This is how we make the moonshine!
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Hey, can't say nothing, my old deer hut.
We'll get to running though, we might cut [INAUDIBLE]
all through this trail.
In Graham County, North Carolina,
after spending last season helping those in need,
Mark and Huck kick off the year by rebuilding
capital with an old favorite.
Now people getting back to work,
now things getting back to normal.
[CHAINSAW BUZZING]
People get a little money in their pocket.
Usually we just make, you know, corn liquor brandy, you know,
but this year, we thought we'd make good fortified wine.
Our old buddy, Steve, said he had about 100
pounds of good quality grapes.
What we're going to do with these grapes
is work it off into wine, use about half of it to-- to sell,
make it into a brandy.
Got water, Huck?
Got plenty.
Then we're going to take our brandy
and pour it back into our wine.
That's what they call the fortified wine--
you got a real good taste, still good and stout.
Make a lot more product and a whole lot more of money, too.
So our old buddy Steve, we're going to go check
him out and see what he's got.
Fortified wine traces back to the Roman Empire,
but its use increased during Europe's golden age of sale
in the 1700s because the product's high proof saved
on cargo space and ensured it wouldn't
spoil on long ocean voyages.
The heady mix of liquor and wine quickly gained
widespread popularity and became all the rage on the mainland.
Today, fortified wine is commonly consumed in the States
as vermouth, the staple in cocktails like the Martini
and the Manhattan.
It can also be drunk on its own as a Sherry,
Port, or Madeira wine.
Oh, look at that.
Real pretty, ain't it?
Yes springtime and uh--
great staying in season.
Yet here our old buddy Steve, he went into Mexico
and he brings him back these fruit stands and sells them.
But he had some extra.
We wind up getting them from him.
What do you want for them?
You know last year, y'all made that juice for me?
If you want to put a jar or something in there
when you got it back, that'd be fine.
I ain't in no hurry for it.
Like a little fortified wine there.
Yeah.
Yes, might be a pretty good thing for me and Huck.
We'd be the first ones be able to make some liquor out
of grapes this year.
Thank you, Mike.
Thank you, Mark.
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Yes, fortified wine, it's in between a good brandy
and a wine, too.
So it should be some of the best liquor we've ever made.
That's kinda like being a pall-bearer, ain't it?
- [LAUGHS] It is! - Come down on that.
Hold it right there.
[GRUNTS] Whew!
Yeah, we're going to look the grapes over good, uh,
get all the stems out of it, make sure none-- you know,
ain't moldy or nothing.
Make a little fortified wine, you
get a lot of money out of it.
We got a lot of grapes to mash.
We had to mash these up with our hands
like we did once before, we'd probably end up carpal tunnel.
Yeah, that's too many to mash up by hand.
We ain't got no press, so--
Why don't we stomp it in with our feet?
Did you clip your toenails last night, Mark?
[LAUGHING]
Yeah, back in the old days, I guess
they didn't have presses and all that stuff
to mash the juice out of the wine and--
I guess they just did foot treading, you know.
We might try that, we got a lot of grapes to mash.
How do you like that brush I got?
What is it, is that a commode brush?
What is it? - Yeah!
That'll work, won't it?
It ain't been used.
I got it out bought at the store.
Brand new!
You brush your teeth.
Make sure you get around your toenails.
Feels good.
[LAUGHING]
Me and Huck know what our feet been through, so, uh, I don't
think I could drink any of that liquor
if I didn't clean my feet good.
Well, you should have got a softer brush.
Oh, that's a burning.
I mean, it's cleaning!
Wash the bottom of my feet, I done got that dirty.
Oh!
[LAUGHING]
Oh, that's cold.
Between my toes.
[LAUGHING]
Now look how red my leg's turning.
That's good for you.
Like sandpaper.
I got em cleaned, Huck.
Yeah, they're clean.
You gotta help me up.
[LAUGHING]
Talk about slick!
Ah-- be sucked down.
Yeah.
What's the matter, Mark?
I'd say it's ready.
Mm-hmm!
Woo.
Got that alcohol in it.
What the-- [INAUDIBLE]
When I'm making fortified wine, what we're going to do,
we're going to save half of the barrel of the wine for later.
And then we're going to run half of it
into some good high proof brandy to mix back in there wine.
Oh, that's pretty, right there.
People this year, they want some good stuff to drink.
And this-- it ought to be about as good a tasting liquor
that we've ever made.
Well Huck, I believe that's about enough in there, that's
about half of it, ain't it?
Got it, ain't it?
Yeah.
The best wood in these mountains is locust.
Got you some locust right here.
Now this fixing to get hot.
It's less smoke, more heat.
It's really the best wood you can burn.
Well, let's see if we can cap her off.
Yeah, that feels so good.
Cap will make them run off on me.
I've used dry meal, oak meal.
I learned a few years back, this plumber's putty
is good and soft and it seals good.
You can reuse it.
But every time you can save, that's
just more that's going to help you get through the winter.
We're going to turn this 25 gallon of wine into brandy.
We should get at least five gallons out of it.
When we mix it all up, we should wind up around 30 gallons.
We're getting fortified wine.
That's a pretty good bit of liquor.
We should make some good money off it.
Huck, she's running.
Yeah, I see that.
Starting to drip pretty good now, ain't it?
Oh, yeah we got our stream about right.
We throw them heads off.
[INAUDIBLE] water right there.
What is that?
Well, you're ready to do some mixing?
Yep.
What we're wanting to do is put the alcohol into the wine,
maybe get it up 20%, or even better, if we can.
[INAUDIBLE]
Mm-hmm.
Make a good, high proof fortified wine.
That's a pretty color, ain't it?
That's the color of a pink grapefruit, ain't it?
Yeah.
But it might be just a little bit low on the proof, folks.
A little bit.
Checking it, getting a tasting of it, and, uh--
noticed it's a little bit too sweet.
A little bit low, ain't it?
Little bit.
The beads are small and going away quick.
We noted it was low proof so we need to put some more
good high proof brandy in it.
I'd reckon a gallon make her about right.
Let's try.
Mixing the brandy in, we got to go real slow.
We don't want to change the taste of it much.
We want to have it to get great taste and a good high proof.
Mm.
Boy, smell this.
Smell that!
That's [INAUDIBLE]
Well, that smells good, don't it?
Take a shot.
Oh, that face.
Mm.
Probably wouldn't hurt, just put a tad more of that in it.
I'm glad we saved this.
[LAUGHING]
Yeah, we're down to our last gallon.
It ain't [INAUDIBLE] I tell you that.
Uh-uh, it ain't much.
If we can't get this mixed up right, we're out of grapes.
We can't send Steve back to Mexico to get more grapes,
so we may be up a creek without a paddle.
Try her again, Huck.
You wouldn't believe how good that is.
That's perfect.
Oh, my goodness.
When you get that good grape taste.
That's about right, right there.
That's [INAUDIBLE].
Wine pour, it cools it down, don't it?
I believe we need to leave it alone.
Yeah, I'd say it's about the smoothest and the stoutest wine
that we've ever tasted.
But I guarantee you, you take about three drinks of
that right there, good drinks--
you'd be ready to dance.
Got a little bite to it, you know, the brandy has.
But it's a smooth bite.
Fortified wine.
Won't have trouble selling that.
That's pretty, ain't it?
Mm-hmm.
Only problem we got, me and Huck
will have to stay out of it.
We don't want to drink our [INAUDIBLE]..
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