This biker distributor,
I don't know whether he's gonna Crucify me or what.
Broken promises In north carolina...
I think we ought To make a true muscadine brandy.
Heck yeah.
...Beating the bushes
For a new premium liquor In tennessee...
Quit eatin' so damn many and The tarp'll fill up quicker.
I'll have to pull over Three or four times
To let you poop Going down the road.
I been getting a whole lot Of calls from people...
...And the backwoods beckon In virginia.
...Wanting me to make 'em Some moonshine.
Illegal moonshine.
♪♪
♪ goin' for a ride ♪
♪ runnin' to survive ♪
♪ when you're livin' Outside the law ♪
♪♪
♪ we're livin' Outside the law ♪
♪♪
This is how We make the moonshine!
--captions by vitac-- Www.Vitac.Com
Captions paid for by Discovery communications
♪♪
So, we're back here In north carolina.
Right now, I'm on my way to meet This biker connection of mine.
Josh faces a moment Of reckoning on the piedmont.
We had 150 gallons Of cherry bounce in a trailer
On our way to a bike rally, And I lost everything.
I was supposed to sell it.
Everything burnt to the ground On the way out there.
All my stuff's burning!
Look!
♪♪
Damn trailer fire burned up A ton of my racing stuff.
Everything went up in flames.
This biker distributor, I don't know what he's thinking.
He hasn't let me know whether He's gonna crucify me or what.
He hasn't told me how I can Make it straight yet.
I don't got a line up on Any more cherries right now.
It's not cherry season.
Hopefully, this dude Won't have any problems
With me making plum brandy Instead of cherry bounce.
So, I don't know exactly What to expect.
He may be one pissed-off Son of a gun.
Can't afford to lose this guy.
♪♪
There he is, right there.
He's already here.
♪♪
I had some bad luck, man.
I had a fire, and I lost My trailer and everything in it.
It hurt my business, too.
You don't need to find Nobody else.
I'll make the deal right.
And the only problem We have
Is I don't have cherry bounce Right now.
I'll make Some plum brandy.
Yeah, It'll be the same quality.
Now, listen -- listen.
You trusted me enough To make a deal with me.
Then you should trust It'll be the same quality,
And you just got to give me The time to get it to you.
♪♪
Yeah, I can make more.
Thanks, man.
♪♪
Phew.
Well, I got it worked out At 175 gallons of plum brandy.
Well, we better damn well Not have no problems.
In order to fulfill
One of the most critical Shine orders of his career,
Josh will need chuck's help
To set up and complete Several back-to-back runs.
I'm gonna have To get to work right away
Making my heated mash room.
It's getting cold at night, There ain't gonna be no way
I'm gonna be able to make this Liquor in this cold weather.
So, I got my work Cut out for me.
♪♪
Look here at The muscadine grapes.
They're ready to pick.
Yeah, They're hanging full.
We can't snip these off.
In eastern tennessee, Mark, digger, and j.B. Rader
Are at a local vineyard
Where the muscadine is sweet And ready for picking.
What the heck You got me out here fer?
I got a little idea.
-I thought you might have. -I do.
I was studying about how good That crop had turned out
With just that pumice -- That trash, our castoff.
We did this cropper run, And our customers loved it,
And that was made From scrap.
If that's trash, what can We do with some real grapes?
These berries, They're just full of juice.
I think we ought to make A true muscadine brandy.
Heck yeah.
I just don't know The exact ratio
Of wine to liquor I'm gonna need
Quite like you do.
And that's why I was gonna Pull you in here,
And let's kind of figure out What we're gonna do.
We don't have j.B. In here for his brawn.
We've got him in here for what He can bring to the table
With what's up here.
This is gonna have to be On you two,
'cause I don't know about How to do that at all.
Well, I'll do the stompin'.
You up to doin' Any grape stompin'?
Hell yeah.
What my granny Used to tell me --
We used to go pick these old Muscadines out behind her house.
She said, "You eat them seeds And grapes grow out your butt."
-yeah. -I used to eat 'em and watch.
I'd go look in the mirror.
He's yours.
These muscadines are indigenous To our region, you know.
They're a local grape, If you will.
That's just part Of our heritage.
You know, mark and I both Remember from our childhood,
Romping around these mountains, You'd find a muscadine vine,
You'd pick it clean.
You know, they're delicious.
In 1585, When english settlers
Established a colony On roanoke island,
They quickly determined The indigenous muscadine grapes
Were ideal for making wine.
The roanoke colony Disappeared without a trace
In one of the greatest mysteries In american history,
Yet the hardy muscadine plants They discovered
Are still Being cultivated today.
Incredibly, the oldest Muscadine vine on roanoke island
Is believed to be Over 400 years old,
Dating back to the time Of the lost colony.
Well, we can't do nothin' Till we get to pickin'.
Looky right here. Why can't we start right here?
I'm all for it.
The vintner that owns The vineyards --
Very, very nice man.
He'll let us have access To what we need.
Hold that in there, j.B.
Digger says that He's someone we can trust.
♪♪
We're gonna pick about Six barrels of these grapes.
Don't leave No grape behind.
This right here, Gathering these muscadine,
This is right in my wheelhouse.
I'm concentrating on what The flavor's gonna be.
If it's a real sweet liquor, We're gonna balance that
With just a little bit of rye.
Quit eatin' so damn many and The tarp'll fill up quicker.
I'll have to pull over Three or four times
To let you poop Going down the road.
Digger prides his self On his mashes and recipes.
I don't know what's got a burr Under his saddle for it,
But I'm good with doin' 'bout Anything that he wants to do.
Well, I'm gonna go Find us another bush.
The old-timers, they didn't Sit on their laurels,
So digger constantly Pushes the envelope.
Boy, this one's loaded, Ain't it?
Kind of like milkin' a cow, Ain't it?
Tiny bit.
There ain't been One of these kick me yet.
I can kick you if it makes You feel at home.
You know, As far as our corn liquor,
We've outsourced it to kelly.
I'm gonna put about half of this In this barrel.
Want me to stir?Then stir it up.
Looks good to me.
That'll work.
That loosens me up to Go back to what I like to do,
And that's making These extravagant recipes.
Oh, that'll be pretty Right there.
This recipe that We're gonna come up with,
We will consider it One of our premium liquors.
And with that premium status Comes a premium price.
Nah, this ain't so bad.
They hit them vines On the way down,
They just bounce around Like ping-pong balls.
After we fill these barrels up,
We got to start Making a little mash.
Adding this rye, it makes the Process a little more complex.
We got two pots of muscadines On one hand,
Then we got one pot of rye,
And hopefully, It'll make good liquor.
About 37 more of them.
Kind of slow go, Ain't it?
Yeah, ain't no Fast man's game, is it?
♪♪
Wonder what this stuff Looks like today.
In culpeper, virginia, a recent Cold snap across the region
Has delayed fermentation Of tickle and j.T.'s
Single- and double-rye mashes.
Oh, yeah.
She's still got A little ways to work.
We'll get more alcohol Out of her.
Give it A couple more days.
-yeah. -hmm.
That looks like It's about ready.
It's definitely ready.
Man, that's too much rye In that thing.
Well, I mean, it's gonna Make some damn alcohol.
We got this double-rye, I guess you'd call it,
And we messed it up.
There's way too much rye in it.
I don't know what it's gonna Wind up turning out like.
We're gonna run it And see what happens.
I'll go on ahead And light the still on up.
♪♪
Oh, yeah.
All right, let's get Somethin' over in her.
All right.
Things don't always go The way you plan.
There's a million mistakes you Can make while making moonshine,
And so I got that knowledge Right there,
That if you do this, It'll turn out like this,
If you do that, This is gonna happen.
I tell you what, boy -- That smells good, don't it?
Oh, yeah.
Makin' this mash,
It didn't turn out How we planned at all,
But a whole lot of things Have been invented
Throughout the years Just that same way.
Get you some of that.
All right.
Without taking A little bit of a risk,
You never gain nothin'.
I'm not about to throw Any sort of mash away.
You'll never be great At anything
If you follow everybody else.
I guess now it's just Play the waiting game.
I reckon so.
This whole deal is about J.T. Steppin' out on his own,
Learning what to do,
Learning how to do it, And maybe even comin' up
With a whole-new way Of doing something.
Do you smell that?I sure do.
What is that -- Your ass?
no, it smells Like that mash in there.
I believe You might be right.
Let's check it.
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah, She's running good now.
I think she's about there.
Almost.
This one should be good, Right here.
Yeah.
Ain't no tellin' what we gonna Wind up with, with this.
Let's see what we got Goin' on here.
Ah.
♪♪
You taste that And tell me what you think.
That, to me, Tastes good as hell.
It's spicy on the front,
Then it kind of mellows on
As it hits The back of your mouth.
I think we got Somethin' here.
"Think"? Hell, I know We got somethin' right there.
This right here, It is so smooth,
It's like drinking A cup of warm butter.
Hey!
Hey, tim.
I got somethin' I want to show you.
We take this double-rye Over to tim and chuck
And get them to taste it.
Yeah. What you got there?
I want you to check it out And see what you think.
♪♪
Ah.
♪♪
It takes an old-timer
To get the timing right In tennessee.
It's very important that We hit these fermentations
Within 12 hours of each other.
You know, We're at mother nature's mercy.
♪♪
With a jar of their experimental Double-rye whiskey in hand,
Tickle and j.T. Seek out Tim's seal of approval.
Hey, tim.
We take this double-rye Over to tim and chuck
And get them to taste it.
Yeah. What you got there?
I want you to check it out And see what you think.
♪♪
Ah.
Boy, that's --chuck: what'd you think, tim?
It's pretty slick, dad.Pretty slick?
-yeah. -that's smooth.
You could taste That spiciness, huh?
Yeah.
Pass it back Over here, chuck.
there you go, hey.
It just rolls Right off the tongue.
-it goes down awful easy. -heck yeah.
'cause you get a spiciness From the rye
And then you get that little Sweetness from the corn, huh?
Yeah, yeah.
I think y'all both Did a good job here.
I have to say that I'm really proud of j.T.
This just shows you, You can't give up, you know,
Even though they knew They messed up,
They followed through with it.
I mean, sometimes Those accidents come out
To bein' the best.
Back in the day When me and my dad
Came up with the first Climax recipe,
We accidentally made it.
This whole thing Is what I want j.T. To do.
I mean, I want my son to carry On the legacy of the family,
Carry on the legacy of my dad,
And carrying on the traditions Of making moonshine.
If j.T.'s got this wrote down, We may need to put that...
Well, it might be something We need to think about doin'.
There you go.
Luckily, j.T. Kept notes On everything that we did.
It could be scaled up And run and mass-produced.
Well, y'all did good.
Y'all did really good.
Tickle stood right behind J.T. The whole time.
I mean, he is clean, He is straight, he's committed,
And he's back on point today.
About time to drink The damn liquor.
-you earned it, huh? -yes, sir.
♪♪
What are we needin' off Of these sassafras trees?
We need The root off of it.
We ain't havin' no luck Findin' none.
Hang a right, right here.
We'll go all the way around This old kudzu.
In louisiana, Patti and david are on the hunt
To find a new Signature moonshine.
Finally ran Our last round of our mayhaw.
Daddy came up with this idea of Making some sassafras moonshine.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. There's one right there.
I love sassafras.
I've had sassafras candy, Sassafras tea.
Might as well Make moonshine out of it.
Sassafras has a green leaf
That kinda got A little red line in it.
We're just wantin' The root of it,
And that's where it's most Potent, is in the root,
And that's what we're wantin' To make the moonshine with.
Throughout history,
Sassafras root Has been widely sought
As a key ingredient In health tonics and elixirs.
The cherokee people utilized Sassafras tea to purify blood,
As well as treat rheumatism
And a wide spectrum Of skin disorders.
But the root's reputation As a cure-all
Wasn't free From embarrassing controversy.
When prepared as a tea, Sassafras was said
To treat the venereal disease Syphilis.
But this purpose Made sassafras tea time
A much less public affair,
As colonial-era gents worried About being scandalized
If seen taking the cure.
♪♪
Here, let me see If I can pull it.
Don't break it.
Mmm. Well, that smells good.A little bit of root.
To me, it smells like Root beer, so I'm all for it,
But it's a lot of work To get sassafras roots.
This is way harder Than picking mayhaws.
Man!
My favorite shovel.
Don't break that shovel.
That was yours there. This is mine.
That's bull junk. I bought that one brand new.
*bleep* damn.Let me see.
Me and patti, we like to be Hands-on when we pick stuff.
You didn't tell me We needed gloves.
Oh, it's gonna be Dirty work.
Hoo-ee.
We don't want a lot of it Right now,
Because that stuff's Real potent,
And we're gonna try, you know, Just experimenting with it.
That's a good one there.
It ain't gonna take much.
On the bright side,
This is something That grows year-round.
It's not just something That's gonna be seasonal.
If it works out, then we can Run through the winter
If we want to.
Every little bit helps.
♪♪
I appreciate you Lettin' me take the little one.
Well, that'll be About your turn.
Deep in the woods of tennessee,
Mark and digger arrive At their still site,
Armed with barrels of Freshly-picked muscadine grapes.
Well, today, we're gonna Mash in our muscadine rye.
This is a new recipe, So we simply hope to start
Squeezing our muscadines And get them sugared in
And get 'em yeasted up And fermenting.
We've got another Long fermentation
On these muscadines.
Yeah, we do.
We're gonna get the fruit Mashed in today,
And probably Five or six more days,
We'll mash the rye in,
Because fruit mash Takes longer to ferment
Than does grain rye.
Because grain and fruit
Require different amounts Of time to ferment,
Lining up the mash schedule Is paramount.
If the rye finishes three or Four days sooner than the fruit,
Then what'll happen is It starts turning to vinegar.
It'll throw a bad taste,
Plus it'll also -- It cuts down the yield.
Let's see What it look like.
We're gonna use this fruit press That we bartered around and got.
Mark and I have a vast network Of people we can call upon
For just about anything we need,
And we found A guy that's a craftsman.
He's built a fruit press.
And I'm all about swapping A little liquor for something.
That means you got less money In the end product.
It ain't gonna be Too high for you?
I'll make it work If it don't.
Hell, I'll readjust.
Well, the first steps In making this mash,
First and foremost, we got to Squeeze all these grapes
And get all the juice Out of them.
It's gonna take A little while, but...
It can't be no longer Than gathering 'em.
You know, as a general rule, Mark and myself,
We're gonna continue To honor our predecessors
By sticking to the old, Traditional methods
Of production.
I don't know.
I ain't seen The first drop of juice.
I'm hearing poppin' and A crackin' in there, though.
It's probably my damn shoulders And elbows, though.
It's probably that.
There ain't nothin' easy In this damn world.
Our little squeezer, It's provin' difficult for us.
Yep, that's gonna be More gooder.
I mean, that's easier. I don't know.
Hell, that ain't Gonna work for this.
There's no doubt that The thickness of the hide
On these muscadines --
That's the reason We're having a hard time
With this fruit press.
Most of 'em are still full.
They ain't busted open.
It takes a tremendous lot Of mash with your finger
To pop one of 'em.
Well, think about having 500 in there, stacked deep,
And tryin' to squash all them.
We're gonna have to do it The old-timey way
And go barefoot And tromp in 'em.
That might do somethin' for That bunion on your right foot.
Eh, wrong.
It's obvious that this is just Gonna be slow, hard-ass work.
It's comin' out of there.
Rome wasn't built in a day.
Hell, I ain't got a damn clue At this point.
I just know that we ain't got A lot of time left,
And we need To be making liquor.
Maybe my damn idea Wasn't so good after all.
When we made that grappa,
Those grapes had already Been put through
That high-powered Grape squasher.
We love the antiquated ways That our forefathers used,
But this is a bit ridiculous.
We may have To take these grapes,
Put 'em on the ground, Put that grinder on 'em,
And beat the juice out of 'em, And then squeeze 'em.
Is that bustin' them up A tiny bit?
I'm actually seeing A little juice
In the bottom Of this barrel.
It's a slow process, And, you know,
We're just gonna have To dig in here and get it.
There ain't but one Way to do it.
Well, It's gettin' faster.
By god, it ain't Gettin' no easier.
With this muscadine mash, We decided we'd just
Pitch the skins over in there, Too, and all the pulp,
'cause ultimately, It's gonna lead some flavor
Right into that mash.
I know it.
We're almost there.
Once we got all our grapes Squashed up,
We add a tiny bit of water --
Just enough to loosen Everything else good
And to melt this sugar.
We're only doing A single fermentation,
Which means we're gonna have The sugar and the grape juice
And the pulp in the barrel At one time, fermenting it.
We'll carry out a longer, Colder fermentation,
And hopefully, we're gonna Bring all the flavors up.
Every damn gnat, mosquito on The eastern seaboard'll be here.
The plan is, We're gonna come back in
In five or six more days,
And if it's far enough along,
Then we'll be good to go ahead And cook in the rye mash,
And then that should end 'em up At the same time.
Let's go pick us some more Grapes there, big boy.
♪♪
If you're Gonna be a moonshiner,
You need to know how to be able
To do a little bit of everything To survive.
In north carolina,
Jack of all trades, Master of just one...
Ow!
♪♪
Well, let's get this Experiment underway.
Sassafras moonshine.
-yep. -here we go.
In louisiana, patti and david Take the next crucial step
In their sassafras moonshine Experiment.
Here comes the water.
I always like To try to come out
With a new, different flavor Every season,
So why not try this?
I've ran out of mayhaw, So we've got to fill that void.
It's free, Just a lot of work gettin' it.
We'll have to rinse These roots off, daddy.
Yeah.
First off, we've got To clean off the roots,
Get the dirt off of it.
You don't never want To have dirt in your mash.
That's probably Good there for now.
We've never made moonshine Out of sassafras,
And I've never heard Of anybody doin' it,
So we're gonna just do A small batch, and if it works,
Then we'll start, you know, Makin' bigger batches.
I hope this works out.
So, is this where most of The flavor is, is in the bark?
That's where The flavor's at.
So, we're just gonna Use the bark, huh?
No, we're gonna...
Or are we gonna throw The whole root, too?
Gonna throw the root In there, too.
We're basically just Gonna use sugar-water mash.
It's pretty potent-smellin',
So it should infuse Into the liquor.
We're gonna cut these up Into little pieces.
All right, Put the fire back on her.
♪♪
We're gonna have To test this out,
Because we've never worked With a root before.
We'll probably mix up a bucket
Of nothin' but root and sugar And a little bit of yeast
And see if we can get it To working that way.
Sassafras tea -- I think it's gonna be a killer.
It kind of brought me back.
I love the flavor of it, Have all my life.
When I was kid, we was runnin' Around through the woods,
Pull you up a piece Of sassafras and wash it off,
Put it in your mouth And chew on it, you know?
It's the color of root beer, Too, basically.
Yeah.
We're gonna bring it To a good hard boil.
Then we're gonna add 50 pounds of sugar to it.
That looks just like Root beer, don't it?
It sure does.
We're gonna take us a little cup Out of it before the --
See what it tastes like.
-ready? -yeah.
Taste that.
♪♪
A little bit sweet Right now?
Heck yeah.
Yeah, that's gonna be it, Buddy.
God dang.
Kind of sad, The mayhaw runnin' out,
But, you know, On the other hand,
It's a new door open for us With this sassafras moonshine.
Maybe we should've Just pumped this up.
♪♪
Stick the hose in there.
All righty. Well, daddy.
I think that's it.
All we can do Is wait and see.
♪♪
All right, big dawg.
Where do you want to set The 2x4s, josh?
Eh, just throw 'em Down there on the ground.
We're gonna put 'em in as fast As we can grab 'em 'bout it.
In north carolina, Josh prepares for cooler weather
By building a mash room.
The problem with Making mash in cold weather
Is your yeast will go dormant.
If your yeast goes dormant, You ain't makin' any moonshine,
You ain't makin' any money.
What do you want -- In the center or what?
Yeah, right there.
So, right now, we're putting Together a mash room
So we got a good place To put all them mash barrels
And we can keep 'em warm.
What are we Gonna do here?
We gonna frame On the inside?
♪♪
*bleep* This plenty good.
All right, I'm good with that.
Moonshining's not A very forgiving business.
You don't get very many Second chances.
We got to do This wall first.
Okay.
Ow!
I can't afford To screw it up again.
If I don't deliver This plum brandy --
They've already gave me A second chance,
They're not gonna Give me a third.
It's already Warm in here.
I'm hot as hell.
After losing 150 gallons Of cherry bounce,
Somehow I was able To talk these bikers
Into letting me make The plum brandy instead.
I have to keep them happy.
In order to do that, I've Got to be a reliable source.
Let's try to get This ceiling secured.
With this structure,
Josh will be able To keep the mash warm enough
To keep the yeast from slowing Down and halting fermentation.
I would like a light bulb -- One on that end,
And then one in the very center Of this room.
Okay. I think we got 'em.
All right.
Right now, I got a lot Of different things going on.
If you're gonna be a moonshiner, You need to know how to do
A little bit of everything To survive.
You need to know how to grow.
You need to know How to make your own.
You need to know how To be self-sufficient.
You need to know how to survive.
Those things are Really aggravating.
You'd think they'd be Further apart than that.
I sure ain't gonna make it As no damn electrician.
♪♪
-some plums? -yeah.
Now that His mash room is complete,
Josh can get back To chipping away
At the 175-gallon Plum brandy order.
That's enough for now, big dawg. That's plenty to get started.
♪♪
When you're Breaking up fruit,
You got to think of Fast ways to do it.
I'm using a drill with a mixer To mash in my plums.
Once these bikers taste This plum brandy,
They're gonna be hooked.
That one's almost done, Big dawg.
Only 45 boxes of plums To go.
But I'll tell you what -- It's gonna be plum damn good.
For centuries, Farmers have grown plums
On the carolina piedmont
Because the fruit is well-suited
To tolerate The region's dry soil in summer
And wet, freezing ground In winter.
The prime plum harvest lasts
From late august To early october.
Oh, yeah. This is beautiful.
We better make a wad Off this plum brandy,
'cause we done got A ass of work in it.
I've done worked up A whole truckload of plums.
This is just one long run Out of several long runs
That we got to get done.
What am I gonna do? All I can do.
Get to work And make things right.
♪♪
I got to make some money.
Temptation Is the devil's currency
In virginia.
Makin' shine in the woods
Is about the only way I know how to make money.
-illegal moonshine? -well, yeah.
You just out of jail.
But I'm not Gonna lie to you.
It's awful tempting.
♪♪
We just gonna have To kind of guess
And see how much longer we think That's got to work for us.
Yeah, we can get close, I think.
We still got A little sugar back here.
We ain't got no rye, Though.
We have now.
Eager to start the next phase
Of their staggered Fermentation process,
Mark, digger, and j.B. Need to assess the status
Of their muscadine mash.
Well, let's get To checking barrels.
One thing we've got...
-gnats. -...Gnats aplenty.
Digger's got this burr Under his saddle
That he wants to make a run Of muscadine-rye brandy.
Today we got to check the mash
And see where it's at In its fermentation.
We figure, If it's halfway through,
Then we'll be good to go ahead
And start the mash in On the rye.
It's got Some alcohol to it.
What we go by --
We go by the smell, We go by the taste.
You can put some On your fingers,
Let it dry, And your fingers are sticky.
It's just like you got Pancake syrup on your fingers.
What do you think, j.B.?
♪♪
Mmm.
Damn, that's good.
J.B., you know, he's Been doin' this for decades.
I guess j.B.'s got A half a century
Of moonshinin' under his belt.
His reputation precedes him.
Yeah, I think we're ready To start the rye.
Yeah, we should.
We got to grind that rye.
Yeah, we got To get busy on that.
'cause you know we've been In trouble before,
In the past, With that rye, don't you?
yep.
Sometime back, we had issues
Trying to make rye whiskey.
We called on legendary Rye master jim tom.
They call you "Mr. Coffee"
'cause you grind so fine, Don't you?
That's exactly right.
And he just simply told us,
"You ain't grindin' it Fine enough."
Here!
That's Doin' the trick now.
Lookit there. Perfect.
♪♪
This recipe is more tedious Than any of them
If you want to get Any rye flavor out of it.
Yeah, we're gettin' there. Now go again.
Rye's a little harder To get flavor out of,
So we want to make sure That we're gonna grind it enough
That it is nothing But fine flour.
The more we bust it up, The less we got to cook.
That's what we're gonna need For this liquor
To balance out that sweet.
We need a little Peppery rye in it.
So, you know, whatever it takes, We're gonna get it done.
About got it all, Didn't he?
Yep.
Yeah, We got flour in there now.
Gonna make a little mash.
♪♪
Our six-barrel pot, What we have to do --
We put 15 pounds of flour In each one of these.
Then, on top of that, We got to melt
Six 50-pound bags of sugar In there.
And then we've got A pitcher of yeast.
That's the only way That our recipe
Comes through with flavor.
Mark and digger Are mashing their rye
Directly into Their copper pot --
Something they can't do With their grapes,
As the acid in the fruit mash Would corrode the copper,
Causing irreversible damage To the still.
What's that Temperature like?
There's you a jug.
There's me a jug.
♪♪
Since the grain mash Will ferment much quicker
Than the fruit mash,
It's very important that We hit these fermentations
Within 12 hours of each other.
We built these mashes According to the way
That we feel that they will Come together at the right time.
We're not under Perfect conditions
Out here in the woods, you know?
We're at mother nature's mercy.
Hot diggity.
Rye whiskey.
The yeast does not Like cool weather.
If it'd get much colder,
It won't absorb the sugars And convert 'em into alcohol.
Well, let's Put 'em to bed.
We're gonna say Just a little, quick prayer
To the moonshine gods That these mashes,
They'll end up Ready to run together.
If they don't, we're just...
Up a stream of excrement With no paddle.
♪ rye whiskey, Rye whiskey ♪
♪♪
Ready to go To the still site?
There's a lot of mud Down there for you.
You're gonna like This still site.
-yeah. -watch that limb.
There you go.
In louisiana,
The quest for sassafras shine Continues.
Ain't no little piggy.
-yeah. -good girl.
There's a lot of mud Down at our still site,
So that's just Right up her alley.
She likes to get muddy.
Well, cupcake's No longer clean.
She's in her environment. She's got mud to play in.
She's entertaining herself.
I don't even have To entertain her.
Let's go check On the mash.
Smells good, don't it?
Yeah.
We've never Done sassafras before,
But I think we're both hoping
That that root beer flavor Will come out.
♪♪
Yeah, it smells like Root beer, don't it?
Mm-hmm.
Get that pump, Start pumping her over there.
It's ready to run, It smells good, it's not sticky.
You can taste The alcohol content in it,
And you can taste the sassafras.
I'm excited to see How this batch runs.
♪♪
And let's make Some sassafras moonshine.
Something new.
Everybody Likes root beer.
I mean, we just don't have Any time to waste,
So this can be A new start for us,
I mean, if it turns out good,
You know, and we can get Premium price for it.
Well, you know, Everybody's trying
To come up with different Flavors every year,
But one thing Ain't never changed.
What's that?
Still using oatmeal To paste it up.
All right, now we just Got to wait on it.
Bring anything to eat? I'm hungry.
Oatmeal. Got some oatmeal.
♪♪
Hopefully, this thing here Will work out.
Since we done run out Of pear and mayhaw.
here, girl. Are you happy?
She said, "Leave me alone."
It won't be long, buddy.
-that's hot there? -yeah, it's hot.
Look here, cupcake. Come here.
Oh! There -- something Shot out of it.
-huh? -you see it?
Get a jar, 'cause it's fixin' to start.
♪♪
There it is, daddy. Yeah.
This is the first run Of our sassafras moonshine.
The taste in mind I'm hoping for When it comes out
Is really kind of a light fruit/ Root beer flavor.
I don't smell much of it.
Much of what?
Think we ought To taste it?
Yeah.
♪♪
People think, really, if it's Going legal, you got it made.
But dealing With big corporations,
I mean, it's just a lot of work.
I talked to this one distributor And he buys the moonshine.
We're selling it, Everybody's happy,
Everybody's making money.
A couple of months later,
Someone says, "Hey, I don't like
That word 'climax' On the bottle.
Take it off the shelf."
I mean, I can't help it.
I live in the community Of climax, virginia.
We named the moonshine For where I'm from.
But somebody In a corporation out there
Doesn't like the word "Climax."
I mean, you should've just Told me that in the beginning.
Don't waste my time, okay?
I really didn't have to deal With all of that stuff
When I was illegal.
Back in the woods, We didn't put our name on it.
You didn't want nobody to know Where it was from
Because then they know Where you're producing it.
But, no, somebody out there Doesn't like the word "Climax,"
And, you know, Out the door tim goes.
I should just go Back to the woods, I guess,
You know?
♪♪
I don't smell much of it.
Much of what?
Louisiana moonshiners Patti and david
Take the first sips Of their sassafras shine.
Think we ought To taste it?
Yeah.
♪♪
That tastes like *bleep*
really.
Euch!
You ain't lyin'.
God, I know.
Our first run of our sassafras Tasted terrible.
I mean, it just tasted Like swamp water to me.
Yeah, I'm gonna go up there And pour that barrel out
So we can start over.
See, This is a experiment.
We've never done it before, And we're gonna keep on
Till we -- till we Find out what works.
The first Sassafras shine attempt
Has ended in failure,
In part because The sassafras root
Doesn't contain Enough starch on its own
To ferment For alcohol production.
When you do any kind Of new moonshine,
It's an experimental thing until You can actually get it down.
So, this time, We're gonna add corn.
Hopefully, it'll do A little better taste for us.
By adding corn On their second attempt,
Patti and david Are supplying the starch needed
To give the finished product More base.
The sassafras root will lend Its distinct flavor
To the corn- and sugar-based Shine.
-ready? -mm-hmm.
♪♪
Sounds like we Havin' a crawfish boil Back here, don't it?
We still got To boil these roots,
Just like we did With the first batch,
But this time, we've got To try somethin' different.
What should we save -- About 1/2 gallon of that juice?
Yeah, at least that.
Pour some in that thumper.
It might infuse more into it.
♪♪
Daddy, I think This has boiled enough.
Poured in the sugar, Got that dissolved.
Now it's time to go pour it Into our mash barrel.
Man, that smells good, Don't it?
It does, don't it?
Hopefully, Adding this corn
Will give it a lot more Alcohol taste.
That last batch -- None, if any, alcohol.
Me and daddy, we've been Workin' really hard at this.
We've got a lot Of orders comin' in,
So there's no time to waste.
I think this corn's Gonna do it.
It's just time that we've got To really be bustin' butt
And gettin' these orders out.
I definitely don't want to not Take care of my customers,
'cause they'll find somebody Else to make 'em some shine.
We've got to find Our next flavor.
I'm hoping if it turns out good,
You know, It could be a good hit for us,
Bring us enough money This season
To make more than What we did last year.
We're gonna get it right.
Yeah, we're gonna get it right, Sooner or later.
Come on, cupcake.
♪♪
I just got out of jail,
And I know where the expression "Broke as a convict"
Comes from now.
I got bills piling up,
My daughter's wantin' To go to college.
I got to figure out how to make Some money and make it quick.
Hey, tim, How's it goin', brother?
Hey. Yeah, what's up?
Not a whole lot, man.
I got to kind of talk to you About some stuff.
What's happenin'? What's goin' on now?
Well, you know, I've been up here,
And I've been Working with j.T.,
And, you know, I feel like j.T.'s done --
He's done Come into his own.
Yeah, yeah. Y'all work good together.
J.T.'s good, But that's really not
What I come To talk to you about.
You know, I-I been --
Been gettin' a whole lot Of calls from people...
Mm-hmm.
...Wantin' me to make 'em Some moonshine.
♪♪
Well, tell 'em we got plenty Of moonshine around here.
Well -- well, they don't want The legal stuff.
They're wanting Illegal moonshine.
Just 'cause we had The reputation
Of makin' good moonshine, And they know --
Well, that's right.
Now you're out, So they figure
You're just goin' Right back in the woods
And make 'em Some moonshine.
Did you tell 'em you don't have Any illegal moonshine?
Well, yeah, but you know Well as anybody,
I'm right out of jail.
That should be reason To tell you not to do it --
You're just out of jail.
Well, I understand that.
But makin' moonshine --
What was the whole reason We used to do it?
-yeah, to make money. -make money.
I got all these People callin',
And I'm not gonna lie to you -- It's awful tempting.
I can understand Tickle's view here.
He's looking at, "I can make good cash,
Straight money, right then."
But I'm really afraid, If he gets caught
And gets put back in jail again,
He could be gone For a long time.
You know, tim, I got to look At the big picture right here.
I got bills that Are gettin' behind.
Right.Basically boils down
To I got to make Some money.
And makin' shine In the woods
Is about the only way I know how to make money.
Tim don't think me goin' In the woods is a good idea.
But comes time when a man's got To do what a man's got to do.
And what I got to do --
I got to make some shine.
Appreciate you comin' And tellin' me all this.
I don't have the answer Right now,
But I know the answer's not Goin' back in the woods.
I hate for tickle To go back to jail,
But I don't have a pile of money To hand to him
And say, "I can pay you up front."
I can't do that, neither.
I really think tickle needs To think about this thing,
And I'm gonna think About it, too.
We have to figure out a plan. You just hold tight.
I've got to do something.
♪♪
Next time On "Moonshiners"...
Break!
Screw them two together.
The *bleep* bit fell Out of the drill gun, man.
A shiner snaps under pressure In north carolina.
I don't got another bit!
♪♪
What's it doin'?
That friggin' middle one's Went out.
Snuffed out In tennessee.
Turn 'em all three off.
Don't cool that one.
Hey, we got To cool all of 'em.
We ain't blendin' Nothin'.
This ain't no good.
♪♪
Yeah, That's him right there.
Let's go to him.
And a high-risk run On the gulf...
Keep your eyes out.
If something's gonna happen, I think it would happen here.
That's the coast guard. That ain't good.
♪♪