Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 8, Episode 3 - Wrong Side of the Law - full transcript
Legal shiner Tim finds himself on the wrong side of the law after son JT spots an agent near a still site. Mike designs a unique still to make high-dollar shine. Mark and Digger make an in-town run and Josh discovers what bears do in the woods.
♪♪
What about
The youngblood, j.T.?
This whole thing
Is very concerning.
You know, j.T.'s my son.
Our place
Has been compromised.
You just have
Your story together
If you get approached
By somebody.
I don't know who's out there
In the woods, law enforcement.
You should be careful.
These things can be
Very dangerous.
On this episode of
"Moonshiners"...
-look at this hussy.
-she's huge.
...400 pounds of
Trouble in north carolina...
She's after my mash.
She's going to be here
Every every night.
You ain't going to make no damn
Liquor as long as she's here.
I don't know what to do.
If somebody says
It's easy making liquor,
They ain't doing it right.
May the best man win.
...A moonshine
Showdown in cocke county...
Mine is going to be
More good-er.
Whatever you say.
Whichever one's chosen.
We scale up,
And we sell this season.
If he spots you, you need to
Shoot that shotgun and haul ass.
Just don't get caught.
...And a worst fear
Confirmed in virginia.
Some footprints,
It looks like this might be
Where they been coming in.
Somebody's coming.
♪♪
♪ no one can hold me down ♪
♪ or make me change my ways ♪
♪ going for a ride ♪
♪ running to survive ♪
♪ and living outside the law ♪
♪ and living outside the law ♪
♪♪
This is how we make
The moonshine.
Captions paid for by
Discovery communications
♪♪
What the hell?
♪♪
I think she been here again.
Damn, man.
We ain't going to make
No liquor here
Until we get rid of this bear.
In the foothills of
The blue ridge mountains,
Josh is facing off
Against a bear
That's threatening to derail
His moonshine season.
He's going to definitely
Come back again
For another free meal.
The only restaurant
In the neighborhood.
I've got some
Trail cameras out.
See if we got any good pics.
It's only been a few weeks
Since my accident.
Six punctured ribs
Are not cool at all.
Most moonshiners
Ain't got no insurance.
Right now with all these
Doctor bills,
I got more money going out
Than I ever have before.
If I don't start making
Some liquor,
I'm going to start
Losing customers,
And I can't afford that,
Especially not now.
Let's see what we get.
God, look!
Damn, man.
-look at this hussy.
-god, dog. She's huge.
Damn, I'm glad we didn't
Come here and run into her.
-sniffing right there.
-yeah.
It was after my mash.
♪♪
Holy *bleep*.
Craziest thing ever.
She's gonna be here
Every night.
The vast woodlands
And temperate climate
That make
The blue ridge mountains
Ideal for moonshiners
Also foster one of
The highest concentrations
Of black bear in the country,
And as these 1/4-ton
Omnivores awaken,
Hungry from hibernation
And armed with a powerful nose
That can detect food
Up to 20 miles away,
The sweet, potent aroma
Of fresh corn mash
Proves impossible to resist.
Well, we got to figure out a way
To get her
To stop coming in here.
I don't know what to do.
In the old days, the old-timers
Would just have just shot
This son of a bitch deader
Than hell and been done with it.
In this day and time,
It's a $4,000 fine
And take your vehicle,
Take your guns,
And maybe even try
To lock you up
If you shot this bear
Out of season.
What if we just put some blanks
In an old shotgun
And we run some fishing line
Around the perimeter
Of the place,
And it gets caught up
In the fishing line,
And it pulls the trigger,
And it just shoots off a blank?
Well, I'm a little
Concerned about,
You know, how far
The sound would carry.
We don't want to get
Nobody else's attention.
One thing about it, you ain't
Going to make no damn liquor
As long as she's there.
This is a problem.
I got a lot of doctor bills
To pay and little time
To pay them in,
So this season,
I need to be able
To make a ton of product.
There's no way to make
Moonshine with this bear
Coming in my still site
Causing --
Wreaking havoc, really.
Something's got to be done.
I've got to figure out a game
Plan 'cause this season,
I really can't afford
To not make my goal.
♪♪
♪♪
What you got there,
Youngblood?
Two trail cameras,
I got my old, trusty shotgun.
Yeah, I like that.
That's a nice gun.
Seven counties northeast,
In the backwoods of
Franklin county, virginia,
Infamous outlaw shiners,
Henry and kenny law
Have hired tim's son,
J.T., to investigate a potential
Threat to their shine operation.
If it's the law, they'll be
Forced to make a quick escape.
If you see any of them,
Get a chance, just ease away,
Come in here and tell us,
But if he spots you,
Then you need to shoot
That shotgun and haul ass.
When the law comes,
They'll circle your still place
To check things out,
And if youngblood sees the law,
Then we know it's time to run.
We can load up all the expensive
Equipment, the caps, worms.
We'll take axes and put holes
In the stills.
Well, I'm just hoping
You're paranoid
'cause I don't want you
To confront nobody,
And I don't want
To confront nobody.
-we don't get paranoid here.
-we don't get paranoid.
It's something there.
The law has been there.
-you can do the job.
-I'll help you out.
You know, some people
Just don't pay much attention.
He pays a whole lot
Of attention.
He hunts
And he observes things.
All we need is
A good set of eyes.
There's some footprints
Right there.
This looks like this might be
Where they've been coming in.
I don't know who they are.
I don't if it's the law.
I don't know if
They're abc agents,
But I gave my word
That if I see anybody,
I'm gonna come tell them.
Hopefully I don't wind up
In jail somewhere.
♪♪
♪♪
What's the deal with this?
-with what?
-why am I carrying your stuff?
I'm carrying your pot.
You're spilling your sugar.
No. I'm spilling your sugar.
Across the state line,
Eight counties away,
Mark and digger are engaged in
A competition that'll determine
Which shine they'll run
To kick off their season.
Their goal --
Develop a handcrafted liquor
That outshines the cheaply
Flavored corporate alcohol
Filling liquor store shelves.
You can make alcohol,
But making quality alcohol,
That's a whole different
Ball game.
You get what you pay for,
And when you pay
For good ingredients,
It's three times better
As far as flavor goes.
It adds so much more to it.
I'm so sorry.
They've been the same way
When you lose this bet earlier.
yeah.
You just keep
Telling yourself that.
I'm going to get started
On my mash, sourpuss.
Well, you go ahead and do
What you got to do,
And I'll pour me
Some sugar in my barrel.
You know, at this location,
Our laboratory,
So to speak, is just excellent
For these small runs,
But you do not,
And I can't stress this enough,
Want to experiment
With a new recipe 700 gallons
At a time, you know?
It's just entirely
Too much to lose.
So mark and I got to talking
About the flavor of the season,
And he wanted to do
A cherry vanilla,
And I'm kind of partial
To a creamy key lime,
Like the pie feeling.
I don't know of anybody that's
Ever done anything like this.
Last season,
Mark and digger expanded
Production twofold
With a new 700-gallon
Three-pot still...
We're going to solidify
Our reputation.
This one is going to get
Vanilla bean,
And that one there is
Vermont maple syrup.
...That produced
A lineup of brand-new flavors.
He wants marshmallow in there.
It's time to mash in
The grappa.
We want a lot of that grape
Flavor to carry on in.
Now mark and digger are pushing
The envelope of innovation
To start their season
Off strong.
This season, our goal
Is 1,100 gallons,
And with these
Specialty liquors,
We can make an astronomical
Amount of money on them.
It's a known fact people
Will pay whatever it takes
To get our specialty liquors,
You know?
We excel in that.
Well, mine is going
To more good-er.
All right.
Whatever you say.
I just don't want you
Crying the blues
When it's all said and done.
You both can't be winners.
I can't win and he can't win,
And whichever one turns out
To be the chosen one,
That's the one that we scale up
And we fix and we sell.
That's the po-po.
There's my ride.
Makes me nervous,
Hearing all them syringes.
Yeah, but this is the last
Place in the world
Anybody would expect
To look for us.
Yeah, you're probably right.
It's in the middle of town,
But it's still hid,
And the police
Expect moonshiners
To be out in the weeds,
So they're probably looking
For a still site in the woods.
I'm trying to squeeze up
These cherries
Just to bust the hull
On them some.
They're very sweet, pungent,
Don't take a lot of them,
I wouldn't think.
Mm.
Send him home with his tail
Between his legs.
Talk that old smack.
You know, the route I'm going
With my key lime recipe,
I just need
A little sugar right now.
I could infuse lime flavor
In it,
But citrus doesn't
Ferment well.
It gets too acidic quick,
So I'd prefer to infuse it
After the fact,
So while I'm a-waiting
On my mash to heat up,
I got to squeeze about
Four gallons of lime juice,
Put them
In the refrigerator.
I'm just going to sit back
And relax
While hard work
Will come after the run.
Now what I'm going
To do here...
Is make some horrible liquor.
A lot of effort being put in
To a lost liquor.
Aw, he can't help it.
He's a idiot.
When you really start
Ribbing somebody
When there's
A competition going,
It's just like a prizefight.
I mean, you get in somebody's
Head, you live there free,
It's a little
Psychological advantage on them.
I just want a little hint
Of vanilla.
These things are $27 an ounce.
I'm just going to let them
Steep to bring out the flavor.
You're stirring your mash
With a stick
That's got paint all over it.
That old paint, that might
Be old lead paint.
There ain't nothing wrong
With it.
You're going to poison
Everybody in the country.
he'd piss off a preacher.
You'll be laughing out the other
Side of your mouth
Here in five or six days.
Hmm.
Cherry vanilla sound
Just a tiny bit sissy.
Compared to key lime pie?
-mm-hmm.
-you're crazy.
Key lime is a manly
Man's dessert.
I see something
Moving down there.
In franklin county,
The woods have eyes.
♪♪
Now, I know
The younger generation
Loves the flavored stuff.
I'd like to do a mango
Pineapple kiwi.
A tropical brandy.
In sevier county,
Tennessee, mike and daniel
Are under the gun
To get their season started,
So they can begin to pay back
Their debt to mark and digger.
Whoa! The law.
-dang, there went the law.
-sure was, wasn't it?
-it was.
-all right.
Just keep an eye
On that tarp back there,
Make sure that joker
Don't fly off.
So I made a big,
Badass boo-boo.
What's good for the goose
Is good for the gander.
Who I thought
Was kelly's still...
...It ended up being mark
And digger's still.
Well, I owe mark
And digger $7,500,
So we're wanting to run
A high-premium brandy.
It'll fetch more money
Per gallon.
I want to show these boys
That I can get them paid off,
And I'm a man of my word,
So I intend to do just that.
How much is the walk back
Through here?
Watch these dang rocks
Right here.
That looks slick.
Watch yourself, sir.
Ah.
You be careful now.
Damn, if you'd have
Fell off backwards,
You'd have busted
Your skull open.
Oh, yeah. I know it.
It's pretty hard
Walking up in here,
Carrying all these supplies
And everything in
Because the rocks have this
Black slime on them,
And it's just like butter
In a skillet.
Whoo!
Looks like we can flow
This stuff right here up there.
The higher you can get up
To the water source,
The better flow
You'll have downhill,
So it's going to be a challenge
To get this barrel up here
Because we got to get up
To the water source,
And these rocks
Are slicker than snot,
So I'm telling you,
It's dangerous.
I'm going to ease on up
Through here.
All right.
I'm going to walk around
And I'm going to try to reach
That stuff up to you.
One wrong slip so, a man could
Break his back or his neck.
Watch your step.
Oh.
Okay, let's see here.
Bring it on up here.
♪♪
Come on, son.
-look at that.
-that's perfect right there.
I bet that's 40 degrees.
Here's our screen that we made
Out of a old fire extinguisher.
We drilled a bunch of holes
In it that, hopefully,
This will filter out anything
That's big enough
To stop the pipe up.
Then all we have to do is throw
The hose off the waterfall.
Look here, mike.
-yee-haw.
-good water pressure.
That's what I like to see.
Hey, you can wash a car
With that.
Now that we got our water source
Piped in,
We're going to get in here
And mash in
For the very first time,
And my primary mash
Is going to be mangoes.
Whoa, look how ripe
That one right there is.
Brother, that's some good meat
Right there.
The newer generations want
Something fruity,
Something tropical.
Well, they got a good,
Like, a piney taste to them
Is what I like.
That's going to make some
Good brandy right there, boy.
We've got to some water in here
And get it fired up.
I tell you what, man.
It seems like every season
You wait all your life
To light that fire
For the first time.
Put a little gas to it.
All right, daniel.
Light her up.
That's the sound I love to hear,
That first fire-up.
♪♪
Let's get this liquor done,
Son.
Let's pour her over.
♪♪
Is that it?
Get all the mangoes.
I'll add
The cold water to it.
Get that old magic dust
Right there,
And you do the honors for us,
Brother, some yeast.
There she goes.
You want to stir it in,
Get it to work in there.
-mm-hmm.
Let's let her off
And get out of here.
Leave some breathing room.
Boy, that's going to be
Some good stuff.
♪♪
This bear
Has got to be stopped.
It's costing some money.
What a sloppy-ass mess.
This ain't nothing
But a *bleep* disaster.
Three counties east,
Just across
The north carolina border,
Josh needs to get to shining
So he can pay back
His medical debt,
But mother nature
Is a cruel mistress.
Torrential rains,
Then a 400-pound black bear,
Have all but shut down
His operation.
Damn,
What a pain in the ass!
I don't know whether
I hate the mud
Or the bears worse right now.
Bears are wreaking havoc on us,
And the rain and the mud
Is all over everything.
We'll take a bunch of them
2x4s and just lay them out
On the damn ground here
And then throw the plywood
On top of it.
That's good.
Hell, I'll just tack it down.
Much better.
Now I just got to concentrate
On getting this bear
To leave us alone.
We're going to dump
Some ammonia around.
Where all do you think
We should put the ammonia?
Around the damn still site.
As part of his
Two-pronged approach
To bear deterrents,
Josh is spreading ammonia
Around the still site.
It's like a cover scent.
One whiff will serve
As a punch in the nose
To the bear's highly
Developed olfactory senses.
Man, that's a strong
*bleep*, ain't it?
Yes, it is.
I hope it gags that bear.
A hungry bear is hard
To scare away,
So just hoping what
We've done going to work.
So next, I'm going to put up
Some motion sensor
Battery-operated lights
And an alarm sound
To startle him.
I have pretty much locked
The whole place up right there.
-you think this will work, josh?
-I don't know.
Not a lot comes in between
Bears and their food.
Kind of like me
At the dinner table?
♪♪
♪♪
I've got to get this stuff
Created.
It'll be the real stuff
And none of this fake,
Artificial-flavor whiskey
Like all these legal
Distilleries got in the world.
Just across the state
Line in east tennessee,
Mike and daniel are working
On a technological tweak
That will boost the flavor
Profile of their moonshine.
The law!
come on in.
What the hell
You welding on, son?
Well, I'm building us
A banger.
I figure we might need another.
That's right.
There's old pretty girl,
Ain't it?
Yeah.
Me and daniel, we actually built
This little silver cloud
Last year
Out of old beer kegs.
It's just a all-around good rig
To make brandies out of.
I like to do
A little modifications
To it to infuse flavors.
If we could build a arm
From here to the worm,
I've got a couple of jars here,
Create two gin baskets
To pack fruit in them
And let the steam come over
And infuse into them
Gin baskets,
I believe that it'll hit
That flavor note just right.
Having this debt with
Mark and digger
Has really motivated me
And daniel to get out there
And do some creative things.
All this flavored stuff,
It yields a higher price
Per gallon,
So we can make bigger money
For less volume of alcohol.
That way we can put
A little money in our pocket,
Pay our debt off,
And go on about our business.
While the origins of gin
Date back to the middle ages,
The use of gin baskets
Is a more recent development
For infusing grain spirits
With botanicals like juniper.
Traditionally, a gin basket
Is a porous stainless steel
Container
Affixed inside the pot,
But mike and daniel's
Gin baskets
Are a set of mason jars
Attached along the arms
That attach the connect
The thump keg to the condenser.
As alcohol vapor leaves
The thump keg,
It passes through
The gin baskets.
There, the flavors of any added
Fruit are infused into the vapor
Before it's turned back in
To liquid by the condenser.
Holy damn.
I thought you was
Going to hold it.
Well, I am holding it.
No wonder why your old lady
Don't want to have
Nothing to do with you.
You try to drive too hard
All the time.
I drill too fast, don't I?
That one there needs to go in
Just to close her.
So I've rigged these gin baskets
Up as if you would a thump keg.
The very first arm goes all
The way to the bottom of the jar
Where nothing can feed back
'cause that pipe's blowing out,
And the second pipe
Is pulling up,
So we only drop the second pipe
That far down in the jar,
And you're fruit's
Down here bubbling
And just your steam and flavor
From those fruits
Goes up through that other arm.
That looks good to me.
Good enough
For government work.
Voilà.
Each time it runs through
One of those jars,
Not only is it infused
In flavor,
It's actually double distilling
Every time it runs through,
So on a regular run,
You would probably get seven
Or eight gallons of liquor.
In this case,
I'll probably get 10 to 12.
This is going to make
A big difference
In the moonshine world.
This is going to be
High-quality liquor.
I say she's ready
For the woods, man.
Digger better bring his a game.
In tennessee,
The verdict is in.
May the best man win.
♪♪
Big sloppy takes up a lot
Of room in the truck bed.
Bless her heart.
She's a little thick.
Just don't go so fast
You blow that tarp off.
On the western foothills
Of the great smoky mountains,
Mark and digger are on
The hunt for a new still site.
Let's see if we can
Find something on wolf creek.
I know that creek real well.
I grew up there.
That's a damn lie because
You ain't grow-ed up yet.
Each year, it's always smart
To find a new still site,
Decreases the chances
Of getting caught.
You know, in the laboratory,
We've got the real estate
In that building to set up
Our three-pot still,
But on big runs, it's going
To fill the whole neighborhood
Up with the smell
Of cooking mash.
So we think it's better
If we just retreat back
To the weeds
Where we're more comfortable.
Every time I throw a popcorn's
Little hoe dad up on my shoulder
I want to start whistling
"Heigh-ho."
-look up here at this.
-hmm.
Go up a little further.
What do you think?
It's going to depend on
How steep and deep the bank is.
This might be doable
Right here.
There's a good, flat spot,
Pitched toward the creek.
And it's a nice creek.
It's good and cold.
Oh, you could drink that water
Right off the rock.
♪♪
There ain't no houses
Or nothing above here,
Be no danger of no septic
*bleep* being pumped
In to it or...
A lot of good cover.
A damn crow couldn't see down
Through here,
And they got sharper eyes
Than an eagle.
This suit you now?
I mean...
I tell you what. I love it.
Ooh-whee.
Hey, big sloppy.
Damn, it sound like
Two skeletons
*bleep* on a tin roof.
I can't hear you over them
Two skeletons on that tin roof.
Last year, mark
And digger built an additional
300-gallon pot
Affectionately named
Big sloppy to increase their
Still capacity to 700 gallons.
Now what we've got to do,
We just got to start
Getting our still pots,
Big sloppy and the twins,
And their components in here.
There's one down, two to go
And 500 furnace brick.
Lot of work.
We're using these
Landscaping bricks
That are used
To make brick firepits.
They'll stand the heat
And hold heat in.
It's hard work getting them
In here, manhandling,
But they go into place
A whole lot quicker.
Once this pot gets hot,
The furnace gets hot,
And it just radiates it back in.
It makes it a whole lot easier
To get the alcohol
Out of this mash.
There ain't nothing easy
About making liquor.
If somebody says it's easy
Making liquor,
They ain't doing it right.
How you coming over there,
Big man?
*bleep*, I'm almost done.
You know, this is what we have
To do every time
We move a still.
We pride ourself on making
The best liquor in the country,
So, you know, we can't
Cut corners with anything
And that includes
Setting up our stills.
There's the last four for us.
Oh, it's a work of art.
It's prettier
Than I've ever been.
But the hard work
Is still yet to be done.
It's just a different
Type of work.
How about letting me
Get in front?
I'm smelling the fact
You need a shower.
I don't doubt it.
♪♪
Henry and kenny think
They got somebody
Coming in on them still site,
But past couple of days,
I haven't seen nothing.
Deep in the woods of
America's most infamous
Moonshining county,
J.T. Is patrolling the perimeter
Of henry and kenny law's
Still site for evidence
Of the law.
Thought I might have
Seen somebody.
It's a little opening
Right there.
Don't want to be too close.
Dad told me.
He said keep my shotgun ready
Just in case.
I'm not there to hurt nobody
With this gun.
It's really to help
Henry and kenny out.
If I give them a warning shot,
They know to start packing stuff
Up and get out of there.
♪♪
Back when I was a kid, my dad,
Tickle, was in the woods,
Still illegal.
They hate guys that they hire.
They set them up in the woods
Because when they're down
At the still,
They ain't got time
To be worried about
What's out here
In these woods.
See if I can see
A little closely.
I see something moving
In that field down there.
♪♪
Somebody is coming
Behind this tree.
♪♪
They about 150 yards out.
run.
♪♪
Six counties
To the northeast...
This is like
Carrying a torpedo.
Yeah.
Chuck, you know what the only
Difference is doing this
And doing it illegally?
-unh-unh.
We wouldn't be doing it
In the daytime.
-it would be at night, huh?
-yeah.
Tim and chuck are
Knee-deep in work
Rigging up a supplemental water
Pump for their distillery.
Head for the deep
Water, tim.
-yeah.
-yeah.
All right.
That water don't look like
It's that deep
Until you get in there.
Whoo.
I don't understand.
It's always that phone rings
When you're in the middle
Of something, huh?
I know it.
J.T. Is calling. Hey.
What's going on?
what is it?
Hey.
You all right?
J.T.?
All I got was that he saw
Somebody, and I lost connection.
It could be a rival moonshiner.
It could be the law.
It could be he's walking in
To a trap.
You don't know what's going on.
Well, I don't know,
And I need to get down there.
Maybe this thing
Ain't turn out to be
Like what's it supposed be.
I'm not for sure exactly
If he's in trouble or not.
All I got was that,
"I saw someone in the woods,"
And then it cut off.
I don't know
Who he's following.
You never know who you're going
To run into
Down in the woods like that.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
This bear has been coming
Back night after night,
Knocking over my mash barrels
And getting in my corn
Every chance he gets.
A-ha! Well, guess what?
Well, the mash is safe.
-that's good.
-we're good.
Finally it's like we can
Make some shine.
Let's go ahead and start
Pumping the mash over.
All right.
There it is.
Red dog, turn the gas
On for me, buddy.
Okay, buddy.
All right.
The process of
Converting fermented mash
Into shine starts
With the flame.
As the pot heats up past
173 degrees fahrenheit,
The alcohol begins to vaporize,
Traveling into the cap and out
Through a pipe called the arm.
Next, it enters the thump keg
Where any excess water
Is stripped out.
The purified alcohol vapor
Continues its journey
Through another arm
Into the condenser,
Where a continuous stream
Of ice-cold water cools
It into liquid moonshine.
The mash is getting hot here.
You about ready to get a drink?
-yeah, you?
-yeah.
The poor old boy
Has had some bad luck --
The motorcycle wreck, bears.
That's why chuck and me come in,
You know, to help him out some,
To put some money in his pocket.
Hey, chuck, his luck
Has been so bad
He needs a witch wub
To get that spell off him.
-no!
-I've had a couple of them.
Unh-unh, we don't want
No more of them.
I remember that time you got hit
In the head with a baseball.
I wonder if that knocked
Your face in,
Caused all this bad luck
To come on you all these years.
Freaking helmet fell off
My head, and I got to the base.
I stand there, about that time
The ball hit me in the head.
-god almighty, she's coming out.
-all right.
-good, too.
-finally.
No matter how many runs
Of liquor I make,
It never ceases
To still fascinate me.
Tossed out the heads.
-looking clear.
-hell yeah.
When that liquor starts
Running out of that worm,
That just means
Music to my ears.
That's just dollar bills
Flowing into the jar.
Oh. Damn, that's smooth, josh.
Oh, yeah. Ooh.
That's your load of money.
If we can do this twice a week,
We'll get you
Out of trouble, boy.
They'll pay.
That's for sure.
At the very least,
I'm up and running.
My operation is back
In business.
I'm putting money in my pocket.
Everybody's happy.
Let's go ahead and cut her off.
26 gallons probably.
If josh can find
The right customer,
He stands to make as much as
$2,600 off this 26-gallon run.
Well,
That's a good day's work.
I'll call old boy
And get him on the way.
♪♪
Watch that slick-ass bank.
It's slick, ain't it, buddy?
In the great smoky mountains,
Mike and daniel are embarking on
Their maiden run of the season.
Let's check that mash out.
Good, god.
It's loud.
-whoo-hoo.
-it about ready to go?
No. It is ready to go.
You can taste the mangoes
In it, too.
Mm-hmm.
It's strong, for sure.
Let's get this stuff set up
So we can fire it up.
We've got to dig out flat pads
Up the side of the mountain
To where it'll all sit level.
Won't you look at that?
That goes plumb to china.
-uh-huh.
-oh, yeah.
That's the way old-timers
Used to do it 100 years ago.
They purposely picked
The hardest spot to dig out,
To carve into, just so somebody
Won't just won't stumble up
On their site.
Whoo.
You know, this *bleep*
Don't even matter.
We'll dig it right now,
Or we'll dig it when they
Catch us running liquor.
We'll be on the chain gang
Busting rocks.
That sure enough have
You on that, boy.
You good at that, ain't you?
Well, this moonshining is easy,
Ain't it?
Easiest thing in the world.
What's wrong with that
Right there?
I don't see nothing except it
Ain't got alcohol
Coming out of it yet.
♪♪
Our base mash was mangoes.
That goes into our pot.
Now all we got to do is fire
It up and see how it goes.
I'm ready when you are, buddy.
Ready, do it.
That'll work.
We got that fire lit
For the first time this season.
It's like the gun going off
At the first race.
Bam, baby. I'm ready to go.
I believe that right there will
Make some good stuff, buddy.
This will be the first time
We ever tested out
These gin baskets.
It was just an idea that I come
Up with to transfer flavors.
My biggest hope is that mango
Mash infuses
In to that pineapple and kiwi,
You know, and creates
That good brandy.
Just work it around
As you go down.
That right there ought
To transfer.
I'm going to put the old coon
Rod in here and get her ready.
-lay it to it.
-all righty.
We're actually starting
To transfer in to the first jar
And the second one
Just a little,
And from here out,
You'll have mango, pineapple,
Kiwi flavor coming all the way
Down and out through the worm.
It's actually going to be
Distilled four separate times
Before it ever
Comes out the worm,
And each time it distills,
It getting more and more pure
As it goes down the line.
I'm liking it and we got liquor
Running, too.
Oh, lord.
We do, don't we?
Boy, damn, you can taste
The fruit in it. It's hot.
I'm going to pitch them
Heads off real quick.
Whew. God almighty,
That's good, son.
I can taste the pineapple
Coming through hard on it.
-on the first.
-and it's number one.
Damn. It tastes just like
I thought it would,
And you can taste that mango
Right off the top,
And behind that you can taste
A hint of the pineapple
And a hint of the kiwi.
It looks like we about got
A bucketful
Of liquor over there, don't we?
Let's pop this cap.
♪♪
Let's get up here
And get our jars.
It turned out to be six good
Gallons of 120-proof brandy.
It tastes great.
I love it, and I believe
It'll fetch a high dollar.
By god, that's
Some pretty brandy.
♪♪
J.T. Calls me, and the phone
Is breaking up.
He's telling me he saw somebody,
But then I don't know.
I mean, the phone cut off,
And I don't know what happened.
In the blue ridge foothills,
Tim is racing to j.T.,
Whose surveillance mission
For shiners
Henry and kenny law
May have taken a dangerous turn.
Well, I've been calling
J.T. All the way from culpeper.
I keep trying to call
And get in touch with him.
Maybe he had to turn
His phone off.
He didn't want nobody
To hear him,
So I know
I got to get down there,
But this truck has got
My name all over it.
It's got climax moonshine
All over this thing.
You know, one of them says
He's going to raid the place.
I can't compromise myself
By letting him see the truck.
♪♪
Well, I think the still place
Is right back that way.
So I just got to get in there
And see what's going on.
♪♪
So we got to make our way
Through here somewhere.
I'm not sure where we going.
♪♪
I can see some equipment
And stuff up here,
So we got
To be getting close.
♪♪
This is the place right here.
They got the truck backed up
To the door doing something.
I don't see j.T. Nowhere.
♪♪
That's a good sign
Or a bad sign.
Good sign he ain't here,
Bad sign,
I don't know where he is.
-what's going on?
-we're in trouble.
-what are you doing, j.T.?
-we're in trouble.
We're trying to get
This stuff loaded up.
Oh, no. No. No.
-I told you, don't be in here.
-no.
You ain't supposed
To be in here.
-he got close, I mean --
-kenny, get the axe, man.
Let's get out of here.
-we got to roll.
-let's roll.
♪♪
You know, digger,
He ain't the dancer
That I like to think I am.
♪♪
That's really hard.
There ain't just anybody
Can do that.
We always like to do that
Jed stomp.
♪♪
Hell, yeah.
Popcorn fancied himself
A dancer.
I guess he was as good as any
Of the rest of us are.
Of course, he didn't weigh
But 100 pounds.
But I think we'll just leave
This damn dance floor
As its intended purpose
And set moonshine stills on it.
Josh maintains
His unlikely lead.
Mike and daniel have enough
For a house party,
And mark and digger have enough
For a high school dance.
-he got close.
-kenny, we got to roll.
What in the world
Are you doing?
It's the only way
We can get out of here.
In franklin county, virginia,
An intruder in the woods
Has several shiners
Fleeing their still site.
Come on, j.T.
Get that shotgun.
Watch good there, man.
When an agent comes down
Through the woods,
He's not looking around
For a squirrel up in a tree.
He's creeping down
Through the woods.
Once we find something
Like that,
We have to grab
Our stuff and move out.
Let's get the hell
On out of here.
All right, we gone.
My whole intention
Was just to get
J.T. Out of there because
I can see a lot was going on,
And I'm trying to find my
Direction of where I came from,
And I'm thinking, "Hell,
I'm back in the woods again."
I got j.T. And a shotgun
And we got to get away
To get to safety,
And I'm really not looking
For that adrenaline rush.
Get in the truck.
Let's go.
♪♪
I ran, got dave,
Henry, and kenny a warning.
They got back.
They was still
Loading stuff up, so...
You was in the still site.
They could have been going
To raid the place right now.
Right when I showed up, they
Could have raided the place.
I know.
Then you had me
All hemmed up.
I mean, I wasn't going
To stand there.
I'm not going to leave henry
And kenny hanging there.
I'm not just going to stand
There and say,
"Hey, you know, they told me
That I can't touch nothing,
So I'll just see you
Later on down the road."
We thought it was a good idea
To come down here
And help them out.
Yeah, it is a good idea.
They asked for our help.
We come down to help,
But you were supposed
To stay in the woods.
You're squirrel hunting.
I don't know if this guy
Was law enforcement.
I'm just glad
That I did get there
And I was able to separate
J.T. From them.
You can't make up that time
Lost in jail.
♪♪
♪♪
So you just a tiny bit nervous
About losing to an old,
Down, has-been wannabe here?
It don't matter if I make
A thimbleful.
It's still gonna be better
Than a quart of yours.
Eight counties
Southwest in tennessee,
Mark and digger
Are squaring off in competition
To determine the first liquor
They'll run this season.
This is the fun part,
Three flights of stairs.
We got a little competition
Going on.
Mark has come up with
The cherry-vanilla
Sipping cream,
And I've come up
With the creamy key lime,
And we're going to see
Which one is the best.
By the time we get done, we're
Going to have buns of steel.
Creams are the rage in a lot
Of distilleries nowadays,
The same thing that
You cream coffee with,
And it mixes well with alcohol.
Oh, I got plenty of alcohol
Hatty boy.
Wow.
This mash is top-notch.
Digger better bring his a game
Because he's going to need it.
Rock and roll,
And may the best man win.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Who's that I hear coming?
♪♪
That's j.B. Rader, esquire.
You need a little hit of oh-two
To get you
Through after them steps?
Nah.
Mentor to mark and digger
And partner of the notorious
Shiner popcorn sutton,
J.B. Rader is a living legend
In the world of moonshine --
...And a producer of some of
The finest liquor
Ever tasted in appalachia.
We got liquor running out
Of two stills.
Mine is just like
Digger's old lady.
-it's putting out all over town.
-all over town.
Whichever one of them
Is the best,
That's the one that we're going
To go with and run.
That's where you come in
To play.
You're going to be
The blind taste tester.
You don't give a *bleep*
To do it, do you?
Uh-oh.
I've got a drop of liquor.
That's a pretty good stream
Right there.
You got any liquor
Going yet there, big boy?
Yeah, I'm just now starting.
Hmm.
The consumer wants these
Sipping creams,
Dessert drinks if you will,
And they're selling a lot
From these legal moonshine
Distilleries.
We have to keep up with what
The consumer wants, too.
♪♪
There's one.
♪♪
What do you think there,
Rader?
Well, if you was gonna
Pick one out,
Where would you be?
Hmm.
No praise, just throw money.
congratulations,
Hatty boy.
I'm tickled to death.
I'm proud of myself.
It's damn-fine liquor.
Now we're going to
Take this recipe,
We're going to upsize it,
And we're going to make
Some money off of it.
I'll just keep this
For myself then.
I know j.B. Likes
A key lime pie,
But he didn't pick me
So *bleep* him.
Next time on "Moonshiners"...
What the hell now?
...Stalled out
In the smokies...
God almighty.
We got damn liquor to haul.
Check this out.
...A new pair
Of kentucky shiners...
Oh, my gosh.
They actually have
A waterfall in here.
Me and popcorn
Had his conversation.
I mean, he said that he had
Some liquor buried up here.
...And on the hunt
For the mother lode.
Oh, hell, yeah.
What about
The youngblood, j.T.?
This whole thing
Is very concerning.
You know, j.T.'s my son.
Our place
Has been compromised.
You just have
Your story together
If you get approached
By somebody.
I don't know who's out there
In the woods, law enforcement.
You should be careful.
These things can be
Very dangerous.
On this episode of
"Moonshiners"...
-look at this hussy.
-she's huge.
...400 pounds of
Trouble in north carolina...
She's after my mash.
She's going to be here
Every every night.
You ain't going to make no damn
Liquor as long as she's here.
I don't know what to do.
If somebody says
It's easy making liquor,
They ain't doing it right.
May the best man win.
...A moonshine
Showdown in cocke county...
Mine is going to be
More good-er.
Whatever you say.
Whichever one's chosen.
We scale up,
And we sell this season.
If he spots you, you need to
Shoot that shotgun and haul ass.
Just don't get caught.
...And a worst fear
Confirmed in virginia.
Some footprints,
It looks like this might be
Where they been coming in.
Somebody's coming.
♪♪
♪ no one can hold me down ♪
♪ or make me change my ways ♪
♪ going for a ride ♪
♪ running to survive ♪
♪ and living outside the law ♪
♪ and living outside the law ♪
♪♪
This is how we make
The moonshine.
Captions paid for by
Discovery communications
♪♪
What the hell?
♪♪
I think she been here again.
Damn, man.
We ain't going to make
No liquor here
Until we get rid of this bear.
In the foothills of
The blue ridge mountains,
Josh is facing off
Against a bear
That's threatening to derail
His moonshine season.
He's going to definitely
Come back again
For another free meal.
The only restaurant
In the neighborhood.
I've got some
Trail cameras out.
See if we got any good pics.
It's only been a few weeks
Since my accident.
Six punctured ribs
Are not cool at all.
Most moonshiners
Ain't got no insurance.
Right now with all these
Doctor bills,
I got more money going out
Than I ever have before.
If I don't start making
Some liquor,
I'm going to start
Losing customers,
And I can't afford that,
Especially not now.
Let's see what we get.
God, look!
Damn, man.
-look at this hussy.
-god, dog. She's huge.
Damn, I'm glad we didn't
Come here and run into her.
-sniffing right there.
-yeah.
It was after my mash.
♪♪
Holy *bleep*.
Craziest thing ever.
She's gonna be here
Every night.
The vast woodlands
And temperate climate
That make
The blue ridge mountains
Ideal for moonshiners
Also foster one of
The highest concentrations
Of black bear in the country,
And as these 1/4-ton
Omnivores awaken,
Hungry from hibernation
And armed with a powerful nose
That can detect food
Up to 20 miles away,
The sweet, potent aroma
Of fresh corn mash
Proves impossible to resist.
Well, we got to figure out a way
To get her
To stop coming in here.
I don't know what to do.
In the old days, the old-timers
Would just have just shot
This son of a bitch deader
Than hell and been done with it.
In this day and time,
It's a $4,000 fine
And take your vehicle,
Take your guns,
And maybe even try
To lock you up
If you shot this bear
Out of season.
What if we just put some blanks
In an old shotgun
And we run some fishing line
Around the perimeter
Of the place,
And it gets caught up
In the fishing line,
And it pulls the trigger,
And it just shoots off a blank?
Well, I'm a little
Concerned about,
You know, how far
The sound would carry.
We don't want to get
Nobody else's attention.
One thing about it, you ain't
Going to make no damn liquor
As long as she's there.
This is a problem.
I got a lot of doctor bills
To pay and little time
To pay them in,
So this season,
I need to be able
To make a ton of product.
There's no way to make
Moonshine with this bear
Coming in my still site
Causing --
Wreaking havoc, really.
Something's got to be done.
I've got to figure out a game
Plan 'cause this season,
I really can't afford
To not make my goal.
♪♪
♪♪
What you got there,
Youngblood?
Two trail cameras,
I got my old, trusty shotgun.
Yeah, I like that.
That's a nice gun.
Seven counties northeast,
In the backwoods of
Franklin county, virginia,
Infamous outlaw shiners,
Henry and kenny law
Have hired tim's son,
J.T., to investigate a potential
Threat to their shine operation.
If it's the law, they'll be
Forced to make a quick escape.
If you see any of them,
Get a chance, just ease away,
Come in here and tell us,
But if he spots you,
Then you need to shoot
That shotgun and haul ass.
When the law comes,
They'll circle your still place
To check things out,
And if youngblood sees the law,
Then we know it's time to run.
We can load up all the expensive
Equipment, the caps, worms.
We'll take axes and put holes
In the stills.
Well, I'm just hoping
You're paranoid
'cause I don't want you
To confront nobody,
And I don't want
To confront nobody.
-we don't get paranoid here.
-we don't get paranoid.
It's something there.
The law has been there.
-you can do the job.
-I'll help you out.
You know, some people
Just don't pay much attention.
He pays a whole lot
Of attention.
He hunts
And he observes things.
All we need is
A good set of eyes.
There's some footprints
Right there.
This looks like this might be
Where they've been coming in.
I don't know who they are.
I don't if it's the law.
I don't know if
They're abc agents,
But I gave my word
That if I see anybody,
I'm gonna come tell them.
Hopefully I don't wind up
In jail somewhere.
♪♪
♪♪
What's the deal with this?
-with what?
-why am I carrying your stuff?
I'm carrying your pot.
You're spilling your sugar.
No. I'm spilling your sugar.
Across the state line,
Eight counties away,
Mark and digger are engaged in
A competition that'll determine
Which shine they'll run
To kick off their season.
Their goal --
Develop a handcrafted liquor
That outshines the cheaply
Flavored corporate alcohol
Filling liquor store shelves.
You can make alcohol,
But making quality alcohol,
That's a whole different
Ball game.
You get what you pay for,
And when you pay
For good ingredients,
It's three times better
As far as flavor goes.
It adds so much more to it.
I'm so sorry.
They've been the same way
When you lose this bet earlier.
yeah.
You just keep
Telling yourself that.
I'm going to get started
On my mash, sourpuss.
Well, you go ahead and do
What you got to do,
And I'll pour me
Some sugar in my barrel.
You know, at this location,
Our laboratory,
So to speak, is just excellent
For these small runs,
But you do not,
And I can't stress this enough,
Want to experiment
With a new recipe 700 gallons
At a time, you know?
It's just entirely
Too much to lose.
So mark and I got to talking
About the flavor of the season,
And he wanted to do
A cherry vanilla,
And I'm kind of partial
To a creamy key lime,
Like the pie feeling.
I don't know of anybody that's
Ever done anything like this.
Last season,
Mark and digger expanded
Production twofold
With a new 700-gallon
Three-pot still...
We're going to solidify
Our reputation.
This one is going to get
Vanilla bean,
And that one there is
Vermont maple syrup.
...That produced
A lineup of brand-new flavors.
He wants marshmallow in there.
It's time to mash in
The grappa.
We want a lot of that grape
Flavor to carry on in.
Now mark and digger are pushing
The envelope of innovation
To start their season
Off strong.
This season, our goal
Is 1,100 gallons,
And with these
Specialty liquors,
We can make an astronomical
Amount of money on them.
It's a known fact people
Will pay whatever it takes
To get our specialty liquors,
You know?
We excel in that.
Well, mine is going
To more good-er.
All right.
Whatever you say.
I just don't want you
Crying the blues
When it's all said and done.
You both can't be winners.
I can't win and he can't win,
And whichever one turns out
To be the chosen one,
That's the one that we scale up
And we fix and we sell.
That's the po-po.
There's my ride.
Makes me nervous,
Hearing all them syringes.
Yeah, but this is the last
Place in the world
Anybody would expect
To look for us.
Yeah, you're probably right.
It's in the middle of town,
But it's still hid,
And the police
Expect moonshiners
To be out in the weeds,
So they're probably looking
For a still site in the woods.
I'm trying to squeeze up
These cherries
Just to bust the hull
On them some.
They're very sweet, pungent,
Don't take a lot of them,
I wouldn't think.
Mm.
Send him home with his tail
Between his legs.
Talk that old smack.
You know, the route I'm going
With my key lime recipe,
I just need
A little sugar right now.
I could infuse lime flavor
In it,
But citrus doesn't
Ferment well.
It gets too acidic quick,
So I'd prefer to infuse it
After the fact,
So while I'm a-waiting
On my mash to heat up,
I got to squeeze about
Four gallons of lime juice,
Put them
In the refrigerator.
I'm just going to sit back
And relax
While hard work
Will come after the run.
Now what I'm going
To do here...
Is make some horrible liquor.
A lot of effort being put in
To a lost liquor.
Aw, he can't help it.
He's a idiot.
When you really start
Ribbing somebody
When there's
A competition going,
It's just like a prizefight.
I mean, you get in somebody's
Head, you live there free,
It's a little
Psychological advantage on them.
I just want a little hint
Of vanilla.
These things are $27 an ounce.
I'm just going to let them
Steep to bring out the flavor.
You're stirring your mash
With a stick
That's got paint all over it.
That old paint, that might
Be old lead paint.
There ain't nothing wrong
With it.
You're going to poison
Everybody in the country.
he'd piss off a preacher.
You'll be laughing out the other
Side of your mouth
Here in five or six days.
Hmm.
Cherry vanilla sound
Just a tiny bit sissy.
Compared to key lime pie?
-mm-hmm.
-you're crazy.
Key lime is a manly
Man's dessert.
I see something
Moving down there.
In franklin county,
The woods have eyes.
♪♪
Now, I know
The younger generation
Loves the flavored stuff.
I'd like to do a mango
Pineapple kiwi.
A tropical brandy.
In sevier county,
Tennessee, mike and daniel
Are under the gun
To get their season started,
So they can begin to pay back
Their debt to mark and digger.
Whoa! The law.
-dang, there went the law.
-sure was, wasn't it?
-it was.
-all right.
Just keep an eye
On that tarp back there,
Make sure that joker
Don't fly off.
So I made a big,
Badass boo-boo.
What's good for the goose
Is good for the gander.
Who I thought
Was kelly's still...
...It ended up being mark
And digger's still.
Well, I owe mark
And digger $7,500,
So we're wanting to run
A high-premium brandy.
It'll fetch more money
Per gallon.
I want to show these boys
That I can get them paid off,
And I'm a man of my word,
So I intend to do just that.
How much is the walk back
Through here?
Watch these dang rocks
Right here.
That looks slick.
Watch yourself, sir.
Ah.
You be careful now.
Damn, if you'd have
Fell off backwards,
You'd have busted
Your skull open.
Oh, yeah. I know it.
It's pretty hard
Walking up in here,
Carrying all these supplies
And everything in
Because the rocks have this
Black slime on them,
And it's just like butter
In a skillet.
Whoo!
Looks like we can flow
This stuff right here up there.
The higher you can get up
To the water source,
The better flow
You'll have downhill,
So it's going to be a challenge
To get this barrel up here
Because we got to get up
To the water source,
And these rocks
Are slicker than snot,
So I'm telling you,
It's dangerous.
I'm going to ease on up
Through here.
All right.
I'm going to walk around
And I'm going to try to reach
That stuff up to you.
One wrong slip so, a man could
Break his back or his neck.
Watch your step.
Oh.
Okay, let's see here.
Bring it on up here.
♪♪
Come on, son.
-look at that.
-that's perfect right there.
I bet that's 40 degrees.
Here's our screen that we made
Out of a old fire extinguisher.
We drilled a bunch of holes
In it that, hopefully,
This will filter out anything
That's big enough
To stop the pipe up.
Then all we have to do is throw
The hose off the waterfall.
Look here, mike.
-yee-haw.
-good water pressure.
That's what I like to see.
Hey, you can wash a car
With that.
Now that we got our water source
Piped in,
We're going to get in here
And mash in
For the very first time,
And my primary mash
Is going to be mangoes.
Whoa, look how ripe
That one right there is.
Brother, that's some good meat
Right there.
The newer generations want
Something fruity,
Something tropical.
Well, they got a good,
Like, a piney taste to them
Is what I like.
That's going to make some
Good brandy right there, boy.
We've got to some water in here
And get it fired up.
I tell you what, man.
It seems like every season
You wait all your life
To light that fire
For the first time.
Put a little gas to it.
All right, daniel.
Light her up.
That's the sound I love to hear,
That first fire-up.
♪♪
Let's get this liquor done,
Son.
Let's pour her over.
♪♪
Is that it?
Get all the mangoes.
I'll add
The cold water to it.
Get that old magic dust
Right there,
And you do the honors for us,
Brother, some yeast.
There she goes.
You want to stir it in,
Get it to work in there.
-mm-hmm.
Let's let her off
And get out of here.
Leave some breathing room.
Boy, that's going to be
Some good stuff.
♪♪
This bear
Has got to be stopped.
It's costing some money.
What a sloppy-ass mess.
This ain't nothing
But a *bleep* disaster.
Three counties east,
Just across
The north carolina border,
Josh needs to get to shining
So he can pay back
His medical debt,
But mother nature
Is a cruel mistress.
Torrential rains,
Then a 400-pound black bear,
Have all but shut down
His operation.
Damn,
What a pain in the ass!
I don't know whether
I hate the mud
Or the bears worse right now.
Bears are wreaking havoc on us,
And the rain and the mud
Is all over everything.
We'll take a bunch of them
2x4s and just lay them out
On the damn ground here
And then throw the plywood
On top of it.
That's good.
Hell, I'll just tack it down.
Much better.
Now I just got to concentrate
On getting this bear
To leave us alone.
We're going to dump
Some ammonia around.
Where all do you think
We should put the ammonia?
Around the damn still site.
As part of his
Two-pronged approach
To bear deterrents,
Josh is spreading ammonia
Around the still site.
It's like a cover scent.
One whiff will serve
As a punch in the nose
To the bear's highly
Developed olfactory senses.
Man, that's a strong
*bleep*, ain't it?
Yes, it is.
I hope it gags that bear.
A hungry bear is hard
To scare away,
So just hoping what
We've done going to work.
So next, I'm going to put up
Some motion sensor
Battery-operated lights
And an alarm sound
To startle him.
I have pretty much locked
The whole place up right there.
-you think this will work, josh?
-I don't know.
Not a lot comes in between
Bears and their food.
Kind of like me
At the dinner table?
♪♪
♪♪
I've got to get this stuff
Created.
It'll be the real stuff
And none of this fake,
Artificial-flavor whiskey
Like all these legal
Distilleries got in the world.
Just across the state
Line in east tennessee,
Mike and daniel are working
On a technological tweak
That will boost the flavor
Profile of their moonshine.
The law!
come on in.
What the hell
You welding on, son?
Well, I'm building us
A banger.
I figure we might need another.
That's right.
There's old pretty girl,
Ain't it?
Yeah.
Me and daniel, we actually built
This little silver cloud
Last year
Out of old beer kegs.
It's just a all-around good rig
To make brandies out of.
I like to do
A little modifications
To it to infuse flavors.
If we could build a arm
From here to the worm,
I've got a couple of jars here,
Create two gin baskets
To pack fruit in them
And let the steam come over
And infuse into them
Gin baskets,
I believe that it'll hit
That flavor note just right.
Having this debt with
Mark and digger
Has really motivated me
And daniel to get out there
And do some creative things.
All this flavored stuff,
It yields a higher price
Per gallon,
So we can make bigger money
For less volume of alcohol.
That way we can put
A little money in our pocket,
Pay our debt off,
And go on about our business.
While the origins of gin
Date back to the middle ages,
The use of gin baskets
Is a more recent development
For infusing grain spirits
With botanicals like juniper.
Traditionally, a gin basket
Is a porous stainless steel
Container
Affixed inside the pot,
But mike and daniel's
Gin baskets
Are a set of mason jars
Attached along the arms
That attach the connect
The thump keg to the condenser.
As alcohol vapor leaves
The thump keg,
It passes through
The gin baskets.
There, the flavors of any added
Fruit are infused into the vapor
Before it's turned back in
To liquid by the condenser.
Holy damn.
I thought you was
Going to hold it.
Well, I am holding it.
No wonder why your old lady
Don't want to have
Nothing to do with you.
You try to drive too hard
All the time.
I drill too fast, don't I?
That one there needs to go in
Just to close her.
So I've rigged these gin baskets
Up as if you would a thump keg.
The very first arm goes all
The way to the bottom of the jar
Where nothing can feed back
'cause that pipe's blowing out,
And the second pipe
Is pulling up,
So we only drop the second pipe
That far down in the jar,
And you're fruit's
Down here bubbling
And just your steam and flavor
From those fruits
Goes up through that other arm.
That looks good to me.
Good enough
For government work.
Voilà.
Each time it runs through
One of those jars,
Not only is it infused
In flavor,
It's actually double distilling
Every time it runs through,
So on a regular run,
You would probably get seven
Or eight gallons of liquor.
In this case,
I'll probably get 10 to 12.
This is going to make
A big difference
In the moonshine world.
This is going to be
High-quality liquor.
I say she's ready
For the woods, man.
Digger better bring his a game.
In tennessee,
The verdict is in.
May the best man win.
♪♪
Big sloppy takes up a lot
Of room in the truck bed.
Bless her heart.
She's a little thick.
Just don't go so fast
You blow that tarp off.
On the western foothills
Of the great smoky mountains,
Mark and digger are on
The hunt for a new still site.
Let's see if we can
Find something on wolf creek.
I know that creek real well.
I grew up there.
That's a damn lie because
You ain't grow-ed up yet.
Each year, it's always smart
To find a new still site,
Decreases the chances
Of getting caught.
You know, in the laboratory,
We've got the real estate
In that building to set up
Our three-pot still,
But on big runs, it's going
To fill the whole neighborhood
Up with the smell
Of cooking mash.
So we think it's better
If we just retreat back
To the weeds
Where we're more comfortable.
Every time I throw a popcorn's
Little hoe dad up on my shoulder
I want to start whistling
"Heigh-ho."
-look up here at this.
-hmm.
Go up a little further.
What do you think?
It's going to depend on
How steep and deep the bank is.
This might be doable
Right here.
There's a good, flat spot,
Pitched toward the creek.
And it's a nice creek.
It's good and cold.
Oh, you could drink that water
Right off the rock.
♪♪
There ain't no houses
Or nothing above here,
Be no danger of no septic
*bleep* being pumped
In to it or...
A lot of good cover.
A damn crow couldn't see down
Through here,
And they got sharper eyes
Than an eagle.
This suit you now?
I mean...
I tell you what. I love it.
Ooh-whee.
Hey, big sloppy.
Damn, it sound like
Two skeletons
*bleep* on a tin roof.
I can't hear you over them
Two skeletons on that tin roof.
Last year, mark
And digger built an additional
300-gallon pot
Affectionately named
Big sloppy to increase their
Still capacity to 700 gallons.
Now what we've got to do,
We just got to start
Getting our still pots,
Big sloppy and the twins,
And their components in here.
There's one down, two to go
And 500 furnace brick.
Lot of work.
We're using these
Landscaping bricks
That are used
To make brick firepits.
They'll stand the heat
And hold heat in.
It's hard work getting them
In here, manhandling,
But they go into place
A whole lot quicker.
Once this pot gets hot,
The furnace gets hot,
And it just radiates it back in.
It makes it a whole lot easier
To get the alcohol
Out of this mash.
There ain't nothing easy
About making liquor.
If somebody says it's easy
Making liquor,
They ain't doing it right.
How you coming over there,
Big man?
*bleep*, I'm almost done.
You know, this is what we have
To do every time
We move a still.
We pride ourself on making
The best liquor in the country,
So, you know, we can't
Cut corners with anything
And that includes
Setting up our stills.
There's the last four for us.
Oh, it's a work of art.
It's prettier
Than I've ever been.
But the hard work
Is still yet to be done.
It's just a different
Type of work.
How about letting me
Get in front?
I'm smelling the fact
You need a shower.
I don't doubt it.
♪♪
Henry and kenny think
They got somebody
Coming in on them still site,
But past couple of days,
I haven't seen nothing.
Deep in the woods of
America's most infamous
Moonshining county,
J.T. Is patrolling the perimeter
Of henry and kenny law's
Still site for evidence
Of the law.
Thought I might have
Seen somebody.
It's a little opening
Right there.
Don't want to be too close.
Dad told me.
He said keep my shotgun ready
Just in case.
I'm not there to hurt nobody
With this gun.
It's really to help
Henry and kenny out.
If I give them a warning shot,
They know to start packing stuff
Up and get out of there.
♪♪
Back when I was a kid, my dad,
Tickle, was in the woods,
Still illegal.
They hate guys that they hire.
They set them up in the woods
Because when they're down
At the still,
They ain't got time
To be worried about
What's out here
In these woods.
See if I can see
A little closely.
I see something moving
In that field down there.
♪♪
Somebody is coming
Behind this tree.
♪♪
They about 150 yards out.
run.
♪♪
Six counties
To the northeast...
This is like
Carrying a torpedo.
Yeah.
Chuck, you know what the only
Difference is doing this
And doing it illegally?
-unh-unh.
We wouldn't be doing it
In the daytime.
-it would be at night, huh?
-yeah.
Tim and chuck are
Knee-deep in work
Rigging up a supplemental water
Pump for their distillery.
Head for the deep
Water, tim.
-yeah.
-yeah.
All right.
That water don't look like
It's that deep
Until you get in there.
Whoo.
I don't understand.
It's always that phone rings
When you're in the middle
Of something, huh?
I know it.
J.T. Is calling. Hey.
What's going on?
what is it?
Hey.
You all right?
J.T.?
All I got was that he saw
Somebody, and I lost connection.
It could be a rival moonshiner.
It could be the law.
It could be he's walking in
To a trap.
You don't know what's going on.
Well, I don't know,
And I need to get down there.
Maybe this thing
Ain't turn out to be
Like what's it supposed be.
I'm not for sure exactly
If he's in trouble or not.
All I got was that,
"I saw someone in the woods,"
And then it cut off.
I don't know
Who he's following.
You never know who you're going
To run into
Down in the woods like that.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
This bear has been coming
Back night after night,
Knocking over my mash barrels
And getting in my corn
Every chance he gets.
A-ha! Well, guess what?
Well, the mash is safe.
-that's good.
-we're good.
Finally it's like we can
Make some shine.
Let's go ahead and start
Pumping the mash over.
All right.
There it is.
Red dog, turn the gas
On for me, buddy.
Okay, buddy.
All right.
The process of
Converting fermented mash
Into shine starts
With the flame.
As the pot heats up past
173 degrees fahrenheit,
The alcohol begins to vaporize,
Traveling into the cap and out
Through a pipe called the arm.
Next, it enters the thump keg
Where any excess water
Is stripped out.
The purified alcohol vapor
Continues its journey
Through another arm
Into the condenser,
Where a continuous stream
Of ice-cold water cools
It into liquid moonshine.
The mash is getting hot here.
You about ready to get a drink?
-yeah, you?
-yeah.
The poor old boy
Has had some bad luck --
The motorcycle wreck, bears.
That's why chuck and me come in,
You know, to help him out some,
To put some money in his pocket.
Hey, chuck, his luck
Has been so bad
He needs a witch wub
To get that spell off him.
-no!
-I've had a couple of them.
Unh-unh, we don't want
No more of them.
I remember that time you got hit
In the head with a baseball.
I wonder if that knocked
Your face in,
Caused all this bad luck
To come on you all these years.
Freaking helmet fell off
My head, and I got to the base.
I stand there, about that time
The ball hit me in the head.
-god almighty, she's coming out.
-all right.
-good, too.
-finally.
No matter how many runs
Of liquor I make,
It never ceases
To still fascinate me.
Tossed out the heads.
-looking clear.
-hell yeah.
When that liquor starts
Running out of that worm,
That just means
Music to my ears.
That's just dollar bills
Flowing into the jar.
Oh. Damn, that's smooth, josh.
Oh, yeah. Ooh.
That's your load of money.
If we can do this twice a week,
We'll get you
Out of trouble, boy.
They'll pay.
That's for sure.
At the very least,
I'm up and running.
My operation is back
In business.
I'm putting money in my pocket.
Everybody's happy.
Let's go ahead and cut her off.
26 gallons probably.
If josh can find
The right customer,
He stands to make as much as
$2,600 off this 26-gallon run.
Well,
That's a good day's work.
I'll call old boy
And get him on the way.
♪♪
Watch that slick-ass bank.
It's slick, ain't it, buddy?
In the great smoky mountains,
Mike and daniel are embarking on
Their maiden run of the season.
Let's check that mash out.
Good, god.
It's loud.
-whoo-hoo.
-it about ready to go?
No. It is ready to go.
You can taste the mangoes
In it, too.
Mm-hmm.
It's strong, for sure.
Let's get this stuff set up
So we can fire it up.
We've got to dig out flat pads
Up the side of the mountain
To where it'll all sit level.
Won't you look at that?
That goes plumb to china.
-uh-huh.
-oh, yeah.
That's the way old-timers
Used to do it 100 years ago.
They purposely picked
The hardest spot to dig out,
To carve into, just so somebody
Won't just won't stumble up
On their site.
Whoo.
You know, this *bleep*
Don't even matter.
We'll dig it right now,
Or we'll dig it when they
Catch us running liquor.
We'll be on the chain gang
Busting rocks.
That sure enough have
You on that, boy.
You good at that, ain't you?
Well, this moonshining is easy,
Ain't it?
Easiest thing in the world.
What's wrong with that
Right there?
I don't see nothing except it
Ain't got alcohol
Coming out of it yet.
♪♪
Our base mash was mangoes.
That goes into our pot.
Now all we got to do is fire
It up and see how it goes.
I'm ready when you are, buddy.
Ready, do it.
That'll work.
We got that fire lit
For the first time this season.
It's like the gun going off
At the first race.
Bam, baby. I'm ready to go.
I believe that right there will
Make some good stuff, buddy.
This will be the first time
We ever tested out
These gin baskets.
It was just an idea that I come
Up with to transfer flavors.
My biggest hope is that mango
Mash infuses
In to that pineapple and kiwi,
You know, and creates
That good brandy.
Just work it around
As you go down.
That right there ought
To transfer.
I'm going to put the old coon
Rod in here and get her ready.
-lay it to it.
-all righty.
We're actually starting
To transfer in to the first jar
And the second one
Just a little,
And from here out,
You'll have mango, pineapple,
Kiwi flavor coming all the way
Down and out through the worm.
It's actually going to be
Distilled four separate times
Before it ever
Comes out the worm,
And each time it distills,
It getting more and more pure
As it goes down the line.
I'm liking it and we got liquor
Running, too.
Oh, lord.
We do, don't we?
Boy, damn, you can taste
The fruit in it. It's hot.
I'm going to pitch them
Heads off real quick.
Whew. God almighty,
That's good, son.
I can taste the pineapple
Coming through hard on it.
-on the first.
-and it's number one.
Damn. It tastes just like
I thought it would,
And you can taste that mango
Right off the top,
And behind that you can taste
A hint of the pineapple
And a hint of the kiwi.
It looks like we about got
A bucketful
Of liquor over there, don't we?
Let's pop this cap.
♪♪
Let's get up here
And get our jars.
It turned out to be six good
Gallons of 120-proof brandy.
It tastes great.
I love it, and I believe
It'll fetch a high dollar.
By god, that's
Some pretty brandy.
♪♪
J.T. Calls me, and the phone
Is breaking up.
He's telling me he saw somebody,
But then I don't know.
I mean, the phone cut off,
And I don't know what happened.
In the blue ridge foothills,
Tim is racing to j.T.,
Whose surveillance mission
For shiners
Henry and kenny law
May have taken a dangerous turn.
Well, I've been calling
J.T. All the way from culpeper.
I keep trying to call
And get in touch with him.
Maybe he had to turn
His phone off.
He didn't want nobody
To hear him,
So I know
I got to get down there,
But this truck has got
My name all over it.
It's got climax moonshine
All over this thing.
You know, one of them says
He's going to raid the place.
I can't compromise myself
By letting him see the truck.
♪♪
Well, I think the still place
Is right back that way.
So I just got to get in there
And see what's going on.
♪♪
So we got to make our way
Through here somewhere.
I'm not sure where we going.
♪♪
I can see some equipment
And stuff up here,
So we got
To be getting close.
♪♪
This is the place right here.
They got the truck backed up
To the door doing something.
I don't see j.T. Nowhere.
♪♪
That's a good sign
Or a bad sign.
Good sign he ain't here,
Bad sign,
I don't know where he is.
-what's going on?
-we're in trouble.
-what are you doing, j.T.?
-we're in trouble.
We're trying to get
This stuff loaded up.
Oh, no. No. No.
-I told you, don't be in here.
-no.
You ain't supposed
To be in here.
-he got close, I mean --
-kenny, get the axe, man.
Let's get out of here.
-we got to roll.
-let's roll.
♪♪
You know, digger,
He ain't the dancer
That I like to think I am.
♪♪
That's really hard.
There ain't just anybody
Can do that.
We always like to do that
Jed stomp.
♪♪
Hell, yeah.
Popcorn fancied himself
A dancer.
I guess he was as good as any
Of the rest of us are.
Of course, he didn't weigh
But 100 pounds.
But I think we'll just leave
This damn dance floor
As its intended purpose
And set moonshine stills on it.
Josh maintains
His unlikely lead.
Mike and daniel have enough
For a house party,
And mark and digger have enough
For a high school dance.
-he got close.
-kenny, we got to roll.
What in the world
Are you doing?
It's the only way
We can get out of here.
In franklin county, virginia,
An intruder in the woods
Has several shiners
Fleeing their still site.
Come on, j.T.
Get that shotgun.
Watch good there, man.
When an agent comes down
Through the woods,
He's not looking around
For a squirrel up in a tree.
He's creeping down
Through the woods.
Once we find something
Like that,
We have to grab
Our stuff and move out.
Let's get the hell
On out of here.
All right, we gone.
My whole intention
Was just to get
J.T. Out of there because
I can see a lot was going on,
And I'm trying to find my
Direction of where I came from,
And I'm thinking, "Hell,
I'm back in the woods again."
I got j.T. And a shotgun
And we got to get away
To get to safety,
And I'm really not looking
For that adrenaline rush.
Get in the truck.
Let's go.
♪♪
I ran, got dave,
Henry, and kenny a warning.
They got back.
They was still
Loading stuff up, so...
You was in the still site.
They could have been going
To raid the place right now.
Right when I showed up, they
Could have raided the place.
I know.
Then you had me
All hemmed up.
I mean, I wasn't going
To stand there.
I'm not going to leave henry
And kenny hanging there.
I'm not just going to stand
There and say,
"Hey, you know, they told me
That I can't touch nothing,
So I'll just see you
Later on down the road."
We thought it was a good idea
To come down here
And help them out.
Yeah, it is a good idea.
They asked for our help.
We come down to help,
But you were supposed
To stay in the woods.
You're squirrel hunting.
I don't know if this guy
Was law enforcement.
I'm just glad
That I did get there
And I was able to separate
J.T. From them.
You can't make up that time
Lost in jail.
♪♪
♪♪
So you just a tiny bit nervous
About losing to an old,
Down, has-been wannabe here?
It don't matter if I make
A thimbleful.
It's still gonna be better
Than a quart of yours.
Eight counties
Southwest in tennessee,
Mark and digger
Are squaring off in competition
To determine the first liquor
They'll run this season.
This is the fun part,
Three flights of stairs.
We got a little competition
Going on.
Mark has come up with
The cherry-vanilla
Sipping cream,
And I've come up
With the creamy key lime,
And we're going to see
Which one is the best.
By the time we get done, we're
Going to have buns of steel.
Creams are the rage in a lot
Of distilleries nowadays,
The same thing that
You cream coffee with,
And it mixes well with alcohol.
Oh, I got plenty of alcohol
Hatty boy.
Wow.
This mash is top-notch.
Digger better bring his a game
Because he's going to need it.
Rock and roll,
And may the best man win.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Who's that I hear coming?
♪♪
That's j.B. Rader, esquire.
You need a little hit of oh-two
To get you
Through after them steps?
Nah.
Mentor to mark and digger
And partner of the notorious
Shiner popcorn sutton,
J.B. Rader is a living legend
In the world of moonshine --
...And a producer of some of
The finest liquor
Ever tasted in appalachia.
We got liquor running out
Of two stills.
Mine is just like
Digger's old lady.
-it's putting out all over town.
-all over town.
Whichever one of them
Is the best,
That's the one that we're going
To go with and run.
That's where you come in
To play.
You're going to be
The blind taste tester.
You don't give a *bleep*
To do it, do you?
Uh-oh.
I've got a drop of liquor.
That's a pretty good stream
Right there.
You got any liquor
Going yet there, big boy?
Yeah, I'm just now starting.
Hmm.
The consumer wants these
Sipping creams,
Dessert drinks if you will,
And they're selling a lot
From these legal moonshine
Distilleries.
We have to keep up with what
The consumer wants, too.
♪♪
There's one.
♪♪
What do you think there,
Rader?
Well, if you was gonna
Pick one out,
Where would you be?
Hmm.
No praise, just throw money.
congratulations,
Hatty boy.
I'm tickled to death.
I'm proud of myself.
It's damn-fine liquor.
Now we're going to
Take this recipe,
We're going to upsize it,
And we're going to make
Some money off of it.
I'll just keep this
For myself then.
I know j.B. Likes
A key lime pie,
But he didn't pick me
So *bleep* him.
Next time on "Moonshiners"...
What the hell now?
...Stalled out
In the smokies...
God almighty.
We got damn liquor to haul.
Check this out.
...A new pair
Of kentucky shiners...
Oh, my gosh.
They actually have
A waterfall in here.
Me and popcorn
Had his conversation.
I mean, he said that he had
Some liquor buried up here.
...And on the hunt
For the mother lode.
Oh, hell, yeah.