♪♪
On this episode Of "Moonshiners"...
Tickle's a nice guy, But can we really trust him?
I know he's a outlaw,
And I know what You're thinking about,
But he's not a crook.
One man's fate hangs In the balance in virginia...
Can we really risk our whole Operation on one guy
That might go south?
-hit it... -I hit it.
...Straight down.
We gonna work on That bootlegging disguise?
...Bayou ingenuity In louisiana...
We could get 4 gallons in there.
That's 400 bucks.
...And best laid plans Unravel in kentucky.
♪♪
♪ 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
I hope this stuff Is ready to run today.
I'm gonna be Tickled to death
To hear something Run other than your mouth.
You know what?
I've really, like, had it up To here with you today.
In the rolling hills Of kentucky, chico and sondra
Are ready to run Their seasonal favorite,
Watermelon crawl.
-is it good? -yeah, it's good.
After running watermelon for Weeks, its harvest is long over.
They'll need to pivot To a new recipe.
Being as this is our last Run of watermelon,
We won't have any more For the season
Because watermelons are done.
What are we gonna do next?
Get your hose.
You know you got to suck On that hose.
Ugh. I hate this part.
I always make sondra do the Siphon just because it's funny.
There's always water and stuff Left in the hose,
So I mess with her.
I hate starting the siphon.
Last time, it was bad.
God...That's why I hate that *bleep* right there.
Stop it!
You're such an ass.
Stop it! Come on!
I hold my thumb over it, And when it builds up pressure,
I'll let go of it.
All right. Ready? -yep.
All right. Go for it.
There you go.
What happened?
Just shut up! Stop it!
If I couldn't have fun with her, There's no sense in us
Even being here.
Now light it.
All right.
We need to have A business meeting.
A what-y what-y?
Business meeting.
We got to come up With something new.
We've done Strawberry banana.
-yep. -they liked it.
I've never run liquor That people didn't like.
It's time to get down To specifics.
It's time to get down to, this Is what we're gonna do next.
We've already set the Bar pretty high for ourselves
With our previous products, So we can't go below that.
You know what I mean? We have to go above that.
I don't want to do something We've done before.
I don't want to do something That somebody else is doing.
So far this season, Chico and sondra
Have made 340 gallons Of fruit shine.
The success or failure Of their final batch of liquor
Will determine whether they Reach their goal of 375 gallons.
I'd be just as well off Brewing corn.
I'd be just as happy.
-no, no. -why?
The fruit is just... It's going too well.
People love it.
You know, when you think Moonshine,
It's like backcountry People, you know,
Drinking on their porch Out of mason jars,
And what I'm trying to do
Is just getting it available To a wider audience.
We've got a whole new Market of people
That we didn't have with The corn liquor we were making.
I think that we should Do pomegranates.
-a pome-what-y? -a pomegranate.
It's a fruit, and it's really Sweet, kind of tart.
The ladies will really, Really like it.
We in kentucky.
You been watching too much "Sex and the city."
This is a drink they would Serve on "Sex and the city."
It'd have to be, like, "Sex in the backwoods."
We will make A chico-inspired
"Sex in the backwoods" Pom-shine-tini drink.
Whatever I got to do To get him onboard
With this idea, I'm gonna do it.
Although pomegranates Were originally cultivated
Near present-day iran,
They made their way to america Around the late 16th century.
The first colonists established Orchards of the fruit
From south carolina Down through florida.
Pomegranates Are really trendy.
It's the thing.
All right. You've been fairly successful.
I'll let you do it. -it's gonna work.
I've never made Moonshine out of pomegranate,
So we kind of got to think About the details
And think about how We're gonna do it,
But as long as he's onboard, I know we can get it done.
Pomegranates?
Pomegranates.
Am I even saying That correctly?
Yes. We got to figure it out.
With winter on The march, chico and sondra
Only have time For one more run.
Banking on an untested Pomegranate shine
To push them past their season Goal is a roll of the dice.
I'll make it happen.
You make sure I can Make it happen.
If it's impossible, It's impossible,
But what we need to be worried About is this watermelon.
We need To get this finished,
And then we'll worry About the pomegranates.
That's what We're gonna do.
Hey! We have liquor coming out.
Ha-ha! This is my favorite part.
We get to see what We're working with here.
What's it taste like?
That's high.
Here. Wow.
Yeah. -yeah, they gone.
This run yields chico And sondra 15 gallons,
Worth 2,250 bucks.
We are done with our last Run of watermelon shine.
We've got some buyers lined up.
You know, they've been Patiently,
Patiently waiting for this.
So as soon as we get that sold, It's time to move on
To our next flavor, Pomegranate.
High five. Yes.
We did it.
♪♪
-hey, chuck! -hey, tim!
What you doing?
I'm bringing some empties, You know, the usual stuff.
Yeah, yeah.
In culpeper, virginia,
Distiller tim smith Has been dealing with
Some all-too-familiar issues From his illegal past.
I got something I got To bring up.
Tickle has been Getting phone calls
From people wanting Moonshine...
-mm-hmm. -...Illegal moonshine.
Making moonshine,
What was the whole reason We used to do it?
-yeah, to make money. -make money.
It's awful tempting. -yeah.
I got bills that Are getting behind.
Making shine in the woods Is about the only way
I know how to make money.
I been a little worried about That, him wanting to go back
To his old-time ways. -yeah.
He hasn't given in To anybody yet, has he?
No. That's the good thing.
I know that mind-set That tickle has.
Other than being in jail, I know how it feels.
I mean, I was an outlaw At one time, too,
But now, today, you know,
I'm a legal distiller, And, you know, I'm doing good.
I'm very successful, and I think Tickle can do the same thing.
I think we need To employ tickle,
Where he's making A little money
So he can see that he's Doing something productive.
I think maybe he's a risk To the whole company.
I mean... -I know he's a outlaw,
And I know What you're thinking about,
But he's not a crook
Even though maybe He made some moonshine
And maybe he had A sawed-off shotgun
And maybe got arrested A few times.
That's a pretty rough Record. I don't know.
You want to help the guy.
You know, you want to see him Do better, but bad luck
Or not thinking about What he's doing
Just gets himself In more and more trouble.
I like tickle.
He's fun to work with. -yeah, yeah.
But can we Really trust him?
♪♪
Where we gonna put All these barrels?
In northern louisiana, With a looming 10-day deadline,
Patti and david are preparing For back-to-back runs
Of their jalapeño-pepper shine
To fulfill their last Big order of the season.
We fixing To work our butts off.
You know, we had a good Run down to the gulf.
That sale went really well.
You know, now they're Wanting another
150 gallons Down there, you know?
So we're gonna be Running around the clock.
It's gonna take us A little while.
It's just not something That happens overnight.
You can go ahead And get that going, daddy.
The cajuns are wanting Some of the pepper shine,
So we're gonna get 100 gallons of that,
And we're also bringing Our stockpile of our mayhaw,
Sassafras and pears, 50 gallons of that.
This is gonna be the cap Of our season, you know?
I mean, it's gonna be The end of it, and, you know,
Why not go out with a big boom
And please all The cajuns down south?
It's gonna take A while to do these.
We got 12 boxes Of peppers, ton of sugar,
And hopefully we can get through Before dark
Mashing in all these barrels.
Let's get The sugar unloaded.
Everybody in louisiana Likes their food spicy,
And you get a kick out Of this pepper shine so...
10 days, it's just A short period of time
To make 100 gallons.
It's jalapeño time.
I want to please the cajuns here Because it's just building
More and more territory for us,
And that's an exciting thing.
It's headed your way.
Is it coming out good?
-yes, sir. -okay.
That's what I need to know.
I've got everything In the woods finally,
And we're fixing to mash in.
We're gonna boil the water And get the sugar dissolved,
And then we'll pour That into the barrels.
Is that enough?
♪♪
God, you're gonna Splash hot water on me.
It's a lot of gallons That we got to do
Until we get all 12 Of these barrels filled.
Either I'm getting old And tired,
Or this is getting heavy.
-I think you're getting weak. -huh?
You've got me carrying The whole thing.
That's bull crap.
We're gonna be Running around the clock.
Daddy is just going To have to suck it up.
I know he's a little older Than I am, but, you know,
You got to do what you got To do to meet a order.
About a minute And we'll be ready.
I trust your thermometer.
One more.
♪♪
Whoo.
Then we'll cut up some peppers, Add water, add yeast.
It's a lot of money upfront, But at the end time,
It'll be a good result.
Now tear time comes.
Ain't that the truth?
Get our surgery gloves on
So the peppers Don't burn our hand.
The thing about making Pepper shine is,
You know, you've got To wear the gloves.
The juice off of those peppers Will make your hands swell up.
Pepper shine did good Down south, didn't it?
Yep.
With demand high For their premium liquor,
Patti and david initially set
An ambitious season Goal of 700 gallons,
But the two small pots They use to brew
Simply couldn't Turn out the volume.
Now every drop counts If they want to hold on
To their existing customer base.
Yeah, this is taking a little Longer than what we expected.
The sun is going down.
I believe we're gonna be In here half of the night.
Just right.
It's just been a long process, Cutting up all those peppers,
Because 100 gallons Of pepper shine
Is gonna put A big lump of change
In our pocket At the end of the day.
Put the net on these.
We'll use This camouflage board.
We didn't have time since it got Dark on us to camouflage them,
So we just put some Camouflage boards on them.
You gonna move that? -I might.
It's kind of late out here.
We got another two Or three barrels to do,
And hopefully we can Get through 4
Before 2:00 in the morning.
Let's get these Other barrels done.
We're gonna let These ferment,
And we'll come back And check them.
Hopefully it'll be ready to run.
Whoo.
I ain't gonna Let you rest.
A lot of the buyers are kind of Apprehensive when I tell them,
"Hey, you're gonna Give me your money,
But all I'm going To give you is a key."
On alert in kentucky...
We trust these people, but we Don't trust them completely.
You don't trust Anyone completely.
Can we really risk Our whole operation
On one guy That might go south?
In a last-ditch effort to keep
Tickle from returning To his illegal ways,
Tim pleads the case To his partner, chuck.
I just feel like I owe it to him.
I want to help him.
Well, tim, What'd you have in mind
For some kind Of jobs for him?
We'll just put him On a big still.
But that's A 4,000-gallon still
With a 60-horsepower Boiler.
I know What tickle can do.
I mean, look what He did with j.T.
And that double rye when We came up with that recipe.
That, to me, Tastes good as hell.
I mean, we may throw him On a big still.
The next thing you know,
He comes out with Something like that.
I mean, You just never know,
But he's got to have An opportunity.
I just know we got to keep Him out of the woods.
If he goes back To jail again,
His daughter will be married With grandkids
By the time He gets out.
They won't leave Any slack next time.
Let him run around With me a little bit.
I got faith in him.
All right. Long as you Take responsibility.
If I see if he's getting Out of line, then...
All right.
...We'll just Have to make a decision.
I hope I can keep him Out of the woods
And keep his mind off of that,
And I just want to show him What I've been working on.
I want to show him what, You know, the tim smith climax
Moonshine expansion Is all about.
All right. You talk to him then.
All right. All right.
-okay. -good.
♪♪
Been sitting here for An hour waiting on lance.
I don't know where he's been Or what he's been doing,
But I'm gonna find out.
You need some help Up there?
That don't look like corn.
Brought potatoes.
What are you going To make, soup?
Make vodka.
Vodka?
As shine season nears Its end in north carolina,
Lance is going all-in On a new recipe.
You don't know How to make vodka.
Yeah, I do.
It's just like Making anything else.
When I first had the idea, I actually went online.
I picked the simplest Vodka recipes,
And I added A little tweak to it.
I believe you're Screwing up again.
You just have give me A little faith
That I know What I can do.
He's a good moonshiner.
He's as good a liquor-maker As I've ever seen,
But he's made A few screw-ups.
Why not try it?
Why not make vodka?
With little chance Of reaching their season goal
Of 700 gallons,
Taking a risk on An untested vodka recipe
Could mean a lean winter For jeff and lance.
How you gonna cut All these up?
I got a food processor.
Yeah, I want to prove to dad That I can do this my way.
I can do it the right way, And I can make him proud.
Well, you can try it, But I don't believe
It's gonna work.
If this is a screw-up, We ain't got enough time
To back up and fix this.
It's hard to survive Through the winter.
Our corn liquor was Our family heritage,
But this process on mashing in The potatoes is pretty similar.
I've done this for 45 years,
And I still learn stuff Every time I run a run.
Lance, you gonna put That processor together?
And that's one thing that, You know, had me
Open-minded To try this vodka.
-works now. -okay.
The potatoes have A lot starch in them.
It's really important that We get them juices flowing.
We have to leave it in thin, Little slivers.
We can't just turn it into mush.
We will never get it strained To put it back in the still.
It's gonna scorch On the bottom.
I believe you're full.
It worked out pretty good, Sliced them thin.
You want some tater juice?
Nope. I like my taters fried.
Lance, let's go in there And get this stuff mashed in.
I hope it turns out good Because we ain't got no time
To make nothing else.
Lance, I'm gonna warm Myself a little of this water.
-you want me to light it? -light it.
You better watch.
You'll burn the hair Off of your arm.
-yeah. -told you.
The recipe is just about Like mixing up corn mash.
You can put your potatoes In there, stir them good,
Add your sugar, Make sure it has dissolved
And add your yeast to it.
Then I'll add my malt in it.
Malt acts as a Catalyst that breaks down
Potato starch into simple sugars That yeast can consume
And, in turn, produce alcohol.
Boom.
Well, you ready for me To pour this in there?
-yeah. -it's working good.
All ready.
And, lance, I hope Your tater idea works
Because here goes The good stuff.
But that's all We can do today,
Come back And keep check on it.
With this vodka moonshine, I'm gonna stay focused.
Cover that up, And we'll get out of here.
I don't want to make Any mistakes with this
Because I've got A lot riding on this.
I want this to work.
♪♪
-hot? -mm-hmm.
But it's still got 2 or 3 days
Before It's through working.
-all right. -all right?
While their jalapeño Mash ferments,
Louisiana moonshiners Patti and david
Are building a clever bootleg Ruse for local sales.
We gonna work on That bootlegging disguise
I reckon you call it? -yeah.
Daddy has been talking About this idea for 2 or 3 years
Of how he can hide moonshine, Bootleg it with a good disguise.
What you want me to do, Sit down and watch you?
I'm kind of skeptical Of the idea,
But he's been wanting to do This project for a long time,
So I guess I'll follow him And see what he ends up with.
-hot dang it. -well, you the one...
-hit it... -I hit it.
...Straight down.
I was looking through A magazine one time.
It had furniture and stuff In it, little end tables
And stuff made out of a log with Just bark wrapped around it.
I said to myself...
The plan is, is taking all The bark off this log and,
On both ends of the log,
Cutting off about an inch Disk on each end.
You got it?
And then what we'll do is put The bark back on this log
And nail it onto These two end disks,
And it'll be just Hollow on the inside.
All we wanted was two Ends and the bark.
We gonna nail that bark Back around it,
And when we get To our last piece,
There'll be an opening in there,
And we just slide That moonshine in there,
Seal this last piece up.
It'll look just like a log.
This ingenious method
Dates back To the american civil war
With tales of south Carolina bootleggers
Using hollowed-out stumps To hide their liquor.
-all right. -moment of truth.
See how many you Can get in there.
Dang, it's big inside.
Yeah, it's big.
Shoot, I think We can probably get
Four or five in there.
Let's stack them.
Perfect. Heck.
We could get 4 gallons In there.
That's 400 bucks.
Yeah.
We'll get us three or four More of these logs done.
I mean, we could haul 20 gallons of moonshine.
You know, we throw it In the back of the truck,
Have our chainsaw, our axe, Gas and everything,
Looks like we been Cutting firewood.
It was a good idea Daddy come up with.
Shoot. Looks like a log, Don't it?
That's pretty dang cool. -got an idea there.
Even though daddy Is an old fart,
He's still got a lot Of tricks up his sleeve.
Now we just need to do A bunch more.
♪♪
Yeah.
In the bluegrass state,
Chico is on his way To stash shine
For a dead-drop sale Sondra has lined up.
One of the biggest risks You take making liquor
Is when you actually accept Money for an illegal product.
That's one of the biggest Charges that you can get.
Which key is it?
There it is.
Ow!
So instead of selling them The liquor directly,
We indirectly Sell them the liquor
By selling them A key to a box.
There we go.
The one charge that I try To avoid is distributing.
Depending on state laws,
Transporting or selling Illegal alcohol
Can land a shiner in prison For up to 5 years
And cost them $10,000 in fines.
Try to keep just on that side Of that red tape
To keep me out of handcuffs.
♪♪
Dang.
You have to take your time, Weigh out the situation.
Long as nothing bad happened, We can keep moving forward.
After nearly having His cover blown,
Chico high-tails it back To sondra to drop off the key
So she can make the sale.
♪♪
-hi. -hi.
-yes, give me that. -you need that?
Yes. Give me that damn key.
Need to make Some money already.
-hurry up. -wish me luck.
♪♪
I'm on my way To the spot
With my friend That I agreed to meet.
You know, we're friendly With each other.
We know each other.
She's bought shine From me before,
So, you know, she's not just Some random stranger
I'm meeting.
Although sondra is Selling to a repeat client,
This is the buyer's first Dead-drop key exchange.
A lot of the buyers are kind of Apprehensive when I tell them,
"Hey, you're gonna Give me your money,
But all I'm gonna Give you is a key."
When you go to make a sale,
That's when the trouble Can really arise.
There's always that chance You're gonna get caught.
You know, we trust These people, so to speak,
But we don't trust Them completely.
You don't trust Anyone completely.
What's up, bae? How are you?
Good. You got your money?
So what we're gonna do, I'm selling you a key.
Look, I know It's a little weird,
But that key goes to The box under the bridge.
It's under the *bleep*
I think you might have Maybe passed it.
Yes. That's where the box is.
Leave the key in the box When you're done
Because it's locked.
It's okay. You'll be good.
I promise.
Everybody is safer this way, And it's in a remote spot.
Thank you. Bye. Love you.
Bye. Love you.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have my money.
With another successful sale Under their belt,
Chico and sondra will now Focus on their first
Run of pomegranate shine.
♪♪
Daddy come up with this Idea of hauling shine this year.
This log here will hold 4 1/2 gallons,
And then, once you put The piece of bark there,
Then it just looks like a log.
In louisiana,
Patti and david have come up With a bootleg disguise
To stump local authorities.
Now I'm gonna put it in here.
Put it in the truck, And then it just looks like
We're been out cutting Firewood for the winter.
That's what you call A money log.
I had this firewood Already at the house.
Adding all of this stuff will Throw the cops off even more.
They'll believe.
While we're waiting on Our pepper shine,
We're trying to sell A little bit of shine
Here in our local area.
It's very important for us To try to keep local business,
And you got to please Your customers and all that.
Well, we want to go Collect some money.
The client is supposed to leave My money in the stump,
So I'm headed That way to get it.
The shiners have Stashed several hollow logs
At dead-drop points Around the area
And instructed their buyers To leave money inside
In exchange for liquor.
Well, this client here is buying $200 worth of moonshine from us,
So that's 2 gallons,
So to me, you know, It's not a big sale,
But you can't buy food with it Just sitting at the house,
So you may as well get rid Of it whenever you can.
♪♪
The money.
Count it up.
That ain't enough money For 2 gallons.
That'd have been 200 bucks.
Huh.
He ain't fixing to play This game with me.
He ain't getting no 2 gallons for 175 bucks.
That's aggravating.
I don't know if he was Trying to get over on me
And maybe I just take The money and go,
But I'm not, like, That kind of moonshiner.
I'm gonna count my money.
I mean, I'm just not Running around here
Just to get ripped off.
Yeah, I'm even-steven.
If they give me the right Amount of money,
I give them the right Amount of booze.
If they don't, then they Don't get what they want.
Just because I'm A lady moonshiner,
Sometimes, people try To get the bluff on me,
But they don't know me too well.
♪♪
Well, I'd reckon It's done.
Hope it is anyway.
We got to get it run.
In north carolina,
Lance has bet The rest of the season
On an experimental Vodka moonshine.
I'm curious to see what This tater moonshine
Is gonna taste like.
Me too.
Beginning of this season, lance Screwed up a whole lot, and...
Taste like tater.
It ain't sticky, So I guess it's time
To go to laying it In the still.
Mm-hmm.
A mash that's not Sticky indicates all the sugars
Have been consumed by the yeast.
With dad being A little hesitant,
Hopefully this will be good,
And maybe he'll forgive me For mistakes
That I've made in the past
And, you know, Move on to the future.
All right.
♪♪
It's on its way.
It seems to Be working, don't it?
Well, I don't know yet.
I ain't tested it yet, But as fast as it heated,
That means it's got A lot of alcohol in it.
Mm-hmm.
If you get a swiff Of that alcohol vapor,
It'd take your breath away.
Tie somebody up And tie them up
Where they had to breathe them First fumes that comes out,
That'd be the worst torture You could ever do to anybody.
Why would you Want to do that?
Just to torture somebody.
Why would you want To torture somebody?
I don't know.
If you gonna need to Torture them for something.
If this don't work out, The next run,
I'm gonna tie your head Right beside that
And let you Breathe that way.
I can promise you,
You ain't man enough To handle that.
You might be surprised.
Yeah.
It's running.
Where is that Hydrometer at?
I'm gonna catch The first of this
And see what the proof is.
Now, can you ask for it To be any clearer than that?
Nope.
165.
Well, taste it.
Well, it's late In the season.
If it works out good, This will be a plus for us,
But if it goes bad, That's the last minus for lance.
Oh, man.
It's a job, man, You know, security.
You don't have to get Arrested or nothing.
Selling salvation In virginia.
Making illegal moonshine, That's really the only way
I know how to get that money.
You work first. Then you get paid.
Well...
♪♪
Now, can you ask for it To be any clearer than that?
Nope.
165.
Well, taste it.
Well, It's late in the season.
If it works out good, This will be a plus for us,
But if it goes bad, That's the last minus for lance.
-well? -it's hot.
Oh, man, it's hot, But it's good.
This moonshine vodka, it Had a really good taste,
So I think, once we get The heat level down
And the flavor level up,
I know for a fact that people is Gonna pay a premium for it.
That's real good. That's alcohol.
Whoo!
You got any ideas
On who you can sell Moonshine vodka to?
I'm just gonna market To our customers
And let Word of mouth spread it.
I mean, our customers
Have tried everything I've made so far.
Sell it for $150 a gallon, And we got to have it
To get through the winter And make your mama happy.
When she's happy, We're all happy.
Me and lance just got done With our potato vodka.
It turned out real high proof.
It's got a real Good taste to it.
I think we can sell it.
I'll get the little bucket. You get the full one.
We'll call it even.
♪♪
Get up here and get This pomegranate started, man.
-pomegranate. -it's time to hit a home run.
In kentucky, Chico and sondra
Are taking a leap of faith
On an unfamiliar fruit for their Last run of the season.
This is what a pomegranate Looks like.
Looks like a cross Between an onion and an apple.
Now, do you see All these seeds?
That's where you're going To get all your juice from.
Want to make sure we get
All the fruit out Of here that we can.
It's gonna be work.
That's why we're charging A premium for this.
Pomegranate is gonna be A great flavor.
I think it's going To sell great.
It's trendy.
You're starting to See it everywhere,
But you haven't really seen it In shines and brandies yet.
Alcoholic beverages Made of pomegranate juice
Is no new trend.
Even the ancient egyptians Were in on the act.
Ain't no fruit, That's seeds.
Exactly. They're about like corn kernels
Stuck in this membrane Right here.
I hate shelling corn.
Anytime you try something new, You're taking a huge risk.
This could make us Fall on our faces.
This could completely fail.
It might not work out, But if it does work out,
The reward is huge.
Aw, yeah. You're gonna do all that?
This will juice it.
Yeah, I got A juicer right here.
Chico and I have never worked With pomegranates before.
A couple of different ways We can try it,
And then I also bought this.
It's kind of a learning Curve for us.
You can also mush Them like this.
Well, not like that, But see all the juice?
I mushed too hard.
We're not exactly sure what the Best way to go about this is.
What are you doing Right here?
-check this out. -okay.
We have been mashing These pomegranates
For a while, you know?
Get that other one. We'll try to do two.
We've tried the vise.
We've tried rolling them Around on the deck.
There is numerous ways That we have attempted this
And horribly failed.
There's got to be A better way than this.
I mean, look. It's still slow, man.
I know.
I mean, we've been here All damn day,
And we got barely One run ready.
I'm done with this.
Finally, I just Lay down and say,
"Look, you know, Throw them in the strainer.
I'll take my hand And mash them," you know?
So do you not want to use The vise at all?
No.
I mean, you can do that After you vise them,
But you're getting A lot of juice.
Yeah, I'm gonna Vise them all right.
Watch this.
Yeah, it's just pouring Out that way.
That's fantastic.
All right. Get me some cut in half.
That way, I can get Some of this mashed.
-here you go. -cool.
This is work, man. I don't like doing this.
Hell yeah.
All these is about busted.
Pull it out And see what we got.
Let's see what we got. Oh, yeah.
We good.
We got to get these Two buckets in the barrel,
Start breaking Down the sugar.
Can you do it? -yeah, I can...
-you got it? -yep.
All right. Lower that down.
Stop.
But it's fun. You ain't no fun.
I'm gonna have to hire Somebody else.
All right.
This pomegranate is the Last run that we're gonna get.
It's crucial that we are Successful through this.
The last run of the season Is what keeps my family
Fed through the winter.
-all right. -good job.
We are officially Mashed in.
Now it's just A waiting game.
Hopefully the weather will hold Out, and it'll stay warm enough,
So it'll be successful, and then We've got to get it sold,
And we'll be done For the year.
All right. I just hope it turns out.
It should.
You got Way too much faith
In something You ain't tried before.
You've got to have hope.
♪♪
We need to check that mash And see how it's looking.
Less than a week away From their gulf order deadline,
Patti and david Check the progress
On their fermenting mash.
♪♪
That's ready.
Taste that alcohol In it?
Mm-hmm.
All right. Let's start pumping.
There's 12 barrels We got to run.
We've only got 30-gallon stills,
So that's only 60 gallons That we can run at a time.
We've got to be running Around the clock.
It's just gonna be A lot of work in it,
But it'll be worth it.
The duo will Need to red-line
Their two small stills to crank
Out 100 gallons Of pepper shine.
Success will bring their Season total to 357 gallons.
-you gonna pump it? -give me a minute.
Well, daddy, you said you was Gonna put the pump in it.
-coming yet? -it's coming out.
- all right. - ooh.
What you coughing for?
It's strong.
This one right here is done. I'm fixing to swap over.
We gonna be Running around the clock,
Trying to get this order in,
So I think we've got to stop Talking and start running shine.
That it? -yep. That's it.
-all right. -lighting mine up.
Don't stop. Light this.
We got to do 100 gallons To meet this order.
It's gonna be a lot of work, But you got to do
What you got to do To meet a order.
♪♪
All right. Let's get us some oatmeal.
♪♪
You hear that noise?
How close you think They are through there?
I'm gonna check it out.
We been hearing these Loggers through the woods,
And every day,
It seems like they're Getting closer and closer.
Spotting timber Or something, you know?
We're kind of afraid maybe They might walk in on us,
Or if they're at that Wood line over there,
They could see our still site.
Tree spotters are Hired by logging companies
To search out and mark the best Trees to harvest.
There's a ribbon right there.
This means somebody been through Here marking this timber.
There's another one Laying over there.
I hope these loggers Don't come this way,
And if they do, They won't see our still site.
This could cost us a good Probably $22,500.
It could be devastating For us down here.
It's a lot of shine.
If you get caught with all that,
You going to the slammer For a long time.
That's the property line Right there.
So they're probably going To cut from here back.
That's too close for us.
♪♪
Here. Come on.
I'll help you plummet To your death.
During a break from moonshining,
Sondra takes the opportunity
To make her childhood Fantasy a reality.
Hold on!
It's been one of her lifelong Dreams is actually fly around,
Like, play peter pan.
Whoo!
She always wanted to be A pixie or a fairy,
And she got to do something She always wanted to do.
-whee! -she actually got to fly.
Well, they're probably Gonna cut from here back.
That's too close for us.
Encroaching loggers Have patti and david on edge
As they start their Last run of the season.
I don't know if they're gonna Come up in here or not.
How far do you think They are?
Too close for comfort.
I hope these loggers Don't come this way,
And if they do, They won't see our still site.
Hopefully this thing Here will work out.
Uh-oh. There it comes.
Running these 12 barrels All in one day is possible,
But it's just gonna take us All day and into the night.
First bucket is done, 24 to go.
Whew. That's a lot.
Whoo! That's hot.
--what I want. It's good.
You can taste The pepper.
Patti and david's Pepper-shine run
Will yield A total of 100 gallons,
Which they'll combine with the 50 gallons of stockpiled liquor
For their final sale Of the season
Down in the gulf of mexico.
This is gonna be The cap of our season.
I want to please the cajuns here Because that's where I'm from,
And that's what they like.
Doing good, eh?
Just sitting back, waiting.
Yep. On a brighter note, daddy...
What?
...Thank you For helping me.
Gonna be a good Paycheck, though.
For me, it is.
I don't know how You figure that.
We're gonna split it Right down the middle,
And all expenses Come out of yours.
♪♪
What's up, tim?
I was moving some boxes.
-moving some boxes? -moving some moonshine.
Always got something Going on.
Yep, yep, yep.
What have you been Doing the last few days?
I ain't seen you.
I ain't been doing A whole lot.
You ain't been Doing nothing,
Getting in trouble Or nothing, have you?
No, no. I ain't...
Nothing I got to worry About, huh?
No, no, no.
I ain't been out In the woods, man.
Well, I just asked, You know.
Yeah.
I know how it feels To be a outlaw.
I know how it feels to be on The other side of the fence,
But if I could get tickle A legal job and keep him busy,
Maybe I can keep him Out of jail.
I got something here I want to show you.
Behind this door is An expansion
Of climax moonshine. -expansion?
Expansion.
Man, damn.
Whole lot of stuff here.
That's a whole lot Of still right there.
I'd say that's about The biggest damn still
I've ever seen in my life.
This is a big expansion For the climax moonshine.
All right.
So you see here that's your 4,000-gallon pot still.
We've been working on this Still for now
For actually about 2 years
Now trying to get The expansion done.
Then comes over To a 8-inch pipe.
This is the biggest still I've ever seen in my life.
I'm kind of in awe Just looking at this thing.
It's just massive.
So we got a lot of work, A lot of opportunities.
-yeah? -mm-hmm.
-yep. -what kind of opportunity?
Opportunity for you To have a job.
-me to have a job? -yeah.
Are you talking About a paying job?
You gonna pay me? -yeah.
Yeah, I'm going To pay you, you know?
It ain't, like, In the backwoods now.
I mean, I can't pay you cash.
I can't give you no big Chunk of money.
You know, You got to work.
You get a little bit By the hour.
-yeah. -you got to take taxes out.
Ugh.
You don't have to Get arrested or nothing.
Yeah.
And you'd Be working with me.
To be honest, I really Don't know about this.
What kind of money Are we talking?
I mean, like, Real money, man,
Ben franklins And stuff like that.
I'm used to making money And making it fast.
I don't know about all these Taxes and everything.
Making illegal moonshine, That's really the only way
I know how to get that money.
I mean, We got to figure out...
We got to get you Working first.
You can't get paid until You start working.
You work first. Then you get paid.
Well...
All right.
-huh? -all right.
A job making moonshine With my partner?
-mm-hmm. -yeah, I can deal with that.
-okay. -sounds good to me.
I am looking forward to it.
It's kind of like we're back In the woods again
Except we in a closed room Inside a legal distillery,
And now we can work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
No one is bothering us.
No one is trying to arrest us Even if it rains,
So we'll see What the future brings.
Hey, it's a whole lot better Than being in the woods.
-that's right. -you know?
For tim to bring me in, Starting up this new big still
And everything, It really makes me feel good,
And he believes in me enough To let me help run this thing.
That right there, That means the world to me.
All right. Let's do it.
All right. When you want to start?
Well, I need some help now.
Next time on "Moonshiners"...
Son of a bitches, they've Stole everything I've got!
No honor among thieves In tennessee...
I don't have nothing left. Son of a bitches!
I see two people in that truck.
I told that dude To come by hisself.
What the hell is this?
...And outnumbered in kentucky.
Hey, what's up? Done yet?
No. He brought somebody Else with him.
Oh *bleep*