Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 9, Episode 7 - Busted by the Law - full transcript

[ siren wailing ]

Narrator:
This time on "Moonshiners"...

We ain't got no popcorn sutton
Legacy liquor.

Damn, fellers, that puts
Me in a bind, bad.

Narrator:
...In tennessee, a lucrative
Cross-county partnership

Hangs on a
Missing ingredient.

You know,
This really sucks.

Digger: you know, we hate to
Set daniel back.

He's been a tremendous asset
To us.

It's our reputation
That's on the line.

Narrator:
In north carolina...



...Proof that
If you make shine long enough,

Sooner or later,
The law comes knocking.

Van: I watched
My grandfather get caught.

I watched my dad
Get caught.

And now, it's my turn.

-I got this idea.
-alright.

Well, what is it?

Narrator:
And in virginia, a former outlaw
Makes an enticing offer.

We just set up a still
In the woods.

You know, when tim went legal,
I thought for sure,

There's no way on earth me
And him would ever go back

In the woods
Making moonshine again.

I guess that's my pitch.
Are you interested?

Man: this is how
We make the moonshine!



Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

Ramsey: man, this popcorn
Legacy liquor,

It's knocking it
Out of the park.

We're running two runs
On the mailbox still a week.

Everything is
Going really good.

Narrator: in the smoky mountains
Of cocke county, tennessee,

To keep pace with
Through-the-roof sales,

Mark and digger mash in

For their 10th run of legacy
Triple-grain liquor.

Ramsey:
What're you doing?

I'm bringing some
Wonderful news for you.

I'm sitting here cooking
A little water.

Well, that's about all
We're gonna cook today.

What do you mean?

Well, I've called, I've went,
I've gone, I've seen,

And I can't find not
One bag of malted barley.

What?

We've been selling the wheels
Off this popcorn legacy liquor,

And now, we can't find
Our malted barley.

Everybody I talked to
Said they don't know

When they're
Getting more in.

Why?

The only thing they
Can come up with

Is there's so many little old
Craft breweries popping up,

All these people
Making craft beer,

And it's just eating
The supply up.

You know, digger worked very,
Very hard

To determine the amount of
The three grains in this mash --

Corn, rye, and barley.

I mean, this is a third
Of the main ingredients.

And without the malted barley,
We can't make the true recipe

Of the popcorn sutton
Legacy liquor.

Narrator:
Malted barley has been used
In the making

Of alcoholic beverages
For thousands of years.

By sprouting,
Then drying, barley,

The starches
In the grain convert

More easily
To fermentable sugars,

And contribute a signature
Sweet and nutty flavor.

Although originally used
In brewing beer,

Malted barley has been
The backbone of scotch whiskey

Since the late 1500s.

When scottish immigrants
Settled in appalachia,

They brought with them
The tradition

Of using malted barley
In distilling.

What about our old buddy,
Old vern rogers?

Well, I hadn't
Checked with him.

Well, we've got
To have it.

Ramsey:
Well, we got our friend ronald.

He lives one county
Over from us.

There's a chance that
He stockpiled

A little bit
Of malted barley.

We've got to keep making
This popcorn legacy liquor.

Demand is very high.

We've got everything to gain,
And nothing to lose,

By going
And seeing him.

Shut them tanks off.

It's worth a shout to go
Over there and look.

It's a roll of the dice,

But he might have a few extra
Bags of malted barley.

If not, we're gonna have to
Move on to other measures.

Ramsey:
Who would've ever thought
There'd be

A shortage
Of malted barley?

I would've
Never thunked it.

We've always prided ourself
On making a quality product.

Up here, on the left,
I think.

You know, if we're gonna
Maintain our customer base,

And maintain our reputation,
You know,

We have to do it correct.

Looks like they're open
For business.

That's a plus.

Let's go see what we can
Run down, here.

How are you
Fellers doing?

Digger: ah, we're all right
For the shape we're in.

Howdy.
Pretty good, you?

-good.
-we're on a mission.

We've been everywhere.
Can't find no malted barley.

You know, we've sourced a lot of
Stuff off this old boy before.

We just hope that he's got
Some surplus barley

He can throw our way.

I don't have
Any, either.

Had a little bit about a month
Or a little better ago.

Hard to come by
Anymore.

You got any barley?

Well, I've got a little bit
Of row barley back there.

Well, let's look at it,
And see what we think about it.

Digger:
Well, we were really looking
For malted barley,

But right now,
We're stark naked

When it comes to barley,
So we ain't got no choice.

So, this row barley, it's the
Only hope we've got right now.

Yeah, I've got a bag
Or two right here.

I'm gonna cut your bag.

We're probably
Gonna take it.

We've just bought
That bag.

Well, that's just
What I just said.

Yeah, that might work.

Ramsey:
When we dump it out a little
Bit out in our hand,

It's a pleasant taste.

It probably won't be a bad
Flavor for the liquor.

Well, we'll take this one.

If you got another one,
We'll take it, too.

You know, it's not what we need,
But we're willing to try it.

Well, at least we're leaving
With something, puss.

It ain't malted barley, puss,
But it's all we can get.

Digger: yep.

♪♪

♪♪

-come on in, tickle.
-oh, alright.

Oh, yeah.

-oh, how about a drink?
-you know what?

Drink sounds great to me.

I got a little bit of this,
And a little bit of that.

You want any climax?

You want it regular?
-yeah.

You got to have
Some medication, man.

I got important things
To talk about.

Important things
To talk about?

Narrator: one state northeast
In culpeper county, virginia,

Tickle sheds his outlaw ways
For a day or two

To pay tim a visit
At his legal distillery.

I've been working in the woods
With henry and kenny,

And we've got a couple of days
Before the mash is ready to run,

So I thought
I'd go see tim.

We've got to talk
About that trip, man.

Hey, I liked it.
I had a good time.

You know, me and you don't
Get together like that

Anymore too much.
-no.

30 years ago,
This stuff was growed up,

So you can just see
Them stills in there.

Narrator:
Six weeks ago, tim and tickle
Took a road trip,

Where they visited one of
Tim's childhood still sites.

Many years ago, I was running
Around in the woods with my dad.

Started off with little stills,
Next thing you know,

We were running
These big submarine stills.

Totally different world out
Here, but it is a good world.

You can still see the axe holes,
And stuff, in them.

Yeah.

I really do miss being back with
Tickle, being in the woods.

Well, I got this idea.

So, I'm gonna pitch
It to you,

And you tell me
If you're interested.

You the key element that's
Gonna make this work.

Alright.
Well, what is it?

Well, I got a idea.

We could set up a still,
In the woods,

And make the original
Backwoods recipe

That we did
In the woods again.

You know, when tim went legal,
I thought for sure,

There's no way on earth me
And him would ever go back

In the woods
Making moonshine again.

Hell, when me and you
Was on the road,

Kind of felt good
Being back in the woods again.

I mean, I missed it, being in
The woods, 'cause I went legal.

Tickle missed it because
He went to jail, you know.

So, we both had split

In different ways
For different reasons.

I guess that's
My pitch.

Are you interested?

You know what?

If it's making moonshine
In the woods with you,

The way we used to do it,
I'm interested.

Tickle:
I've been out in the woods
With henry and kenny a lot.

Henry has made me an offer
That I almost can't refuse.

He's told me he wants to make
2,000 gallons of brandy,

And if I can help them
Make that 2,000 gallons,

He'll cut me in
For a third.

But instead of just kind of
Sitting around here,

And waiting for the mash
To get ready,

I could be helping out
My real partner, tim smith.

You know me.
I love making moonshine,

And I kind of feel
Confined inside.

Well, you won't be
Confined outside.

I can tell you that.

I'd rather deal with
The ticks and the snakes

And the bugs and stuff,
Making moonshine.

Tim and I,
We go way back.

I mean, we is like
Cadillac seats.

It'll be good for just me
And him to run around together,

Getting back out
In the woods.

I like it.
I'm all for it.

Where do you want to build
This thing at?

-well, we got to go find a spot.
-alright.

Drink that up,
And let's get going, here.

See if we can't
Make some shine.

♪♪

♪♪

Ewok:
This old logging road,
It didn't look like

Anybody's even
Walked into here.

Van:
Ewok, you a little
Shorter than me.

I'm having
A little trouble.

Well, I was always told that
God loves short people better.

Well, he must don't
Like me too good.

Narrator: across state lines,
In cherokee county,

North carolina, "Brandy master"
Van is jump-starting his season

With a small batch of corn
Whiskey and a new partner.

-that's right.
-good and sour.

It's time to run this one.
-it's ready to go.

Cranking out some liquor today,
Boys.

Narrator:
Last season, van produced
1,000 gallons of illegal liquor,

Running 5 stills.

Oh, no.

But splitting the profit
With two partners

Took a big bite out
Of his bottom line.

Van:
Can't afford to lose a profit
On a stupid mistake like that.

This year, I'm gonna
Make a few changes,

And cut down on partners, and
See if I can make more money.

Well, we'll cover
This thing back up,

And we'll get
A still in here.

I met ewok
About 4 years ago.

Ewok is a very
Trustworthy person.

He's very smart.

Last year, he was
A bootlegger for me.

He's got a reputation
Of making good liquor.

Let's see how
That trailer looks.

Everybody calls me "Ewok."

My family has been making liquor
Since before they left ireland,

Coming to america.

We gonna set everything up
On the trailer,

Or are we gonna
Come off the trailer,

And into the thumper?

It could all be
On the trailer,

Or some of it
Can be hanging off.

I've got 10 or 12 barrels spread
Throughout these hills, here.

I've got a 20-gallon pot.

I'm gonna mobilize it,

And get it close to the barrels
As possible.

We didn't have to do
Any leveling.

We didn't have to move
This or that.

So, we've got to run a batch
Here, run a batch there,

Until I find us a better
Still site deeper in the woods.

Well, looky there.
I love it.

I think this is gonna work.
-okay.

I want to unhook
This four-wheeler,

And if something
Does go down,

We'll get on that four-wheeler,
And we'll get out of here.

Sounds good.
They make copper every day.

That's right, but they don't
Make us every day.

They don't.

If anybody was
Coming in on us,

We could abandon
That little trailer.

We could be on
That four-wheeler,

And we'd be gone.

-alright, let's start...
-let's go dip some beer.

I'll be back with
The first bucket.

Van: we've got to get this
Run done quick.

I'm taking a risk,
Right now,

By running it
On this logging trail.

There's nobody been on it
For 10 years,

But being a moonshiner,
You've got to take a risk

In order to make
That dollar.

Bucket number one.

Ewok, this is how my daddy
Used to have to do it.

There wasn't
No pumps back then.

♪♪

It's burning.

Well, I'm gonna put
The cap on this thing.

My daddy always told me,

"Whenever you do stuff
Like this,

Take pride in what
The stuff looks like."

That way,
If I get caught,

Maybe they'll have a little
Bit of leniency on me.

Place to hang my tools.

I'll be back
With more water.

I'm known for peach brandy,
But today,

Me and ewok
Is running some corn liquor.

Peaches are more expensive
Than corn.

I ain't got no money,
But I got liquor.

So, if we can get these few runs
Knocked out,

Hopefully, we can trade it

For some peaches
To make our brandy with.

Then, we're gonna start
Making some money.

-we almost there, ewok.
-oh, there she is, son.

Ewok: there she is.
She's running.

Van:
Smell that, brother?

Smells like money to me.

You want to pitch
Them heads, ewok?

Now, we're catching
Good liquor.

This corn
Is gonna pay off.

I barter with corn
Because corn is cheap.

Corn is profitable.

If I can sacrifice corn
For peaches,

Then that's what
I'm gonna do.

Don't drop it.
That's our money, right there.

This ain't
My first time.

Alright, then.

Yeah, buddy.

Van:
Ewok is a good shiner.

He thinks like I do.

But picking a partner
Is not like a best friend.

A friend will bail you
Out of jail.

A partner will go to jail
With you.

Mm-hmm.

That's the kind of partner
I'm looking for,

And I think
I got the right guy.

That's getting close
To the end.

We better cut it
Off, there.

Alright.

Looks like we got about
3 gallons.

That's pretty good and par
For this little pot.

I like that, man.
First run done.

Van: it's crunch time,
Because the season is here.

I got to go get peaches.

That's money
In the bank.

Narrator: coming up,
The outlaw spirit never dies.

Tim: you can hear
That water running.

Tickle: yeah.What I know is the woods,

And who taught me the woods
Is tim smith.

Narrator:
After an 8-year hiatus,
Tim and tickle

Are together again,
Making backwoods shine.

We've got to go
Get some supplies,

And start building.

Sounds good.

Ramsey: we've managed to buy
Exactly what we don't need.

Digger: well, we've got to be
Making something.

Narrator:
In cocke county, tennessee,
When demand for their legacy

Liquor exceeds the supply
Of a key ingredient,

Mark and digger
Attempt a work-around.

Man, that looks
Like oatmeal.

That's pretty much
What it is.

But it's got a good
Barley flavor,

But we ain't got
No malt flavoring.

We got no malt flavor.

We're at the point
Of no return, now.

We're fixing to
Try to mash in.

Grab that, and
I'll get the next one.

We hope it's the popcorn
Sutton legacy liquor,

But we have got
A wannabe ingredient.

But we're just chasing it,
And seeing what happens,

See where we end up at.

Digger:
The main thing
We got to do,

We got to keep
The measurements right.

It takes
Two of these.

We know good and well
That this is the wrong grain

For what we need.

Malted barley will still be
In the round kernel.

It won't be flattened out
Like this.

Plus, it's got
A big green sprout,

So you're quadrupling your
Amount of complex carbohydrates

That need to be broken down, and
Cooked into fermentable sugars.

It provides more flavor
Just because

You're getting more carbohydrate
Out of your grain.

But we need to
Be making liquor.

We've got daniel
Waiting on liquor,

And we've got
To keep running.

If we don't, it's money
Out of our pocket.

Digger:
Well, I hope that this
Flavor of this liquor,

I hope it's
Not just close.

I hope it's right.

With that malted barley,
It balanced out good.

I don't know if this
Is gonna work, or not.

I reckon that water
Is hot enough to pump

Over here,
And let this steep.

Yeah, we got steam coming
Out the arm, there.

We're plenty hot.

The row barley flake,
We put it and the sugar,

Everything in the tote.

Ramsey:
It's a-coming.

Pump the hot water from
The still, and let it steep.

By the time you dilute it,

With all the sugar,
And all the other ingredients,

It don't smell any different
Than it normally would.

That's it in here, puss.

Alright, we'll let that steep
For a few hours.

And then, we'll come back,
And pitch some yeast.

We'll keep our fingers
Crossed this tastes

As good as the rest
We've been making.

You know, nothing would make me
Any happier for this liquor

To come out, and taste
Like the legacy liquor.

Let's me and you go get us
A sandwich and a beer,

And come back,
And pitch that yeast.

Ramsey: in a week or so,
We'll have our answer.

We'll know if we've made
Legacy liquor

Or damn buttermilk,
You know?

We don't know,
But time will tell.

We'll be back.

I hope.

♪♪

♪♪

We gonna go
To the creek,

We might ought to get
Something to tug it with us.

You never know if there's
Snakes or what.

I'm gonna take
My mop handle.

You take that,
And I'll take this.

Oh, that's
A big old knife.

Can you legally have a knife?
-I reckon.

Ain't you like, can't you have
No weapons or something?

Oh, that's just guns.

Narrator: one state northeast,
In culpeper county, virginia,

For the first time
Since tim went legal,

He and tickle are back in the
Woods, looking for a still site.

Tim:
The road has gotten
Rougher than it was.

Tickle:
Well, that's what
Happens with time.

I reckon we done got
A little rougher

Since the last time
We drove through here, too.

Didn't we?
-yeah, yeah.

I tell you what,
I am super excited

To be back out
In the woods with tim.

What I know is the woods,

And who taught me the woods
Was tim smith.

You can hear
That water running.

Yeah.

Tim: being back with tickle,
Being in the woods,

I don't really miss
Chopping down trees,

And getting eat up
With ticks and stuff.

But I think it's gonna
Bring us both back together,

Building this
Backwoods recipe.

I don't know of anyone else
I can do this with,

Other than tickle.
-plenty of water.

-oh, yeah, good and cool water.
-this creek, right here,

I believe, is gonna
Make excellent moonshine.

There's no nothing fouling it
Up, and it's constant.

Tim:
We ought to go upstream
A little bit, because,

You know, the water
Sometimes cleaner upstream.

Being back here in the woods
With tim,

Looking for a still site,
Brings back a lot of memories.

Me and him have done this
So many times before.

Snakes in here.

Big as you are, man.
-well....

Tim: yeah, let's keep on
Going through that, man.

If you got one of them
Anacondas, throw them out here.

-alright.
-I'll take him.

Tickle:
I kind of like
This spot.

We've got a nice high bank,
Right yonder,

To help protect us
From the water.

Tim: clear all this out,
Right here.

Clear that out,
And then go on ahead

And build something
Right yonder.

You know, I believe tim has got
A very good idea going,

Right here,
For this backwoods moonshine.

You know, everybody you talk
To, you tell them

That you can buy moonshine
In a liquor store?

They say, "No, I want the stuff
That comes out of the woods."

Tim: my plan is, replicate
This backwoods recipe.

You know, with tim and tickle
Back in the woods,

I feel like we're gonna make
The best moonshine

That's ever been seen
Around these parts.

We've got to go get some tools,
And clear it up a little bit.

Then, we get some supplies,
And start building.

Sounds good.

♪♪

♪♪

Your homegrown peach is
What everybody is crazy about.

That's where I
Make my money.

Narrator: across state lines,
In the mountains

Of cherokee county,
North carolina,

Van drives into town
To swap corn shine for the fruit

He needs
To start running brandy.

I've got to get it
While the getting's good.

I've had a few people call me,
Wanting brandy,

But peaches are expensive.

I've got to get up here,
And nail this thing down.

I've contacted the local guy
That runs a produce stand.

-hey, man. How's it going?
-hey, man. How are you doing?

Doing good.
Good to see you again.

Yeah, you know, I only show up
About once a year.

-that's right. Yes, sir.
-yeah.

Everything
Going good?

Yeah.

I'm interested
In these.

Okay.

Maybe we could do
Some trading, or anything?

Yeah, I'm totally fine
With some trade.

He's interested
In our shine,

And we're interested
In his peaches.

Maybe a gallon,
Maybe a gallon and a half.

How about 3 gallons?

He done jacked the price up,
And that cuts me a little bit.

But I ain't worried about it,
Because I know how much money

I've got in that corn liquor,
But he don't.

So, any time we do any trading
Like that, it's always profit.

-alright.
-3 gallons?

3 gallons.
You got a deal.

Alright, man. Thank you.
-thank you, sir.

You can always barter
With moonshine and bullets.

That's how they done
Back years ago,

And that's what I
Try to do,

Because that way,
We don't have to pull cash out.

This is 3 gallons,
If you'd like to see it.

Alright.
We're good to go.

We'll load your peaches
Up for you.

Van:
We've got our peaches.

Now, me and ewok need to
Get deeper in the woods,

Find us a better still site,
And start running this brandy.

-alright. Thank you.
-thank you.

Narrator:
Coming up...

Looks like
The *bleep* sheriff.

...There's a snitch
In cherokee county,

And one shiner
Must pay the price.

I knew that I was fixing
To get busted.

Tim:
So, what we looking
At, a 12x12?

That's what I'm thinking.
We got a good 12x12 spot.

Alright.

Narrator:
In virginia, tim and
Master carpenter tickle

Build their first
Backwoods still site in 8 years.

You got me down here
In the damn woods.

I can go without food,
But I can't go without drinking.

You know what?
Legal done made you soft.

You know, tim has been legal
Quite a while, now.

Maybe it's taken its toll on
Him, not being in the woods.

Might've softened him up
A little.

It is a little rough,
'cause we are in the woods.

It is what it is.

Being back in the woods,

You know, the snakes,
The ticks, and mosquitoes,

I do miss it,
And I don't miss it.

I'm gonna go ahead
And cut a 29-inch support post

To go in the middle.

Tim: but me and tickle
Back together again,

That's what counts,
Right there.

That's the good stuff.

-tight.
-looks good.

Tickle: what we're gonna do is,
We're gonna start out,

And we're gonna
Build a deck.

That'll be our floor.

Well, unless you go
Screwing decking boards

Down here,
They ain't so hard.

They're just
Time-consuming.

And then, what we'll do is,
We'll run some posts up,

And we'll put a roof on it.

We can't hardly use
The ladder.

Everything on here
Says "Warning/

Don't do this.
Don't do that."

They've been telling us
That most our lives.

We ain't listened yet,
Have we?

This is like
The moonshine workout.

Been a long time since tim
And I have been back

In the woods together,
And I really like it.

The woods is where
I feel at home at,

And I know good and well

That's where he was born
And raised, too.

-there we go.
-oh, that's pretty.

Building a still site
Is a work of art.

And we're gonna have,
What was it, artisanal?

Artisanal moonshine.

Artisanal moonshine.

If that makes you sell more, you
Can call it whatever you want.

Made in the south,
And sold in the north.

Do you know of anyone else
Can build a still site

Better than us?

No, sir.

I can't say that I do -- not
Right off the top of my head.

But that's one
Thing about it.

You've got to be
Comfortable, too.

That's right.

Tim: me and tickle
Come to the agreement

That we're gonna build
A still house

Just for some
Weather protection,

Primarily for maybe rain.

'cause, you know, if you're
On edge all the time,

And you're in the woods,
You can't make good moonshine.

-you know what?
-you can't concentrate.

You know, working on this
Still site with tim

Is exactly what I was doing
10 years ago.

It brings back a whole lot.

I almost feel
10 years younger.

Don't you miss this stuff, me
And you being out in the woods?

No. Not me.

Fine. Put the tin down.

Being back in the woods
Is not all that,

But being working with tickle,
Now that's where it's at.

Hell, for that in the woods,
Man, it looks pretty good.

Tickle:
That's it.

We made good headway
On this still house.

Reckon the next thing to do
Would be build the walls in.

Then, get the still
In this thing,

This thing will be
Ready to run.

We got us
A shelter, now.

It almost looks like
We're building a vacation home.

I think it looks good.

Let's call it a day.
What do you think?

Get out of here, man.

♪♪

♪♪

Digger: ain't no reason for it
Not to be ready.

Ramsey: well, all we can do
Is just poke and hope.

Let's see.

Oh, yeah.

It's plenty of sour,
Plenty of alcohol.

Maybe the gods are smiling
On us, you know?

It may be fine, puss.

Narrator: across state lines,
In cocke county,

Facing a local shortage
Of malted barley,

Mark and digger prepare to run
A modified recipe

Of their popcorn sutton
Legacy liquor moonshine,

Substituting rowed hulled
Barley instead.

Rowed hulled barley, it's used
To make beers and liquors,

But it's not malted barley.

Damn it.

Mark is holding it
In high optimism.

All I can do is just hope
And pray

That this is
Gonna be close.

Your wound-up hose
Just come unwound.

♪♪

Is you losing your patience
A tiny bit?

You know what?
That's a bad sign.

Yeah, today is
The day of truth.

It'll really be good
If we could consider it

Popcorn legacy liquor.

We'll know, here,
In a few hours.

You want me to go get
That generator?

I don't care
To get it going.

Well, I just don't want it
To give you no problem.

If you throw it like you did
That pump,

We're gonna be
Out of a generator.

Ramsey:
Our buyers have gotten
Pretty used to

This popcorn legacy liquor.

-you ready?
-yeah. Light it to it.

You know, they like it.
It's bringing a premium price.

Ramsey:
Let's get them lit up,
There, baby man.

I'll try not to
Blow you up.

Here we go.

Got her.

Digger:
You know, every day that
We're not running liquor,

The way I've got it figured,
About $3,000

Or $4,000 every day
That we're down.

Ramsey:
If this doesn't work,

And if this malted barley
Shortage continues,

It's gonna affect
Our business substantially.

It's really going to put
A hitch in our get-along.

Digger:
Now, we do the waiting.

We know it's
Gonna be liquor.

We don't know if it's
Gonna be legacy liquor or not.

Put a little putty on it.

You know, we've always prided
Ourself on not being greedy.

You've heard your whole life
That rich people is miserable?

Yeah.

Yeah, that's a rich son
Of a bitch that set that up,

To make us poor ones
Feel better about being broke.

Like that old boy said when
We had that party that time.

He'd come over, and eat that hog
Meat, and he said, "Oh, lord."

He said, "That's better
Than sex."

I said, "Either I don't know
How to cook, or you don't know

How to *bleep*.
I don't know which one it is."

Digger: we're gonna be
Running before long.

We're hot down the arm
And the leg both.

You know, we've got our
Customers that want this liquor.

They're already
Asking for it.

Daniel is wanting more
For his customers.

We've got to
Get them filled.

I want this to be good,
But as hard as daniel has worked

To get his customer base
Going...

If it's good, if it's spot-on,
Then daniel

Needs to never know
The difference.

But if it's not spot-on,
We're really in trouble.

It's smelling awful liquor-y,
Ain't it?

Digger:
There you go.

Hell, fire wood
To strain liquor, howdy boy.

That's just
About right, puss.

How about this? Slow that
Down a little bit.

We've got to catch
Some heads, here.

I'm gonna kill me
About three salamanders.

Lay it down.

Digger: this was a tremendous
Amount of work

To get this recipe
Nailed down.

If we don't have
The barley malt,

It's not gonna balance
That rye enough,

And it's going to taste more
Like a rye whiskey

Than a corn whiskey.

I can smell it
From here.

♪♪

♪♪

I can smell it
From here.

Narrator: in tennessee, a $6,000
Payday hinges on a sip

As mark and digger
Put their work-around recipe

To a taste test.

♪♪

No.

Damn it.

That ain't it, puss.

Well, I didn't figure
It was gonna be.

Yeah, there ain't nothing wrong
With it, but it ain't it.

Nope.

It's just a little
Bit spicy.

Yeah, it just got a little bit
More rye than what we need.

Daniel is expecting
30 gallons of liquor,

But this is just
A big loss for the day.

We could've made $6,000
Off this immediately,

Had we had
The right ingredients.

We can't let daniel sell
This for legacy liquor.

Nope. We'll put it
In our 401w account.

We'll just age it,
And we'll sell it

When we jump off
This bus.

We lost a lot of money today.
It's not got the taste we want,

So it cannot command
The premium price,

And we can not
Sell it as such.

It's a damn shame we've backed
Ourselves into the corner

With one damn recipe,
Ain't it?

I know it.

Yeah, we won't be able
To give a damn jar

Of corn liquor
Away now.

As it stands right now,
We don't have any mash built.

We don't have any malted barley
On hand,

Or any prospect of getting
Any malted barley right now.

So, we're pretty much
Dead in the water

For any more
Legacy liquor.

Ramsey:
Damn. I hate to tell daniel
When he comes.

Digger:
Yeah.

♪♪

♪♪

Tim: tickle got this wood
At the saw mill,

And we done built them
Out of pine.

We done built them
Out of poplar.

You know, barrels are made
Out of white oak.

We need to make you a pot
Out of white oak.

So, we need to put it
In white oak.

Narrator:
In culpeper county, virginia,

Even after an 8-year hiatus,
Tim and tickle

Do not miss a beat
As they get to work

On the engine of any
Still site -- the pot.

We've got to take our time,
Cut it just right,

Wrap the whole entire thing
With copper.

Custom made
By tim and tickle.

We probably ought to put
A label on it -- t and t.

-now, you're getting it.
-backwoods.

Backwoods distillery.

But what size pot you looking
At here, champ?

Well, I don't want
To make it real big.

One thing,
It's white oak,

And we got to carry
This thing, too.

Think about that.
-yeah.

And you know, it's got to fit
In that little building

That we're building --
The little bungalow down there.

Well...

So, I'm thinking,
Like, 5 or 6 feet.

Alright. Well, now,
Here's the thing.

Like you say, this is white oak.
-yeah.

This thing is gonna be heavy
By the time it gets together.

Oh, yeah. When you grab that,
You know you done
Grabbed something.

Well, what if we build
The sides up here.

Mm-hmm.

Take it down there,
And then

Assemble it down there,
Inside the thing.

That way,
Once it's together,

And it's at its heaviest point,
We ain't got to move it.

It would be
A little bit easier.

That'd make my back
Feel better.

You know, tim and I,
We haven't really done

A lot together,
Here, recently,

And it's pretty good
To get back out with him.

This is what we
Used to do years ago,

And we're back to
Doing it again.

We made a lot of liquor,
And we built all kinds of stuff,

But it's been a while.

It has been a while.

Tim: today was the day
To build the still,

You know, when you start mating
Two pieces of wood together.

And that's the most important
In building a submarine still.

Alright. You see
What kind of gap we got?

Pretty good gap, there.
You can see that.

You can see where
It's tight, here.

We want it like this
All the way down.

When you're building
A submarine pot,

You've got to get this wood
Nice and tight, to swell shut.

Because if they leak, the whole
Thing is not gonna hold mass.

-how about that?
-pretty good fit, right there.

Tim:
Pretty good match.

Ah, good god almighty.

Wait until you put
Two of these together, huh?

-god.
-then you'll know something.

One thing for sure --
Won't nobody ever steal it.

You gonna cut an angle
With that skilsaw?

Yeah.

Tim:
Building a submarine still,

Or building any kind of
Still, actually,

I mean, you've got to
Have some expertise.

When you build a submarine pot,
You have to round the ends off.

You know, tickle is just
A master at cutting wood.

That's all
There is to it.

To put a still together,
You need that.

The rounded edges
Turned out great.

A whole lot of people say it's
Impossible to take a skilsaw,

And cut an arc with it.

You can cut a circle
With this thing.

Well, a master carpenter
And a sharp blade...

-that's right.
-...What do you expect?

Exactly!
I'll have to say.

I'm real proud of this pot.
-god.

Gonna be the heaviest pot
In the world, tim.

Let's get down to
The still site,

And see what we can do about
Putting this thing together.

♪♪

Tim:
We didn't have time to finish
Building this structure,

So I came out by myself,

Working, putting the sides
On it, closing it up.

You want the pot
Right in here?

So, think about it --
If we put it this way,

The doubler over here,
And a condenser.

So, this is where
The finished product

Is going to come out,
And then go out the door.

Let's get in here, and get
The pot together first.

Yeah, we can always
Slide it around.

Yeah.

Tim: I can see now,
Going to the hospital.

"What happened to you?"

"Oh, moonshine still
Fell on top of me."

-yeah.
-"Broke three ribs."

Tickle: now, we'll get
The two sides together.

We can start wrapping our metal
Around this thing.

Now, we're gonna find out
If it's gonna work or not.

-I'm beautiful.
-great day in the morning.

♪♪

-I'll be damned.
-your phone is ringing?

-I didn't even hear it.
-yeah, yeah, no, no.

I just got a text message.
-yeah?

Hey, look, tim,
I'm gonna have to head on...

-head on where?
-henry just messaged me,

Said that the mash is ready
To run down there.

They can't run it
Without you?

Well, I'll only be gone
A few days.

"A few days."
What does that mean?

One, two, three days?

Well, I mean, we got
To get this mash run.

I want to get some mash
Running, too.

Tickle:
You know, henry has let me know,

There ain't no money made on
The moonshine until it's sold.

And if I'm not there to make it
And help it get sold,

Well, then, I have
Earned myself nothing.

You know
How it goes, tim,

When the mash is ready,
The mash is ready.

I know, but I can't even
Get no mash ready.

Unfortunately,
Tickle has got

Too much on his plate
These days.

He's fresh out of jail,
Everybody wants him to work,

And help them
In the woods, really.

And I know this.

I mean, I knew it was
Going to happen.

I mean, he's
A valuable resource.

I'll be gone a couple of days,
And I'll be right back,

And we'll finish
This thing right up.

-a couple of days.
-yeah.

Alright.
Sounds good to me.

Alright.

♪♪

♪♪

Van: this, right here, man, it's
Got a lot of minerals in it,

And it's good
To set beer up with.

Narrator:
One state south, in cherokee
County, north carolina...

We might be able
To make that work.

...After trading 3 gallons
Of corn moonshine for peaches,

Van and ewok scout a spot
To mash in

Their first run
Of peach brandy.

Van: well, at least we can
Mash in these peaches.

Ewok:
What the hell
Is all that?

Be cool until I figure out
What's going on.

As soon as I saw the cars,

I knew that I was fixing
To get busted.

Van: hey, fellas.

Yeah.

No, sir.

When these cops come in,

They were actually looking
For me, so ewok separated.

That way, they wouldn't
Get both of us.

Officer went over to
The workshop, and finds a cork.

Kind of changes tone.
He gets pissed off.

"Somebody better own up to it,
Or all of you is going."

So, I said, "It's mine."

They pull me aside again,
And ask me

If there's any more alcohol
On the premises.

I've done this all my life.
I've done it 40 years.

I've watched my grandfather
Get caught.

I've watched my dad
Get caught.

And now, it's my turn.

♪♪

♪♪

Tim: what is that,
Over there?

Tickle: yeah, what is
That building?

What is that,
Over there?

It just looks out of place,
Don't it?

They got something in there,
Man -- like, animals in there.

How you getting animals up
On the second story?

Put them in there
When they're little.

Oh.

You know, that's why they put
A pole in the fire house?

You know, the pole?
-yeah.

'cause it keeps the horses
From climbing up the steps.

Yeah?

'cause in the olden days,
They had the steps go up,

And the firemen
Slept upstairs.

Well, the horses
Would go up the steps

In the nighttime,
And go to sleep.

They wanted to sleep
With the people.

Oh, yeah?

So, they put a pole, so the
Horse can't go up the pole.

That don't make no sense.

Narrator:
Despite their improvised
Ingredients, mark and digger

Add to their ambitious goal
Of 2,000 gallons,

While van and ewok
Eek out 3 of their 750 gallons,

Despite the legal setback.

Ramsey:
You know, daniel better come on,
Before it gets dark.

He don't know it yet,

But he ain't got nothing
To look forward to.

Digger: can't cry
Over spilled liquor.

Down here he comes.

Narrator:
In tennessee, as newly-minted
Bootlegger daniel

Arrives to pick up
His next load of legacy liquor,

Mark and digger
Prepare to break some bad news.

-what's up, big cat?
-how are you?

Ramsey: you couldn't find
No damn big truck, could you?

Well, I like my trucks
Like I like my women --

With a big old
Wide butt.

-yeah. Yeah.
-popcorn.

[ laughter ]

What are you doing,
There, buddy?

Well, I've come to get 30,
If you've got it.

We've got it, but it ain't
Exactly what we want it to be.

We ain't got no popcorn sutton
Legacy liquor.

Damn, fellas.
That puts me in a bind, bad.

I've got multiple customers
Wanting the hell out of that.

Try it.

It's good liquor, but it
Ain't that legacy liquor.

No, it definitely
Ain't that.

We'd love to send it with you,
Daniel, but we ain't going to.

We can't.

I mean, it's our reputation
That's on the line.

Digger: you know, we hate to
Set daniel back.

He's been a tremendous asset
To us.

We appreciate
What he's done.

I mean, it's just effortless
For him to sell

A tremendous
Amount of liquor.

Hope you understand that,
And hope you ain't mad at us.

No, I'm not mad at yous.

I'm just aggravated,
You know,

'cause I talk to these guys,
And they're wanting it.

Daniel: you know,
This really sucks.

Even if they get the ingredients
To make this liquor,

It's gonna be
At least two weeks.

There's gonna be
Some people pissed off at me.

If you've had a problem,

Then I'm going to have
A problem, obviously, too.

It all rolls downhill.

Ramsey: you know, we put him
In a tight spot.

He done had this liquor sold,
Promised, or most of it anyway,

And you know,
He's got to go back now,

And deal with
His customers.

It is what it is.

Digger:
I hate it worse than anything,

So, we're gonna have to
Come up with another measure

On this malted barley.

-alright.
-we'll get her.

-have a good one.
-alright, brother.

Thank you.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: in cherokee county,
North carolina,

After a police raid left van
With misdemeanor charges,

He calls back ewok
To take stock of the toll

The raid will take
On their livelihoods.

How's it going,
Jail bird?

Glad you ain't in one.
-yeah.

I'm glad they didn't
Get you, too.

Oh, I'm glad
They didn't get me, too.

You know, I ain't gonna
Beat around no bush.

I ain't never
Been that way.

I've always been
Straight up with you.

Right on.

Ewok, they took every damn
Thing I had -- all the liquor.

Lord have mercy.

About 56 gallons,
Give or take?

This is, like, 50,
55 here, 12 there.

Ewok:
Damn it, man.

$120 a gallon,
If not more.

That's a lot
Of liquor gone.

I mean,
This was aged stuff.

It was good bourbon,
Good whiskey,

And everybody
Was wanting it.

They went out there, and poured
My soul out onto the ground.

It was like draining
The life from me.

I mean, there was
Blood and sweat

That rolled down
Through there.

It wasn't just liquor.

That's not all
They took, either.

Oh, no.

Since they found
All the alcohol,

They took
Both my stills.

Yeah, they got
The still.

It was sitting
Over there.

They took all of that.That was the peach brandy.

Stuff you saved
From last year.

It's gone.

I'm pissed off,
And I'm aggravated.

I'm wanting to know
Who turned me in.

They left the cap.

I begged them
Not to take it,

'cause that was my grandpa's,
My daddy's, and mine.

I can't say nothing.

I was the one at fault,
And I'm the one that got caught.

They were just doing their job,
And I was doing mine.

This opens my eyes, because
I've been too comfortable.

It just lights a fire
Up under my ass.

Now, it's time to get back
To the real moonshiner,

Do things the way
I'm supposed to,

Be in the woods more often,
And stay covered up.

We gonna have to sit down, and
Hash out what we're gonna do.

We'll figure
Something out.

We don't have a still.
We have nothing to work with.

That's gonna be
The hardest thing.

Start over.

Since I've been caught,
They come in on me,

I'm going to jail
This time.

I can't afford to sit still,
And I know you can't, either.

Van:
Cops aren't gonna stop me.

They never stopped
My grandfather,

And they never stopped my dad,
And they never gonna stop me.

Narrator: next time
On "Moonshiners"...

Digger: now, look at that.
Ain't that pretty?

Ramsey:we have to have
The barley malt.

We cannot make this
Legacy liquor without it.

Narrator:
Agriculture is a job best left
To those with green thumbs.

-that look alright?
-yeah.

We don't know what we're doing,
We've never built

A greenhouse before,

So it may be a complete failure,
We don't know.

Digger: ew! Damn!

That smells like
An anchovy's *bleep*

That's awful!

Narrator: in virginia...The hell's a heater box?

In order to have
A winning season,

A shiner needs to think
Outside the box.

-ahh!
-that'll work.

It's almost a lost piece
Of technology.

Looks pretty doggone good.

What this is gonna do is double
Our production.

Alright.

Narrator:
And in north carolina...

Try not to put your arms all
Over the pole,

Because that creosote'll
Burn the piss out of you.

...A chemical reaction
Threatens the season.

It's more about extreme cases
Where you're gonna get sick.

I got it right here.

Creosote is also toxic
And it can be very dangerous.