[narrator] on this episode of moonshiners...
I wanna make a rye whiskey as they did in the whiskey rebellion period.
[narrator] tim and howard journey 250 years into the past
to remake the spirit that nearly sparked a revolution.
The british are coming.
If something catches on fire...
I put it out.
-[howard] water in the race! -[tim] there you go.
This is not gonna work.
Well, that's not good.
[tim] if it tastes good, it sells good.
-This could be the beginning of something. -[chuckles]
this is either history or bust.
This is how we make the moonshine.
Tim, I hate to sound like a 4-year-old, but how much
further we got before we get to wherever we're going?
Well, we're going to western pennsylvania.
Well, I seen the sign when we crossed through pennsylvania.
Yeah. Yeah, well, I wanna make a new product.
I wanna make a true pennsylvania rye.
I wanna make a rye whiskey as authentic as they did in the whiskey rebellion period,
which came out to be the perfect rye whiskey ever made.
You gotta go to pennsylvania to find out about the whiskey rebellion story.
What's the whiskey rebellion?
Like some type of rock concert
-people get down every year? -Damn, howard.
Where'd you go to school at? They didn't teach you nothing about the whiskey rebellion?
[howard] I ain't never heard nothing about a whiskey rebellion.
Oh, god.
Do I have to teach you everything?
That's why I ride along with you for these long-ass adventures.
[tim laughs]
[narrator] in 1783,
after eight years of revolutionary war,
the united states secured its independence from the british empire.
But the war left the young country with a crushing debt to several european states.
To pay those loans, treasury secretary alexander hamilton
promoted the nation's first excise tax on distilled spirits,
later named the whiskey tax.
America's small distillers were furious.
Most were family farmers
and rural shiners who relied on the income from converting grain into spirits.
What's more, many had just sacrificed to fight a war that
itself was triggered by unfair taxation by a distant government.
In western pennsylvania, a group of farmer distillers
organized a resistance movement.
Revenuers sent to collect the tax were shot at, beaten,
and in several cases, tarred and feathered.
You wanna come here because you wanna dig back in time
to find this recipe so you can recreate it?
Correct. A little bit of authenticity of where we all came from.
Moonshiners back then, not paying taxes,
and what they was making was rye
because rye was the most dominant grain grown in this area.
Now, I found a legal distillery.
They all about this whiskey rebellion-era stuff.
If we can find enough information,
well, we can go back home and make this authentic rye whiskey.
I bet it's gonna taste good.
I bet it is, too. I never had no bad rye.
You know, if it tastes good, it sells good.
Amen.
[tim] see that whiskey rebellion sign right there?
[howard] that means we're close.
Take... Take a left.
[tim] I'm going down through here, is all I know.
Two silos between two buildings and an alleyway.
Well, let's go see what's happening.
[howard] let's see what's going on here, dagnammit.
Oh, my lord.
[tim] it's kind of top secret, huh?
I mean, other than that doggone whole smoke stack,
whole flue pipe coming out there.
I mean, they must be burning wood.
[tim] must have a hell of a wood heater in the basement.
[howard laughs]
-[tim] hello? -[jim] hey!
[tim] hey, let me guess. You're jim.
I'm jim.
Why don't we go up front? It's a little cooler up there, a little quieter.
-We can talk. -[tim] all right, sounds good.
Perfect. Come on, let's go.
Hey, joe, look who's here.
Tim and howard.
We can tell that we at the right place.
I mean, these guys is all about the whiskey rebellion.
So now we see the front of this place.
All about what happened in 1791.
Who does your interior decorating around here, old buddy?
-You got poles hanging from the walls. -[all laugh]
I have never seen no get up like this.
Did you get drunk and do this yourself?
[jim] so that's a recreation of a liberty pole.
Liberty poles were basically the symbol of opposition in colonial america.
If you didn't agree with the government tax on whiskey,
you would erect a liberty pole with three strips of fabric that just say "no excise tax".
[tim] so we wanna know about the, uh, whiskey rebellion
-and, I guess, the history of rye whiskey in this region. -Yeah.
Pennsylvania has been making rye whiskey, um, since the 1700s.
Uh, it is kind of the birth place of american rye whiskey.
[tim] how do you make this stuff?
'cause we did, uh, research on george thorpe,
-was the first person to make alcohol in america. -Yeah.
-And he had a clay pot. -[jim] yeah.
Now, they had copper pots.
To my knowledge, they didn't have thumpers or doublers.
I mean, it was... They put it back in again.
-[tim] to get a higher proof. -Higher proof, cleaner.
-[tim] clean it up. Yeah. -Clean it up. Yeah.
This period in time, they didn't have doublers.
But they did some kind of multiple distillations.
The rye that, that was prevalent, you know,
during the whiskey rebellion-era,
nobody really knows.
Probably the closest you're gonna be able to get right now
is a type of rye called rosen rye.
Um, that particular varietal died out after prohibition.
So, jim, you have some of this rosen rye, or you seen it?
We know who has it.
A woman I can put you in touch with, her name is laura fields.
Uh, she has worked to reestablish rosen.
She... She started with a couple ounces from a seed bank.
I can't promise she has any rye to give you.
She's got very, very limited supply.
Uh, it's tough to get.
[tim] it's what I'm looking for.
I'm looking for the history, what happened,
but I'm actually looking at this grain.
I mean, because, you know, any mash bill when you talk
about making any kind of alcohol,
you gotta start with a mash.
Whether it's peaches or, uh, corn.
And these guys is telling a rosen rye is close to the grain that was in 1791.
I'm also gonna give you, uh, the farmer she's worked with.
-[tim] okay. -Ah, robert mcdonald.
-Bob mcdonald. -Old mcdonald, huh?
[jim] here you go, tim. There's, uh... There's your contact information.
-Joe, I appreciate it, man. -All right. Good luck to you.
All right, guys. See youse later.
-Thank you. -Take care.
[howard] I'm telling you, it looks like a whole farm up there, old buddy.
-I see rye. -I see. I see.
Listen, when we get here, you put that virginia charm on laura.
-[tim] mmm. -[howard] I'll take care of old mcdonald.
[howard] I'll loose him up with a few of my good old jokes.
[tim] we don't want to get him offended before we get started.
[howard] no. Never my intentions.
[tim] there's a lot of noise going on over here, howard.
[howard] there is a whole lot of noise.
-[machinery whirring] -[tim] hello.
[whirring stops]
hey, how's it going?
-How's it going? -[tim] all right. How y'all?
-It's good. -[tim] laura, bob.
We're distillers. We make alcohol.
We're trying to learn about pennsylvania rye whiskey,
the rye that was used in the early 1800s.
We stopped at liberty pole distillery.
Your name came up.
And, uh, we actually interested in a particular rosen rye we understand.
-Ah, yes. -And we understand this is the closest rye
that we can get to during that period of time.
-Well, this particular rosen... -[tim] mmm-hmm.
...Um, was used by pennsylvania distillers
to make rye whiskey before prohibition.
If you wanna make an old-school rye,
and you wanna make a true pennsylvanian-style rye,
you wanna use something that those traditional pennsylvania distillers
were using, and this is that.
So I've never seen rosen rye.
Did you guys wanna see it?
-We'd like to see it. -Well, let's take a walk down.
-Didn't come all this way to stand here. -Let bob lead the way.
-Bob, take us on the tour, sir. -[bob] all right. Here we go.
-[howard] is this the rosen rye? -[bob] yeah.
-[laura] here you go. -Right here it is.
-[laura] you got 21 acres. -[tim] okay.
[laura] I mean, you can see here how tall it is.
[bob] oh, it's 6-foot tall this year.
This rye, it's so hard to work with.
But the flavor is so great from the rye...
-[howard] yeah. -[bob] ...It was worth the risk.
[tim] I grow rye myself. I never seen any kind of rye like this.
I never seen rye over 6-foot tall. This is crazy.
About how long does it take it when you plant the seed to the time of harvest?
What kind of period is that? Six months? Three months?
About 11 months.
-Really? -Eleven months?
-I plant September, October. -It's a winter crop.
You know, it's an 11 month project.
-This thing keeps you busy year-round. -[bob] yeah.
You keep an apple in the tree longer, it's got more flavor in it.
-[tim] same as tomatoes. -Same thing here.
You getting your full nutrients out of it.
Exactly, exactly!
And all that sweetness, all the goodness, that's gonna...
You know, that this stuff has to offer.
We're getting the most out of it.
[tim] it looks really nice, but I'm more interested in something that's dry.
Do you have anything that's dry? Like, maybe from last year?
-You wanna go look at it? -Yeah, I got some 50-pound bags.
Let's see what it looks like from the finished product.
-Let's head down, I'll go show you some. -[tim] okay.
Old mcdonald, you got a little bit of everything down here, man.
-I sure do. -You got the tallest damn rye I've ever seen in my life.
[howard] what's he got, a vault in here?
-Absolutely, this is the vault. -[bob] it's a cooler.
[laura] welcome, gentlemen. Check it out.
-[tim] dang. -[howard] holy cow, look at this here.
I could myself in here chilling with a 12-pack, drinking beer, talking rye.
I mean, can we get some of this to look at, man?
You wanna grab a bag and bring it out?
[howard] yeah.
Dang, I ain't never seen no damn rye on ice.
-[tim laughs] rye on ice. -[laura laughs]
[tim] let me see what we're working with, huh?
[bob] look, look at that beautiful rye.
-[tim] yeah, I like that. -[howard] god almighty.
I ain't never seen no rye like that.
[bob] this is basically what we started with seven years ago.
[howard] it's got a great earthy flavor, smell to it.
-Mmm-hmm. Nice and biscuity. -[howard] mmm-hmm. Yeah. That's crazy.
I mean, and the way this looks, tim,
I think this is everything we've been looking for.
-I mean... -Mmm-hmm. Closest to the original stuff.
So here's my question.
Can we have some? I'll buy some.
You know, we only have what you saw there in the freezer.
-Which isn't a whole heck of a lot when it comes down to it. -[tim] yeah.
From what I'm hearing from you guys today, you're saying that everything
that you plan on doing is to benefit pennsylvania,
and you're talking about pennsylvania,
and you're bringing attention to the grain.
100%. Everyone's gonna wanna know where'd you got that rye from.
-I promise you, we're going to do the best we can... -Yeah.
...With what we get.
-[howard] yeah. -I wanna help you, I really do.
Maybe one bag?
-Okay. -Okay, one bag, 50 pounds. I mean is that...
-The bag we pulled out? -I'd be, I'd be happy with what we can get.
[bob] how you gonna grind this?
We got a tractor, you know?
We gotta mixer, grinder, and we dump all our stuff in it,
-and grind it, so... -It's the quickest way to get done.
-We'll just dump that bag in it and grind it up. -Well... Just...
This stuff, because it is so precious.
-[tim] yeah. -You wanna maintain the integrity of the flavor,
of the grain, and the flavor profile of your whiskey.
You wanna have as little heat in the grinding process as possible.
-[tim] okay. -I would recommend you actually use a stone mill.
You, you know where one is, I guess?
Yeah, absolutely. I can send you to...
I have a couple friends that have, um, stone mills.
-Send me the information. -Yeah, I mean, I'm kind of stoked about this.
We gonna get on the road.
-[grunts] oh, yeah, I like that. -[laura] oh, goodness!
-Don't hurt yourself, howard. -[tim] alright, here we are.
-This is like a santa claus bag right here, boy. -[laura laughs]
[howard] the struggle's real.
Hey, thank y'all again so much.
Y'all have a blessed day.
[howard] well, tim, we got the next clue.
[tim] you know, it is like a treasure hunt, ain't it?
That's what it feels like. Man, I feel like we turn one stone over,
we find some more information to the next stone we gotta get to, but I mean--
it gets more interesting.
We got the rye, and we gonna go get it ground up.
We gotta come up with a way to distill it so it tastes good.
But if they did it back in the woods, back in the day,
it can't be ever so complicated.
Now, you know what, back then they didn't have doublers yet.
-Yeah. -So they had to make it really clean and crisp,
so they had to do multiple distillations.
We gotta make something that, that cleans it up
just like you was doing multiple distillations, but on one run.
I mean, that all sounds fine and dandy,
but we haven't even made it back to virginia yet
-to even come up with this main building-- -that's why we gotta get
a plan together, and we gotta call somebody, and get on it.
Gotta get some copper and start rolling this thing.
And start putting something together.
Why don't we call tickle?
You're gonna call tickle?
I can always depend on tickle.
Most of the time, I would say 100%,
I call tickle, he's gonna be there.
I don't put nothing past him.
[tickle on phone] yeah.
-Tickle. -Yeah.
Me and howard working on a project, right?
-We gotta build a still. -Okay.
It's gotta be all copper.
This has gotta be a three-chamber still.
You gotta build me, like, three doubles and one cylinder.
Ya gotta put me a nipple on there so I can put steam in it
'cause we're gonna cook rye in this thing,
and you don't wanna put fire under it like a pot still.
[tickle speaking]
-all right, see ya. -All right, bye.
-I told ya, man. -He don't know what the hell you just said.
By the time you get there, uh, it's gonna look like a damn snowman.
-Didn't you hear him say he's on it? -Mmm-hmm.
When tickle says he's on it, he's on it!
-Oh, I know he's on it. -He's on it!
Hey, art! What's going on, boss man?
What are you doing here?
Art's a guy that works up at the distillery.
If anything breaks, art fixes it.
If anything needs to be built, art builds it.
[tickle] tim needs a still.
-A still? -Yeah.
Tim needs a three-chambered still built
for an old-time pennsylvania rye.
And art's the perfect man to do it.
[tickle] what we got to work with?
This is the biggest piece of copper I have floating around here
that does not have a job to do.
What do you think?
Uh, let's draw up something to see if we can't figure something up?
Historically, a pennsylvania rye has been distilled three times
with just a pot and a condenser.
See here's our chamber right here.
So we're gonna stay true to the historical accuracies of this.
But we're gonna really speed this process up
like a modern moonshiner would.
[narrator] to forgo the need to do three separate runs
to recreate the rye made during the whiskey rebellion,
tickle is building a three-chambered still.
The still will use two water tanks to create steam to heat the mash
without scorching it.
Alcohol vapor from the fermented grain
will travel to the still's chambers.
In each chamber, the vapor will condense, reheat, vaporize,
and move to the next chamber.
The process will yield the same results
as three separate distillations,
a uniquely clean high-proof rye whiskey.
Now that I came up with this fine idea...
-Time to go to work. -Yeah.
So I guess the first thing we have to do is we'll have to take
this, uh, flat material and turn into a cylinder.
We get to play with tools.
Yes, sir! Hey, I'm all for that.
Okay, I can't see much around me when I'm cutting.
-So if something catches on fire... -I'll put it out.
-You'll put it out? -Yes.
Okay, all right.
[tickle] there we go!
All right, that helps a whole lot.
[art] look at that, man. Ain't that slick?
[tickle] think it looks good, art.
[art] that's not too bad. It's just a little small I think.
It's egged shaped a little bit.
Um, I tell you what. I can fix that.
Here, check this out, art.
-Now, you gonna leave your pants on I think? -Uh, yes, I am.
-Okay, good. -Yes, I am.
All right, look right here. Check this out.
All right, here we [grunts] go.
Somewheres abouts right there.
All right, [grunts] and there we go!
-Now, we have a round. -Okay.
-That should fit inside that. -Okay.
-Look like you're doing a fine job, art. -Thanks.
Fine job.
[art] oh, yeah, actually, that's it.
[tickle] actually, that's it. That is perfect!
[art] our circles are done, so now, we need to rustle the plumbing.
That right there is the hole that I made to do that.
And just a half inch away is the belt loop I normally use.
So I guess if you made me in a complete circle
I ain't no damn bigger around than that.
[tickle] all right, well, that'll work.
[art] well, here's the one that goes in there.
This is the bottom one.
-[art] how's that? -[tickle] that's were we want it.
[art] okay.
This is not gonna work.
I don't think I can get this in here.
I don't think I can get the tick torch in there.
It's too far in the tube.
Well, that's not good.
No, it's not.
I've got an idea.
This is too deep for you to get in there.
Why don't we just cut this thing off where you can get right in there?
It's either that, or we start over from scratch.
-[tickle] okay! -[art] yeah, I can work with that.
I think I can walk that around there.
-I have all the confidence in the world you got this. -Okay.
-All right. -Let's do it!
-I know you got this, art. -All right.
[tim] think this is the place, howard.
[howard] it looks like it's the right place to me.
Stone ground. Corn wheat and buck wheat.
Hope they can do rye.
We in the right place, tim.
-Think nobody's in here. -Hello!
Hello. [stomps feet]
tim, I don't believe no one's here.
-I think laura run us up on a snag. -[tim] hello.
[dan shouting from basement] yo, down here!
Down in the basement!
There we go.
-I hear life. -There's somebody hollering.
Watch your step there. That last step's a doozy.
Oh, why.
I didn't know these old buildings had basements.
-I've been in old root cellars. -[dan] over here.
[howard] where ya at, old buddy?
[dan] I'm underneath here. What's going on? What can I do for ya?
-Howard. -Dan.
Tim smith.
-Nice to meet ya. -Laura fields sent us.
She said you might be able to help us out.
We got a hold of some rosen rye.
It's gotta be stone ground. So this is the only stone mill we could find.
Yeah, we could, but I don't have any help today.
Well, I got a good back and two hands. I can give a hand out here.
I don't mind helping.
Let me get underneath here, and I'll put that gear down.
[howard] let's ground up some rosen.
Me and howard, we arrive at this place,
and you can tell it's a old place.
It look like it's been well kept up.
This brings back memories, years back.
I mean, this is like way back with my dad going to get the corn ground up.
So this is the water wheel that runs it.
There's, uh, 3,300 pounds of white oak in that water wheel.
-We just had it redone. -[tim] oh.
It's, uh, what runs the gears in there that you seen.
Okay.
And that shaft goes clear to the third floor.
So this runs, spins that gear, which in turn spins the gear
-that moves up top here to this grinder-- -yes.
Then it goes in, hits like a pinion gear, and turns, and goes that way.
Yep, yep.
This looks all good and well, but it looks a little dry to me. It looks like ya--
it ain't gonna move, is it?
Yeah, ain't nothing moving here.
-It looks like we need water. -We got water.
We got water at the pond. That's how we feed the water in.
And there's a gate over there.
We'll send you out to open it when it comes time to open it.
-I'm manning the water. -You'll be the gate guy.
I'm gonna be grinding while you turn the water.
I can handle that.
Then we'll go ahead and, uh, put this frame together
so we can start grinding.
How many people usually take to get this operation together?
Uh, three or four.
Well, thank god, there is three of us then.
[dan] slide it across the stone like that.
-There. Right there. -[tim] there ya go.
[dan] okay, lower it down. There we go.
Okay, this is where ya gonna pour the grain at.
This is your shoot. That opens it up and lets the grain go down.
Okay, so next, we've got the grain in here.
I'll get the grain, old buddy. Don't you worry.
-[howard] oh, there we go-- -[tim] don't cut the bag!
-Why not? How's we supposed to get into the damn thing? -No, no. We're gonna put...
No, cut the string.
I think you done messed it up.
[howard] that's what I was looking for. I didn't see it.
I tell ya, boy.
[tim] now, look, see. Open right up.
See, if you cut the right one, you just pull it right out.
Now, put that over in there.
-[howard] okay. -[tim] okay.
[howard] tim, break out old excalibur, man.
-I need a knife to get into this here old bag. -Excalibur, well, let's see.
-There we go. -Don't cut the bag!
-Cut the string. -That's what I was looking for. I didn't see it.
So you don't want to cut the bag 'cause we got to sew the bag back together.
[howard] I didn't think about that.
I mean, I was just trying to get into it. I'm trying to get on the road again.
Look, we're gonna put this in there and grind it
and then put it back in the bag.
-Okay. -Okay.
Then ya gotta go cut the water on.
I mean, how am I doing all of this?
I thought I was just the water man.
[dan] this is what you signed up for.
Here?
But now, we're ready.
-[howard] now, it's my time to shine. -Now's your time.
Throw the water to it.
-[tim] turn the power on. -[dan] don't mess up.
[howard] I ain't gonna mess up! I got this.
[howard] I love this type of job.
-Water in the race. -[dan] push it down.
[tim] there ya go!
-[howard grunts] -[tim] I wanna get clean water now.
I don't want no dirty water.
[howard] we got water!
[tim] all right, come on over here.
[howard] oh, lord.
[howard] now, why does it feel like I'm the one doing all the work?
[tim] no, you ain't doing all the work. I'm waiting on you.
Okay, so listen. We don't wanna just jam it all the way forward.
-[howard] no. -Push this up about four notches
and then put that pin behind it so it can't come back.
-Oh, my god. -Right there.
-[dan] right there. -[tim] yeah, did good.
[howard] oh, I hear it!
[howard] look at this mill and this operation.
This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
Hundreds of years ago people were using water to power a wheel
that would turn the stone and grind up things.
[tim] you got it going!
And it gonna come out right here.
[dan] it's really coming out.
[dan] you can always make it finer, but you can't make it coarser.
[howard] that's about what we want it.
[tim] yeah.
-Think it's all right, howard. -That's what we want it.
[tim] yeah, I think that's all right right there.
-[howard] hell. -[tim] huh.
We got a problem here, son. We got this stuff going all over the damn floor too.
I told you. I mean, I'm wearing more on me than we got in the bucket.
[howard] I reckon we gonna have the daggone mash in my shorts.
-Get that bucket, howard. -All right, well, hold the bag open.
I can't afford to lose much of this here.
[tim] we've come here with 50, and go back with 40.
You know, this place is from early 1800s.
So it's not tight seal.
It doesn't have gaskets and stuff on it.
So we actually gotta take a broom and sweep up
and get all the dust I guess you wanna call it.
[dan] okay, we're almost out up here.
[dan] work it back and forth a little bit, tim.
[howard] there we go.
[tim] I put it in neutral.
Well, we didn't lose too much. We didn't, did we?
Hey, what are you gonna do with all of this?
-What's the purpose? -We're gonna make some rye bread.
-Now, you didn't come to me to make rye bread now. -[howard chuckles]
no, we're trying to make the authentic rye whiskey
that they did during the whiskey rebellion times.
So have you been to oliver miller homestead?
No, what's an oliver miller home?
It's where the first whiskey rebellion shot was fired at.
[howard] I think obviously we would need to check that spot out.
That's where it all began.
Yeah, well, we'll get more information.
-[dan] yeah, you can get some education from that. -Yeah.
This oliver miller homestead, it sounds very interesting to me.
I mean, these were the first shots were fired during the whiskey rebellion.
-There ya go. -Okay.
Well, thanks, guys.
-I appreciate it, old buddy. -See ya, dan.
-Thank ya, man. -All right.
Have a good day.
[howard] you've been a wealth of knowledge, man. Appreciate everything.
-[tim] we're on the road again. -[howard] on the road!
[howard] oliver miller, here we come!
More information makes us more smarter.
And the smarter we are the better we can crack this rye.
Well, I'm thinking about about the time we get home we're gonna be real smart.
We're gonna have
the still, the method, the rye, the story,
and that way we can know how to make it and drink it.
[howard] exactly.
[tim] that's the oliver miller homestead right there.
[howard] that's the house right there?
[tim] I think so.
Let's go see what we're working with.
While we're going to the oliver miller homestead,
I think it's real important to find the history out on this whole whiskey rebellion.
What happened? How did it happen?
Why did it happen here, in this part of pennsylvania?
You know, it's part of history and I love history.
[jim] may I help you?
[tim and howard] hey, how you doing?
-Good, fine, thank you. -Tim smith.
-Jim willis. -Jim? Hi jim. This is howard.
-Howard. -Hi, howard. Pleased to meet you.
We're trying to figure out, you know, how did all this get started?
How did the whiskey rebellion get started?
[jim] you're in the right place.
The first shots of the whiskey rebellion were fired here.
[narrator] by 1794, president washington
and treasury secretary hamilton, faced pressure
for their inability to enforce the whisky tax law in pennsylvania.
To reassert federal authority, the government sent us marshal david lenox
to serve 60 western pennsylvanian farmers with writs of noncompliance.
Accompanying lenox was inspector of revenue, general john neville,
who had a house nearby.
When the two men attempted to serve a summons to farmer william miller,
they were met with gunfire
causing general neville to flee and take refugee in his nearby home.
The next day, a group of armed farmers assembled at general neville's house.
When a firefight broke out, william miller's nephew oliver miller jr. Was killed.
News traveled fast and by the next day, the farmer's ranks grew to 500 men,
and they burned neville's house to the ground.
[jim] I have something I really think you'd like to see.
I'd like you to meet my friend joe.
-[tim] how you doing, sir? -[howard] pleasure to meet you, joe.
[joe] nice to meet you guys.
[tim] well, I see you got, you got two rifles here.
[joe] that's the pennsylvania long rifle.
You can shoot a ball 200, 250 yards.
[howard] they call me "one pack mac."
if we were back in the wartime I'da had this thing packed up
and unloaded on somebody. You woulda never made it.
Well, you know, howard? He can be competitive sometimes,
you know, depending on what kind of sport it is.
[howard] bet I can get this thing loaded fast and fired off, perfect shot.
Howard, there's no way. I was shooting guns before you was born, man.
-What are you talking about? -That's okay.
That's the problem, age has caught up to you.
-I'll bet you $20. -[tim] you got $20?
I always have 20 dollars. If not, I borrow it from you.
[tim] make sure you shoot the right way, now.
Three, two, one. Go!
Here we go, here we go, baby. Here we go, pack 'em down.
All right, all right. Okay.
[gunshot]
-I mean... -Do you want me to show you again?
No! I don't want you to show me again.
I mean, you blew fire into my head.
All right, baby. Let's go.
[gunshot]
god almighty, tim.
-Give me a... -They're coming!
-[laughing] -the british are coming.
You gotta do something.
[gunshot]
-now, we're talking about it. Okay, all right. -Yeah! I got em.
Maybe you oughta get a shotgun instead of a rifle.
[howard] maybe I need something that self-loads.
[tickle] okay. We're ready to roll.
Art and I, we've got all our plates in here.
We've done welded everything, soldered everything.
It's time to marry this thing back up and put it back together.
Here is gonna be a problem, isn't it?
That's awful wide.
Uh, yeah. That's warped.
Yeah, this thing... With the cutting of it and everything
being thin metal, this thing has warped on us.
Now, keep in mind that this was one piece and we cut it in half.
Well, when we go to put it back together, this damn thing don't line up.
Lord, my jesus.
-Nobody said this was gonna be easy. -[art] yeah.
[tickle] here is gonna be a problem, isn't it?
[art] uh, yeah.
This thing has warped. It's not lining up at all.
I see we got a buckle right here.
Yeah, and that's what's throwing us off everywhere else.
-[art] yeah. I think so. -[tickle] this right here.
[art] I'm gonna have to cut this back apart.
Our plates have caused this thing to get out of round a little bit.
Time to get this thing to line back up,
it's really not wanting to do it, it's fighting us.
Uh, this could stop us.
[art] yeah, it's really aggravating.
I don't really care how ugly that seam is,
but the whole column as a whole, I want it kinda--
you don't want it to come up and cock.
-Yeah. Exactly. -Yeah, I gotcha.
Thinking, "who built this crooked thing," right?
[art chuckling] that's right.
If we can't get this thing back together right,
well, everything we've done is for nothing.
And tim's not gonna be happy.
[tickle] all right, all right. Let's see here. Line them seams up.
[art] it's gonna be tricky right here.
[tickle] all right, well, I don't know, that's--
surprise, surprise.
Hey, what's...
-What are y'all doing over there? -We got us a still.
[art] we're not, we're not quite finished yet, tim.
Whatcha mean, you're not quite finished?
Well, yeah, we're still working on it.
Well, I mean, what do you mean, you're still working on it?
-All right, well, come on, let's just show him. -All right. Okay.
Oh, god.
[stuttering] so where's the top and the bottom, I guess?
[both] this is the bottom.
That's the bottom.
-Here's your top. -And that's the top.
Was this your idea?
Um, is it a good one?
No.
Then it was art's idea.
Damn.
See, we couldn't weld the plates with it all together.
All right. So, now I understand.
You built it. You put it together. But you couldn't get inside.
You took it apart, welded it up,
and now you're just trying to get it back together.
Right. There is one small problem with that.
Getting these plates in there? You know, they gotta be in there tight.
-[tim] yeah. -It deformed this, just a little bit
and we got one plate here and one plate there.
So, now we gotta work this back together,
but, I... You know, it's not quite as simple as it looks.
We shoulda just ran it in a regular still, but somebody wanted a three chamber pot
-and we're doing our best. -We're trying to be authentic, tickle.
This is, this is authenticity right here.
Show me how this thing goes together, then, I guess.
-[tickle] uh, well... -[art] okay, well let's start with the power.
So, we have to have steam, so, just gotta heat the water up
and then we'll plumb this thing up right up to the cylinder.
Oh, my god.
[art] I think it's gonna work.
Have y'all lined anything up yet with that?
They ain't never got... They ain't got it together.
-I know. -[art] no guarantees.
Is this like this? Look. Is this like, you know, you know, like this?
[mimics trombone]
here's your switches.
-Oh yeah. -You can change the musical notes with that jewel.
[continues mimicking trombone]
[howard] where's your damn check valves, safety valves for this bad boy?
You're making moonshine. Ain't no such thing as a safety valve.
All right, well. Let's see if we can't get it back together.
We've gotta help these guys. Me and howard, tickle.
All of us gotta put our hands on this thing
and try to hold this thing until art can tack weld it and get it back together.
That way, me and howard, we can go to work on making a mash bin.
We need to get something on that end there, howard.
Yeah, I'm holding it.
Just don't wedge it up.
[tickle] that's too much. No, no, don't wedge it up.
You gotta stick somebody to hold it.
[tim] this looks like a very bad science project.
[art] oh, man. That's per-- whoa, yeah.
All right. Hold your part of steel, howard. Stop moving, howard.
[tim] are your seams lined up? Seams lined up.
We can work with that.
If you get this one side packed right here, we can work with that.
Okay. Okay.
Let's all say a prayer.
[tim] dear lord, let this go together.
Do not let this thing blow us up when we run it.
Please don't let art's work be the one that kills me.
Please don't let tickle's hands be the ones that take me out.
[tickle] stop moving, howard.
[howard] I ain't moving.
[art] come on, now, guys, just keep holding tight, now.
-[art] okay? -Amen.
-[tickle] all right. -[tim] okay.
-[tickle] it looks pretty good, don't it? -Whatcha think?
[howard] it looks better than it did when we came in.
Well, this whole process, you know. I just looks like they just needed some help.
Tickle tried to say we came back too early
but, you know, we all pitched in, we all put our hands on it.
Art is welding it up. It'll be all good.
-Get this grain. Get this mashed in. -Get this grain.
The still that we've built,
you know, we wanna have it as authentic as possible to that period.
I mean, that was a time where american moonshine was born, really.
[narrator] by fall of 1794, the whiskey rebellion was threatening to become
a full-blown revolution against the fledgling us government.
Hamilton urged washington to send troops to stem the violence.
Washington agreed and organized a federal militia 12 thousand strong
to put an end to the uprising once and for all.
It marked the first time federal forces would be sent to combat us citizens.
Led by washington, when the troops arrived in western pennsylvania,
the rebels quickly dispersed.
A mere 20 suspects were brought to trial.
Only two were found guilty of treason.
President washington, never a fan of the whiskey tax, himself,
pardoned them both.
In the end, many of the instigators of the whiskey rebellion escaped to kentucky.
They brought with them their knowledge of producing high-quality whiskey.
That kicked off the state's renowned bourbon whiskey tradition.
Oh my. I don't think we lost much, tim. That's for certain.
[tim] howard, it's nothing but a 50 pound bag of grain.
[howard] I know it, but after we ground it up,
I feel like we got about 75 back.
[tim] aww, come on, howard.
-[tim] I gotcha, man. -[howard] thank you, old boy.
-[tim] sit it right there. Just sit it right there. -[howard] all right.
We're mashing it today to replicate the pennsylvania rye 1791
using rosen rye to get as close as we can
to the authenticity of that rye used during that period in time.
Yeah. Look at that stuff, man.
[howard] it's pretty.
I mean, it milled up right.
I mean, I think we went the right way with doing the milling.
[tim] that's stone ground, man. Look at that.
[howard] we might need to do that in the future.
[tim] huh? All right, so, here we go.
I did a lot of research on this, uh, mash bill, for the pennsylvania rye
and what I found out are these guys didn't really have it too complicated.
It was really, basically, simple.
So they just mashed it with cold, creek water. It did take some time.
They did not use sugar.
[howard] right. We'll heat this up. No sugar, no nothing.
[tim] no, no, no.
[tim] think about it back then. Sugar was hard to get.
I mean, first thing you got the sugar
was honey from the bees.
And we ain't going to do that.
I had to work with what they had during this time.
And they had the perfect rye.
[tim] they had the perfect location.
They had the perfect creek water.
They had the best yeast they could get.
And this is what makes the perfect mash bill.
[howard] that looks like some damn old chocolate moo-moo right there.
-That stuff looks delicious. -[tim] well, it's that rye.
-Uh-huh, that's good. -[howard] that's good, ain't it?
Got a good taste to it already.
I'd put that in cereal.
1791. That was a long time ago.
So we found some rosen rye.
That's the closest rye that we could get
to make the pennsylvania whiskey.
[tim] this could be making history, or this could be
-the beginning of something. -[howard laughs]
[howard] this is either history or bust.
Tim. I enjoy being on the road with you, man.
But these damn meals we eating out of the truck.
I'm getting chickened out.
There's nothing I can do for you.
Well, you going to turn into a chicken. I'mma pluck and feather you.
That's the only thing that's good to eat is chicken.
I mean, that's all you ever stop for is chicken.
I'm about to call peta on you about some chickens.
I mean, I want a stake.
I want a stake as big as your hood.
You've got to get a chicken steak.
I've got a box of fries.
And a bag of chicken.
[howard] life is great.
It's all this man wants to eat is chicken.
"hey, man, there's a good chicken joint.
Let's stop and get a piece of chicken."
"hey, how about a chicken sandwich?"
"want some chicken and waffles for breakfast?"
[howard] chickened out.
[howard] well, it's still here.
[tim] time to do it.
I hope it's ready.
You and me both, old buddy.
[howard] I'm ready to get this damn rosen in a jar.
[howard] see what we got here, tim.
Let's see what's happening.
[howard] oh.
-[howard] she don't fail. -[tim] yeah.
[howard] well, we need to get this thing running.
[tim] I think that's what we ought to do.
[tim] nobody really had it in writing
what kind of still they had back in that time.
We came up with a concept of a steam-fired,
chambered-type still.
I mean, this is the craziest damn thing
I have ever seen in my life, tim.
This is more a spaceship than it is a dadgum moonshine still.
[tim chuckles]
[howard] I mean, I like the concept, but it does look like a...
It's a franken-still.
[tim] we have two air tanks
that we converted into water tanks.
The two burners are going to heat up
that water in those tanks, creating the steam.
The steam vapor is gonna push in the bottom of the mash
that we're gonna fill up the still with.
[tim] so that still better be built strong.
If not we're creating a dadgum little, little atom bomb here.
Well, it's a little bomb. Yeah.
[tim laughing] yeah, howard, you look like you're nervous.
I mean, the more I put water into it, I am getting nervous!
I mean, there's nothing here to save us. I mean,
-don't make a mistake. -[howard] I'm glad that you find this funny!
-[howard] jesus. -[tim] well.
-Look at that. -Okay. See what I'm talking about?
It's already blowing back on us when she gets full.
[tim] there you go. Yeah, that's something now.
Oh, look at yonder, son!
[tim] let's put the mash in. Pour slow, howard.
[howard] rosen rye. Don't let a drip hit the ground.
Who ever heard of a tailgate still?
[howard] with you, there's always a first of some kind, old buddy.
So you going to cap this now though, and get something...
No, I'm going to leave the cap off.
So it's almost like, you know, the pot still.
Let the head come out.
Then, when alcohol comes, we'll cap it
and that'll force it up through the chambers.
[tim] get ready, is all I know.
[howard] I'm going to get ready to run.
[howard] that thing's smoking, son.
Oh, it's wide open.
-There you go. -What in the hell is that doing?
It's throwing the steam through it.
[clattering]
[howard] sounds like it's playing the bongos, out here.
Rap-a-tat, tut-eh.
[howard singing] ♪ rosen-shine go to booey ♪
I hope it don't blow up, howard.
You said it can't blow up as long as that's off.
[tim] I hope not.
[howard] I hope this ain't the last tune I hear, old buddy.
[howard] I don't see no leaks. No steam coming out anywhere it ain't supposed to.
It's got that green smell to it, but not like...
[howard] a heavy vegetation.
[tim] I'm gonna cap it, howard. You want to cap it?
-[howard] all right. -[tim] put it on now.
[howard] now it's all or nothing.
[tim] I've got water going in the worm.
[tim] hopefully, this all works like it's supposed to.
It's coming.
See it, right here?
Look. It's right here now.
It's in the first chamber, so you better get ready.
This thing is fast, jack.
[howard] this would be a hit at everybody's tailgate party.
[howard] we got steam coming out of the bucket.
[howard] we should get us a steady stream here.
I mean, all our hard work. Everything we've done.
This is the moment of truth.
-Now we cooking, howard. -There we go, tim.
-Now, we're cooking. -There we go!
-[tim] all right. Now we've got a good stream. -[howard] a-ha!
-Got to get it right. -My god, what a flavor.
-[howard] I think that's it, son. -[tim] yeah?
[howard] I think this is the whole reason
everybody made this stuff.
This is amazing, man.
All our hard work is paying off right here coming out of that worm.
[howard] look at that right there.
Look at the color of that.
That, right there, is like
nothing I've ever tasted before in my life.
You throw that in a freezer, let it chill a little bit.
Oh, my god.
It's going to make your toes curl.
I mean that is smooth.
I mean, it's good, ain't it?
I think it's pretty high-proof too.
Oh, it's high-proof. That's for damn certain.
You know, this is a different rye that I've ever tasted.
I mean, I've run rye moonshine,
I've run all kinds of moonshine.
But this is one
taste I've never tasted before.
And I mean, it should be.
This rye was based off of something in the 1800s.
It has a taste profile that's more fulfilling.
It's like, like really flavorful. I mean,
when you taste it, it's got depth to it.
We have made something, from the past,
taste like it should be on the shelves in the future.
Now we know why they was fighting over it.
Exactly.
[howard] what we created here tonight, man,
this is a success.
[howard] I mean, we knocked it out of the park.
[tim] howard and I, we set out to learn
about the whiskey rebellion,
and find out about
what was going on, in that time.
[tim] you know, with the research, I think we have created
the perfect rye whiskey,
that was as close as possible
that we could get, during that period of time.
We made this batch as authentic as we could.
And we think
we have something that tastes really good.
I mean, especially, this rosen rye really pops.
[tim] me and howard, we drove up to pennsylvania.
We want to come see laura.
The woman we got the rosen rye from, in the beginning.
And we want to make sure that laura gets a jar.
We want her to taste it.
We want to get her opinion on it.
Hey, laura.
-You home? -[laura] tim?
-[laura] howard? Oh, my god! -[tim] tim and howard!
What the heck?
What are you doing here?
Oh, we come to bring you something.
-[laura] hey! -[howard] we brought a gift.
-Thought we'd bring you... -Come bearing whiskey, huh?
-[tim] yeah, bring you a jar. -Oh, my goodness!
[both] this is you.
[both] cream of the cream, right here.
Wow!
[tim] we just thought that since you
-was so nice to, you know, let us have the rosen rye. -[laura] aw.
That we made a batch.
And we wanted you to have it. 'cause we got it from pennsylvania.
-[laura] that's so kind. -We bring it back to pennsylvania.
-I'm allowed to? -Of course! It's your jar.
You know, we think it's special. And I know we
went through a whole lot to make this.
-That is nice. -[howard] yeah.
That's not making bread.
The nose on it, carries through to the palate.
There's so many, like, you know, herbal notes and floral notes.
I mean, the flavor of it is, is sweeter.
A sweeter moonshine that I'm used to drinking.
I guess that the rosen rye.
That's what rosen rye is supposed to be.
It's a lost art, yeah.
You guys really outdid yourselves.
[tim] I think I can say honesty that pennsylvania rye
is the best rye out there to make whiskey with.
We've recreated the taste profile,
the process, the still,
and we got something that pennsylvania should be proud of.
[tim] and so we got done with this journey.
We are so educated on the whiskey rebellion.
What the whole fight was all about.
It's about taxes, yes.
The taxes that was being imposed on the distiller.
[tim] but the rebellion, actually, was
the beginning of american moonshining.
Those farmers turned into moonshiners
because they thought that was the right thing to do.
They can make a living
and they can provide for their family.
And that's what moonshiners is doing,
all the way up till today.
When hard times come,
and they guys need to make ends meet,
the moonshiners is going to make it work.