
We'll let him make it.

That's how I learned.

Had to learn from my own
Mistakes, you know?

How long are you gonna
Be down there?

Do you know?

A week or two, easy.

You make sure you go
To school later today.

Of course.

I make straight a's,
Better than you.

Hell no,
I didn't make straight a's.

You're pretty intelligent.

Well, yeah.

You can't be stupid
And be a moonshiner.

That's for sure.

Right here, you go on
To the left.

Right where?

Um, at this stop sign
You just ran through.

You are my daughter.
Everything is illegal, right?

Well, not unless
You get caught.

Well, that's true.
That's true.

♪♪

♪♪

-grappa.
-grappa.

Digger: we've got to say it
Like italian.

We're getting
Into the grappa!

We're about to get too big
For our damn britches.

Speak for yourself.
I've lost 8 pounds.

*bleep*

Narrator: in the foothills
Of the great smoky mountains,

Mark and digger are on the hunt
For the grape pomace

Needed to start
Their appalachian grappa,

But this elusive cast-off
From the wine-making process

Is only produced during a narrow
Window of time in the fall.

Can we get everything
We need to make it local?

The only thing
You need is pomace.

It's stuff that the winery
Would throw away.

I'm always up to a challenge
When it comes to new mash,

But to make grappa, you've got
To have some pomace.

It's not necessarily
Readily available.

Pomace is just
A cast-off.

It's the skins and the stems
And the seeds

From where they mash
Those grapes.

They've still
Got a lot of sugar

And a lot of flavor
Left in it.

I've decided to reach
Out to a friend

That has a vineyard
And hopefully he's got it.

If we get this stuff today,

We'll need to
Figure out something

And get it mashed tomorrow,
And no later.

I'm sure that
Mushed-up grapes

Ain't got
A good shelf life.

No.

I've read some of
The history on it,

And it was
The poor folk's drink.

Well, that hit us
Right in the crease.

That did.

Narrator:
The italian liquor grappa

Is made from pomace,
The freshly pressed grape skins,

Stems and seeds left over
In wine production.

Just like moonshine
In america, in italy,

Grappa was widely home-brewed

And consumed by rural people
And subsistence farmers.

On the island of sardinia,
Grappa earned its name,

"Filu 'e ferru,"
Which translates to "Iron wire,"

From an original
Bootlegging technique

Used by sardinian farmers.

Grappa was jugged, sealed
And buried with an iron wire

Extending from the bottle's neck

To just above
The ground surface.

Rust from the iron would leave a
Small orange stain on the soil,

Letting the bootlegger know
Where the cash was buried.

Legend has it that
Centuries-old troves of grappa

Remain hidden across the
Countryside to this very day.

Where do you got any idea

Of getting some
Of this cast-off?

Allison, she's a member
Of this wine club

Down here
At this vineyard.

Do you know him
Good enough

That we can back
A little trust on him?

Oh, yeah.

Hell, I give him plenty
Of money for wine a month.

Digger: a lot of people
Don't understand

The network that exists
In our little neck of the woods.

If we need something, we've got
People we can reach out to.

Oh, it's pretty.
Look at all these grapes.

They're hanging full.

Hey, gene.
How are you, man?

You care to go show me
Your white muscat vines?

-make some jelly or something?
-yeah, you know.

-all right.
-yeah.

We thought we might make
A little jelly

Or something
Of that nature.

That's fine.
Come on.

I'll show you, man.
You guys are v.I.P.S.

Digger: these white muscat vines
Are indigenous to our region,

You know.

They grow wild
In these mountains.

As sweet as those grapes are,
It should make

Some great grappa,
In my opinion.

Oh-wee.
-yeah.

That's the whites, there.
-ooh, damn.

-do they get sweeter?
-oh, yeah.

-okay.
-yeah.

I was gonna say,
They're not done yet.

Genuinely, what we're really
Looking for, gene,

Is what do you do with
Your scrap, your cast-off,

After you juice
Your grapes?

We'll probably have 15 tons
Of that stuff this year.

Mark: really, 15 tons?

You wouldn't let us ever have
A little of it, would you?

It's kind of taking
The trash out for us.

We're glad to help you.

We'll even bring you
Some barrels to put it in.

-really?
-yeah.

Digger: we just can't run
To the grocery store

And get a bucketload of it.

We need it.

He's got it,
But the sad part about it

Is it's gonna be a long wait

We're gonna have
Ahead of us here.

Mark: how far away from
Maturity are these?

They're probably a month,
Something like that.

I don't mind if they get
A little sweeter.

Them right there,
They're bitter as acid.

He don't mind us having it.

It's no expense to him,
But we just have to come back

On his schedule to get them.

You guys want
To come help pick?

We've always got plenty
Of these laying around.

We'll check our calendars
And get back with you.

In the meantime,
It loosens the load

A little bit to have some fun.

Thank you, buddy.
Good meeting you.

I'm probably just gonna kill
A little bit of time

And deal with digger.

I think this is just the perfect
Opportunity to get him

His up-and-commance.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: in north carolina,

Lance is on the final step
Of a classic dead drop,

To pick up the cash
His new bootlegger

Stashed at the agreed-upon site.

This first case of liquor,
So you got it sold.

We've got to get
Some money flowing.

Probably be around $300.

Narrator:
To get some urgent cash

For his family's
Moonshine operation,

Lance took the risk of
Bootlegging his own product.

Lance: the sheriff's department,
It's noted on surveillance.

Somebody must have
Reported us being there.

Narrator: but after a close call
With the law,

He decided it was safer to hire
A bootlegger to distribute.

Lance:
I think it's gonna work out.

We'll be using him to do
All of our bootlegging.

Yeah, me and dad, we really
Need to keep running

And I can't be bootlegging.

So, hell, it feels good to have
Moonshine and money flowing.

With this bootlegger,
I'm really hoping

That he'll get to moving
A lot of product.

He's gonna bring
In new customers, you know,

People that hasn't
Ever tried our liquor.

You know, it will help us out.

We'll get back on track.

Hmm.

You know, he told me
He would leave it right here

Next to these stills.

I don't know where
He would have left it.

No money, no liquor.

[ cellphone beeps ]

No answer.

Call him back.

Straight to voicemail.

This ain't good.

[ cellphone beeps ]

Straight to voicemail.

Narrator:
This season on "Moonshiners"...

Man: oh, my god.

...Trust comes at a premium
In the backwoods.

Somebody has stole
My *bleep*

I've got a feeling
Who done this *bleep*

Son of a bitches!

-boy.
-uh-huh?

Digger: he just whipped in
Behind us.

We're going to jail.

What the heck?

That's the coast guard.

That ain't good.

Oh *bleep*
There's the damn law.

[ siren wailing ]

Hell no!

Tickle:
I had a guy call me,

Wanted a couple of gallons
Of moonshine.

I'm trying to show j.T.
The right way to do things.

Didn't you just
Get out of jail?

David: it's so isolated.

Very few people
Have ever seen it.

This is a good dropping place,
Right here.

Digger: there's
Our carrying case.

We're gonna make
Renewable energy off the creek.

We gonna call this hillbilly
Grappa or grappa moonshine?

That is badass.

No!

What are you doing, tim?

This is straight from hell!

Mark: the thing about it is,
Son,

They'll step up
In the shadows

And shoot you in the back
With a 12-gauge.

♪♪

[ cellphone beeps ]

Straight to voicemail.

Narrator:
Back in north carolina,

It's no money
And more problems for lance.

Lance: my bootlegger,
He's got me a little weary

Because if he did get
Busted with the moonshine,

I don't want to have the sheriff
Knocking on our door.

I don't want to run the risk of
Having our stash spot found out.

So I just think I need
To get to dad

And tell him what happened.

Our stash spot is compromised.

We don't know if he ripped us
Off, but the chance is there.

Anything could have happened.

He could be in jail.

So we're in a tricky spot
Right now.

I'm really dreading telling dad.

I know he's gonna be upset.

What was that?

What's the bad news?

Jeff: you can't trust nobody
From the outside,

And I thought I had
That drove into lance's head,

But evidently I didn't
Preach hard enough.

I've got some bad news
For you.

If you don't get the money
For the liquor,

I'm gonna keep
Your part of the money

Out of the liquor money

To get my money back
For what you fronted him.

Yeah,
I'm sure about that.

You fronted him the cash
For liquor,

Now I ain't got
No money for it.

Lance is a great liquor maker,
But, you know,

It takes more than being
A good liquor maker

To become a good moonshiner.

♪♪

Patti: I hope no varmint
Knocked our lids off this time.

Narrator: after defending
Their water source

From venomous snakes,
The clock is ticking for patti

And david to run their pear
And mayhaw shine.

Yes, it did.

Coming back in here,
We already mashed in,

So we're gonna see if this
New mash is ready to run.

David: oh, yeah.

♪♪

That's good stuff,
There.

Let's see what this one
Looks like.

-good?
-superb.

Let's go ahead and pump
That one down there.

-all right.
-you running pear?

You running pear.

Both pear and mayhaw, still
Working and it tasted great.

He's gonna run the pear
And I'm gonna run the mayhaw.

We'll see which
One tastes the best.

All right.
Give it some gas.

♪♪

Kind of getting a late start.

We gonna have to be out here
Until late tonight.

That's okay.
We brought enough food to eat.

We're gonna have us a feast.

First thing I'm gonna do
Is dig a hole.

Years ago, the indians used
To build a fire in the ground,

And that way, other people
Couldn't see it.

So you an indian today.

I reckon.
That's the vent.

That's how it's going
To get its oxygen.

If you build a fire
In the woods,

Concealing it underground
Like this is good.

Yeah, you can use the stuff
Out of the pine tree for fuel.

See the bubbling
Out of the pine?

You can buy this in a store.
It costs you a lot of money.

We just get it out of the woods.

You know, as a kid, me and daddy
Would go camping in the woods,

So this was really
Nothing much different

Than me being a kid
In the woods cooking,

Other than I'm committing
A felony and running moonshine.

Fixing to cook us
Some taters in the fire.

I didn't bring a can opener,

So I'm having to use
What I got out here.

This recipe here
I'm making, daddy loves.

Set the dutch oven up here.

It only takes about 45 minutes.

I'm gonna start
Adding crust on it,

Add some apples,
Add some brown sugar, cinnamon.

This gonna be
The last layer.

What I do on this layer is just
Slice me some butter up,

A little bit of brown sugar,
Put the lid on it,

Set it on my fire and that's
How you make an apple cobbler.

Even though you're in the woods,

Doesn't mean you can't
Eat good out here.

Normally we just coming in
And running shine,

But we're multitasking today.

Daddy, both of these
Suckers are running.

-they are?
-yeah!

I'm fixing to toss mine.

Let's check the proof on it.
You want to check it?

165.

Dang!

That's the highest proof
We've ever had.

165,
I couldn't believe it.

See what the pear
Has done.

-158.
-god!

Patti: it's good to come off
At a high proof

Because that means
You yield more liquor.

Patti: can you taste
The pear in it?

Yeah, you can taste
The pear in it.

That's good.

I'm already
Seeing dollar signs.

You know, we've been
Running shine for many years.

We've never hit 165.

We were proud of ourselves.

Narrator: several factors
Contribute to a high-proof run,

Including warm
But not hot weather,

An active batch of yeast
And running the liquor slowly.

Make money and eat good!

That's it, buddy.

Patti: got sausage,
Corn on the cob,

Tomatoes and cucumbers,
Pork chop.

We've got liquor coming out
And we just some busy bees,

Ain't we, daddy?
-yes, ma'am.

Narrator: once the liquor
Is tempered down,

There will be more to sell.

This tandem run will
Yield 8 gallons,

Their best run of the season.

Patti: couldn't ask
For anything better.

We've got our bellies full,

Got a bunch of moonshine
We're gonna haul out.

It paid off for us tonight.

Oof!
This cobbler is superb.

Using big words
Tonight!

Narrator:
Justice is served in tennessee.

$200, that will work.

Hey, wait a minute!
Wait a minute, wait a minute!

-you're under arrest.
-*bleep*

♪♪

-what you been up to?
-good to see you.

Good to see you.
What's going on, brother?

Narrator:
In culpeper, virginia,

Tickle is shedding
His outlaw past

And starting
A new chapter in life.

Let me show you
What's going on.

How much progress
Have you done made

On your stillhouse
Back here?

Oh, a little bit.
What do you think?

Tickle: I just got to belmont
Farms up here in culpeper

And there's
A distillery being run.

Tim has definitely made
Better use of his time

Than I was making of mine.

Tim: so you've got the still,
And then a doubler,

Then a condenser.

That's the cook tank
Right here

And that's
The collection tanks.

Oh, yeah.

Tickle really showed up?

Last time you were here,

We was just
Putting up the walls!

Yeah!

Now, how long you going
To be out this time?

I'm gonna be out for the rest
Of my life this time.

Tim: that's good.

We need you the rest
Of your life, then.

Tim: I think
It's really good that

Tickle is gonna be our expert
Right there, you know,

Guiding j.T., doing his thing,
Building his recipe, you know.

He has to have an old man
To look after him like I did.

I knew you wasn't saying
Nothing about me!

-yeah.
-oh, right.

Tim: I think j.T.
Working with tickle,

He's gonna learn that
Strong bonding and partnership.

You know, we're gonna
Work it out, you know.

Tickle knows everything
About moonshining,

But he's also gonna tell him
All about being in jail

And doing the things wrong.

I think this is gonna be
Really important

And it's gonna
Carry him a long ways.

Tickle: tell me
What you got so far.

All right.
Let's go look at it.

All right.
Let's check it out.

You know, it's really
Good to be back

Working with tim
And j.T. And chuck.

All right.
Guess we got to go back to work.

What we doing now?

Looking at tickle,
That made me think I want

To get something to eat
Myself, you know?

♪♪

♪♪

Mm-hmm.

Narrator: outside of
Robbinsville, north carolina,

Jeff and lance
Are taking extra steps

To make sure the bootlegger
Who stole from them

Can't make things worse.

Lance: I made a mistake.

I figured
I could trust him,

I knowed him
All my life.

You still...You ought
To talk to me about it

Before you brought
Somebody else in.

We're gonna put our liquor
Somewhere else

Not at our stash site.

It's just like the harder
I talk to you,

The more mistakes
You make.

When daddy and grandpa
Told me something,

I done it
The first time.

They had to tell me
Again, they slapped

The *bleep* out of me,
Then told me to do it.

Well, your dad and grandpa
Ain't here.

It's me and you.
-I know.

I don't treat you
Like that.

And yet...

Well,
It's gonna get older

Because I don't think
You're ready.

If something was to happen
To me right now,

I feel like you would
Be in the dark.

Jeff:
If lance don't wise up,

I'll have to think long and hard
To, you know, to figure out me

Somebody else to start drumming.

Yup.

Jeff:
It's just a lot of work

Right in the middle
Of moonshine season.

I've tried to teach him better,
But he still, you know,

He wants to take them chances.

Lance: that really hurt me when
He said that he didn't think

I could handle
The still site,

So I'm gonna put a lot more
Focus into proving him wrong.

You ready?
-yeah.

♪♪

Digger:
Mark's mama's had a little fall

And I'm gonna pick up a sale
For him where he can't make it,

So he can go take
His mama to the doctor.

Narrator: in tennessee,

Idle hands
Are the devil's playground.

Mark: hey, puss.
I appreciate this.

Oh, yeah.
Ain't no problem.

Me and digger have been friends
For a lot of years,

And he takes a tremendous amount
Of joy screwing with me.

I hear something up there
Rambling around.

Might be a bear.

It's no secret
That I'm superstitious.

Smart aleck, he had
This old skull head.

Oh, you son
Of a bitch, you!

He had to pitch it
In my lap,

Give me pretty much
A *bleep* hemorrhage.

By god, you're on
Your own, big boy.

Digger:
You've hurt old whitey.

I'm done with you.

Mark!

He's just an ass*bleep*

Revenge is a dish
That's best served cold.

Where do I need
To go meet him at?

You know that old shed
Up there

What we stored liquor
On dead drops before?

-yeah.
-yeah.

He'll meet you there.

Digger knows that my mom

Has had some doctors
Appointments, so...

Ain't problem.

I'll take care of you,
Puss.

So digger agrees to do it
And he doesn't know ricky,

But I vouched for him
And digger trusts me.

Digger: it's kind of
A sketchy-looking place,

But you can't be afraid
Of sketchy places

When you're doing something
That some folks think

Is a little illegal.

So we'll just sit and wait.

♪♪

Here comes somebody.

Yup. I believe that's
Probably our guy.

How you doing, man?
You ricky?

Yeah, man. You rick?
-I'm rick.

If you're rick,
I did.

I'm mark's buddy.

Well, we like
To think we do.

Take a little gander
And see what you think.

I got it out
Of the same mold.

It ought to be
Pretty close.

-whoo!
-that all right?

Yeah?

$200.

That will work,
One, two.

Hey, wait a minute!
Wait a minute, wait a minute!

Damn it, wait a minute!

-you're under arrest.
-*bleep*

♪♪

Narrator:
At the peak of shine season,

When running liquor
Takes priority,

Making time for family
Is more important than ever.

Patti:
How old is that gun?

Look like one of them

Daniel bunyan guns,
Don't it?

Tyler, he's been talking about
This muzzleloader for years.

I mean, ever since he had
Shot his first gun,

He's been wanting to get
His hands on that muzzleloader.

When you touch that front
Trigger, she's ready to fire.

David: they call it
A primitive muzzleloader.

The frontiersmen had it and
It's not like a traditional gun,

You put a bullet in
And you shoot.

You have to go through
The whole process of loading it

And then I just like
The big boom with the powder.

-god!
-look at that!

I'll taste this one.

[ spits ]
-I don't like it.

-dummy.
-tastes like gunpowder.

Tyler: that's disgusting.

Yeah?

$200.

That will work.
One, two.

Hey, wait a minute!
Wait a minute, wait a minute!

Damn it, wait a minute!

-you're under arrest.
-*bleep*

Aw, hell.
You've got to be *bleep* me.

Rick: you're under arrest
For illegal transportation

And sale
Of illegal alcohol.

Aw, hell.

Oh, god.
Son of a bitch.

You know, so payback is a bitch,
But he's fixing to meet it.

I'm walking up now and I can see

Digger's head
In the back of the truck.

There's no doubt digger thinks
That he was arrested,

And I know that he still
Doesn't think for one second

That I've done this to him.

Digger:
You son of a bitch.

Was you a little bit
Scared, was you?

No, by god, I was
A whole lot scared,

If you'll know
The damn truth about it.

Well, good.

The only difference is...

I don't know what
You're grumbling for.

We made a sale.

He really wanted
The liquor.

You got his money?
-yup. That's real.

Yeah. I pissed on it,
But I've got it.

I'm sure this prank business
Is by no means over,

But I hope this learns him
That paybacks are a bitch.

Be aware of your old buddy, now.

If you do something to me,

I'm gonna do
Something back to you.

Do you need to go change
Your drawers or anything?

Maybe.
Yes. *bleep*

♪♪

You ready to get
This thing set up?

Yeah. We've got to get
It clean first.

Oh, yeah.

This thing ain't been used
In probably 50 years or so.

Narrator: in culpeper, virginia,
Tickle starts a new chapter,

Passing down generations

Of moonshining heritage
To tim's son, j.T.

All right.

Let's set that pot up here
And see how it sets.

What j.T. And I are doing today
Is we're cleaning this pot.

You got it?
-yup.

We're gonna clean it out
With a little bit of vinegar

And then we're
Gonna boil that

And let it run all the way
Through inside of the thumper,

Inside of the pot,
Inside of the condenser.

That's what you
Really need to do

To get a good
Next successful run.

Helping j.T., I can
Still make moonshine,

But I don't have to be out
In the woods illegally.

Throw some water
In it now?

Yes, sir.
We'll water it on up.

Having tickle here with me
To kind of give me

A little extra guidance,

He can give me good advice.

I want him here.

He's like a family member.

You've got to put some
Over here in this thump,

And we'll clean
The whole still.

-that should be enough.
-yeah.

You want to start off
With a clean still

To make good,
Clean liquor.

Oh, yeah.
No doubt.

We'll get this thing lit

And it's time to start
Pasting it up

While this is filling.

Go ahead.
Fire it up.

All right. There you go.
All right.

It's just ground rye,
Right here.

Makes a good paste.

I'm really excited now.

I know we're only
Cleaning this pot,

But just having fire up
Under it really gets me going.

I don't believe
I've ever done

A still up that
Heavy in my life.

Well, you ain't never had
A 130-year-old still.

I ain't ever had one
This old, either.

This thing is ancient.

I mean, this was chuck's
Grandfather's still.

Chuck hisself
Started out on this.

You hear the thump?

There,
I love that sound.

Make you want
To dance, too.

I really feel like I'm a part
Of history myself.

All right.
Tell you what...

Now it's
The waiting game.

Now it's just
The waiting game.

J.T.: when you have this
Still heating up,

All you're doing
Is sitting there.

So it gives a good opportunity
To sit down

And catch up with somebody.

Well, you know, I've been away
For a little bit.

How was it in there?

Just trust me on this --

Some place
You don't want to go.

Not only do I want to teach
J.T. About moonshine,

But I want to
Teach him about life.

Do it legal.

Don't take any chance,
Any risks.

I took enough in my lifetime
For me and you both.

If he can use my experiences
To better hisself

And never wind up in a place
Like that, hey, you know what?

I'm all for it.

You can't do hardly
Nothing in there.

Can't do nothing.

Sit around, eat and sleep
And watch out for yourself,

You know, because ain't nobody
Else in there got your back.

Out here, you got my back,
I got your back.

Your daddy has got
Both our backs.

Oh, yeah.

Narrator:
Next time on "Moonshiners"...

Chuck: that hole
Looks pretty dry.

There ain't nothing
Coming out!

...High and dry in virginia...

This is
A very big distillery.

Without water, I've got
A big problem.

What are we gonna do now?

Oh! Damn it.

Narrator: ...And a shiner
Reunion gets off

On the wrong foot
In north carolina.

If you would have got that
Damn pump like I told you to,

I wouldn't be down here

Wallowing around
This damn furnace.