American Distillation is a mission in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Mission Overview[]
Arthur, Dutch and Bill become temporarily deputized citizens of the Scarlett Meadows Sheriff's Office as they help Archibald shut down a moonshine distillery and steal a wagon-load of the Braithwaites' moonshine.
Story[]
Arthur meets Dutch and Bill at the Scarlett Meadows Sheriff Office in Rhodes, where Dutch will tell him that Sheriff Gray has made them temporary deputies, so that they can help Archibald shut down a moonshine distillery. Arthur and Archibald mount a wagon, while Dutch and Bill ride behind them. Archibald regales Arthur with the Rhodes history, as well as the Gray-Braithwaite feud. Along the way, they will come across the dead body of a Lemoyne state legislator named Fredrick Mitchell, who was killed by the Lemoyne Raiders.
The four men finally arrive at the swamp where the moonshiners are working, and they split up. Arthur and Bill take one side and knock out the moonshiners over there, while Dutch and Archibald attack the other side. They then pick up the moonshiners, as well as the moonshine itself, and deposit them in the wagon.
Archibald then tells Arthur and Bill to blow up the moonshiners' distillery with dynamite. Arthur does so, but the buyers, who are a group of Lemoyne Raiders, hear the commotion from their camp nearby. A gunfight ensues, and Arthur and Bill fight them off. The pair then return to the carriage, where they see that Archibald has not yet destroyed the moonshine. He explains that it is "traditional" for the law to drink the moonshine as reward for dealing with the criminals, and offers most of it to the gang. Dutch accepts, and Bill drives the wagon back to camp while Archibald escorts the captured moonshiners away.
As Arthur and Dutch ride off together, Dutch says that with the help of Hosea, he reckons that they will be able to play both the Grays and the Braithwaites from both sides. Arthur teases Dutch on how he is talking like "the young Dutch", and Dutch challenges him to a race back to camp, which the player can choose to accept or decline.
Gold Medal Objectives[]
- Win the race back to camp.
- Complete the mission without taking any damage.
- Get 10 headshots.
- Complete with at least 70% accuracy.
Deaths[]
- Fredrick Mitchell - killed by the Lemoyne Raiders.
- Mitchell's unnamed companion - killed by the Lemoyne Raiders.
- Numerous Lemoyne Raiders — killed by Arthur Morgan and Bill Williamson.
Mission Failure[]
The mission will fail if the player:
- Assaults, kills or abandons Dutch, Bill or Archibald;
- Allows Dutch, Bill or Archibald to be killed;
- Alerts the Moonshiners prematurely;
- Kills any of the captured Moonshiners;
- Destroys or disables the wagon;
- Kills or abandons their horse;
- Dies
Video Walkthroughs[]
Trivia[]
- If the player chooses not to race Dutch, they can instead follow Bill who will actually drive the moonshine-wagon to a spot near the gang's camp, park it there and walk back into camp.
- There is no way to permanently keep the badge, as the player will lose it after finishing Chapter 3.
- The player is not required to follow the "takedown" prompts when stealth-killing moonshiners, and can instead use weapons such as Throwing Knives, tomahawks, hatchets, cleavers, and bows (as long as the arrow type doesn't make loud noises) to dispatch enemies from a distance. They may also lasso enemies and either drown them in the swamp water or use it to immobilize the enemy while they equip a melee weapon or bow to kill them.
- After this mission, the player will be notified not to use force or cause trouble in Rhodes because they're acting as a deputy for Sheriff Gray.
- Depending on whether the player has completed this mission before or after the mission "Further Questions of Female Suffrage" (during which Arthur and Sadie encounter the Lemoyne Raiders) and whether or not the player has encountered any Lemoyne Raiders during free roam, the dialogue between Arthur and Archibald upon discovering the ransacked stagecoach alters slightly. If the player has already met any Lemoyne Raiders at that point in their playthrough, once Archibald points out that the robbery scene looks like the handiwork of "a gang called the Lemoyne Raiders", Arthur will state "Yeah, I've run into them". If he has not met any Raiders at that point Arthur instead will comment however: "Impressive, you got a keen eye". Furthermore during their further coach ride back to Rhodes, once Archibald continues to tell him about the Raiders, Arthur will, if he has already met any Raiders, add that they are "not the nicest fellows in my experience", while, if he has not met any Raiders so far, he will comment "Sounds like you fellers got your work cut out for you around here".
- The crashed stagecoach and corpse seen in the first part of the mission are present during the race back to camp, but immediately disappear after the mission has ended.
- If shot, the moonshine stills emit steam which would knock Arthur to the ground. If an enemy gets caught in the steam, they will be knocked down and killed, their head and limbs inexplicably bursting.