NEW YORK, NY – January 6, 2013 – Tim Smith`s Climax Moonshine is now legitimate. As one of the stars of the Discovery Channel show “Moonshiners,” Smith did his illegal moonshine in the woods of Virginia (in a town called Climax). The beverage is distilled from corn, rye and barley malt according to an original family recipe, resulting in a 90% spirit. Now, Prost Beverage Co. has licensed the rights to develop a (legal) moonlight brand, and New York-based brand and innovation company Beardwood & Co. has been asked to create the range of differentiated flavors that would appeal to men and women between the ages of 21 and 45. You can watch Moonshiners every Tuesday at 9pm on the Discovery Channel. You can also watch on-demand replays with your cable provider. If you want to watch online or off your TV, visit the Discovery Go app or website. Here you will find the latest episodes as well as past episodes.
All episodes are available for free, but you`ll need to prove your cable subscription to access past seasons. Discovery Go also has a lot of additional content, as well as any other show available through the Discovery Network. And if you still can`t get enough moonshiners, check out the spin-off show Whiskey Business. In Whiskey Business, Shiner Tim Smith tries to help another brewer who owns a bankrupt whiskey distillery in Tennessee. The show follows the typical corporate makeover format, where Tim offers his expertise. In this case, the alcohol is whiskey, although Tim has nevertheless proven to be a competent brewer. Check out Whiskey Business and Moonshiners every week on the Discovery Channel. Smith has certainly learned a lot about running a business since he went public, but he misses being more “private” in his life as he ran his distillery in the woods. When Tim talks about making moonlight and how it has been passed down through a few generations, it`s almost romantic. In an interview with WHHITV in April 2014, Tim was still pretty evasive about the trial, even though he had been on the legal side for almost a year at the time. At the time of writing, TV casts have estimated Tim Smith`s net worth at around $700,000.
You could say that Tim has really diversified his portfolio since the beginning of the series, from the very illegal activity of producing and selling moonlight to the very legal activity of a real company selling moonlight. Is the show fake? Is the Discovery Channel really airing a show touting the illegal production of moonlight if it`s not legal? We have no real idea, because answering this question could lead to problems. If the network says yes, it will break the law. If they say no, people won`t want to see the show. Do these moonshiners really show the truest versions of themselves or do they behave the way they learned to act as moonshiners? However, his father must have taught him well, as he managed to evade the police long enough to eventually become a legal moonshiner. With his signature overalls, often shirtless and endearing commitment to his family`s moonlight legacy, it`s hard not to love Tim Smith. It was particularly touching to see Tim turn his illegal business into something real in May 2013. It`s been almost ten years since he teamed up with Belmont Farm Distillery, where his signature Climax Moonshine was born, and it`s still going strong.
With moonshiners, its spin-offs and its own legal moonshine, people are curious about Tim Smith`s fortune. Ask Moonshiners star Tim Smith if he misses the life of an outlaw since he became legal with his Climax Moonshine line, he will honestly answer, “Every day.” But the freedom and “excitement” of being on the other side of the law just isn`t worth it in the long run, he PopCulture.com explained ahead of the brand new episode of the hit series Discovery. Tim, a third-generation moonshiner, defied adversity by launching his own Real Deal legal brand Climax Moonshine. “We do it according to an old recipe, like they did in the forest,” Tim shared. He continued: “I don`t want to say I did. That would be stressful, wouldn`t it? When Tim talks about moonshine production and how it`s been passed down over a few generations, it`s almost romantic. In an interview with WHHITV in April 2014, Tim was still pretty evasive about the process, even though he had been on the legal side of things for almost a year at the time. In a recent interview, he explained that, as with illegal operations, “you don`t have many people talking to you and asking you questions, no one is in your wallet.” While he has to face “more responsibility” in legal operations. The eyes are on you 24 hours a day.
However, it`s not all bad. He said he seized the opportunity because “it was my chance to show the world what real moonlight should look like.” The rest of the Shiner will resume its activities as usual. Expect the same rush to bring glamour, with all the drama expected. There will be close discussions with law enforcement, battles with the weather and, of course, a lot of distillation. And don`t expect anyone to let Tim get away with it just because it became legal. Tickle wants to make sure his longtime friend stays connected to his roots. Overall, it`s another entertaining season, but with one less outlaw. The producers had the same idea, so the show was supposed to be about legal moonlight production. It seemed too risky to do a program about illegal moonlight production and not get everyone`s attention. There`s one question almost everyone asks after watching an episode of Moonshiners: how the hell don`t they get caught? It seems that if you are filmed in the illegal moonlight, you can get into trouble. That`s why we love it, of course: the company is growing, but Tim remains the same.
Now he`s adding another Moonshiners spin-off to the mix. Moonshiners: American Spirit takes Tim and his team across the country in search of famous (and infamous) lost moonlight recipes. Before venturing from coast to coast in the moonlight, we get to know Tim better. But there is a simpler explanation that does not require a law degree. On one show, Mark and Digger asked Daniel to build a Ram pump. The water pumped uphill must have been a damn pump. Shown 2 pictures of the pump, the outlet valve was closed both times. “It was an opportunity for me to show the world what real moonlight should look like. Moonshiners is back for his new season, but don`t expect so much outlaw antics, especially from Tim Smith. Tim Smith is just one of many Shiners who are regularly featured on the show. Like the others, he used the show to explain and dramatize the moonlight tradition. However, Tim decided to shift gears and focus more on making moonshine through legal means.
He recently partnered with Belmont Distillery to create Climax Moonshine, his own glossy brand that is completely legal.