Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 8, Episode 9 - Hillbilly Ingenuity - full transcript

On this episode
Of "Moonshiners"...

-couldn't you come up
With no more?
-well...

It's payback time
In tennessee.

I'm trying, you know?
I'm trying my hardest.

-oh, my gosh!
-white lightning strikes

In the smokey mountains.

Time to get the
Hell out of dodge.

We're too far into it,
Now, to stop.

Alcohol is forbidden
Around the reservation.

And in north carolina,

A mobile still
Hiding in plain sight



Isn't the only
Undercover operation.

Josh taylor, tribal ale.
How are you?

I'm josh owens.

-I know who you are.
-your reputation precedes you.

♪♪

♪ no one can hold me down ♪

♪ or make me change my ways ♪

♪ goin' for a ride ♪

♪ runnin' to survive ♪

♪ livin' outside the law ♪

♪ livin' outside the law ♪

This is how we
Make the moonshine!

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

♪♪



We've got to get
Our butts in gear.

Yeah.

-sweet taters.
-sweet taters.

You told me
At the beach that time,

"If I'd put a tater in my pants
I'd attract more women."

I didn't think that one
Through all the way.

You're supposed to
Put it in the front.

Yeah, I figured
That out.

In cocke county, tennessee...

Jb and kelly, they've got
Us well-suited on corn liquor.

-yeah.
-gives us time to concentrate
On our artisan recipes.

With their
Runs of corn whiskey

Outsourced to two
Trusted associates,

Mark and digger
Are trying to develop

A new sweet-potato
Liquor --

An experimental recipe
They've never attempted.

Do sweet taters ferment
Different than corn or grain?

I do not know.

I'm gonna answer that question
In 7 to 10 days.

You know how we are.

It's something different.
We're gonna try it.

We're getting to
The sweet tater time of year,

With thanksgiving
And christmas coming up.

So, we're gonna run
This small run

In our little
Research-and-development lab.

You know, digger
Is pretty slick.

He's got the cameras.

We can see what's going
In the back alley, front.

We can do the small runs here,
You know,

Without attracting
Any attention.

We really need to just
Kind of look at them,

See what they're
Gonna do.

'cause we ain't got
No clues.

I mean, I ain't never made
Nothing out of sweet taters

Except sweet tater pie.

I love sweet taters.

Digger can't stand them.

I can't believe you don't like
The damn sweet taters.

Sweet taters
Can't do nothing good.

I don't like
Sweet potatoes. Period.

Never have, never will.

I've tried them every shape,
Way, form, or fashion.

They don't favor
Anything, to me.

Sweet taters are good.

For what, paperweights?

I don't know how anything
With sweet tater in it's

Gonna taste worth a *bleep*
To start with.

But when your best friend
Wants to do something,

If it's not gonna cost you
Any money or shed any blood,

You usually do it.

♪♪

-drop that hose out.
-yep.

We've got to have
This big red hose

To get water
Up the building.

We don't have water
Up here on the top level.

It's not worth
Spending all the money

To plumb water up here.

So, we just simply run
A heavy-duty water hose

From the bottom floor.

Turn it on, there, boss!

We don't really know
What would be the best way

To mash in
These sweet taters.

So, you know, we're gonna try
Three different mashes.

We're gonna put sweet taters
In all of them, of course.

But we're gonna sweeten one in
With white sugar,

One in with brown sugar,

And we're gonna sweeten
One barrel in with molasses.

I got it.

That ought to be plenty.

But which one we think is the
Best is the one we'll stick to

If we choose to make it
On a bigger scale.

They've got to boil.

They've got a boil,
And boil hard, I'd say.

♪♪

♪♪

Where the hell is chuck?

Ugh. Can't believe
He ain't here!

God dog.

My tanks were
Supposed to be painted.

The tie-downs were
Supposed to be in the trailer.

In polk county, north carolina,

Josh is putting
The finishing touches

On his mobile still unit.

But his partner is
Nowhere to be found.

Hey, man.
Just wondering where you at?

Chuck is missing in action.

I've been calling
And calling.

It's pretty aggravating, having
To do all this work by myself.

Just saying.

God almighty.

I just as soon strap on
A wooden beak and peck *bleep*

With the chickens as to have
To do all this work by myself.

But I've got to get this mobile
Still site up and running.

The cherokee rally
Is coming up.

I need to get this thing
In operation, get there,

And make some money back.

I don't see no leaks
So far.

Right now, I'm just kind of
Checking on my pipe

Before I put
The wall on.

I'm gonna finish my wiring,
Get this thing knocked out.

This should be
The last of the wiring.

This thing's
Really so cool.

Anybody comes up,
And looks at it,

It kind of looks like I got
A bedroom behind the door.

But really, there's
Something much, much more

Behind that door.

I ain't got to worry about
The weather all the time.

I ain't got to tear
My still down no more.

If *bleep* gets hairy, I pack
My *bleep* up and haul ass.

Got our power hooked up.

We've got all
The panels on.

We've got the sink
In place.

This is just badass.

Flip the switch,
And let her do it.

I've been having to do
All this work on the trailer

By myself.

But festivals,
The biker rallies --

That's a two-man job.

The cherokee rally's
On tribal ground.

So,I need chuck
Watching my back,

If I'm gonna try to sell liquor
With the tribal police there.

All right. I don't
Know where you at,

But I ain't calling you
No more.

My ass is going on down
The road with or without.

I ain't playing no more.

I ain't playing
No more games.

I ain't got time
For this bull*bleep*.

♪♪

♪♪

Moonshine is something that
I have a lot of pride in.

My grandfather helped
Popcorn sutton run liquor.

I got my first sip
At 6 years old.

Bad habits die hard,
I guess.

A few miles west,
In cherokee county,

Seasoned shiner red fox
Has a proposition

For two local shiners

To capitalize on
Changing customer tastes.

A lot of people,
When they've heard of me,

The first thing they hear about
Is my corn liquor.

I have a big
Customer base --

Georgia, tennessee,
South carolina, north carolina.

I'm really good at making
A certain kind of corn liquor,

But I'm starting to get a lot
Of orders for brandy make.

It's gonna be
A big year for brandy,

And I don't really have
A way of doing this brandy

Plus doing
My corn moonshine.

I don't want to
Be caught short-handed,

So I need some help.

You're now entering
The zone of lawlessness.

Today, I'm going to
Talk to jeff and van,

Two of my
Moonshining buddies.

They're the brandy experts.

I trust these guys
With everything I have.

They know where
My still site is.

I know where their
Still site is.

You know, as far
As the law goes,

They're hunting
Moonshiners, here.

So, we all have to
Watch out for each other.

That's why shiners try to
Take care of other shiners.

It's just really
The appalachian way of living.

Boys, how you all doing?

You sneaking up on us?

Eh, they don't call me
The fox for nothing, man.

You walk like
A damn snake.

What's going on?

At least I don't talk
Like one, eh?

I'm just out here looking for
A little help.

Bit off a little more
Than I can chew.

I got a lot of
Brandy orders.

I can't make them.

I figure, maybe I can come
Partner up with you guys.

A little bit of my help
To you guys, and you help me.

Well, I figured
The brandy was gonna hit

Since the frost hit
The peaches last year.

Everybody was wanting brandy,
And we didn't have it.

Last year was a bad year
For brandy,

Because there was
No fruit.

Everything was killed
By the last freeze.

But this year,
The market's wanting it,

And to be honest,
We're overwhelmed.

We're gonna have to
Turn people away again.

That's cash gone.

That's money off the kitchen
Table, if you ask me, boys.

I's gonna have to do
The same thing.

Maybe if we join together, we
Ain't got to turn nobody away.

You guys help me
With the brandy,

Teach me how to do it,

I could help you guys
Make liquor, as well.

I'll give you guys
My corn recipe.

If we don't risk it,
We ain't gonna have the biscuit.

Red's a good guy.

I've probably got friends
All over the country,

But my good friends
Know how to make liquor.

And that's the ones I trust
And keep close to me.

Well, I'll tell you
What, red.

You bring your still
In here,

And we'll set all
Three of them up,

And we'll split
Everything.

Yes, sir.

I think he showed up
At the perfect time.

We've got big orders
Coming up.

You can supply your customers,
And we can supply ours, too.

I can do that.

Right on.

It's gonna be a win-win
For us all.

We're gonna be making more
Money than we ever thought.

We're gonna be a team,
Buddy, huh?

let's go knock it out, man.

Halfway through shine season,

To make their
Joint venture profitable,

They'll need to hit a collective
Goal of 800 gallons.

What I'm gonna do today
With red fox --

I'm gonna show him
The mashing-in process

For strawberry brandy.

Me and jeff's got
A few tricks that we use.

Red's got a lot to learn.
So, I hope he can keep up.

The fox is in the house, baby.
I love it.

Want to smell?
That smell to you?

I ain't going.
That's money, man.

I said "Smell it."
Don't eat it.

You stick it in my face,
I'm gonna eat it.

I'm very excited
To be able to learn this

From van and jeff.

Jeff is a brandy king.

That's a good sound, damn.

It's the sound of money.

Put a little
Enzyme on them,

And it'll look like
They're almost melting.

You start getting
A real strong smell.

That's already bubbling.

It's taking those strawberries,
And breaking them down.

When he puts that
Peptic enzyme on it,

It's helping
Break that fruit down

To get the natural juices
Out of it.

This is pretty damn cool.

That's how you get
Your flavor,

From the natural sugars
That come off the fruit.

Most people can't get it
To cross over into the jar.

The reason is 'cause they're
Not using enough fruit product,

Or they're not
Breaking it down enough.

Most people never get to
See something like this.

I'll do a check, and see how
Much natural sugar's in it.

And, got 8%.
And that is good.

It's not as simple as
Just cutting up fruit,

And mixing sugar in a barrel,
And calling it "Brandy."

There's a lot more to
The process than that.

Here's that sugar water.

Let's throw some yeast at it,
And put a cap on it.

Never use bread yeast.

I don't care what
Nobody tells you,

You always use
A high-end wine yeast.

Turn it into wine before
You turn it into brandy.

It has to be wine before
You can turn it into brandy.

Okay.

Learning this knowledge
Is pretty much priceless.

See? It kicked off
That quick.

Damn. This is bad
To the bone.

Everybody says
It takes 24 hours.

Nah. Not for van
And jeff, it don't.

-that's pretty good.
-that goes on.

Starting slowly.

It's got a heartbeat.

That means it's alive.

Good deal.
I can't wait hear it

Get in that pump
And have a heartbeat.

You know, you can take
Irish potatoes, white potatoes,

You can make a mash out
Of them real simple.

They're shorter-chained
Carbohydrates.

Now, these sweet potatoes,
On the other hand,

They're long-chained
Carbohydrates.

They're real complex,
They're hard to break down.

We're gonna have to boil them up
Till they turn to mush,

And see if they're gonna
Take off and make anything.

Mine's cooked
All it's going to.

Looks like something that ought
To be in a baby food jar,

Don't it?

Or a diaper.

yeah.
That's where it ends up.

These things are
Breaking down.

They're boiling.

We're dumping our sweet taters
In our barrels.

They're putting out
A dandy aroma.

Oh, that's
Nutting proper.

Starting to smell
Like a bakery.

I don't know, at this point,
If I like it or not,

But time will tell.

That's why they call
It "Experimentation."

Whew.

Uh-oh.

We've got company,
Howdy boy.

Holy *bleep*

Oh, hell.
It's the police.

Dag damn it.

Pull that hose in, there.

Yank it in.

Oh, oh, oh,
Oh, oh.

Oh, hell.

Uh-oh.

Oh, hell.
It's the police.

God dammit.

Pull that hose in, there.

Yank it in.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Oh, hell.

Ain't nobody home.

Hey, he ain't a
*bleep* thief.

Where you gonna get to?
Where you go?

When you get up there,
What're you gonna do,

Turn into *bleep*
Peter pan?

He's getting
In his car.

They may be calling
In the cavalry.

Let's go make sure
He leaves.

♪♪

Oh. There they go.

Get down.

He can see us
Right in here.

*bleep*

He's a-going through
The parking lot.

I believe he's just
Checking doorknobs.

We need to finish up,
Lock up, and get out of here.

You know,
We don't know whether

There's true suspicion
In this guy's mind,

Or if he's just out
Doing a property check.

Damn.

Well, he drives on.

So, I'm satisfied the fact
He's just checking property.

We don't have that much
More work to do.

We'll finish up our task
At hand, and get it done,

And we'll get home.

Wait a minute.
Can you hold it up, there?

-not really.
-let me re-grip right here.

If you're gonna re-grip,
I'm gonna re-grip.

Now, we're more on edge.

We're in a bigger hurry now
Than we was earlier.

We've got to
Get it done.

You automatically
Think the worst.

Everything police
Is always armageddon.

But, you know, it's part of
The problems you face

If you choose this life.

Yeast. That will help
Break down

The sweet potatoes
A little bit more.

Digger, he's gonna
Pitch his yeast.

And we've got them all cooked
In, stirred up, topped off.

This is the process,
Here, of making liquor.

The true test
Is in the mash.

This is where you make
Your taste, your flavor,

Your quantity,
Your quality.

Cooking it in a still
Is not it.

Does it look safe
To leave?

Well,
What we can see does.

We'll pick one of these,
And we'll fly with it.

♪♪

♪♪

Chuck, I don't know if you're
Caught up with some broad

Or what, but you'd better
Have a damn good excuse

For screwing me over.

I'm not missing another rally
Because of you.

Four counties to the east,

In polk county,
North carolina,

Josh is ready to hit
The motorcycle rally circuit

With his mobile still.

His first stop,
The annual cherokee bike rally.

We're supposed to
Be leaving today,

And I can't get chuck
On the phone.

He's nowhere
To be found.

He's m.I.A.

I've done missed one rally
Because of it.

I'm about to miss
Another rally.

It leaves me no choice
But to call on

One of the only people that I
Can count on, and that's cuz.

-cuz.
-yo, brother.

Man, I'm so *bleep*ing mad
I can't see straight.

I need somebody
To go with me.

I've got to have
A roll dog.

Can you go with me?

All right. I guess.

If anybody was ever been
A brother from another mother,

It's my buddy, cuz.

He was right there with me
When I blew my fingers off.

He's been right there
With me

When I run drill bits
Through my hand.

He's run me
To the hospital

More times than I can count,
At this point.

Bring your pickup truck.

You've got a friend that
You can trust with your money,

Your cars, and your women,
You've really got a friend.

Man, am I glad
You got here.

Me and cuz have been
Friends for years.

He's a trooper.

He's always just
One phone call away.

Thank god I can
Count on you, man.

Yeah, sure, bro.

I don't what the hell
Happened to chuck.

He ain't been
Worth a *bleep*.

I'm gonna fill this
Thing up with mash,

And then, we're gonna go on
To cherokee, north carolina.

It's a bad idea to travel

With the mash and the still
Together at the same time.

All right, cuz.
Is it pumping?

Yeah. It's thumping.

If I do happen
To get pulled over,

The mash is
Gonna be seen.

And then, they're really gonna
Want to tear into my trailer.

And then, they're
Gonna find the still.

And then, my game,
My gig, is up, then.

So, it makes sense
For us to travel

With the mash
In a separate ride.

They look at my trailer,
All they're gonna do is,

They're just gonna
Look in there,

And it's just gonna be a trailer
With racing stuff in it.

Figure out a good spot.

I need you to be able
To park right beside me.

So, you want me to
Find a good spot?

For what, now?

The trailer's got a still
In the front of it.

We need to be able to pump
This mash back into the trailer

Without a hundred people
Seeing us do it.

Does a cat have
Climbing gear?

Make a little money,
Run a lot of shine, yes sir.

I'll be glad
To get this done.

It feels good
To be headed to the rally,

Be able to run this thing
Right up under everybody's nose.

♪♪

You're talking about,
Primarily, getting $150 for it?

Yeah. About $150.

We worked our ass off
To make this.

Hard work.
It's good whiskey.

If I wasn't driving,

I'd get in the bottom
Of it right now.

Across the state line

In sevier county,
Tennessee,

Mike and daniel
Are fast approaching

Their first debt payment
To mark and digger.

With the deadline
Uncomfortably close,

They've been
Trying to bootleg

5 gallons of premium whiskey
At a premium price.

But so far,
They've had no luck.

Me and daniel been busting
Our chops day in and day out.

We've got us a payment up.

We've got to go meet
Mark and digger,

See if we can't get these boys
Paid up a little bit today.

I've got a deadline.

They want payment,
And they want it now.

So, we're going to
Get rid of this liquor.

And I know it'll sell
For a high price.

I'm damn confident
In our liquor.

So, I'm gonna go and try
To drive a hard bargain.

That looks like our feller,
There, daniel boy.

How you doing, buddy?

Take you a horn of it,
And see what you think.

Smells good, don't it?

Mulberry rye, we got.

Yeah, buddy. You can
Taste both of them in it.

We got five gallons...

...On the truck.

There ain't no damn way
I can do $90, bro.

I was thinking more
Amount of $160 a gallon.

I don't know, buddy.
You're gonna have to do

A lot damn better than
100 bucks a gallon.

'cause I'll be rightly
Honest with you,

We've got a lot of sweat,
Blood, and tears

Into this run,
Right here.

We've got a lot of stuff
That we've got to get paid off,

And that ain't none of nobody
Else's business, you know?

But we've got
A certain price we need,

And we know
It's worth it.

And there's no way
I can go under $150.

There's just no way.

I don't know why in the hell
We're having such a hard time

Selling this mulberry rye.

We want a high
Price for it,

But I've never in my life
Had this much trouble

Trying to get
Any liquor sold.

We're $40 short,
Brother.

I can't be running
Just slam behind

On paying these boys,
You know?

I don't want them
Having to call me and say,

"Hey, mike, where's
Part of our money at?"

I've got to get
This stuff sold.

Damn it!

It don't take a einstein
To figure this out.

It's time to get
The hell out of dodge!

The dangerous mix
Of copper and lightning

Plays out
In north carolina.

We're too far into it,
Now, to stop.

♪♪

That's good whiskey.

I mean, you feel
Like it's worth it.

It's definitely good.

You can taste mulberry
In it.

Damn right.

On a back road
In sevier county, tennessee,

Shiners mike and daniel
Have a possible buyer lined up

For their mulberry rye.

We've got one more chance
To try to get this stuff sold

Before we've got to go meet
Mark and digger.

Where is this guy?

Late.

Look here.

Our buyer,
Here, I bet.

How you doing, man?

I could tell when he
Got out of his car,

He was gonna drive
A hard bargain with me.

Want to try?

Like that?

That's good stuff,
Ain't it?

We would like to get
About $160 a gallon for it.

To be honest
With you,

All I'm gonna be
Able to do is $140.

'cause if I can't
Sell it for that,

I'll take it
Back home with me.

$140?
That'll get you some liquor.

We haggled
Back and forth.

$140 a gallon.

I took a little loss.
But you know what?

At this point,
I'm glad to get rid of it.

I just hope we got enough

That mark and digger will be
Satisfied with what I give them.

♪♪

♪♪

Well, we're on time.

So, they're late.

I don't care if he's
A few minutes late

If he's bringing money.

Yonder they come.

There he is.

Let's see what
We got in store, here.

Well, let's get this
*bleep* over with.

Hello, girls.

What's going on, bud?

Got y'all a
Payment, here,

Whichever one
Of you wants it.

-give it to him.
-I don't want it, but I like it.

It's $1,800.

That's a little over a quarter
Of what I owe you boys.

And couldn't you
Come up with no more?

Well, we've been running liquor
Day in and day out.

It's all there.
I promise you.

I wanted to hit y'all halfway,
You know, this time,

But I just couldn't
Make that happen.

This takes a lot of runs
On a 30-gallon pot.

I'm telling you.

Well, we had hoped
For some more.

I just hope you guys
Understand.

I mean, I do have
A family to feed.

We do.

And that, right there,
Is reassurance that I'm trying.

You know,
I'm trying my hardest.

♪♪

You know, you can't
Demand something from a man

That he doesn't have.

So, I'm gonna
Take his word for it.

I think we're headed
In the right direction, buddy.

-I hope so.
-yeah, you know, I
Was always told...

Thank you, dan.

..."If a man's word ain't
No good, he ain't no good."

It's all he's got,
Or he's rattlesnake meat.

That's it.

They understand that
I'm making the effort.

But me and daniel,
We've got to start

Turning out
A lot more liquor,

'cause we're basically
Killing ourself.

What are we gonna
Do to up our production?

We've got
To do something.

-yeah.
-but I don't know.

♪♪

We just got
In the middle

Of a summertime downpour
Over here, boys.

Four counties south
Of north carolina,

As a seasonal
Lightning storm rolls in,

Red fox, van, and jeff

Wager their safety
Against filling orders.

We keep waiting on
The weather.

This could go on
For weeks, a month.

We're gonna have to start
Making some liquor.

Watch out.

Rain can stop a run
Of shine dead in its tracks.

When the temperature of a still
Reaches 175 degrees,

Alcohol in the mash boils
And turns into vapor.

That vapor should travel
Into the cap

And through the arm,
Thump keg, and condenser

To complete
The distillation process.

But rain falling
On the cap of the still

Prematurely cools and condenses
The alcohol vapor,

Trapping it in the pot

Before it can travel through
The remainder of the still.

Put a tarp
Over two still pots.

Keeps us protected
From the rain.

But the harder it rains,
That canopy fills up with water.

Got to get the water off
The top of these tarps.

If we don't, it's gonna
Collapse in on us.

We've got to work
A little harder.

Out of the limits
We've been given,

We're gonna
Make moonshine.

All right. We need
To get this beer in here.

-pump it in.
-pump it down in there.

Oh, man.
That smells good!

That's like candy.

It looks good.

There's a lot of
Juice in there.

Every black bear
In the woods

Will be out here
In just a little bit.

That's it.

We've got mash pumped in.

We're ready to
Run some liquor.

A moonshiner
Battles nature.

If it gets rough,

The real moonshiner
Has to come out and play.

♪♪

People don't expect us
To be out here running.

Does that mean
We're smart?

Smarter than
Some of them.

I guarantee you that
There's only three people

Out in the woods right now --
And that's me, you, and jeff.

It gets about right for us.

It's like I'm learning how
To deal with the elements,

As well, a little bit better
Than what I...

...Would have been.

There just went
A good bolt.

Oh, my gosh!

I don't mind, you know,
Running in the rain,

As long as
It's not lightning.

That bolt of lightning
Strike like that,

Hits your damn still,
You can blow up.

Considering we're standing down
Here next to a big copper pot,

It don't take an einstein
To figure this out.

It's time to get
The hell out of dodge.

We're too far into it,
Now, to stop.

Well, we're running
In a lightning storm.

We're standing
Next to probably

The biggest conductor
Of electricity around.

That's bad.

-oh, my gosh!
-that's bad.

In the smokey
Mountains of north carolina,

A lightning storm
Threatens to short-circuit

A run of strawberry brandy.

We're standing down here
Next to a big copper pot.

But I have to worry,
Too, about, as a team.

You know, we're all
Getting backed up.

I don't know if I made
The right choice or not,

But it's now or never.

With the lightning, the thunder,
The wind, the rain, it's scary.

But I've never left a still
In the middle of a run.

If at any time
Y'all feel uncomfortable,

You can get up the hill.

I ain't gonna make
Anybody stay here.

I'll stay till you go.

If lightning hits,
I guess so be it.

I guess we all blow up
If it hits --

The whole mountainside
Gets a firework display.

This is real
White lightning, boys.

White lightning
And thunder running.

I'm feeling the pipes
To see where the steam's at.

It's just a old habit
From a moonshiner.

What he does, he puts
His hands on the arm,

And that tells you
Where your steam's coming from.

Not only is you out
Here holding

The biggest conductor
Of electricity

In the whole damn forest,
But damn,

You wearing it
On your wrist, too.

You are tempting fate.

I ain't gonna get away
From it, I don't guess.

The first ring's hot.
Now, we're down to that one.

He's spinning around
In circles, now.

Choom. Got a good smell
On the money pipe.

Let me get a sniff.

Whoo, yeah.

I smell it.
Damn, boys, it's strong!

Coming out the pipe.

Is it running already?

Well, it's got a good,
Steady stream to it,

Don't it?
-yeah.

-is that the heads?
-yeah.

Right now, this is nothing
But methanol.

We're catching heads.

Clear as a bell.

Holding steady
At 164.

That's a perfect stream.

Tastes like
Strawberry pie.

It's really good stuff.

We've got a good run going,
Is what's happening.

How many shots of that

You reckon a man could take
Before he fell over?

This being my first run
Of brandy today,

I'm really excited
I have the privilege

To be able
To learn this.

That's a good run.
I'm pleased with that.

I think our customers
Will be pleased, too.

That's right!

♪♪

♪♪

It smells tangy up here,
Don't it?

Just a tiny bit.

Reckon they're
Ready to go?

They ought to be.

Four counties to the northeast,

Mark and digger are ready
To start a trial run

For three versions
Of sweet-potato moonshine.

We used molasses, brown sugar,
And we used white sugar.

Whichever one of them
Tastes the best

And offers the most yield,

That's the route
We're gonna go with.

Hoo!

Tastes like a damn
Sweet tater's ass*bleep*,

I can't believe you don't
Like the damn sweet tater.

I don't like
A regular sweet tater,

Let alone
A damn sweet tater.

If you don't like sweet taters,
Why'd you even agree to do this?

'cause you wanted to.

And I'd do anything
You'd want to do --

Shy of having sex
With a man.

Damn. Boy,
That's a long way from

Not liking sweet taters,
Ain't it?

Yeah, it's a way piece off.

The molasses mash,
I don't have really high hopes

Of it being worth a damn.

But you never know
Till you put it in the pot.

That's why we experiment
With real small batches.

Let's cap it up.

Then, if they're
Not any good,

You've not lost
A whole big run of liquor,

And a lot of money,
And a lot more time.

If we feel it's worthy
Of running on a big scale,

Then, fine, we'll do that.

Yeah, we need a big
Recliner up here.

We'd just sit in it all day,
And wouldn't get nothing did.

Yeah.

It's what we do.

We try to
Come up with something

That folks really like.

Or, in this case, it may taste
Like gopher ass *bleep*.

We don't know.

Let's finish all of them up
Before we taste them,

So we'll have something
To judge it by.

Let me get a little of this
Brown-sugar syrup out of here.

Well, I ain't above it.

It tastes really good,
But who knows.

We're fixing to start cooking
The brown-sugar mash.

Brown sugar generally
Tends to not produce

As much alcohol
As cane sugar,

But I think
It will be really good.

The brown-sugar liquor
Coming out of it

Has got a good aroma to it.
It's good and clear.

We run the
Sweet-potato mash

With the brown sugar in it,
And we yield two gallons.

More than the molasses.
So, you know, hopefully,

The white sugar
Will do even better still.

That's good-looking
Mash, there.

We're about to start cooking
The white-sugar mash.

Here we go.

And you can tell
By the mash,

It's got the highest
Alcohol content.

Sweet taters and white sugar --
Final run of the day.

Cane sugar is noted
For producing more alcohol

Than brown sugar.
So, if it tastes as good

As it should,
This may be the one.

Well, lay it to it,
There, handy boy.

This is the molasses.

It was your idea.

I know it.

Oh, in the name of sense.

-it's mean, ain't it?
-oh, "Mean" ain't the word.

This molasses --
It tastes horrible.

I don't know what
A monkey's ass tastes like,

But if I was guessing,
It would be very close to that.

It's not hard
To knock this one

Out of the running

For running it again
On a bigger scale.

This is the brown sugar.

But it ain't great,
Is it?

In our defense,
I've tasted worse.

There's one thing
About it --

It's got some alcohol in it.
I can feel a little bit of it.

That's better than
That other jug.

The brown sugar --
It's not horrible liquor.

I wouldn't notdrink it.

I'd mix it with
A little something

To add a little
More flavor.

Now, this smells pleasant.

Fruity, but not overwhelming.

Nutty, but not pretentious.

♪♪

♪♪

Hmmm.

It's got a unique
Flavor to it.

It tickles the pallet,

But, boy, it does have
A good taste.

I mean, it brings
Thoughts in your head

Of some kind of candy.

Out of the three,
This one, by far.

You know, it's not my favorite
Recipe that we've ever done,

But pizza don't taste
The same to me as it does you.

You like what you like.
Maybe it'll catch on.

We'll make
The most out of it.

That makes a good
Holiday liquor.

♪♪

Super excited to be
Getting up to cherokee,

And be getting
This thing set up.

Hopefully, cuz
Has got us lined up.

There he is.

Cuz.

In north carolina,

Josh is traveling
Into the foothills

Of the smoky mountains
With his new,

Mobile still unit in tow,

Headed for a local bike rally at
The cherokee indian reservation.

How's it look up yonder?

All right.

Building this trailer's
Been a lot more damn work

Than I ever, in a million years,
Would have thought

It was gonna be.

But today -- today is where
It's finally all gonna pay off.

And here I am,
Going to an indian reservation.

Alcohol's kind of forbidden
Around the reservation.

But as long as I can
Stay out of trouble,

I can make some money.

My mash is good.

We've got our still
Ready to go,

Damn, cuz.
-how you doing, man?

All right.
Thank you so much.

Let's go ahead
And take the bikes out.

It's a good thing
I've got cuz,

'cause he's ready to go,
And he's dependable.

-how you been?
-good. You?

-what's up, man?
-we're getting ready to

Do a show, if you want
To check this one out.

Yeah; we could do that.

Biker folks
Are my family.

When I crashed my motorcycle
This year,

I found out just how much the
Biker people are there for me.

I had more of
The biker world there for me

Than I did people that
I've known my whole life.

I've seen it all.

Want to get up
There and do that?

Hell, no.

It's a real
Tight-knit community.

They're outlaws, too.

-you guys make moonshine?
-yeah. We make moonshine.

We were curious
If you had any moonshine?

Yeah. We're the
Real deal, brother.

It's a great place
To sell shine.

Man, I'm ready to start
Making some money.

Its time to roll.

How's it going?
What's happening?

Hey, josh.
I'm josh owens.

You do?

No problem.

All right.

That's a nice little pool of
Water to relax in, ain't it.

I think now we need
Something to warm us up,

What do you think?

That'd clean the cavities
Out of a hillbillies mouth.

Some of our good damn
Hard work put to use.

-yep.
-you know what?

I thought this was
Gonna turn into

A damned old hillbilly hot tub,
But it's a hillbilly cold tub.

It's far from hot, but it's
Getting warm up here now.

You didn't piss
In the water, did you?

Yeah. I needed to
Warm up a little bit.

Nah.
I'm playing with ya.

Oh, man.
That's nasty.

Just past mid-season,
And mark and digger

Have put there name
To 348 gallons of shine.

Josh's season has stalled out
At 124 gallons.

For all his work,
Mike has got just 62.

And red fox has kicked off
His new partnership

With 8 gallons of brandy.

What are we gonna do
To up our production?

We've got to
Do something.

In sevier county tennessee,

Mike and daniel are trying
To come up with a quicker way

To dig themselves
Out of debt.

Me and daniel,
We've been bowed up

Buttholes and elbows
Trying to make this happen.

What about building
Two 50 gallon pots?

You know,
Running two pots,

You've got twice
The chances for leaks,

Twice the gas
You've got to burn.

What about building
A 100-gallon pot,

And put a divider in it?

Splitting one still up?

Yep.
Right in the middle.

Put a divider in it.

As soon as
We can get this debt paid off,

That's more money me and daniel
Can stick in our pocket.

So, we've got to
Do something different.

What do you got in mind?

I'm thinking.

Make one little short,
Fat 100-gallon pot,

And put a divider
In that joker.

And then, you'd have 50 gallon
Of mash here, and 50 here.

We could run a blueberry
Here and a rye here.

We'll use our old burner.

We'll have two different
Steams and vapors

Traveling into one cap,
One arm.

I like the idea, but this
Thing's gonna be hard to do,

And it's got to be right.

I mean, it's got to be solid
All the way round.

Built correctly,

A split-chamber still could
Potentially double their output

While ensuring
The flavor combinations

Of a high-dollar shine.

That would help us.

As opposed to running
5 to 7 gallons, we'll have...

12 to 15 to 20.

12 to 15 gallons
Of liquor going off.

That way,
We can get the debt

To mark and old
Digger paid back.

Our season goal for this year
Is 800 gallons,

And I don't see that happening
Unless we build this new pot.

Let's do this.

-and let's keep it secret.
-heck yeah.

Let's go get some
Materials, bubba.

I don't see no reason
We need to tell mark and digger

What we got.

I don't think they need to know
Anything about it.

It ain't none of their business
What we're running on.

We've got mouths to feed
And bread to put on the table,

So we don't plan on
Telling them nothing.

Got to work, work, work.

Make liquor, make money.

♪♪

At the annual
Cherokee bike rally...

I'm ready to start
Making me some money.

...The time has come for josh
To fire up his mobile still.

Time to run.

How's it going?
What's happening?

Hey, josh.
Josh owens.

You do?

No problem.

We're about to fire this thing
Up, tribal police shows up.

Tells cuz to take a hike.

I'm pretty much sweating bullets
At this point in time.

Yeah, man.

I don't live
Too far from here.

We're just kind of
Hanging out.

I used to come
When I was a kid a lot.

What makes you
Think that?

No problem.

No worries.

You, too.
Appreciate it.

And they tell me that
They know exactly who I am,

They know exactly
What I'm up to,

And I'm not gonna do it
On their ceremonial ground.

What the hell?

What happened?

That was the a.L.E.

What did they want?

He said he knows
What I'm up to,

And I'd better not be here
Brewing no liquor.

I don't even --
I don't know.

Whether they're
Watching me,

Or whether somebody's
Running their mouth.

Somehow or another,
They figured out

That I'm cooking moonshine
In this trailer.

That freaks me out
A little bit.

Whatever. Either way, I want
To get the hell out of here.

Let's just mosey around
For a while.

I don't want
To leave too fast,

'cause I'll may seem
Like I'm running.

This may seem like
An epic fail,

But at the same time,
I built the still

To be able to roll
With the punches.

Cuz, you reckon
There's any rain in that?

There might be.

It looks like a good enough
Excuse for us to leave,

Right there.

Fold this son of a bitch up
And be done with it.

I built this trailer
To be able to load up

And haul ass
And go anywhere.

As long as I can roll down
The highway somewhere else,

We're just gonna go right on
To the next event,

And keep her cooking.

I damn sure ain't
Going to jail

Over making
A little bit of hooch.

-hey.
-that's it.

In tennessee,
Two shiners track

A hidden moonshine stash
Worth thousands.

Well, here we go.
Maybe we'll find some liquor.

We've got the damn best-looking
Rig in the smoky mountains.

Two carolina shiners
Built a still

To run their way
Out of debt.

It's gonna blow
Everybody's mind.

This is what separates the boys
From the men, right here.

If this son of a bitch
Makes it to the lake,

It'll be a miracle.

And in louisiana,
A floating still site,

May be land-locked.

Just take it slow.

I'm taking it as slow
As I possibly can.

*bleep*