Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 9, Episode 17 - Best Served Cold - full transcript
♪♪
Narrator: on the season finale
Of "Moonshiners"...
Kenny: you even got slicked up,
Ain't you, tim?
Tim: we going to
A wedding, ain't we?
...Tickle's getting
A life sentence.
Only this time, it doesn't
Require a state-issued uniform.
It's okay
You stressed out
Because you're getting ready
To getting married.
Just, this is a first time.
I understand.
Josh: what in the hell?
Narrator:
In north carolina....
They got me
Completely blocked in.
Narrator: ...After getting
Knocked down all season,
Josh finally hits back.
Josh: damn!
Narrator: and in tennessee...
I promise you
That that legacy liquor
Is gonna end up in my tent.
...When a moonshine deal
Is too good to be true,
Backwoods justice
Is a drink best served cold.
You remember what popcorn did
To that boy back in '83?
We'll do it.
Alright.
If little mikey wants to buy
A 100 gallons of liquor,
We'll sell him
100 gallon of liquor.
Man: this is how
We make the moonshine!
Captions paid for by
Discovery communications
When we get this sale behind us,
This last big one...
We'll be able to eat
Something a little better
Than damn possum peters
This year maybe.
Narrator: in cocke county,
Tennessee, mark and digger
Prepare for their final and most
Lucrative sale of the season --
A $25,000 payday
For 100 gallons
Of their multigrain moonshine.
Wait a minute.
We got company.
Mm-hmm.
And you know
Who that is.
We'll go and see
What he's got on his mind.
♪♪
I really didn't expect
To see you here
This evening, buddy.
The last conversation
That we had with daniel,
Everybody didn't leave happy.
We told you
We was gonna have
A little bit
Of liquor for you.
That ain't gonna be
The case, brother.
Daniel:
This puts me in a bad spot.
I've got a lot
Of people waiting.
I was really depending
On that money.
Ramsey:
He was kind of put out
After he had bootlegged
For us all season.
We just had an opportunity
To make considerable more money.
Daniel: I ain't here begging
For no liquor or nothing.
I know you guys said
That yours was gone.
That's right.
But right about a week ago,
Mike and jerry
Come to my house.
And anyway they reached me
A jar of legacy liquor.
He knows that
I'm running your guys' liquor.
He's not stupid.
Before he left, he said,
"I'm gonna shut you down."
Alright? Then you guys call me
Up and tell me
That you can't
Sell me anything
Because you've got it
Promised out.
Yeah.
Right there is when
My wheels got to turning.
Uh-huh.
Well, anyway,
I got to checking around.
I found out mike's got
A bootlegger
Expecting 100 gallon
Of legacy liquor.
Have you ever thought
About the notion
This sale that you was
Talking about that you had,
Is actually mike
Buying this liquor?
Well, I hadn't put
A lot of thought to it,
But it could
Very well be.
Digger: daniel cut to the chase
Pretty quick.
He tells us that he's stumbled
Upon mike's bootlegger,
And he's expecting
A 100 gallon of liquor.
Well, that's awful damn curious
That he should be waiting
On the exact amount of liquor
That we're fixing
To deliver to jesse.
Well, let me ask you.
I mean, you know,
You obviously know
This bootlegger, daniel.
The boy's name
That we're meeting
To sell this liquor to
Is jesse.
I don't know who
You're selling it to,
But I promise you that
That legacy liquor is
Gonna end up in mike's hands.
I thought
We was pretty sharp.
But honestly we hadn't
Went in this direction
With our thanking,
Digger.
We're kinda at a little
Crossroads here.
We got to figure out
How we gonna handle
This situation.
Well, I got one question.
You know how to get in touch
With this bootlegger?
Oh, yeah.
I can get ahold of him.
Daniel, we appreciate
This information.
And I can assure you,
He ain't gonna get
None of our liquor.
Thank you, brother.We appreciate it, man.
We're gonna talk a little bit.
We'll be in touch.
Alright.
Have a good one.
We don't usually
Go off half-cocked.
We're gonna feel
The situation out,
Then we're gonna plan
Our next move
A little more carefully.
Ramsey:
He done us a solid.
Now me and yous
Got to figure out
What we're gonna do
About this situation.
Yeah.
You remember what popcorn did
To that boy back in '83?
Yeah.
That sounds good.
Well, I'm gonna call
That bootlegger on my way home.
If little mikey wants to buy
100 gallons of liquor,
We'll sell him
100 gallon of liquor.
We'll do it.
Alright.
I'll see you in the morning.Alright.
♪♪
[ tickle groans ]
How's it going
There, fellas?
Hello, tickle.
Narrator:
In franklin county, virginia,
With 2,000 gallons
Of peach brandy sold
And a revolutionary new product
In their cbd moonshine,
Tickle and the laws
Are looking at a banner year.
Hell, I'll tell you what.
That's gonna make
This peach brandy just...
It's just gonna
Blow it all off the map.
We might have a small problem
With the peach brandy.
What do you --
What you mean, a problem?
Somebody's brought it back, man,
And said it weren't right.
Kenny: he was saying there's
Something wrong with it.
You're full of *bleep*
What's the matter with it?
Right there.
You check it and see.
Look, now, I had folks
Drink half of it
Fill it full of water.
[ laughs ]
Taste it.
I can't tell
He didn't like it.
Payday, brother.
Build me up by saying
The liquor
Weren't worth *bleep*
Get me all mad.
Do you know what?
I forgive you.
I forgive you.
I forgive you.
Narrator: after a fruitful
Season of moonshining
With henry and kenny
And their initial 2,000
Gallons of brandy sold,
Tickle's cut
Is a cool 100 grand.
Henry: that's a bunch of ones,
Ain't it?
Yeah, a bunch of ones.
Yeah.
With some zeros
Behind them.
Bunch of zeros.
Mama gonna be happy.
You know what?
Mama is gonna be happy.
Wedding
Just got paid for.
And some.
You damn right,
And some.
Ain't no way
I'd let her spend all that.
This right here is
Gonna go a long ways.
Tickle: I can get married.
I can pay for my wedding.
I've got enough money
In my pocket
That I feel like
I can start off new.
Doing everything
That I need to do
To be not only a good
Moonshiner, but a good husband.
Well, here's what
I can say, fellas.
I appreciate
Y'all taking me on.
Because
There's no way on earth
I could afford to pay for
This wedding and feel like
I was the man I'm supposed
To be without y'all...
-and now you can show her.
-...Without this payday.
You can show her
What you are.
In fact the only thing
Gonna make me happier
Than seeing that damn
Mason jar full of money?
Is making
A little bit more.
And this right here,
This is the way to do it.
Right, right,
Let's see what we got.
Oh, yes, she getting hot.
She getting hot.
You start seeing some bubbles
Moving around here.
-you bet, come on.
-oh, yeah.
[ indistinct conversations ]
♪♪
♪♪
I have no idea
Where the hell I'm going here.
It's been so long
Since I've been down here.
The road has got
Kind of rough.
Narrator: one county east,
With tickle's wedding
Just one day away,
Tim is heading
To an old stash spot
To retrieve a high-proof present
From his outlaw past.
Tickle's, you know, getting
Ready to get married and stuff,
And he's out getting
His thing together.
I was talking to tickle.
We started talking about, you
Know, did he have any moonshine?
And he's like,
"No, I've been busy.
I'm trying to, you know,
I'm trying to get this
Wedding together."
And I'm like, "Well, tickle,
You know, I got you."
And I'm thinking, "Wow,
This is my opportunity here.
I can contribute
To this wedding."
I got this stash.
I've been keeping it
For all these years.
I'm like, I've been waiting
For a perfect occasion.
Think I'm gonna stop right here.
You know, when I went legal,
I didn't want any illegal shine,
You know, hanging around
Because I don't want
To get in no trouble.
So I kind of stashed it
Over here in this barn.
I hope it's still there.
I hope nobody found it.
You know, the funny
Thing of this,
This is a shine
That tickle made.
He thought I sold it.
Make sure there's
No big anacondas in here.
No chance, alright.
Oh, yeah.
Nobody found this.
It's still full.
I stashed just a little bit
Because you always want
To keep a little bit.
You know, you never know when
You're gonna have an emergency
Or a special occasion.
And me and tickle we ran this,
Like, about 10 years ago.
I grabbed about 10
Or 15 gallons,
Kind of stashed it off
To the side.
And it was one of the best
Runs we ever did.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Josh: right here's where
I broke my back.
I was so disoriented
After the wreck
And I was trying
To think about
How I'm gonna
Make a getaway.
Yeah.And then I thought about it.
I was like, "Hell,
I ain't done nothing wrong."
Usually I just leave
The damn scene,
No matter what,
Unless there's another car.
I was like, "Hell,
I'm the only one hurt."
You had that many wrecks
That you know what you do
When you leave the scene?
Pretty much.
I mean,
I haven't been the cause
Of a lot of wrecks,
But...
Are you sure?
Huh?
[ both laugh ]
Narrator: one state south
In north carolina,
With their worm barrel
Broken beyond repair,
Josh and colt are building
A replacement
So they can get back
To running shine
And meet a looming deadline
To deliver 60 gallons
To the moonshine bandits.
It's colder than
A witch's *bleep* out here.
Colder than
A well digger's butt.
[ both laugh ]
Josh: so we decided we're gonna
Use the tote
To make a worm barrel
Out of.
It may not be perfect, but it'll
Save us a lot of trouble.
Because now we ain't got
To build anything.
We just got to slap this
Together and make it happen.
Alright, so let's set this
Bad boy in there.
This is not what I wanted to do,
But it's fast.
Alright.
*bleep* damn.
That's it right there.
Now what?
I'm gonna kneel
Down in here.
And I'm gonna line
That pipe up.
I want you to try
To mark the center
When I get it lined up.
Okay?
Alright. Line it up.
Alright.
Just mark the center
Right where I got it.
We did have a lot to get done.
We have a big order to fill.
And we're four weeks
In the tour,
And we still got, like,
Three weeks after that.
Let me drill
This hole right here.
So it's gonna be a hard run,
But we're getting it done.
Alright.
We're using a bit that's
A touch smaller than the pipe.
Now the plan is to just shove
The pipe through the hole.
Colt: I was thinking
About this idea.
What if we heated up
The actual pipe
And pushed the pipe
Through heated?
Yeah, but if I just heat
The plastic lightly,
I could probably push
The pipe through.
No. The plastic will melt
And then you just got...
But if the pipe
Was hot, it would just...
You're right.
We'll try it.
You always think
You're right.
Well, I am pretty smart.
You must not be too smart.
You're working with me.
[ laughing ]
Let it rip, dawg.
Just on the end.
On the very tip.Yeah, bro.
That's hot enough.
Yeah. Roll with it.
Alright, man.
You got to get it right.
[ grunting ]come on, come on, come on.
Keep going.
It's getting it.
Keep going. There it is.
Perfect.
We got us a worm, dude.
It's uglier than hell,
But it'll work.
She's ugly like you,
But *bleep* she works.
Ugly like me.
It may be uglier
Than damn sin, homemade sin,
But there's an old saying.
The chrome don't get you home.
And, you know,
There's a lot of truth to that.
If it don't work,
It ain't gonna work.
And it's tight.
Feel it.
It's got a tight seal
On it.
Ow!
You jackass *bleep*
That murdered
The piss out of me.
Well, you should
Have been smarter.
*bleep*
Yeah.
We're good to go.
Tim:
Here's my name right here.
Narrator: tim's spirited
Centerpieces spook the groom.
What you all doing,
Fellas?
We got to pick
This stuff up.
What do you mean,
You got to pick it up?
The old lady -- she done put
A lot of work into all this.
Ain't said nothing to her
About having jars
On the tables
And all that.
Hell, what is this?What do you think it is?
It's our mash.
-so you buried it?
-yeah, I buried it.
You just like putting stuff
Underground, don't you?
Narrator: in polk county,
North carolina,
Outlaws josh and colt
Will make up lost ground
With back-to-back runs
So they can deliver a huge haul
Of liquor to colt's band,
The moonshine bandits.
Josh: hell yeah.
Why don't you fire it up?
I'll fire it up.
Uh...
Did you know about this?What?
A rat has chewed a hole
In our wire, bro.
No way.
Look.
What did you do to it?
The rat chewed
A hole in it, bro. Look.
Damn, look at this nest.
Look at that.
Colt: we ain't talking
About no mouse either.
We talking about a rat.
Oh, there he is.
There he is.
Where?Right there. Right here.
Look.Yeah. There he is.
Oh *bleep*
He's big, too, dude.
I'm gonna have to
Get a trap.
We just need some cheese.
Josh, can we not just use
This wire right here
For our propane tanks?
It's the same size.
What you talking about?This red wire.
No, it won't work.You take it off here.
You take it off right there.
And it's the same fitting.
Oh, snap, boy.
Well, maybe it was
A good idea.
Alright, buddy, fire it up.
There it goes.
Boom,
We're back in action.
I was rather impressed
That he actually come up
With that all on his own.
Well, there's some
Shine coming out.
Let's get it.
Josh: we got to pull
Them heads off.
We're good to go now.
This is running good.
It's good stuff.
Ugh. Whoo!
Hey, colt.Yeah.
Got your lighter?
You gonna light your finger?Light that.
No.
Light it.
Why would I do that?
Just light it.
Why?
Do it.
You're crazy.
That's crazy, dude.
Narrator: with this run, josh
And colt are 30 gallons closer
To reaching the moonshine
Bandit's hefty order.
But the night is still young
As they start their second run.
Good job, man.
I got to hit
The road, though.
I got to fly and catch up
With the boys.
Got to go now?
Yeah, I'm on a time schedule.
I'm running late,
And I got to catch
The last flight out of here.
So I'll send you
The location.
Probably a little back road
Or something we'll meet.
We'll make it happen.
Alright.
That cool with you?
I guess.
I'll see you, buddy.
Be good.
Be careful, man.You too.
I can't believe you're
Leaving me to haul
All this moonshine
By my damn self.
You'll get it. Don't be late.
Don't mess this up.
We got a lot riding on it.
Have a good trip.
♪♪
Narrator: after finishing
The second run solo,
Josh is up 60 gallons
For the night.
But there's no rest
For the weary.
He must now deliver the liquor
To the moonshine bandits
Before time runs out.
Josh:
It's 4:00 in the morning.
I'm ready to go crash.
Instead I got to haul
All this liquor 10
Or 12 hours
To meet these guys,
And it's gonna be a lot
To pull off by myself.
Right now, everything's
Riding on making this sale.
If I don't make it
To this sale on time,
The bandits don't want to deal
With me no more.
That's a bad thing.
What in the hell?
How the hell did
That get there?
*bleep*
I didn't realize exactly
What road I had set out on.
But on my path, there's a bunch
Of junk cars right in my way.
There ain't no damn way
To get through here.
[ speaks indistinctly ]
Well, there's only
One thing to do here.
I don't know how this
Is gonna work out,
But we gonna do it anyway.
God dog.
Damn!
Hell yeah.
These piece of *bleep* cars
Aren't gonna stop me
From damn getting
Where we got to go.
Hope that damn mash
Is ready for us.
It's ready. I come
And checked it yesterday.
When?
Yesterday.
While you was thinking
I wasn't doing nothing.
While you was doing
Nothing but thinking
That I was not doing nothing,
I was doing something.
Were you?
Bully for you.
Narrator: across the state line
In cocke county, tennessee,
Mark and digger are setting up
Their season's final run
Of popcorn sutton's
Legacy liquor.
How's your granny?
I believe she's on
That medical marijuana.
What makes you
Believe that?
Well, she told me to come pick
Up a quilt the other day.
It was made out of
Double cheeseburger wrappers
And taco bell wrappers.
[ chuckling ]
Probably help if I put it down
The hole, wouldn't it?
Digger: yeah. I'm sure
You've heard that a lot.
Give me some juice
There, baby man.
Here it comes.
It smells good, puss.
Digger:
We want it to taste good.
Here, get this lighter
And light that thing
And stick it in there.
Yeah.
Contact.
That's the way
To light them burners.
Digger: as far as how
Many gallons of liquor
I've produced in my lifetime,
It would run into
The tens of thousands.
I tell people all the time,
First and foremost,
It's not
An impatient man's game.
All the patience done.
You just got to wait.
That's the hard part.
You've got to have a full
Can of patience
If you're gonna do this.
No, it's a slow process.
You can't give up.
You can't get in a hurry
And try to run it faster
Or you'll make old, fiery,
Horrible liquor.
So, you know, that's where
We're at at this point.
We're in the waiting-game mode.
Damn, man. It ought to start
Coming out of that.
Digger:
It should just any minute.
Let me ask you something.
Can you hear a little critter
Or something around?
If we see a possum run
Through directly,
We'll snatch him up
And put him over one
Of those burning coals.
No.
You ain't
Gonna eat no possum?
No possum.
It ain't no worse
Than chicken.
Well, I'll eat the chickens.
You eat the damn possums.
Chickens, they'll follow
You to the outhouse.
Don't never see no possums
Following you
To the outhouse.
Yeah. You know,
My grandpa
Never would eat
No damn chicken.
He said,
"I ain't eating nothing..."
That's the way daddy was.
...That will take *bleep*
Out of corn
And jumps up on the fence pole
And crows about it.
Exactly.
[ rustling ]
Did you hear that?
I did hear that.
You know what that was?
That was the ghost
Of that old lady williamson
That the indians
Scalped up here.
You ain't gonna starting
That crap on me again.
Well, it might be a fact,
But we ain't gonna
Talk about *bleep* like that.
I'm telling you,
That's miss williamson
With her lantern
And her becker knife.
Why do you go on
With such foolishness?
What the hell --it's not foolishness.
Why do you get off
On damn tormenting me?
Not trying
To torment you.
I'm just trying to tell you
A little history.
I don't want to know no history
About no damn spooks.
Listen.
[ speaks indistinctly ]
I bet you'll see
Her lantern.
She'll be swatting
Those branches
With that becker knife.
Listen, listen.
Hear it?
You heard that.
I heard that.Turn these lights out.
♪♪
We got to pick
This stuff up. Alright?
What do you mean,
You got to pick it up?
The old lady -- she done put
A lot of work into all this.
Ain't said nothing to her
About having jars on the table.
Narrator: tickle may learn
The hard way that the secret
To a good marriage
Is to not keep secrets.
Henry: I'm just concerned
That has he told her
That he was a moonshiner?
Or is he telling her
That he's all active now?
You nervous.I am nervous as hell.
Listen. Listen.[ rustling ]
Hear it?
You heard that.
I heard that.Turn these lights off.
Yonder he goes.
He's going
Across the ridge.
He don't give
A damn about us.
He's hunting that hound.
Digger: we're pretty sure
This guy's just
An old coon hunter out here.
He probably spotted us,
But it's not uncommon
When you're hunting out here --
Even us, we run across
Liquor stills ourselves.
And it's just
The nature of people
In this neck of the woods,
We around here tend to want
To mind our own business
And let somebody else
Mind there's.
[ sighs ] alright.
Crisis averted.
I told you
I heard something.
Hey, hey, hey.
We got liquor, baby.
Shove your pecker
In that hole.
Okay.
I'm gonna pitch them
Little bit of heads.
They'll be some happy
Salamanders there in a minute.
Here, just get a little
Taste in there
Before
We dump this load.
That will warm us up.
It's still gonna be hot
As damn hades.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, it's splashing off.
You go first.
I want to see your lips
Turn rosy, chapped.
Damn. You were laying it
To it there, weren't you?
You'll regret that here
In a few minutes
When you're laying
Over there on that stump.
It's got a hell of a flavor
Once you get past the hot.
Get it tempered together,
It's gonna be fine liquor.
[ coughs ]
Yeah, I sucked a bug
Down my goozle.
Wash him down
With another drink
Of that 150 proof there.
It might work.
[ laughs ]
That'll kill him.
He's drunker than
A damn bald owl right now.
He gonna die
From them slobbers.
That liquor is gonna get him
When it catches up.
Go. Don't mash
Your fingers.
Boy, that smells good.
Ramsey:
You're steaming up
Your damn headlamps
There, puss.
Where did you go?
I believe old
Miss williamson's
Right in front of me
Right now.
A good run of liquor,
Wasn't it?
It's obvious that we're not
Knowingly gonna sell
This liquor to mike.
But if a man is looking
To buy $25,000 of liquor,
Who am I to keep him
From doing it?
[ thunder rumbles ]
Boy, them lights is bright
Coming at you, ain't it?
Yeah. I can't --
I just shut my eyes
And wait till they pass.
[ laughs ]
Narrator: mark and digger head
To a secret dead-drop location
To complete
A backwoods pick up
Digger arranged for their
Final deal of the season.
An awful messy night
To be picking up
This liquor, ain't it?
All we need is to slide off
The road and there we are.
You can't run with it.
*bleep* we'll dump it out
Right quick.
Oh, lord.
I'd rather do that
Than go to jail.
There'd been more liquor
Dumped out than that.
When it's miserable weather,
Nobody wants to be out there.
But this is worth it.
Let's get 'em.
What do you say?
Well, let's see
If they're in there.
Bah *bleep*
There you go.
Look out for snakes.
Right there, one, two,
Three, four...Maybe more.
Well, let's get this
On out of here.
We've pulled a lot
Of stuff, puss,
But this may top every
Shenanigan we've ever done.
We're usually
Pranking each other.
It's about time we fold it out
To someone else.
Let it slide down.
[ both grunt ]
Easy.
Damn it!
Ground just keeps getting
Further away from me.
Ramsey: don't hurt yourself.
It's slippery.
Let's get the hell
Out of here.
♪♪
♪♪
Tim: well, that looks
Good, doesn't it?
Yeah, that's what
I'm talking about.
Narrator:
Wedding bells are ringing
In pittsylvania county,
Virginia.
Henry: hold the dice, baby.
What's this coming here?
Kenny: he's styling,
Ain't he?
You done got slicked up,
Ain't you, tim?
We're going
To a wedding, ain't we?
Narrator:
While tickle and his bride
Prepare to take the plunge,
Tim is delivering
The special batch of shine
He retrieved
From his stash house.
Well, that's 6 gallons,
60 people.
That will be enough,
Won't it?
Tim, how did you end up
With nothing in your hands?
I'm in charge.
I'm in charge.
Lead the way, ese.
Tim: me, henry and kenny,
We got us,
You know,
Two cases of moonshine.
So we just go ahead
And start setting out jars,
Setting it up, because we see
The names on the tables.
That says tickle right there.
Look.
So we know we're
At the right place,
And there's gonna be
A wedding sooner or later.
I think we're good,
Except on table 13.
Here, here.
My name's right here.
Look.
You got to find out
Where you got your name.
Probably got me
On 13 over there.
You may be on 13.I'm not gonna sit at 13.
You ain't gonna sit at 13?I'm not sitting at 13.
No?
What you all doing,
Fellas?
Hey, you want to try?
Have some of that
Right now.
Try some of that
Right now.
The old lady --
She done put a lot of work
Into all this.
I ain't said nothing to her
About having jars
On the tables
And all that.
We can taste that,
Right there.
Taste it. Taste it.You're killing me.
Look, it's okay.
You stressed out.
'cause you're getting
Ready to get married.
Just, this is the first time.
I understand.
Just take a taste
Of that right there.
Don't be --
Don't be getting so nervous.
We got to -- we got
To pick this stuff up.
What do you mean,
You got to pick it up?
We got --
We've got to.
You know, the light bulb
Is going off in my head.
And tickle's nervous.
You know, anytime you doing
Something for the first time,
You can be nervous.
I don't care what it is.
What -- what --
What I'm saying is this.
If she's not happy
About something on this day,
She's gonna
Want to kill me.
And I'm doing everything
I can to make this right.
Well, that's probably gonna
Happen sooner or later anyway.
Well...
You better just
Get ready for that.
Henry: tickle worked for us
All summer,
And he's talked
About this girl all summer long.
And she's from
Northern virginia.
And I'm just concerned that does
She really know what he's doing?
Has he told her
That he was a moonshiner?
Or is he telling her
He's active now?
We can put it over
In this room right here.
Alright.
We can stick it over in here.
Oh, look.
And then when all
The people get in here,
Then we'll bring it out.
Alright.
You just kind of nervous, man.
You nervous.
Nervous as hell.
I know.
Don't be nervous, man.
You -- maybe
Take another drink.
Take another drink.
Yeah.
See if that brings
Back some memories.
That bring back
Some memories, huh?
Yeah, bring a whole
Lot of memories back.
So we talked
To tickle a little bit.
We give him a couple of drinks.
He chills out just
For a little bit.
Do me a favor
And just for right now...
Alright.
Just for right now...Okay.
...Get this stuff
Out of sight.
I got to go get ready.
Alright?
He's all nervous.
He's making me nervous, man.
[ indistinct conversations ]
You nervous?
This jacket is hot.
[ laughter ]
Narrator: in central virginia,
The moonshine stills
Are all quiet today,
As the shiners who work
These hills come out
To celebrate the wedding
Of one of their own.
Officiant:
Can you all please rise?
[ "Here comes the bride"
Playing ]
♪♪
Tim: now, me and tickle
Started together 10 years ago.
I had no idea
10 years later
That tickle was gonna come up
And say, "Hey, I met this lady,
And I fell in love with her,
And I'm gonna get married."
We're all family here.
We're all in
This thing together.
You know what?
Why don't we just
Take this onto the bar?
Sit it on the bar?
Sounds good to me.
Sit this all the way down here.
We got to get back
To the wedding.
Officiant:
Steve, place this ring
On carol's finger
And repeat after me.
I, steve tickle...
I, steve tickle...
...Take you, carol......Take you, carol...
...To be my wedded wife...
...To be
My wedded wife...
...To love and cherish......To love and cherish...
...From this day forward....From this day forward.
Amen.
Amen.
I take you, steven,
To be my wedded husband.
From this day forward.
Amen.
Steve, you may kiss your bride.
[ applause ]
♪♪
♪♪
[ indistinct conversations ]
Tim?
It's the moonshine.
I made you put it up
A little while ago.
Mmm.
It is pretty good moonshine.
See?
Well, hell,
I tell you what.
Happy wife, happy life.
Right?
Isn't that
What they say?
Guess what?
Your husband made that shine.
Oh, yeah?
What do you mean,
I made this moonshine?
10 years ago,
Me and you made this.
I kept it 'cause I thought
Maybe that hard times
Was coming.
But it didn't
Come hard times.
We got a special occasion.
You know what?
I reckon you're right.
Mr. And mrs. Tickle.
Cheers, honey.
Cheers, honey.
Alright, let's party.
Sounds good to me.
♪♪
Josh: if I blow this deal
And don't make it
To meet the bandits on time
Like I did last time,
Then the deal's over with.
I'm never gonna get
Another chance with these guys.
Narrator:
After distilling all night
And immediately getting
On the road,
Josh has precious little time
To get to the rendezvous point
With the moonshine bandits.
I can't stress
How important it is for me
To make this drop on time
Without any hiccups.
You know, it's not really
So much this sale,
It's the money off every sale.
These guys are
Gonna move more moonshine
Than I can probably
Even keep up with.
So, I can't ask
For a better customer than that.
There they are, right there.
Ran right up on them
Before I even knew it.
Hey, y'all.
-what's up, buddy?
-what's up, josh?
You made it.
Yeah, barely.
God, man.
Meeting these guys on the side
Of the road's not ideal.
But they're in georgia one day.
They're in freaking
Damn florida the next.
Right now's the only option,
I guess.
There we go.
Bam.
That's it.
-alright, man.
-thank you, man.
Even getting a handshake
On that one.
Appreciate it, buddy.
How soon can you get more?
About two weeks.
You get it done in 10,
It'll be a lot better.
Colt: there you go.
Maybe that'll make you work
A little faster.
I appreciate that.Yeah.
I'll get it done
And we'll make it work.
Now that we got the damn sale
Made to the bandits,
They want another
60 or 70 gallons.
It feels pretty good
To be back in action.
This year, I really wanted
To get back to my roots
And do things the way,
You know, the old-timers
Would have done it.
We're in
The appalachia mountains,
And this is where real
Mountain men were from.
Moonshine ran deep in my veins,
And it's in my blood.
I've had a lot of things
To overcome.
Creosote's toxic.
Colt: you're breathing it
Right now.
After all the hell I've been
Through, it's a damn miracle
I was able to pull this off.
This has been
A roller-coaster ride,
But to see how far we've come,
I think that my ancestors
Would be proud of it.
♪♪
♪♪
Ramsey:
Let me ask you, puss,
Are we doing
The right thing here?
When it's all said and done,
Everybody's gonna be happy.
Old mike's gonna say
This is the best liquor
He's ever tasted
In his life.
Well, it's gonna
Be interesting.
Oh, yes, it is.
Narrator:
Back in tennessee,
Mark and digger
Proceed to their sale
As planned with 100 gallons
Of moonshine in tow.
I'd love to be able
To sneak in there and see this.
That would be priceless.
Supposed to be up here
Just a little ways,
On the side
Of the road.
Yonder he is.
Every aspect
Of the liquor business
Is a tiny bit dangerous.
We'll pull up against him
And just slide 'em
Right across.
But when it comes
To delivering liquor,
It's probably the most
Dangerous part of it
As far as your liability.
I believe that'll be
Just right.
There's plenty of time
That would be involved
In the penitentiary
With loading liquor like this.
Ramsey: what's up, man?
Got my 100 gallons?
You got money?
I got the money.
Digger: look at that
To make sure it's right
Before we unload all this.
Looks like a stack to me.
Load it up.
If you can figure out
How to jar this up on your own
And we'll bring it to you.
Alright,
Get in over there.
There you go.
Damn, he's stout,
Digger.
Hell, I was, too,
When I was that age.
He ain't broke down
Like me and you.
Alright, young man.
Alright, thank you.
Be careful.
See you, man.
Be good.
I hope
He enjoy that liquor.
You know what we're
Gonna enjoy, don't you?
That money.
We've got $25,000 of icing
On the cake at this point.
Lookie, here, puss.
That's nice
To make that much
In one swift lick,
Ain't it?
Digger: we can be alright
Through the winter months.
And we're pretty pleased.
That will leave us where we can
Come out of the gate
A-blazing next season.
Know what them are,
Don't you?
Them's them benjamin
Franklin denominations.
We pulled a lot
Of stuff, puss,
But this may top every
Shenanigan we've ever done.
♪♪
Tickle, look here.
That's mighty
Shiny there.
It is.
Look like gold.
There's gold
In them there hills.
Tim:
Look at that rock.
We can maybe own some.
That's a mighty pretty rock
You done found you there, tim.
Oh, man, that thing
Could be worth something.
That's heavy, man.Heavy.
Well, it's a rock, tim.
It's supposed to be heavy.
But gold is heavier
Than a rock.
Feel how heavy it is.
A pretty heavy rock.
How heavy has it got
To be if it's gold?
I don't know what
The weight conversion is.
I just know
That it's shiny.
That one's breaking up.
Yeah.
See, it can't be gold.
Or it wouldn't break up
Like that.
It flakes right off.
A flake rock.
A flake rock?
I'm pretty sure
It was a real rock.
Well, look over in there.
That's moonshining
Stuff over there.
All kinds of shiny stuff.
You know, one of
The most important goals
In a moonshiner's life
Is to secure their territory.
That means everything to us.
It means everything
To any moonshiner in this world.
Narrator: in tennessee,
Mike is reaching
The final step in his plan
To regain control
Over his home turf
And secure the local
Moonshine market.
Yeah, you know, me
And jerry's whole season
Has kind of been like a roller
Coaster up and down.
We've lost some money.
Kind of been hard on us.
But I've got big plans in mind.
I'm gonna get up here
And meet up with jesse
And see if I can't pick up this
Big load he's got waiting on me.
There he is.
Sitting right there.
Maybe he's got
What I'm looking for.
It looks like he's got me
Some barrels on there.
That's a damn good sign.
How's it going, jesse?
-pretty good.
Everything go alright?Everything went good.
They didn't ask you
No damn suspicious-ass
Questions, did they?
No, they didn't ask
Nothing.
[ both grunting ]
Alright, buddy.
I'll catch up with you later.
Sounds good.
Have a good one.
Oh.
I paid $250 a gallon for this,
Which has torn my pocket up
A little bit, you know?
But if that's what it takes
To put daniel out of business,
I'm a happy man with it.
And that's what I feel
Like I've done here today,
Is I've shut him down.
I mean, you can look
Right back there.
I've got 100 gallons
Of triple-grain whiskey
From mark and digger,
Which daniel maner was supposed
To get to sale.
He has no more.
My bootlegger is
Gonna pick this up
And carry it all the way
To memphis, tennessee.
And everybody right here
Locally gets thirsty
Is gonna go right back
To buying my wheat whiskey.
And we'll go to put money
Right back in our pockets.
So it's a win/win
Either way you look at it.
We're getting pretty close
To the house.
And pretty much to say
I'm on the old victory lap here.
I'm gonna go meet up with jerry,
Show him what we've got,
And take a little break,
Take us a good toast, man.
♪♪
Jerry:
How'd everything go?
Well, looks like we got
The damn tiger
By the tail, baby.
Alright, man.
That's what I need to hear.
We got 100
Damn gallons
Of triple-grain whiskey
Right here.
Ready?
Daniel's out
Of damn business.
That opens up the market
For the wheat whiskey.
And we shouldn't have
No more damn trouble
Selling to our customers.
You know,
Our plan came together.
We got 100 gallons of this
Multigrain whiskey on the truck.
It's gonna set daniel back.
He don't have
Anything else to bootleg.
And it sets our season
Up, you know,
To sell our wheat shine around,
Even through the winter months.
Pop the top on one
Of them sons of bitches.
I'm gonna get a jar,
And we're gonna celebrate
A minute.
I like the sound
Of that idea.
I'm ready for
A stiff drink anyway.
Boy, this sure smells good.
I got to give them that.
Let's check it out
And see how it's gonna be.
How about a little
Celebration there, jerry?
Jerry:
I'm all for that, buddy.
My god.
Boy, that's some
Clear liquor, ain't it?
Yeah, it's a full measure,
Ain't it?
Yeah.
Yeah, boy.
Is it strong?It's strong, alright.
♪♪
♪♪
Wait --
Wait a minute.
♪♪
I don't think I taste
No damn corn or rye or...
I just...
Tell you
What it tastes like.
Don't even say it
Because I already know
What you fixing to say.
There's no question.
That's our wheat whiskey.
That's wheat whiskey,
Ain't it?
Let's open up
Another one.
Let's see.
Smells the same,
Don't it?
Every damn one of these
Sons of bitches
Is full of
Our wheat liquor.
For them to go
And just be that damn sneaky
And sell this
*bleep* back off,
I'm sick and tired
Of this *bleep* man.
Oh, god!
Yee *bleep*
It's pretty apparent that
They've sold our own whiskey
Back to us instead of selling
The triple-grain whiskey.
That's to say,
You know, laugh in our face.
And I'm pretty pissed about it.
You know, I didn't think
Mark and digger
Were these
Type of guys, you know?
They tried to throw one
Over on us like that.
They just trying to, you know,
Take up for daniel's sake.
We're out a lot.
We fixing to put it to
A damn screaming-ass halt now.
Narrator: as moonshine season
Comes to a close in appalachia,
Tickle ends his year
Happily ever after
With the laws at 2,000 gallons.
Mike and jerry's season
Of diminishing returns
Lands them at 990,
Give or take 100 gallons.
Josh finally claws his way
From underground
With 125 and climbing.
What's going on, fellas?
And thanks to daniel's
Quick detective work...
Daniel: well, you know I told
You guys I'd help you.
Narrator: ...He receives
A final 100-gallon batch
Of multigrain moonshine
That nearly went to mike...
Daniel: well, thank you.
We'll put it out
In sevier county.
Narrator:
...Propelling mark and digger
To the top with 2,080 gallons.
Narrator: on the season finale
Of "Moonshiners"...
Kenny: you even got slicked up,
Ain't you, tim?
Tim: we going to
A wedding, ain't we?
...Tickle's getting
A life sentence.
Only this time, it doesn't
Require a state-issued uniform.
It's okay
You stressed out
Because you're getting ready
To getting married.
Just, this is a first time.
I understand.
Josh: what in the hell?
Narrator:
In north carolina....
They got me
Completely blocked in.
Narrator: ...After getting
Knocked down all season,
Josh finally hits back.
Josh: damn!
Narrator: and in tennessee...
I promise you
That that legacy liquor
Is gonna end up in my tent.
...When a moonshine deal
Is too good to be true,
Backwoods justice
Is a drink best served cold.
You remember what popcorn did
To that boy back in '83?
We'll do it.
Alright.
If little mikey wants to buy
A 100 gallons of liquor,
We'll sell him
100 gallon of liquor.
Man: this is how
We make the moonshine!
Captions paid for by
Discovery communications
When we get this sale behind us,
This last big one...
We'll be able to eat
Something a little better
Than damn possum peters
This year maybe.
Narrator: in cocke county,
Tennessee, mark and digger
Prepare for their final and most
Lucrative sale of the season --
A $25,000 payday
For 100 gallons
Of their multigrain moonshine.
Wait a minute.
We got company.
Mm-hmm.
And you know
Who that is.
We'll go and see
What he's got on his mind.
♪♪
I really didn't expect
To see you here
This evening, buddy.
The last conversation
That we had with daniel,
Everybody didn't leave happy.
We told you
We was gonna have
A little bit
Of liquor for you.
That ain't gonna be
The case, brother.
Daniel:
This puts me in a bad spot.
I've got a lot
Of people waiting.
I was really depending
On that money.
Ramsey:
He was kind of put out
After he had bootlegged
For us all season.
We just had an opportunity
To make considerable more money.
Daniel: I ain't here begging
For no liquor or nothing.
I know you guys said
That yours was gone.
That's right.
But right about a week ago,
Mike and jerry
Come to my house.
And anyway they reached me
A jar of legacy liquor.
He knows that
I'm running your guys' liquor.
He's not stupid.
Before he left, he said,
"I'm gonna shut you down."
Alright? Then you guys call me
Up and tell me
That you can't
Sell me anything
Because you've got it
Promised out.
Yeah.
Right there is when
My wheels got to turning.
Uh-huh.
Well, anyway,
I got to checking around.
I found out mike's got
A bootlegger
Expecting 100 gallon
Of legacy liquor.
Have you ever thought
About the notion
This sale that you was
Talking about that you had,
Is actually mike
Buying this liquor?
Well, I hadn't put
A lot of thought to it,
But it could
Very well be.
Digger: daniel cut to the chase
Pretty quick.
He tells us that he's stumbled
Upon mike's bootlegger,
And he's expecting
A 100 gallon of liquor.
Well, that's awful damn curious
That he should be waiting
On the exact amount of liquor
That we're fixing
To deliver to jesse.
Well, let me ask you.
I mean, you know,
You obviously know
This bootlegger, daniel.
The boy's name
That we're meeting
To sell this liquor to
Is jesse.
I don't know who
You're selling it to,
But I promise you that
That legacy liquor is
Gonna end up in mike's hands.
I thought
We was pretty sharp.
But honestly we hadn't
Went in this direction
With our thanking,
Digger.
We're kinda at a little
Crossroads here.
We got to figure out
How we gonna handle
This situation.
Well, I got one question.
You know how to get in touch
With this bootlegger?
Oh, yeah.
I can get ahold of him.
Daniel, we appreciate
This information.
And I can assure you,
He ain't gonna get
None of our liquor.
Thank you, brother.We appreciate it, man.
We're gonna talk a little bit.
We'll be in touch.
Alright.
Have a good one.
We don't usually
Go off half-cocked.
We're gonna feel
The situation out,
Then we're gonna plan
Our next move
A little more carefully.
Ramsey:
He done us a solid.
Now me and yous
Got to figure out
What we're gonna do
About this situation.
Yeah.
You remember what popcorn did
To that boy back in '83?
Yeah.
That sounds good.
Well, I'm gonna call
That bootlegger on my way home.
If little mikey wants to buy
100 gallons of liquor,
We'll sell him
100 gallon of liquor.
We'll do it.
Alright.
I'll see you in the morning.Alright.
♪♪
[ tickle groans ]
How's it going
There, fellas?
Hello, tickle.
Narrator:
In franklin county, virginia,
With 2,000 gallons
Of peach brandy sold
And a revolutionary new product
In their cbd moonshine,
Tickle and the laws
Are looking at a banner year.
Hell, I'll tell you what.
That's gonna make
This peach brandy just...
It's just gonna
Blow it all off the map.
We might have a small problem
With the peach brandy.
What do you --
What you mean, a problem?
Somebody's brought it back, man,
And said it weren't right.
Kenny: he was saying there's
Something wrong with it.
You're full of *bleep*
What's the matter with it?
Right there.
You check it and see.
Look, now, I had folks
Drink half of it
Fill it full of water.
[ laughs ]
Taste it.
I can't tell
He didn't like it.
Payday, brother.
Build me up by saying
The liquor
Weren't worth *bleep*
Get me all mad.
Do you know what?
I forgive you.
I forgive you.
I forgive you.
Narrator: after a fruitful
Season of moonshining
With henry and kenny
And their initial 2,000
Gallons of brandy sold,
Tickle's cut
Is a cool 100 grand.
Henry: that's a bunch of ones,
Ain't it?
Yeah, a bunch of ones.
Yeah.
With some zeros
Behind them.
Bunch of zeros.
Mama gonna be happy.
You know what?
Mama is gonna be happy.
Wedding
Just got paid for.
And some.
You damn right,
And some.
Ain't no way
I'd let her spend all that.
This right here is
Gonna go a long ways.
Tickle: I can get married.
I can pay for my wedding.
I've got enough money
In my pocket
That I feel like
I can start off new.
Doing everything
That I need to do
To be not only a good
Moonshiner, but a good husband.
Well, here's what
I can say, fellas.
I appreciate
Y'all taking me on.
Because
There's no way on earth
I could afford to pay for
This wedding and feel like
I was the man I'm supposed
To be without y'all...
-and now you can show her.
-...Without this payday.
You can show her
What you are.
In fact the only thing
Gonna make me happier
Than seeing that damn
Mason jar full of money?
Is making
A little bit more.
And this right here,
This is the way to do it.
Right, right,
Let's see what we got.
Oh, yes, she getting hot.
She getting hot.
You start seeing some bubbles
Moving around here.
-you bet, come on.
-oh, yeah.
[ indistinct conversations ]
♪♪
♪♪
I have no idea
Where the hell I'm going here.
It's been so long
Since I've been down here.
The road has got
Kind of rough.
Narrator: one county east,
With tickle's wedding
Just one day away,
Tim is heading
To an old stash spot
To retrieve a high-proof present
From his outlaw past.
Tickle's, you know, getting
Ready to get married and stuff,
And he's out getting
His thing together.
I was talking to tickle.
We started talking about, you
Know, did he have any moonshine?
And he's like,
"No, I've been busy.
I'm trying to, you know,
I'm trying to get this
Wedding together."
And I'm like, "Well, tickle,
You know, I got you."
And I'm thinking, "Wow,
This is my opportunity here.
I can contribute
To this wedding."
I got this stash.
I've been keeping it
For all these years.
I'm like, I've been waiting
For a perfect occasion.
Think I'm gonna stop right here.
You know, when I went legal,
I didn't want any illegal shine,
You know, hanging around
Because I don't want
To get in no trouble.
So I kind of stashed it
Over here in this barn.
I hope it's still there.
I hope nobody found it.
You know, the funny
Thing of this,
This is a shine
That tickle made.
He thought I sold it.
Make sure there's
No big anacondas in here.
No chance, alright.
Oh, yeah.
Nobody found this.
It's still full.
I stashed just a little bit
Because you always want
To keep a little bit.
You know, you never know when
You're gonna have an emergency
Or a special occasion.
And me and tickle we ran this,
Like, about 10 years ago.
I grabbed about 10
Or 15 gallons,
Kind of stashed it off
To the side.
And it was one of the best
Runs we ever did.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Josh: right here's where
I broke my back.
I was so disoriented
After the wreck
And I was trying
To think about
How I'm gonna
Make a getaway.
Yeah.And then I thought about it.
I was like, "Hell,
I ain't done nothing wrong."
Usually I just leave
The damn scene,
No matter what,
Unless there's another car.
I was like, "Hell,
I'm the only one hurt."
You had that many wrecks
That you know what you do
When you leave the scene?
Pretty much.
I mean,
I haven't been the cause
Of a lot of wrecks,
But...
Are you sure?
Huh?
[ both laugh ]
Narrator: one state south
In north carolina,
With their worm barrel
Broken beyond repair,
Josh and colt are building
A replacement
So they can get back
To running shine
And meet a looming deadline
To deliver 60 gallons
To the moonshine bandits.
It's colder than
A witch's *bleep* out here.
Colder than
A well digger's butt.
[ both laugh ]
Josh: so we decided we're gonna
Use the tote
To make a worm barrel
Out of.
It may not be perfect, but it'll
Save us a lot of trouble.
Because now we ain't got
To build anything.
We just got to slap this
Together and make it happen.
Alright, so let's set this
Bad boy in there.
This is not what I wanted to do,
But it's fast.
Alright.
*bleep* damn.
That's it right there.
Now what?
I'm gonna kneel
Down in here.
And I'm gonna line
That pipe up.
I want you to try
To mark the center
When I get it lined up.
Okay?
Alright. Line it up.
Alright.
Just mark the center
Right where I got it.
We did have a lot to get done.
We have a big order to fill.
And we're four weeks
In the tour,
And we still got, like,
Three weeks after that.
Let me drill
This hole right here.
So it's gonna be a hard run,
But we're getting it done.
Alright.
We're using a bit that's
A touch smaller than the pipe.
Now the plan is to just shove
The pipe through the hole.
Colt: I was thinking
About this idea.
What if we heated up
The actual pipe
And pushed the pipe
Through heated?
Yeah, but if I just heat
The plastic lightly,
I could probably push
The pipe through.
No. The plastic will melt
And then you just got...
But if the pipe
Was hot, it would just...
You're right.
We'll try it.
You always think
You're right.
Well, I am pretty smart.
You must not be too smart.
You're working with me.
[ laughing ]
Let it rip, dawg.
Just on the end.
On the very tip.Yeah, bro.
That's hot enough.
Yeah. Roll with it.
Alright, man.
You got to get it right.
[ grunting ]come on, come on, come on.
Keep going.
It's getting it.
Keep going. There it is.
Perfect.
We got us a worm, dude.
It's uglier than hell,
But it'll work.
She's ugly like you,
But *bleep* she works.
Ugly like me.
It may be uglier
Than damn sin, homemade sin,
But there's an old saying.
The chrome don't get you home.
And, you know,
There's a lot of truth to that.
If it don't work,
It ain't gonna work.
And it's tight.
Feel it.
It's got a tight seal
On it.
Ow!
You jackass *bleep*
That murdered
The piss out of me.
Well, you should
Have been smarter.
*bleep*
Yeah.
We're good to go.
Tim:
Here's my name right here.
Narrator: tim's spirited
Centerpieces spook the groom.
What you all doing,
Fellas?
We got to pick
This stuff up.
What do you mean,
You got to pick it up?
The old lady -- she done put
A lot of work into all this.
Ain't said nothing to her
About having jars
On the tables
And all that.
Hell, what is this?What do you think it is?
It's our mash.
-so you buried it?
-yeah, I buried it.
You just like putting stuff
Underground, don't you?
Narrator: in polk county,
North carolina,
Outlaws josh and colt
Will make up lost ground
With back-to-back runs
So they can deliver a huge haul
Of liquor to colt's band,
The moonshine bandits.
Josh: hell yeah.
Why don't you fire it up?
I'll fire it up.
Uh...
Did you know about this?What?
A rat has chewed a hole
In our wire, bro.
No way.
Look.
What did you do to it?
The rat chewed
A hole in it, bro. Look.
Damn, look at this nest.
Look at that.
Colt: we ain't talking
About no mouse either.
We talking about a rat.
Oh, there he is.
There he is.
Where?Right there. Right here.
Look.Yeah. There he is.
Oh *bleep*
He's big, too, dude.
I'm gonna have to
Get a trap.
We just need some cheese.
Josh, can we not just use
This wire right here
For our propane tanks?
It's the same size.
What you talking about?This red wire.
No, it won't work.You take it off here.
You take it off right there.
And it's the same fitting.
Oh, snap, boy.
Well, maybe it was
A good idea.
Alright, buddy, fire it up.
There it goes.
Boom,
We're back in action.
I was rather impressed
That he actually come up
With that all on his own.
Well, there's some
Shine coming out.
Let's get it.
Josh: we got to pull
Them heads off.
We're good to go now.
This is running good.
It's good stuff.
Ugh. Whoo!
Hey, colt.Yeah.
Got your lighter?
You gonna light your finger?Light that.
No.
Light it.
Why would I do that?
Just light it.
Why?
Do it.
You're crazy.
That's crazy, dude.
Narrator: with this run, josh
And colt are 30 gallons closer
To reaching the moonshine
Bandit's hefty order.
But the night is still young
As they start their second run.
Good job, man.
I got to hit
The road, though.
I got to fly and catch up
With the boys.
Got to go now?
Yeah, I'm on a time schedule.
I'm running late,
And I got to catch
The last flight out of here.
So I'll send you
The location.
Probably a little back road
Or something we'll meet.
We'll make it happen.
Alright.
That cool with you?
I guess.
I'll see you, buddy.
Be good.
Be careful, man.You too.
I can't believe you're
Leaving me to haul
All this moonshine
By my damn self.
You'll get it. Don't be late.
Don't mess this up.
We got a lot riding on it.
Have a good trip.
♪♪
Narrator: after finishing
The second run solo,
Josh is up 60 gallons
For the night.
But there's no rest
For the weary.
He must now deliver the liquor
To the moonshine bandits
Before time runs out.
Josh:
It's 4:00 in the morning.
I'm ready to go crash.
Instead I got to haul
All this liquor 10
Or 12 hours
To meet these guys,
And it's gonna be a lot
To pull off by myself.
Right now, everything's
Riding on making this sale.
If I don't make it
To this sale on time,
The bandits don't want to deal
With me no more.
That's a bad thing.
What in the hell?
How the hell did
That get there?
*bleep*
I didn't realize exactly
What road I had set out on.
But on my path, there's a bunch
Of junk cars right in my way.
There ain't no damn way
To get through here.
[ speaks indistinctly ]
Well, there's only
One thing to do here.
I don't know how this
Is gonna work out,
But we gonna do it anyway.
God dog.
Damn!
Hell yeah.
These piece of *bleep* cars
Aren't gonna stop me
From damn getting
Where we got to go.
Hope that damn mash
Is ready for us.
It's ready. I come
And checked it yesterday.
When?
Yesterday.
While you was thinking
I wasn't doing nothing.
While you was doing
Nothing but thinking
That I was not doing nothing,
I was doing something.
Were you?
Bully for you.
Narrator: across the state line
In cocke county, tennessee,
Mark and digger are setting up
Their season's final run
Of popcorn sutton's
Legacy liquor.
How's your granny?
I believe she's on
That medical marijuana.
What makes you
Believe that?
Well, she told me to come pick
Up a quilt the other day.
It was made out of
Double cheeseburger wrappers
And taco bell wrappers.
[ chuckling ]
Probably help if I put it down
The hole, wouldn't it?
Digger: yeah. I'm sure
You've heard that a lot.
Give me some juice
There, baby man.
Here it comes.
It smells good, puss.
Digger:
We want it to taste good.
Here, get this lighter
And light that thing
And stick it in there.
Yeah.
Contact.
That's the way
To light them burners.
Digger: as far as how
Many gallons of liquor
I've produced in my lifetime,
It would run into
The tens of thousands.
I tell people all the time,
First and foremost,
It's not
An impatient man's game.
All the patience done.
You just got to wait.
That's the hard part.
You've got to have a full
Can of patience
If you're gonna do this.
No, it's a slow process.
You can't give up.
You can't get in a hurry
And try to run it faster
Or you'll make old, fiery,
Horrible liquor.
So, you know, that's where
We're at at this point.
We're in the waiting-game mode.
Damn, man. It ought to start
Coming out of that.
Digger:
It should just any minute.
Let me ask you something.
Can you hear a little critter
Or something around?
If we see a possum run
Through directly,
We'll snatch him up
And put him over one
Of those burning coals.
No.
You ain't
Gonna eat no possum?
No possum.
It ain't no worse
Than chicken.
Well, I'll eat the chickens.
You eat the damn possums.
Chickens, they'll follow
You to the outhouse.
Don't never see no possums
Following you
To the outhouse.
Yeah. You know,
My grandpa
Never would eat
No damn chicken.
He said,
"I ain't eating nothing..."
That's the way daddy was.
...That will take *bleep*
Out of corn
And jumps up on the fence pole
And crows about it.
Exactly.
[ rustling ]
Did you hear that?
I did hear that.
You know what that was?
That was the ghost
Of that old lady williamson
That the indians
Scalped up here.
You ain't gonna starting
That crap on me again.
Well, it might be a fact,
But we ain't gonna
Talk about *bleep* like that.
I'm telling you,
That's miss williamson
With her lantern
And her becker knife.
Why do you go on
With such foolishness?
What the hell --it's not foolishness.
Why do you get off
On damn tormenting me?
Not trying
To torment you.
I'm just trying to tell you
A little history.
I don't want to know no history
About no damn spooks.
Listen.
[ speaks indistinctly ]
I bet you'll see
Her lantern.
She'll be swatting
Those branches
With that becker knife.
Listen, listen.
Hear it?
You heard that.
I heard that.Turn these lights out.
♪♪
We got to pick
This stuff up. Alright?
What do you mean,
You got to pick it up?
The old lady -- she done put
A lot of work into all this.
Ain't said nothing to her
About having jars on the table.
Narrator: tickle may learn
The hard way that the secret
To a good marriage
Is to not keep secrets.
Henry: I'm just concerned
That has he told her
That he was a moonshiner?
Or is he telling her
That he's all active now?
You nervous.I am nervous as hell.
Listen. Listen.[ rustling ]
Hear it?
You heard that.
I heard that.Turn these lights off.
Yonder he goes.
He's going
Across the ridge.
He don't give
A damn about us.
He's hunting that hound.
Digger: we're pretty sure
This guy's just
An old coon hunter out here.
He probably spotted us,
But it's not uncommon
When you're hunting out here --
Even us, we run across
Liquor stills ourselves.
And it's just
The nature of people
In this neck of the woods,
We around here tend to want
To mind our own business
And let somebody else
Mind there's.
[ sighs ] alright.
Crisis averted.
I told you
I heard something.
Hey, hey, hey.
We got liquor, baby.
Shove your pecker
In that hole.
Okay.
I'm gonna pitch them
Little bit of heads.
They'll be some happy
Salamanders there in a minute.
Here, just get a little
Taste in there
Before
We dump this load.
That will warm us up.
It's still gonna be hot
As damn hades.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, it's splashing off.
You go first.
I want to see your lips
Turn rosy, chapped.
Damn. You were laying it
To it there, weren't you?
You'll regret that here
In a few minutes
When you're laying
Over there on that stump.
It's got a hell of a flavor
Once you get past the hot.
Get it tempered together,
It's gonna be fine liquor.
[ coughs ]
Yeah, I sucked a bug
Down my goozle.
Wash him down
With another drink
Of that 150 proof there.
It might work.
[ laughs ]
That'll kill him.
He's drunker than
A damn bald owl right now.
He gonna die
From them slobbers.
That liquor is gonna get him
When it catches up.
Go. Don't mash
Your fingers.
Boy, that smells good.
Ramsey:
You're steaming up
Your damn headlamps
There, puss.
Where did you go?
I believe old
Miss williamson's
Right in front of me
Right now.
A good run of liquor,
Wasn't it?
It's obvious that we're not
Knowingly gonna sell
This liquor to mike.
But if a man is looking
To buy $25,000 of liquor,
Who am I to keep him
From doing it?
[ thunder rumbles ]
Boy, them lights is bright
Coming at you, ain't it?
Yeah. I can't --
I just shut my eyes
And wait till they pass.
[ laughs ]
Narrator: mark and digger head
To a secret dead-drop location
To complete
A backwoods pick up
Digger arranged for their
Final deal of the season.
An awful messy night
To be picking up
This liquor, ain't it?
All we need is to slide off
The road and there we are.
You can't run with it.
*bleep* we'll dump it out
Right quick.
Oh, lord.
I'd rather do that
Than go to jail.
There'd been more liquor
Dumped out than that.
When it's miserable weather,
Nobody wants to be out there.
But this is worth it.
Let's get 'em.
What do you say?
Well, let's see
If they're in there.
Bah *bleep*
There you go.
Look out for snakes.
Right there, one, two,
Three, four...Maybe more.
Well, let's get this
On out of here.
We've pulled a lot
Of stuff, puss,
But this may top every
Shenanigan we've ever done.
We're usually
Pranking each other.
It's about time we fold it out
To someone else.
Let it slide down.
[ both grunt ]
Easy.
Damn it!
Ground just keeps getting
Further away from me.
Ramsey: don't hurt yourself.
It's slippery.
Let's get the hell
Out of here.
♪♪
♪♪
Tim: well, that looks
Good, doesn't it?
Yeah, that's what
I'm talking about.
Narrator:
Wedding bells are ringing
In pittsylvania county,
Virginia.
Henry: hold the dice, baby.
What's this coming here?
Kenny: he's styling,
Ain't he?
You done got slicked up,
Ain't you, tim?
We're going
To a wedding, ain't we?
Narrator:
While tickle and his bride
Prepare to take the plunge,
Tim is delivering
The special batch of shine
He retrieved
From his stash house.
Well, that's 6 gallons,
60 people.
That will be enough,
Won't it?
Tim, how did you end up
With nothing in your hands?
I'm in charge.
I'm in charge.
Lead the way, ese.
Tim: me, henry and kenny,
We got us,
You know,
Two cases of moonshine.
So we just go ahead
And start setting out jars,
Setting it up, because we see
The names on the tables.
That says tickle right there.
Look.
So we know we're
At the right place,
And there's gonna be
A wedding sooner or later.
I think we're good,
Except on table 13.
Here, here.
My name's right here.
Look.
You got to find out
Where you got your name.
Probably got me
On 13 over there.
You may be on 13.I'm not gonna sit at 13.
You ain't gonna sit at 13?I'm not sitting at 13.
No?
What you all doing,
Fellas?
Hey, you want to try?
Have some of that
Right now.
Try some of that
Right now.
The old lady --
She done put a lot of work
Into all this.
I ain't said nothing to her
About having jars
On the tables
And all that.
We can taste that,
Right there.
Taste it. Taste it.You're killing me.
Look, it's okay.
You stressed out.
'cause you're getting
Ready to get married.
Just, this is the first time.
I understand.
Just take a taste
Of that right there.
Don't be --
Don't be getting so nervous.
We got to -- we got
To pick this stuff up.
What do you mean,
You got to pick it up?
We got --
We've got to.
You know, the light bulb
Is going off in my head.
And tickle's nervous.
You know, anytime you doing
Something for the first time,
You can be nervous.
I don't care what it is.
What -- what --
What I'm saying is this.
If she's not happy
About something on this day,
She's gonna
Want to kill me.
And I'm doing everything
I can to make this right.
Well, that's probably gonna
Happen sooner or later anyway.
Well...
You better just
Get ready for that.
Henry: tickle worked for us
All summer,
And he's talked
About this girl all summer long.
And she's from
Northern virginia.
And I'm just concerned that does
She really know what he's doing?
Has he told her
That he was a moonshiner?
Or is he telling her
He's active now?
We can put it over
In this room right here.
Alright.
We can stick it over in here.
Oh, look.
And then when all
The people get in here,
Then we'll bring it out.
Alright.
You just kind of nervous, man.
You nervous.
Nervous as hell.
I know.
Don't be nervous, man.
You -- maybe
Take another drink.
Take another drink.
Yeah.
See if that brings
Back some memories.
That bring back
Some memories, huh?
Yeah, bring a whole
Lot of memories back.
So we talked
To tickle a little bit.
We give him a couple of drinks.
He chills out just
For a little bit.
Do me a favor
And just for right now...
Alright.
Just for right now...Okay.
...Get this stuff
Out of sight.
I got to go get ready.
Alright?
He's all nervous.
He's making me nervous, man.
[ indistinct conversations ]
You nervous?
This jacket is hot.
[ laughter ]
Narrator: in central virginia,
The moonshine stills
Are all quiet today,
As the shiners who work
These hills come out
To celebrate the wedding
Of one of their own.
Officiant:
Can you all please rise?
[ "Here comes the bride"
Playing ]
♪♪
Tim: now, me and tickle
Started together 10 years ago.
I had no idea
10 years later
That tickle was gonna come up
And say, "Hey, I met this lady,
And I fell in love with her,
And I'm gonna get married."
We're all family here.
We're all in
This thing together.
You know what?
Why don't we just
Take this onto the bar?
Sit it on the bar?
Sounds good to me.
Sit this all the way down here.
We got to get back
To the wedding.
Officiant:
Steve, place this ring
On carol's finger
And repeat after me.
I, steve tickle...
I, steve tickle...
...Take you, carol......Take you, carol...
...To be my wedded wife...
...To be
My wedded wife...
...To love and cherish......To love and cherish...
...From this day forward....From this day forward.
Amen.
Amen.
I take you, steven,
To be my wedded husband.
From this day forward.
Amen.
Steve, you may kiss your bride.
[ applause ]
♪♪
♪♪
[ indistinct conversations ]
Tim?
It's the moonshine.
I made you put it up
A little while ago.
Mmm.
It is pretty good moonshine.
See?
Well, hell,
I tell you what.
Happy wife, happy life.
Right?
Isn't that
What they say?
Guess what?
Your husband made that shine.
Oh, yeah?
What do you mean,
I made this moonshine?
10 years ago,
Me and you made this.
I kept it 'cause I thought
Maybe that hard times
Was coming.
But it didn't
Come hard times.
We got a special occasion.
You know what?
I reckon you're right.
Mr. And mrs. Tickle.
Cheers, honey.
Cheers, honey.
Alright, let's party.
Sounds good to me.
♪♪
Josh: if I blow this deal
And don't make it
To meet the bandits on time
Like I did last time,
Then the deal's over with.
I'm never gonna get
Another chance with these guys.
Narrator:
After distilling all night
And immediately getting
On the road,
Josh has precious little time
To get to the rendezvous point
With the moonshine bandits.
I can't stress
How important it is for me
To make this drop on time
Without any hiccups.
You know, it's not really
So much this sale,
It's the money off every sale.
These guys are
Gonna move more moonshine
Than I can probably
Even keep up with.
So, I can't ask
For a better customer than that.
There they are, right there.
Ran right up on them
Before I even knew it.
Hey, y'all.
-what's up, buddy?
-what's up, josh?
You made it.
Yeah, barely.
God, man.
Meeting these guys on the side
Of the road's not ideal.
But they're in georgia one day.
They're in freaking
Damn florida the next.
Right now's the only option,
I guess.
There we go.
Bam.
That's it.
-alright, man.
-thank you, man.
Even getting a handshake
On that one.
Appreciate it, buddy.
How soon can you get more?
About two weeks.
You get it done in 10,
It'll be a lot better.
Colt: there you go.
Maybe that'll make you work
A little faster.
I appreciate that.Yeah.
I'll get it done
And we'll make it work.
Now that we got the damn sale
Made to the bandits,
They want another
60 or 70 gallons.
It feels pretty good
To be back in action.
This year, I really wanted
To get back to my roots
And do things the way,
You know, the old-timers
Would have done it.
We're in
The appalachia mountains,
And this is where real
Mountain men were from.
Moonshine ran deep in my veins,
And it's in my blood.
I've had a lot of things
To overcome.
Creosote's toxic.
Colt: you're breathing it
Right now.
After all the hell I've been
Through, it's a damn miracle
I was able to pull this off.
This has been
A roller-coaster ride,
But to see how far we've come,
I think that my ancestors
Would be proud of it.
♪♪
♪♪
Ramsey:
Let me ask you, puss,
Are we doing
The right thing here?
When it's all said and done,
Everybody's gonna be happy.
Old mike's gonna say
This is the best liquor
He's ever tasted
In his life.
Well, it's gonna
Be interesting.
Oh, yes, it is.
Narrator:
Back in tennessee,
Mark and digger
Proceed to their sale
As planned with 100 gallons
Of moonshine in tow.
I'd love to be able
To sneak in there and see this.
That would be priceless.
Supposed to be up here
Just a little ways,
On the side
Of the road.
Yonder he is.
Every aspect
Of the liquor business
Is a tiny bit dangerous.
We'll pull up against him
And just slide 'em
Right across.
But when it comes
To delivering liquor,
It's probably the most
Dangerous part of it
As far as your liability.
I believe that'll be
Just right.
There's plenty of time
That would be involved
In the penitentiary
With loading liquor like this.
Ramsey: what's up, man?
Got my 100 gallons?
You got money?
I got the money.
Digger: look at that
To make sure it's right
Before we unload all this.
Looks like a stack to me.
Load it up.
If you can figure out
How to jar this up on your own
And we'll bring it to you.
Alright,
Get in over there.
There you go.
Damn, he's stout,
Digger.
Hell, I was, too,
When I was that age.
He ain't broke down
Like me and you.
Alright, young man.
Alright, thank you.
Be careful.
See you, man.
Be good.
I hope
He enjoy that liquor.
You know what we're
Gonna enjoy, don't you?
That money.
We've got $25,000 of icing
On the cake at this point.
Lookie, here, puss.
That's nice
To make that much
In one swift lick,
Ain't it?
Digger: we can be alright
Through the winter months.
And we're pretty pleased.
That will leave us where we can
Come out of the gate
A-blazing next season.
Know what them are,
Don't you?
Them's them benjamin
Franklin denominations.
We pulled a lot
Of stuff, puss,
But this may top every
Shenanigan we've ever done.
♪♪
Tickle, look here.
That's mighty
Shiny there.
It is.
Look like gold.
There's gold
In them there hills.
Tim:
Look at that rock.
We can maybe own some.
That's a mighty pretty rock
You done found you there, tim.
Oh, man, that thing
Could be worth something.
That's heavy, man.Heavy.
Well, it's a rock, tim.
It's supposed to be heavy.
But gold is heavier
Than a rock.
Feel how heavy it is.
A pretty heavy rock.
How heavy has it got
To be if it's gold?
I don't know what
The weight conversion is.
I just know
That it's shiny.
That one's breaking up.
Yeah.
See, it can't be gold.
Or it wouldn't break up
Like that.
It flakes right off.
A flake rock.
A flake rock?
I'm pretty sure
It was a real rock.
Well, look over in there.
That's moonshining
Stuff over there.
All kinds of shiny stuff.
You know, one of
The most important goals
In a moonshiner's life
Is to secure their territory.
That means everything to us.
It means everything
To any moonshiner in this world.
Narrator: in tennessee,
Mike is reaching
The final step in his plan
To regain control
Over his home turf
And secure the local
Moonshine market.
Yeah, you know, me
And jerry's whole season
Has kind of been like a roller
Coaster up and down.
We've lost some money.
Kind of been hard on us.
But I've got big plans in mind.
I'm gonna get up here
And meet up with jesse
And see if I can't pick up this
Big load he's got waiting on me.
There he is.
Sitting right there.
Maybe he's got
What I'm looking for.
It looks like he's got me
Some barrels on there.
That's a damn good sign.
How's it going, jesse?
-pretty good.
Everything go alright?Everything went good.
They didn't ask you
No damn suspicious-ass
Questions, did they?
No, they didn't ask
Nothing.
[ both grunting ]
Alright, buddy.
I'll catch up with you later.
Sounds good.
Have a good one.
Oh.
I paid $250 a gallon for this,
Which has torn my pocket up
A little bit, you know?
But if that's what it takes
To put daniel out of business,
I'm a happy man with it.
And that's what I feel
Like I've done here today,
Is I've shut him down.
I mean, you can look
Right back there.
I've got 100 gallons
Of triple-grain whiskey
From mark and digger,
Which daniel maner was supposed
To get to sale.
He has no more.
My bootlegger is
Gonna pick this up
And carry it all the way
To memphis, tennessee.
And everybody right here
Locally gets thirsty
Is gonna go right back
To buying my wheat whiskey.
And we'll go to put money
Right back in our pockets.
So it's a win/win
Either way you look at it.
We're getting pretty close
To the house.
And pretty much to say
I'm on the old victory lap here.
I'm gonna go meet up with jerry,
Show him what we've got,
And take a little break,
Take us a good toast, man.
♪♪
Jerry:
How'd everything go?
Well, looks like we got
The damn tiger
By the tail, baby.
Alright, man.
That's what I need to hear.
We got 100
Damn gallons
Of triple-grain whiskey
Right here.
Ready?
Daniel's out
Of damn business.
That opens up the market
For the wheat whiskey.
And we shouldn't have
No more damn trouble
Selling to our customers.
You know,
Our plan came together.
We got 100 gallons of this
Multigrain whiskey on the truck.
It's gonna set daniel back.
He don't have
Anything else to bootleg.
And it sets our season
Up, you know,
To sell our wheat shine around,
Even through the winter months.
Pop the top on one
Of them sons of bitches.
I'm gonna get a jar,
And we're gonna celebrate
A minute.
I like the sound
Of that idea.
I'm ready for
A stiff drink anyway.
Boy, this sure smells good.
I got to give them that.
Let's check it out
And see how it's gonna be.
How about a little
Celebration there, jerry?
Jerry:
I'm all for that, buddy.
My god.
Boy, that's some
Clear liquor, ain't it?
Yeah, it's a full measure,
Ain't it?
Yeah.
Yeah, boy.
Is it strong?It's strong, alright.
♪♪
♪♪
Wait --
Wait a minute.
♪♪
I don't think I taste
No damn corn or rye or...
I just...
Tell you
What it tastes like.
Don't even say it
Because I already know
What you fixing to say.
There's no question.
That's our wheat whiskey.
That's wheat whiskey,
Ain't it?
Let's open up
Another one.
Let's see.
Smells the same,
Don't it?
Every damn one of these
Sons of bitches
Is full of
Our wheat liquor.
For them to go
And just be that damn sneaky
And sell this
*bleep* back off,
I'm sick and tired
Of this *bleep* man.
Oh, god!
Yee *bleep*
It's pretty apparent that
They've sold our own whiskey
Back to us instead of selling
The triple-grain whiskey.
That's to say,
You know, laugh in our face.
And I'm pretty pissed about it.
You know, I didn't think
Mark and digger
Were these
Type of guys, you know?
They tried to throw one
Over on us like that.
They just trying to, you know,
Take up for daniel's sake.
We're out a lot.
We fixing to put it to
A damn screaming-ass halt now.
Narrator: as moonshine season
Comes to a close in appalachia,
Tickle ends his year
Happily ever after
With the laws at 2,000 gallons.
Mike and jerry's season
Of diminishing returns
Lands them at 990,
Give or take 100 gallons.
Josh finally claws his way
From underground
With 125 and climbing.
What's going on, fellas?
And thanks to daniel's
Quick detective work...
Daniel: well, you know I told
You guys I'd help you.
Narrator: ...He receives
A final 100-gallon batch
Of multigrain moonshine
That nearly went to mike...
Daniel: well, thank you.
We'll put it out
In sevier county.
Narrator:
...Propelling mark and digger
To the top with 2,080 gallons.