Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 8, Episode 4 - Popcorn's Secret Stash - full transcript

[ dog barking ]

There's what's on
That game camera.

That's one hell of a fire
Right there, boys.

I got apprehended this morning.
-I felt the blood leaving me.

You know, moonshiners go about
Doing things their own way.

You're on my turf, son.

We want $7,500 for our still
That you blowed up.

That ain't no offer.
This is a damn order.

In my opinion,
The talking is over.

Narrator: on this episode of
"Moonshiners"...

What the hell now?



First rule of bootlegging --
Have a backup plan...

It's out of gas.

...And a gas can.

We got liquor to haul up
Through here, you know.

Fill the *bleep* up
With gas.

Oh, check this out.

Oh, my gosh.

In kentucky, moonshining goes
To new depths.

We actually have
A waterfall here.

Oh, it's ice cold.

It's limestone, too.

Me and popcorn
Had this conversation.

He said that he had
Some liquor buried up here.

And 10 years after his death,



Popcorn sutton's widow
Kicks off a search

For a hidden bounty
Of moonshine.

These ain't the same boards
That was there once upon a time.

Oh, hell yeah.

Man: this is how we make
The moonshine!

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

Digger: you know, we got that
Boy squared away a little bit,

Old cockerel,
But I still think

We should have tied him up

And took a switch
At them legs.

Either way,
We'll move forward.

Hell, there ain't no need
To looking back.

You reckon we give pam enough
Time to get out of bed yet?

Sure,
She's up out of bed.

In cocke county, tennessee,
Mark and digger

Are answering the call
From an old friend.

We're on our way to go visit
Popcorn's widow.

She's got a little something
That she's had on her mind.

I knew pam before
I knew popcorn.

I remember he called me,
And he said,

"Do you think
She'd go out with me?"

I said, "Probably not,

But I'd say
She'd appreciate being asked."

You know, we don't call her
The damn first lady

Of moonshine for nothing.

Well, that's cause
She's married

To the king of the moonshiners.
-I guess.

You know,
If she put up with him,

She could be called
The first lady of anything.

Today is a big day.

We going to crank
This son of a bitch up.

Mark: popcorn was
A small man in stature.

He was 110 pounds on a good day,

But he was a giant
In the moonshine world.

As bubba says, "I'm going to
Make some whicky today."

Mark: it's sad that all
These guys are dying out

And taking all this knowledge
To the grave with them.

This is powerful *bleep*
Watch this.

Sacred ground up here
Where we're headed, ain't it?

Yeah.
To us it is, anyhow.

[ dog barking ]

Hush, coal chute.

He always was
An obedient dog.

Hey, there you are.

-howdy.
-there you is.

Pam is a dear, dear friend.

She's closer than
Some of our family.

Well, I'm glad you showed up
Because I've had something

On my mind for a while.

Right after we got married,

Me and popcorn had this
Conversation about the what ifs.

Mark: mm-hmm.

He said that he had
Some liquor buried up here,

But he never
Told me where.

Did he ever tell you

How much of this liquor
It's supposed to be?

He told me there was
About 60 gallons.

That's a tremendous amount
Of liquor.

Why, a man put that
In damn pint jars,

You could ask your price for it.
-I know.

With popcorn's rebel edge
And status,

And the amount of years
It's been since he's been gone,

We're talking about
$35,000 worth of moonshine.

Narrator:
35 grand from long-lost liquor
May seem like a lot,

But examples
Of recently discovered

High-value stashes abound.

In 2010, several cases
Of scotch and brandy

Belonging to the famous
Antarctic explorer,

Sir ernest shackleton,

Were discovered
Beneath one of his huts,

Encased in ice and still covered
In their original straw packing.

Based on the fact that a biscuit

From the same
Shackleton encampment

Sold for nearly 7 grand,

Experts believe a single bottle
Of the scotch

Could fetch upwards of $50,000.

And closer to home,

At the liberty hall museum
In union, new jersey,

Historians uncovered a stockpile

Of bottled portuguese
Madeira wine

Dating back to 1796.

Some speculate the wine
Was purchased in anticipation

Of a visit from john adams
Shortly after he was elected

Second president
Of the united states.

Like shackleton's stash,

This rare wine
Remains off the market,

But is estimated to be worth
At least 10 grand a bottle.

I'll bet there's five million
Jars hid in cocke county

Every time we take
A little road trip.

He'd see an old stump
Over yonder,

And he'd go stick it
In the bottom of that stump

And put a trash bag
Or something over it.

Well, I'd like to find out
If it's true.

That would help me out
Real a lot.

-come in handy, wouldn't it?
-I could retire.

Well, you want us
To go look for you?

I can't trust
Anybody else.

Well, we get that.

So it would really mean
A lot to me

If you guys would help me
Look for this stuff.

Well,
You know we will.

Do you think that the best place
To start will be at the house?

Mm-hmm.

I mean, if this liquor
Really exists,

I want to find it.

-I do, too.
-I want to find it for you.

We've got a new project,
It looks like.

-all right, baby.
-all right.

-we're going to go that way.
-all right.

I think it's true simply because

I know how he liked
To hide liquor.

She could make
A damn mint off this.

I ain't doubting it,
Not one iota

Because he hid liquor
Everywhere.

♪♪

♪♪

Hold on, granny!

That feel good,
Doesn't it?

So much for taking it easy
On my hair!

[ laughs ]

Narrator: across the state line
In kentucky,

One of the most successful
Moonshiners in lee county

Is on the lookout for
A new still site for the season.

I think
I just ate a bug.

Starting to see a little bit
Of water over in there.

Man, this is pretty.

Donnie: lee county, it was named
After robert e. Lee, actually.

It's been a dry county
Since the '30s.

Poorest county
In the united states.

It is hard
To make a living here,

But that's why I make moonshine,
Make a little extra money.

Are you sure you can
Go over that?

We'll be all right,
Granny.

-oh, my.
-when I was a kid,

There was bootleggers
Everywhere.

My grandpa made moonshine
When he was younger.

He bootlegged also.

It's a nice little hole
Of water.

Yeah, but I think
We're going to be too close

To the road, though.

Let's get out and keep on
Going up in the holler

And look and see
What we can find.

Making moonshine,
It's a lot of work.

I've been making it
For right at 20 years, I guess.

Partner, teresa,
She's just learning,

But she's a hard worker.

I haven't been up in here
Since I was a kid.

I can't remember
If there's water up here or not.

Teresa: donnie and I have been
Together almost 6 years now.

We went to school together.

He was the first boy
I ever kissed.

We're going to have to find
A place where there's water.

Can't make whiskey
In dry territory.

I'm going to be donnie's new
Moonshine partner this season.

My biggest concern about
Getting involved in moonshine,

Of course,
Is getting caught.

Boy, check this out.

I remember this
When I was a kid.

Look like it's dried up.

We got one little hole
Of water here.

That's not enough
To fill up a still.

[ both laugh ]

Donnie: this holler here
Is not going to work.

We're going to definitely
Have to find a new place.

May have to go ask
Some old-timers or something.

They may have a idea
Of where water is.

♪♪

♪♪

I got a buyer lined up for
Our mango-pineapple-kiwi brandy.

But this fella is way off
In the woods,

In the mountains,
Up some old bad road.

So I can't take this truck,
Obviously.

Narrator: eight counties south
In the shadow of

The great smoky mountains,

Tennessee shiner mike is
On his way to meet his partner,

Daniel, for the first sale
Of the season.

But getting there will require
Special transportation.

-daniel!
-what's up, buddy?

Well, you got her
About ready to go?

-yeah.
-we got some liquor to load

And get sold.

We're using this rock crawler

Because it has a real low
Gear ratio, great big tires.

It'll just go about
Anywhere you point it.

While you doing that, I'm going
To load this stuff up.

All right.

Mike: I owe a big debt
To mark and digger,

And they wanting their money,
And they want it now.

This load
Of mango-pineapple-kiwi brandy

That we've got is worth $1,200,

And a lot of that
Can go in our pocket,

But the other half can go
To help pay mark and digger off.

Where we going?

You ever heard
Of old coonrod mountain?

You talking about
The steepest hill up there?

Yep,
Right up that way.

All right.
I know where we're going then.

Mike:
Let's ride, brother.

It's always good to stay off
The beat path

When you're making a sale
To sell liquor.

As far away as you can stay
From the law,

The better off you going to be.

Got a pretty good
Damn hill to climb

Right up here,
Don't we?

Yeah.

...To run from a cop
Back in here now.

That's right, brother.

But this far back,
You got a lot less chance

Of getting caught
By the law, you know?

The damn law
Can't come back here.

You know what I mean?

I hadn't give this boy
No damn price yet,

But once he gets up here
And tastes of the liquor,

And I know
He's going to like it.

I'm going to ask him for $1,200
Right there.

I think that's fair.

If they sell
That old store-bought stuff

With sand filler
And just trashy

And don't taste
Worth a damn...

-that's right.
-...For $30 a quart,

Surely to god
This good backwoods liquor

Would be worth $50.
-amen, brother.

But now,
Because of the deal

That happened
With mark and digger,

I know I'm going to
Have to pay them boys

Something sooner
Or damn later.

♪♪

[ engine stops ]

♪♪

What the hell now?

[ engine cranking ]

It's out of gas.

God almighty damn, son.

That's a rookie-ass
Mistake.

We got liquor to haul up
Through here.

You don't fill the *bleep*
Up with gas?

We got a man on top of the
*bleep* mountain waiting on us.

You ain't got
No damn gas!

Digger: get in there
And search it over.

Narrator: fool's gold or
Buried treasure in tennessee?

Look right up yonder.

Mark: you're saying, really,
That x might mark the spot?

♪♪

Mike:
What the hell now?

Daniel:
It's out of gas.

God almighty damn, son.

Narrator: in the foothills
Of the smoky mountains,

Mike and daniel
Are primed for a $1,200 payday.

We got a man on top
Of the *bleep* mountain

Waiting on us,
And you ain't got no damn gas!

Get somebody on the horn,

And get them down here
Right damn now.

I ain't got time
To wait on you.

I mean, *bleep*.

[ ringing ]

-hey.
-you ain't going to believe
This *bleep*.

-what?
-I'm out of gas now.

Are you serious?

Daniel: yeah, I'm back here
In the holler.

You're going to have to
Bring me some gas,

And we can get this
Liquor delivered.

And tell her to get
In a damn hurry.

We got to go.
-we're burning daylight.

Try to hurry
As fast as you can.

I'm walking out the door.
I love you. Bye.

Daniel: mike is over here kind
Of pitching a hissy-fit

Because we run out of fuel,
And it bothers me, too,

But I got my wife coming
With a couple cans of gas,

And we're going to try
Our best to get up a mountain.

There she is, about damn time.

Yeah.
Come over this way.

Shine our lights right there on
Where the gas is going to go in.

Pull the emergency brake
And let her sit there and run.

Mike: we should have done
Been there.

I guarantee you it's going to be
Pitch-black ass dark

The time we get there.

I don't know
If I'll get it sold or not.

We ain't got no damn
More time to burn, son.

I'd say we're good to go.

We're just going to have to talk
To this guy when we get up here

And see if we can't
Work something out.

-I hope it'll fire up.
-man, I do too.

[ engine starts ]

It sounds good.

Whoo-hoo!

On the road again, baby.

Come on, baby, let's go!

Let's get paid.

This is the first time
I'm trying to sell to him,

And I give a man my word
That I'll be on time.

He's not going to be
Happy at all.

I'm sure we can smooth it over.
We'll work something out.

I hope we can.

I mean, I know him, but --
You know, but damn.

♪♪

What you say?

Man: not much.
How you doing, buddy?

All right, brother.

Yeah, and I am very sorry
For that.

You know, it takes a while
To get up here.

And then, plus,
We ran out of gas.

Yeah.

I was hoping like hell
You wasn't too mad at us.

Anyway, this is
Our mango-pineapple-kiwi.

Take you a horn of it
And just see how you like it.

♪♪

You like?

Smooth.
Good.

Can taste the pineapple.

-it's good, ain't it?
-yeah.

It's $1,200.

That's what we got
To have for it.

Well, I'll take it.

I surely
Damn appreciate it.

Let's get paid up
And get out of here.

It's been a long
Dadgum time.

It's all there.

Yeah,
That's it, brother.

-see y'all.
-all right, brother.

We'll see you, man.
Thank you.

All right.
Have a good one.

Narrator: mike and daniel will
Take home $1,200,

Half of which will go
Directly to mark and digger.

Daniel:
Heck yeah.

Boy, I wish
That gas gauge worked.

Might need to fix that.

Mike: well, I'd say you do need
To fix the gas gauge.

[ laughs ]

♪♪

♪♪

Yee-haw!

Here comes the law!

Along the cumberland plateau
In beattyville, kentucky,

Donnie and teresa's search
For a still site

With good running water
Has turned up dry.

Teresa: looks like your dad
Is working.

-hey!
-what y'all up to?

We've been out searching
For a new still site.

Who's going to
Make moonshine?

Granny here is.

Little granny's tonic.

Donnie: every place we found,
It's either too close

To the road
Or not enough water.

Ah, that's the trouble any more.
There's not enough water.

This is called
Powder mill holler.

I was born and raised a little
Less than a mile from here down

Between the river
And the railroad track.

The water was always good water,
Real good water,

So many people
Made moonshine.

Fact, just about everybody
That had any money

In lee county
Got a start in moonshine.

I was wondering if you might
Know of a place maybe.

I know where they say
There's a cave up here.

It might have water.
-oh, yeah?

It used to
When I was a kid.

You go back up the top of this
Hill, and it'll be on your left.

I think there'll be water there,
But now I can't guarantee it.

-is it easy to get into?
-oh, no, no.

It's almost straight down.

That's why not too many people
Go there, I guess.

Right, right.

The cave is probably slick now
Where you have to try to stay

On the rocks or the roots,

But it's probably
The only spot right now

Where you can find water.

Whatever you do,
You better be careful.

Yeah, I know.

Bring me a shot of it
When you get it on.

You get back to planting
Those flowers.

Bye.

♪♪

This is the holler
That daddy is talking about.

Well, your dad said
It wasn't easy to get into.

Right.
He wasn't kidding.

I think he was right
About that.

This looks a little slick.
-yeah.

Teresa:
Well, it won't be easy to get
To for us or anybody else.

Donnie:
Watch that spot there.

Uh-oh.
Can you do it?

Good thing I got
Plenty of padding.

[ both laugh ]

I think I hear water.
You hear that?

-oh, yeah.
-this is bound to be the place.

Oh, check this out.

Oh, my gosh.

How cool is this?
-look!

They actually have
A waterfall here.

Oh, it's ice cold.

-taste good?
-oh, yeah.

It's limestone, too.

Kentucky is known
For making good whiskey,

And that's because
The limestone water.

It purifies it
As it runs over the rocks,

And it's got
The perfect ph balance.

So maybe we found
Our perfect spot?

This may be the place.

Moonshine
That you buy in a store,

There's no comparison
Between that and what we make.

We got some of the best water
In the world,

But they use city water,
And it's actually horrible.

They're worried about production
Instead of quality.

Narrator: to avoid the risk
Of carbon monoxide poisoning

That can occur
When running a gas burner

In an enclosed space,

Donnie and teresa will set up
Their still

At the mouth of the cave.

Boy, look at this big flat rock
Right here.

We might could come up with
Some kind of piping system

And run it into the barrels at
The still, maybe, in this area

Because
It's sort of flat.

Donnie: we got shelter.
We got water.

It's secluded.

I think it might be
The perfect spot.

Partner.
Partner.

Let's do it.

♪♪

Mark: well,
We get in there and...

We get in there
And search it over.

Narrator:
Eight counties south,
Across the tennessee border,

Mark and digger
Visit the abandoned house

Popcorn occupied
In his bachelor days.

-damn, it looks bad, don't it?
-yep.

We feel that the best place
To start hunting

This hidden stashed moonshine

Is in popcorn's house
Where he actually lived.

Right there is the bullet hole
Where he shot at me that time.

I come out to take a leak
One night.

I was standing right here.

I heard bam!

Digger: there's a lot of history
Here in popcorn's old house.

We spent a lot of nights here
After we'd worked hard.

There's our numbers
He wrote down.

All in all, we've got
A lot of good memories here.

He liked guarding his stuff.

You know, at one time, his old
Mattress was set up on top

Of eight cases of liquor.

I don't really know what
We're looking for, just...

Hey!
Look right up yonder.

You're saying, really,
That x might mark the spot?

It's either that, or that's
Where he cut a board.

You can't never tell.

We're talking about
60 gallon of liquor,

$35,000 worth of moonshine.

You know, it's like a rich man
Burying a jar full of money.

♪♪

Well, by god.

Mark: what?

Mark: you're saying, really,
That x might mark the spot?

Digger: it's either that,
Or that's where he cut a board.

You can't never tell.

Well, by god.

Damn, we're geniuses.

Yeah, I see.

Well, so much for that.

We're idiots.

Popcorn always said,
"There's liquor in these walls."

But we're just under
The impression, you know,

That liquor money
Built this old house.

Digger: boy, I'll tell you what.
That's a fine place for a snake.

At least they's a cavity
In there.

Yep, but there ain't
No liquor.

Digger: we all know he loved
To hide liquor.

I mean, every road trip we took,

He would pull over
And hide a jar of liquor.

These ain't the same boards
As there once upon a time

-they don't match.
-nope.

Oh, hell yeah.

I'll be damned.

Well, it ain't no damn
60 gallon, but it's a start.

Well, let's make sure
It's damn liquor.

It might be kerosene.

It could be.

No, it's liquor.

Corn liquor.

Yes, it is,
And it's good corn liquor.

This one has got something
Wrote on it.

Big elm, like a tree.

What does big elm mean?

I mean, I don't know.

Mark:
The time period that's written
On this jar would have been

Popcorn and jb's
Heyday together.

Popcorn isn't going to provide
Any answers.

It's just fair to say that our
Next step is to go talk to jb

To see if he can fill us in
On what big elm means.

Pam has got her
2 gallon of liquor.

-yep.
-that'll buy her some groceries.

Yeah, it will, lots of it.

Hey, she can ask her
A price for this.

♪♪

[ thunder rumbles ]

-whoo, spring is upon us.
-it is.

Well, you know this weather,
In my words, is just

*bleep* weather,
Old rain stuff.

Tell you what,
It puts a damper on things,

But I cannot afford
Not to be out in it.

That's for sure.

Narrator:
One county to the west,

Tennessee shiners
Mike and daniel

Have more than just
Bad weather on their minds.

Rain or shine, snow or hail,
It don't matter.

I've got to get out here
And get it done, you know?

Right.

Mike has got mark and digger

Breathing down his neck
Pretty hard.

We've got to pay
Mark and digger off

And then move forward
And actually both of us

Makesome money.

Mike: to get my debt paid off
To mark and digger,

I been trying to dream up new
Recipes and light bulb went off.

If I can make an alcoholic
Beverage out of something

We all grew up
Loving to eat,

Surely, nowadays,
They'll want to drink it.

You know,
I think I see a pile

Right up here
Of them honeysuckles.

We have a local mountain
Honeysuckle flower

With nectar in it.

Everybody in these mountains
Has tasted

A little drop of that nectar
At one point in their life.

I've never heard of nobody
Doing honeysuckle moonshine.

Boy, that's good,
Ain't it?

Yeah.
Yeah, you can taste that honey.

I'm sure people is going
To want to buy it

Because it'll bring them
Back to their childhood,

And they can get a good feeling
Off of it at the same time.

These honeysuckles,
Back in the day,

When you was courting
Your girlfriend,

If she come home
With one of them in her hair,

Her daddy knowed
What had been going on.

-yeah, I'd say, yeah.
-you know what I mean?

"Hmm, so y'all boys been out
In the woods hadn't you?"

It's a small little bloom,
But it packs a powerful punch.

It's just got a good spice bite
On backside.

We just want enough of them
To transfer that flavor over,

And we'll enhance it
With raw honey

Instead of sugar in our mash.

-you ready to go?
-yeah.

Let's get on
Out of here, then.

Ain't no damn way you going
To find any honeysuckle shine

Like we've got
On any store shelf.

Everything that we use is
From right here

Within a 20-mile radius.

These big-time distilleries,

It's so processed
And so sugared down.

They make liquor,
But they're not making liquor,

If you get what I mean.

I got to have the honey
To make this honeysuckle run,

That's for sure.

We've got to get some
Real good honey

Because that's going to be
Our base to our mash.

So got up with a guy
To potentially trade

Some liquor for
To get the honey,

And it's supposed to be locally
Grown here in the mountains.

People around here
Trade stuff.

Back in the old days,
People would trade a loaf

Of bread for a jar of liquor,

You know, to feed
Their family and stuff on.

So a lot of times,
No money ever swaps hand.

Yeah, I figured 3 gallons
Of shine for 5 gallons of honey

To make a 55-gallon
Barrel of mash

Is coming out pretty good.

Oh, yeah.

Most people around here
Are pretty dang honest.

I hope he is.
You can't never tell, though.

Any time you're hauling liquor,
That's a felony charge.

And when you're taking it
To barter it with somebody,

You're always
A little bit nervous

And a little bit on edge.

Hell, the person, for all
That you know, could be a cop.

And just as soon as
You hand it over,

They slap cuffs on you
And take you to jail.

And I don't think that me or
Mike would be made for a cage.

See if we can't
Make a day.

♪♪

Hey.
Y'all got the shine?

Yeah, I've got your shine.
We've got it.

♪♪

Mm-hmm.
Tennessee.

Looks good enough, buddy.
I trust what you got.

Yes, sir.

-all righty.
-here, buddy.

I appreciate you coming
All the way out, man.

Yes, sir.

All right.
See you, brother.

Get the hell out of here
So we can go mash it in.

He made good for his word,
And I did mine, too,

So we got this stuff traded off,
And we going to get out of here,

And maybe I might need him
Again one day.

You know, with the flavor
Of the honeysuckle in there,

I'd say that's
Going to make some

Pretty good liquor
Right there.

Daniel:
And I think you're right.

Buddy, you ready to get in here
And try to get this mashed in?

Heck yeah.

-all right.
-pretty good, though.

Let's get out of here and get
The stuff packed in the woods.

You give me
The old heavy one.

Well, you know,
How about this?

I'll let you lead the way?

Boy, that's a heavy bucket
Of honey right there.

I'm tickled to death
About getting in here

And getting
This stuff mashed in.

Liked to went down the hill,
Didn't I?

And I catched you.

But I ain't too thrilled
About wagon all this stuff

So far back in the woods
Where we got to go.

We'll set that
Right there.

Heavy?
[ laughs ]

Let's get this stuff mashed in.

All right.
Fire in the hole.

Daniel: make some
Honeysuckle liquor.

Boy, that smells good,
Don't it, son?

Yes, it does.
That's nothing but wild nature.

The first step with anything
You mash in,

You want to make sure
You boil it all down good,

And it releases
All of its flavors,

All of its smells, everything.

You smell that honey?

Heck yeah.

You know, once you bring them
All to a boil,

You don't have nothing but good
Sweet nectar right here.

We'll actually tear the lid
Off of our honey.

We'll put it in there.

Mmm.

I could eat
A bunch of that.

I could too,
With a good cathead biscuit.

Mm-hmm.

It's rich, richer
Than 4-foot up a bull's ass.

I'll tell you it's rich.

That's making her thicker.

Honey, honey, honey.

Save a little of that.

You want to take it home and
Jar it up and have it to eat,

But yet, you know
It's going to make good liquor.

So...
-that looks like beer, don't it?

All we got to do
Is just pitch the yeast.

Let's put the old magic dust
To it, old buddy.

That'll work, literally.

If I could get the word out
Of what I've got,

I'm pretty confident that
Me and daniel is going to make

A big chunk of money.

All right,
Let's cap it off

And get out of here,
Old buddy.

Oh, hell, mike,
We ain't got no water.

Narrator: faulty plumbing makes
For risky whiskey in tennessee.

Can't do *bleep*
Without water.

♪♪

Donnie: it's a little rough
Down in here.

Teresa: oh, really?

[ both laugh ]

Narrator: kentucky shiners
Donnie and teresa are headed

Deep into the backwoods
With an old-school solution

To supply clean water
To their new still site.

I seen some river cane here
A while back

That was thoroughly big,
And I think we'll see

If we might be able to use that
For a piping system.

Let's see
What we got over here.

Narrator: a rare bamboo native
To the southern united states,

River cane can stretch
As high as 20 feet.

And for shiners,
The plant's thick,

Nearly hollow stalks make it
An ideal conduit for water.

Donnie: see how this one
Has a crack in it?

That's what we need to find
Where we can knock

These center pieces out
And let the water flow through.

How are we going to get
That out of here?

I don't know.
You're going to have to drag it

Out of here.

[ both laugh ]

Let's get to cutting.

Don't cut me!

That's not as easy to do
As it looks.

Donnie: can you believe
How tall these are?

That is a long piece.

We need about 100 foot
Of the river can to stretch

From the water in the back
Of the cave

To where the barrel
And the still is going to be.

It's like being in
The jungle in here.

Yeah.

Do you get frisky in the jungle
Like you do in the woods?

Oh, yeah.

This is going to be
An experiment,

But I think it'd make
A perfect piping system.

Another good thing about this,
It's also free.

We don't have to buy any pipe.

Boy, we'll have to have
Help packing all that in.

Oh, gosh, yeah.

We're going to have
A whole lot of work

To get everything down
In the cave.

It's muddy, and it's slick.

So we called my buddy herman
To have him come help us.

You know, herman, this is
The holler I was talking about.

Herman: yeah, this is a nice
Little spot in here, donnie.

Well, I brought ropes
And stuff, too.

So we can throw some ropes down
There, make it a little easier.

-heck yeah.
-work smarter, not harder.

A lot of the area here
Is cliffy areas, rocky.

-this will make it a lot easier.
-yeah.

A lot of people
Come in this area,

And they'll get out
Walking in the woods

And slide off of cliffs.

I've had to help rescue squad
Rig up ropes and stuff

To help to rescue
Some of these people.

Boy, it's going to be a job
Getting everything in there.

I know it.
That's why I called you.

Well, all right.

We'll see what we can do.

There we go.

Moonshiners, we try to help
One another out.

-you all right?
-yeah, I'm good.

If you've got that certain
Little group of people

That you can work with,
And you can trust.

Just a little bit of work,
A little bit of time,

You can go a long ways.

You can do a lot of things.

Let's lay our pipe
Right here.

All right.

We'll have to split it
Or cut it.

Oh, herman,
That works good

We're going to try to build this
Piping system

Out of this river cane.

We're cutting up
These center pieces,

And we're going to try
To gravity feed the water

From the waterfall
To the worm barrel.

All right.
Where do you want to feed from?

Boy, right there would be nice
If we could get it

To stay in there
Like that.

You might be on
To something here.

If we can get it to run like
That the whole length,

I think that would be
Plenty of water.

Now we can rock this up,
Brace it in here,

Wire all these pieces together,
Run it right to the worm barrel.

-right.
-I believe it'll carry fine.

If romans can build aqueducts
Thousands of years ago

And run water downhill
For 100 miles, surely

I can run it downhill
For 100 feet.

Narrator:
Donnie and teresa are setting up

Their still near the mouth
Of the limestone cave.

In order to have clean running
Water for their condenser,

They'll need to pipe it

100 feet from the spring
At the far end of the cave.

To accomplish the task,
They'll wire together

Nearly 20 pieces
Of hand-split river cane

And gently slope it
From the springhead

To provide a constant flow
Of gravity-fed,

Ice-cold spring water.

Donnie:
I think we got it.

Let's see if it starts
Running again.

Oh.

I think that'll work.

-that'll work?
-yeah.

Donnie:
We got a good water flow.

We're exactly high enough.

We couldn't have asked for it
To turned out any better.

This is probably the easy part.

The hardest part is going
To packing everything in here.

And getting
It all down here.

It never ends.

[ laughter ]

♪♪

♪♪

Boy, these old river
Slicks are slick.

Mike: they are.
We in for a wet night,

Looks like, bubba.

Oh, god dang.
I knew that *bleep* was coming.

[ laughs ]

Well, damn.

Yeah, I think we need
To build a set of steps.

That's for damn sure.

I don't want to
Bust my ass every time

I come up through here.

Narrator: as storm clouds hover
Over the hills

Of eastern tennessee,

Mike and daniel are ready
To put flame to pot

On their first batch
Of honeysuckle shine.

Let's check
This mash out.

Look at that foam.

It smells dang nice.

It sure does.

It tastes damn good.

-there's alkyhol in it,
Ain't it?
-mm-hmm.

Wherever that foam is at,
There's beer.

Check this out.

You ever seen a balloon
Honeysuckle leaf?

Check that out.

Looks like a --
How about that?

I say it's ready to run.

Mike: on the back note
Of that beer,

You can taste the honey and
The honeysuckle blooms in it,

Just the way
I wanted it to taste.

And now if we can just get it
To taste like that

When it spills
Out of that worm.

All right.

We'll go to pumping some mash
In this bad boy.

Here she goes.

-looks good.
-oh, that's good, ain't it?

Oh, hell, mike.
We ain't got no water.

What the hell?

♪♪

We just simply
Ain't damn got none.

You've got the condenser
Worm barrel.

If we don't have cold water

Constantly going into
That worm barrel,

You ain't going to do nothing
But blow steam out of your worm.

Your alcohol is going up
In smoke.

Yeah, we got the pot full,
And it's ready to run.

Well, we can't run it

If we ain't got no water
In the worm barrel.

We've got to get up there now
And go climb the mountain,

Up the waterfall
And see what the hell

Is going on
With our water source.

That's going to put us
Way behind.

It's always something,
Ain't it?

Yeah, it is.

Me and daniel has been busting
Our rear end, rain or shine.

So we've got no time to spare.

I owe a big debt
To mark and digger,

And they wanting their money,
And they want it now.

God almighty.

Looky-damn-here, son.

-son of a bitch.
-what is that?

Digger: that's nasty.

I believe a dead squirrel in
There and got drunk, passed out.

We'll never get that stink
Out of this barrel.

-that's $50, puss.
-I don't give a damn.

I ain't building no mash
In there.

See, it can't be --

Whoa!
God dang.

It smells like
A wide-open ass.

Oh, you're right.
I'm with you.

God,
That's horrible.

I don't care
If that's a $500 barrel.

You're right.

[ gagging ]

Digger: pukey mcpuke, and you
Want to put something in here

To make liquor
Out of it again.

Puss, I hadn't smelled
That damn nasty *bleep*

When you said that.
I'm sorry.

$500, one shot.

No, you're crazy as hell.

Just a teaspoon full.

You're just silly.

Narrator: josh is still in
The lead with 41 gallons.

Mike and daniel creep
Into the double digits.

Mark and digger continue their
Perfect streak of zero gallons,

And newcomers
Donnie and teresa

Have nothing to show
For their efforts.

Oh, hell, mike.
We ain't got no water.

Mike: what the hell?

God almighty.

Looky-damn-here, son.

Oh, golly.

The barrel is turned over.

Looks like an old big log washed
Off that waterfall and got it.

You can see up there where
It come over the top

And come down through here
Like a battering ram.

Just as long as nobody
Come up here and done it.

No, mother nature
Knocked this one over.

I mean, right now it looks like
It's nothing,

Just a little small stream.

But when it rains real hard,

And the water starts washing off
All these mountains,

The next thing you know,
It's a full-blown river.

Let me get that dang log
Out of the way.

See you.

You know, I don't care
If it takes until daylight

Or lunch tomorrow,

We're going to have
To get this liquor run

Because I got to pay
My debt off.

Let's get over here
And try to lift it back up

And block it back up
And secure it.

Damn thing.

Need to put
Some rocks under here.

Daniel: and it had to be moving
Pretty good

Because the barrel would
Probably be 400

To 500, 600 pounds
With the water weight in it.

Old buddy, you ready
To get out of here?

Looks like we
About finished our job.

We've got it, buddy.

I hear her going.

We got water back, baby.

We'll sock her in there,
Won't we?

♪♪

I'm going to squeeze
These oranges in one jar,

That way it'll
Transfer citrus

Through some of the juices
Of the orange

In with the flavor of
That honeysuckle and honey mash.

And in our last basket,
We're going to have just

The orange peel to give
That strong orange-peel flavor.

-there you go.
-all right.

I'm going to put
The old coon rod in it.

Narrator: a centuries-old
Moonshiner tradition

Of placing
A raccoon's penis bone

In the spout
Of the condenser

Helps direct the flow of liquor
Into the bucket.

Mike: there's a lot of liquor
Rolled off that pecker, son.

This one right here is petrified
Because of it.

It's pecker-fied?

Pecker-fied, yeah.

Yeah, it is.

♪♪

There she flies, bubba.

The magic is happening now,
Ain't it, brother?

That's just awesome,
The way that's bubbling, though.

I mean,
It's transferring it.

-yee-haw!
-we got liquor!

We got liquor, bubba.

I believe that, we got enough
Right there, buddy.

It's them heads.

Good-bye, head.

♪♪

Buddy, you can taste
That orange.

Yeah, you can taste the honey
And the honeysuckle in it.

My god,
It's some good stuff, man.

It's just a good blended
Fruit whiskey.

And it tastes delicious.

Look how clear it is.

It's pretty, ain't it?

Give that a shake and see
If you can't guess that proof.

I'm going to say
It's 160.

It's right there on
Top of it.

We've got 6 good gallons
Of brandy.

There ain't no doubt in my mind
What we run here tonight,

This is going to fetch
Some damn good money.

Another run down, baby.

♪♪

Digger:
You start smelling chicken
Houses, we know we're close.

If jb don't know,
If he ain't got no idee,

Then we're back
At nowhere.

Narrator:
One county away, mark and digger

Head to the home
Of moonshine legend

Jb rader, hot on the trail of
Popcorn's secret liquor stash.

Digger:
We didn't find a big stash of
Liquor in popcorn's old shack.

But on one of those jars,
There was a note.

We've got to track
This little lead down.

Where you at, jb?

Oh!
We ain't got nothing to eat.

You don't need your teeth.

Come over
At the conference table,

And let's talk
A minute or two.

Well, jb and popcorn, they ran
Liquor together for years,

And, you know,
If he don't know what it means,

I'm certain that nobody
Knows what it means.

What has brought us here
Is that mystery with popcorn's,

That he supposedly hid
60 gallon of liquor somewhere.

Now, we got to digging
And a-scratching.

We thought we'd start
At the old house.

We found
Four jars of liquor,

But one of them
Had something on it.

At september the 9, 1999,
This big elm.

We don't know
What it means.

Does that ring any bell?

Maybe you ought to get you get
You a little horn of that liquor

And see if it'll jog
Your memory.

Taste familiar?

I mean, is big elm
A place or...

Big elm...

Yeah, yeah.

We used to take him
A ton of liquor.

Yeah.

Big elmer, yeah,
That registered.

Is elmer --
Is he alive or dead or...?

I don't know.
I don't know where he lives.

I know he was a bad hombre.

Elmer was a bootlegger.

He moved a huge amount
Of liquor.

Popcorn trusted him,
And we had no reason not to.

That old stump.

Well, that could be a tree,
A stump, or elmer barnes.

But, now, he might have very
Well been a-stashing it back.

Mark: big elm rang a bell to him
In more ways that one.

Jb said they always hid
Some liquor at this elm stump,

Or maybe a feller
By the name of elmer barnes

Could be what
Big elm refers to.

Be a good boy.

That's merely a suggestion
If you can't.

[ laughs ]

Narrator:
Next time on "Moonshiners"...

We got just a little tiny bit
Of a chore for you.

A middleman pressed into
Service in tennessee...

All we want is $10,500.

Whatever you get out of it
Above that, that's yours.

Narrator:
An idea strikes like lightning
In the north carolina night.

A mobile still site?

A mobile still site.

That's genius.

He's parked over there.

And solitude without serenity
High in the smoky mountains.

Get ready to run.