Tim Smith found himself at a crossroads as Season 15 of Moonshiners kicked off. During the January 6 premiere the longtime staple of the Discovery Channel series felt he had no choice but to go illegal. Rising tariffs have provided an opportunity for big business in Canada.
Helping him fulfill the demand with his outlaw operation are Steven Ray Tickle and Henry Law. The three try to keep a low profile in the backwoods of Virginia as they make moves. However, they have a run-in with a bible-thumping preacher, who was none-too-happy with their booze-making activity. Later on the crew found bullet holes in their still. Perhaps these were warning signs, but they remained undeterred. The stakes are too high for the third-generation moonshiner.
Here Smith breaks down why the risk is worth the reward.
Talk about how difficult a decision it was to venture back into the illegal side.
Tim Smith: Moonshiners, I’ve grown up in it my entire life. Yes, it’s heritage and that kind of thing. At the same time, it’s about making money. Yes, we try to make the best quality product. We sell our product on taste. I went legal 14 years ago, and it has been a challenge. It has been very hard to make money really. By the time you get done with everyone sticking their hands in the pot, the guy that actually made the moonshine, they don’t get too much. It’s not just the taxes. It’s everyone getting the product on the shelf. So, when opportunity comes like a dry county comes up or shuts down, that’s when a moonshiner goes to work. We’re looking at Canada as an opportunity and a dry country. When the taxes hit, people can’t afford it. So, they’re going to go to the next best thing. As moonshiners, we’re always looking at that opportunity. It looks like a great opportunity here.
How is it to have Henry and Tickle on board and sticking by your side?
We’ve been together for years, especially me and Henry. Me and Henry go way back way before Tickle. It’s understandable for them too because they want a piece of the pie. They also know if I’m on to something, that it’s probably going to be big and they want it too. I don’t mind that. What better than to have people you’ve known your whole life who got your back. You don’t go out on a new adventure and hire new people.
At the beginning of the season, you’re essentially starting from scratch in this space. And right out of the gate you have to deal with things like finding bullet holes in your stuff.
At the time, when we ran into the preacher guy hunting we didn’t really have anything set-up too much. We set one still up and were going to get another still. It was like a mile away. At first we didn’t think anything about it, but when we went back to set the second still up and saw it looked like bullet holes. It didn’t look like shotgun holes, but there were still some holes in the still. The still was drained so that our mash that was fermented was lost. We could understand something was happening there. We weren’t only dealing with the law.
If the law saw that, they probably wouldn’t have done anything. They would have set up camp and watched for us to come back because they want to catch you with a finished product. They don’t want to catch you making mash in the still. That ain’t nothing. They want to catch you in the manufacturing of the product. That’s the crime right there. We already knew then we weren’t dealing with law enforcement, but with the preacher being the only person we saw in the proximity, it kind of led us toward that may be our only problem. Maybe, but if he goes out talking and stuff rather than handle it on his own, then we could have bigger problems.
Tim Smith, Mark Ramsey and Eric ‘Digger’ Manes talk to contestants in “Moonshiners: Master Distiller” (Discovery Channel)
I’m sure this gives you a sense of…is this the right location for what we’re doing. You have an order for a thousand gallons to do in four weeks. What can we expect to see in the coming weeks as you work toward that goal?
One thing about it is it can be done if we get it fermented. Running the still is nothing but running the still. We wind up moving different locations with more people getting involved. We have to call in for some help, too. We have to get some help on our side. Then those guys bring in more help too. It’s very challenging. We have had some accidents. Things get heated I will say at a period of time. There is nothing we can do but run. Sometimes you do have to run. Sometimes you have to fight. Sometimes you have to run. We did a lot of running. You never know what’s to come. You have to tune in to see two or three months now before you get to the end of it. It’s a very hot season. I will say that.
As one of the originals, some people may think, what keeps you doing the show? Surely, being so recognizable may make it even harder for you to go under the radar.
I started with the show at the very beginning as a market value to bring light on an illegal product going legal. I also tell a story. Some of the other characters that have joined in over the 15 years, they have a story to tell too. I feel like, whether you are legal or illegal, it’s a great show. It’s educational. It’s entertaining. It’s marketable. It’s a win-win situation. It doesn’t matter what side of the fence you are on. It even helps law enforcement. It lets them know where we stand and what kind of people we are and where we come from and we’re probably going to be here when they are gone.
What’s your take on the industry with tariffs coming into play and weathering through business limitations?
Any time you run into roadblocks, sometimes you have to go around. That’s what we did. The tariffs come in on the legal side, which has decreased sales. That has decreased shipment on the legal side, which opens up the gate for the illegal side. Any time someone needs something or wants something, they will go get it if they have to drive an extra mile. The moonshiners and Canadians are going to wind up working together sooner or later. It doesn’t matter what the government says. People are going to do what they need to do to survive.
Moonshiners: Master Distiller is coming back on January 27. What do you want to tease about this season? What can viewers expect?
For the Master Distiller, I think it’s a great opportunity because it’s very competitive. It lets people come from out of the woods, the distilleries, all come out to show what they know. I also have learned a lot through the years of shooting Master Distillery. Guys come from different regions. They have a lot of different ideas that me, myself, kind of backwoods, Virginia boy, they teach me things too. They look at me as being a judge and expert. I look at it as being a learning experience for me as a judge sitting on the panel there. These guys, even with the new generation of moonshiners and distillers, even with the technology, with internet and research and different techniques, these guys bring a lot to the table. These guys bring stuff that is top-rated. These guys are professors. They are not just moonshiners and distillers. They are professors at that game. They know what is going on. It’s no joke. These guys are making a really good product.
Moonshiners Season 15, Tuesdays, 8/7c, Discovery Channel
Moonshiners: Master Distiller Season 8 premiere, January 27, 9/8c, Discovery Channel
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