[narrator] This time on Master Distiller...
We ain't never had a competition like this, Tim.
I like it.
[narrator] ...for the first time ever,
three distillers must build everything from scratch.
Here we go.
Just this year, I've built about 222 stills.
[narrator] From using raw copper and basic tools
to construct a working pot still...
Look at these nice solder joints.
[Tim] He's even put a gage in.
This is a still that I'd buy.
[narrator] ...to mashing in their own recipes from fresh ingredients.
That's some pretty mash right there.
[narrator] Only one will earn the title of Master Distiller.
[Mark] He's a dripping.
-Oh! There it is. -Oh, man. That's a deal killer right there, boy.
Danger, Will Robinson, danger, danger.
Gentlemen, welcome to the Master Still Builder Competition.
After crowning so many Master Distillers,
I'm really tickled that we have a competition here
that hits me in my wheel house, still building.
[Digger] If we name you Master Distiller,
you're gone win your bragging right,
and a limited run of your liquor at Sugarlands Distilling Company.
At the end of the still build, guys,
only the two top best still builders
will be allowed to use their specialty mash to run through their still.
And I can't wait to taste.
All right, guys, we all know,
a pot still ain't worth a cryin' dime
if you ain't got no mash to put in it.
That's where we're going right now.
We ain't building no mash in here, we're going outside.
Follow me, guys.
All right, guys, here we are.
You got one hour to build your finest mash.
And your one hour starts...
...now. Good luck, get with it, guys.
Yee-haw.
So, Glenn, what are you running down there, buddy?
Blue hopi moonshine.
So, this is the blue hopi corn.
-[Jason] It's pretty. -[Glenn] It is different.
Sound like it's gonna be good, man.
[Glenn] What about you, sir?
I'm gonna use, uh, a blue corn and rye.
What, what's the odds of two blue corn
and two still bitters showing at the same time?
Uh, my name is Jason Wade Harl Senior.
I'm from Louisville, Kentucky, and I'm 42 years old.
I'm a copper smith, I make moonshine stills.
This here is actually the first still that I ever built.
I started distilling when I was 20 years old.
And then me and my brother decided we wanted to run, so we bought a still.
We started running, we ran for about 20 years,
and he passed in 2019, and I was like, "I'm done, I'm not gonna run no more."
But, I wasn't gonna let it go out that way.
So, when he passed, I decided I was gonna build a bigger still.
And it just staircased from there.
I've been building and running for the last three years full-time.
Well, if I win Master Distiller,
what's next for me is the same thing I've been doing every day.
To build the best copper still business in the nation
and to become a legal distiller and open a distillery.
Getting warm over here.
It's getting a little hot.
Ooh!
It is over this pot, it's a little hotter over this pot!
At least it's keeping the gnats away.
I'm Glenn McGann.
I live in Hartselle, Alabama, and I'm 59 years old.
I'm a still fabricator.
I build signs.
When you're out up and down the road,
you see billboards, I probably had a hand in putting them up.
My grandfather always loved moonshine,
and so I was around it from a very early age.
I was about 14 when I first tried moonshine.
This is the first still I started out with.
You know, it would hold two and half gallons of mash.
Learned how to run on this.
I would feel wonderful about having my moonshine on shelves.
It's not a monetary thing, it's just...
It validates that all the sweat, the time, the blood,
uh, that people are, are enjoying what you've done.
What have you got going on?
I've got a brown sugar bourbon.
Didn't bring the blue corn, haven't ever worked with it,
but if you guys are working with it, it must be magical.
My name is, uh, Justin Harrison.
I am 39 years old from sunny Southern California.
I'm an aerial pilot, cinematographer, photographer,
anything with, uh, cameras, I'm there.
I've been distilling for about two years.
Um, this was my covid lockdown hobby.
Everyone else was making sourdough.
I figured there's much better uses for yeast.
Um, so I was making, uh, barrel-aged hand sanitizer.
My experience with making stills
is I made my own, I taught myself how to solder.
Uh, taught myself how to work with copper
and so I just figured out how to make my own.
So, what's great about this set up is it's all modular.
So, based on what I'm making, um,
if it's a gin, I can throw a basket on top like this.
Uh, I've got a thumper for brandies and more infusions.
Uh, different-sized columns, different condensers
so I can really tailor my stills to what I'm making.
Glenn and Jason, they're professional builders.
They're very experienced,
but I am very competitive.
I am here to win this.
Making friends, but we're winning this.
Jason, what about this mash build this time,
what are you working with?
Uh, this is probably one of my favorite builds.
Uh, this is blue corn and rye.
This has a sweet floral taste all the way through.
What about your still build, what have you got in mind for that?
Well, I'm gonna build a ten-gallon, uh, pot still...
...with a two-gallon thumper...
...and a ten-gallon, uh, worm.
I'm confident that if my mash turns out,
that I'm gonna produce a good jar,
and it's gonna be very, very hard to beat.
Good deal, we look forward to it, Jason.
-[Jason] Thank you. -Good luck.
Thank you, appreciate it very much.
-Yes, sir. -You have a good day, brother.
-Justin. -Hello, hello, good sir.
Bring me up to date on what you got going on.
I see a lot of cracked corn in there.
Yup, it's a, uh, it's a brown sugar bourbon.
-Uh-huh. -Uh, using yellow corn,
uh, wheat, and some six-row.
uh, and then a lot of brown sugar.
Take me back to your still, what are gonna do with that?
I've got a, uh, 20-gallon column still.
...running straight into a, like, a shotgun Liebig-style condenser...
...to get as much flavor as possible out of this.
Well, good luck, my friend.
I'm gonna move on and see what Glenn's got going on here.
-Thank you much. -Yes, sir.
-Glenn. -Yes, sir.
How 'bout what you got going on?
I see there's blue corn in there too.
So, this is, uh, about ten pounds of blue hopi corn.
And then I got about ten pounds of malted two-row barley.
[Digger] What about your still build?
[Glenn] Building me a 20-gallon pot still...
...two-and-a-half-gallon thumper,
and a two-and-a-half-gallon condenser.
I just tried to stay with something I knew.
All right, brother, sounds like you got a solid plan.
And this goes for everybody here and not just Glenn,
you got 15 minutes.
Better be putting the buttons on it.
[Justin] Now we're cooking.
Oh, yeah, we're getting there now, baby.
[Jason] Ready to pitch some yeast.
-[Justin] Already? -[Jason] Yes, sir.
All right, guys, looks like everybody's just stirring the mash barrel right now.
Everybody done?
-Yes sir. -[Digger] All right, gentlemen,
step away from your barrels.
Your five-day fermentation time.
You will not be sitting around waiting on that mash to finish.
You're gonna be building all new stills.
All right, y'all follow me.
[Mark] All right, gentlemen, welcome back.
You got your mash a working,
now it's time to get started building your still pot.
[Digger] All right, guys.
You got four hours to build this still pot.
When your still pot's complete, we'll judge 'em
for craftsmanship and your design.
That gives the pecking order in which y'all go into the shed
to pick out the rest of tools and materials
you're gonna need to complete your still.
Everybody square on that? Any questions?
All right, your four hours starts now.
Good luck and get with it.
Here we go.
Let's do this.
[Justin] It's finally time.
[Jason] Yes, sir.
[Mark] We ain't never had a competition like this, Tim.
Yeah, I like it.
How you doing over there?
[Glenn] I'm doing good, sir, how you doing?
[Justin] Making it work.
[Mark] It's just pressure to build a still pot in four hours.
Well, it's almost like the outlaw way, "Hurry up and get it done."
And Jason, he's kept them triangle bites out of that,
so he can bend that...
-[Tim] Yeah? -...around. Now he's got it bent,
he's cutting them out.
He's done helped himself.
Well, if you don't do that then it'll split
or it will, uh, wrinkle on you.
It won't give you a flat smooth.
That's not his first time.
No, just this year, I've built about 220 stills.
-Last year, I've done about 300... -[sighs]
[Jason]...of this same design.
So, I kind of feel like in my home,
We'll see what happens.
I'm not going home. My still will not leave.
My mash will be run,
and I will produce the best liquor here this week.
[Mark] Looks like Justin's building a bigger still.
[Tim] That's what it looks like.
Do you happen to have those big, long clamps I could borrow from you?
This still's a 20-gallon pot with a very long neck,
no thumper, straight into a, uh, Liebig,
which is, like, a smaller, shotgun-style condenser.
Every still design will actually change the output and the flavor.
And so, by me making my own stills,
I have touched every aspect
of how this flavor tastes,
except for growing my own grains, that's next.
[Jason] Much better.
[Justin] That's looking real nice.
[Jason] Thank you, sir, appreciate it.
I've done a whole lot of them,
I mean, it just... It comes pretty natural.
[Justin] It's what you do, it shows.
[Jason] Thanks, I appreciate it.
Means a lot coming from another still builder buddy.
[Glenn] You don't know how much not having somebody to hold something,
just an extra set of hands, holy cow.
Exactly.
Oh, yeah.
Lord, help me, Jesus.
My still build is a very simple...
...design, uh, you know, with the time frames
that we're allotted here, simple is better.
My designs come from generations
of moonshiners that have used a pot still,
and it's worked forever.
So, if it's not broke, don't fix it.
Where's your strap at?
[Justin] You got a belt.
-[Glenn] Thank you. -Yup.
Men, you got two hours left.
[Glenn] Can I buy some extra?
I can't get that thing to go around, Justin.
Not big enough?
Well, I can't get it to go around it.
I had to shape that big, big long 57-inch piece of copper by hand.
-Okay, tighter. -Yeah.
And all the time, the clock
is just like, "Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick on."
-[Justin] Ready? -[Glenn] Here we go.
[Justin] So close.
Come on.
Can't get that thing to go around it.
It's not big enough?
Well, I get it to go around it,
so I had to shape that big, long 57-inch piece of copper by hand.
Okay, tighter.
Yeah.
[Justin] So close.
Come on.
[Glenn] Fudge nuckets!
I'll take a dang hammer to it here in a minute.
-Well, just, just work it over. -Yeah, all right.
Just, like, every couple inches,
-just deck, swoosh, that's what I'm doing. -Yeah.
-Just tack it over. -Tack it.
-Tack it, tack, and the just, swoosh. -Yeah.
Good thinking, Justin.
[Justin] Hopefully that works.
[Glenn] Justin, I'm making an ugly old girl here.
[Justin] Same here.
And we've got uh, a beauty contest down there.
[Glenn] Yeah, yeah, man.
[Jason] Ain't about looks, boys, it's about how they work.
[Digger] Don't have to be pretty to perform.
If it'll hold mash, mission accomplished.
And it's still a work of art in my eyes, that's all that matters.
[Jason] This is the damn part I hate the worst.
Start drilling in it.
[Justin] Oh, terrifying.
[Jason] It's kinda exhilarating.
-Getting down to the nitty-gritty. -[Justin] Here we go.
All right, men, we've burned three hours.
You got one left.
Jason, what are you running? A one-inch pipe coming out of there?
Yes, it's gonna be one inch all the way through the whole system.
I ain't gonna taper it down at all.
-[Digger] Yeah. -Which I know one inch is a little small,
but it's only a little ten-gallon.
It should be plenty enough.
But, you know, I, I like that velocity to go real slow
out of that pot into that thump keg.
-Yes, sir. -I just feel like you pick up so many more flavors
and lose a lot more of the unwanted sulphates down there that way.
Time restrictions, you go to a two-inch pipe,
and then you start putting two-inch 90s on it,
we're gonna be here for another hour,
-and I don't have another hour. -Yeah.
[Jason] I was very, very happy with the way my still turned out.
I was honestly expecting less from myself,
just because I know how hard it is to build a still.
To build a still on a time frame with minimal tools.
Men, you're down to 30 seconds.
Ten, nine...
...eight, seven...
...six, five, four...
...three, two, one.
Step away, kill your torches, you're done, men.
-Good job, guys. -[sighs]
Fine job, men.
You know, a lot of creativity here, guys.
I see some backwoods engineering.
Some of them a little neater than other, but that's okay.
Each one of you, put your still on your table behind you,
and chase on out.
Thanks, guys.
Thank you, fellows.
Jason.
Now, I'm gonna just tell you at first appearance,
this is traditional,
a copper pot still as you can find.
[Tim] Looks pretty, don't it?
[Mark] You know, it's obvious.
...this guy does this a lot.
Look at these nice solder joints.
He's even put a gage in.
-[Mark] He's got a gage in it. -[Digger] Oh, yeah.
Tri-clamp connector here.
This still is extremely strong.
Yeah.
Well, let's move right along.
All right, our man, Justin, over here from California.
This one's a little creative.
Yeah, it's unique. Yeah, it's, uh, different.
Space like.
Danger, Will Robinson, danger, danger.
This is kind of a built-in, like, reflux head.
[Digger] It is, yeah.
[Mark] It's a little rough around the edges
as far as being assembled.
But that don't hurt it.
Hell, I ain't perfect round, and I perform pretty good every once in a while.
-I like it. -I mean, it's something new.
He has brought California to East Tennessee.
All right, let's move over and check out our man, Glenn.
Me and Glenn's got a lot in common.
[Tim] Looks like a copper pot still to me.
I mean, at least there's a drain,
the other two don't have drains on 'em.
[Mark] This is a mountain still.
This is what Snuffy Smith would have had.
It'll work.
At the end of the day, it's just gotta function.
Exactly. If Glenn's got the best mash
that goes in this still,
-then I promise you he'll get the best liquor out. -Mmm-hmm.
All right, guys, we all on the same page?
Well, I kinda know where I'm at.
-Digger, we all good? -Yes, sir, 100%
-I'll go get 'em. -All right.
About time you get back.
[Mark] I got 'em.
All right, guys, glad to have you back.
Nobody's going home here.
This is simply for pecking order
to go into the still house,
look for any additional materials or tools that you may need.
Now, the criteria that I'm looking for
on this judgement is design, craftsmanship, and creativity.
Jason, obviously you've made a lot of stills.
Yes, sir, I have.
[Mark] The craftsmanship on it's outstanding.
-[Jason] Thank you, thank you. -[Mark] Really good job.
[Jason] Thank you.
Jason, I do appreciate your tri-clamp fittings,
they're a whole lot easier to work with.
-[Jason] A lot better than pasted. -[Digger] I like that.
-You get big marks for your craftsmanship. -Thank you, sir.
[Mark] Now, Justin,
creativity is kind of off the chain a little bit.
And I like that, that was part of your challenge.
And it too will function, it'll function fine.
[Tim] Justin, definitely something different.
But it's not your first still, we can see that.
I think you did a good job.
Glenn.
That's a backwoods Snuffy Smith still.
I mean, I could almost look at that
and think Popcorn Sutton made it.
You know, a little bit wonky.
-Yes, sir. -[Mark] But that's okay.
You made a still that will function,
and it's a pot still.
Now, Glenn, I think your neck might be a little bit small
for your, uh, cap to go on.
So, I think you've got some little issues
to address here and there with your soldering.
From my personal experiences,
little gaps turn into big gaps...
-Yes, sir. -[Digger]...if you ain't careful.
All right, with that being said,
the way you go into the still house...
Jason, you're going in first.
Justin, you're going second.
Glenn, you're going third.
All right, here comes the fun part.
Tickle!
How's it going there, fellows?
[Tim] Well, we doing all right.
All right, what do we got here today?
We've got three still builders here.
If y'all come with me, I'll see about getting y'all
some stuff to finish building y'all stills out.
Follow me.
-I just hope they make it back. -[Mark] I do too.
We are here for a one-of-a-kind still house pick.
On a normal basis,
I bring people up here just to pick still parts for rebuilt stills.
But y'all are still builders.
Each one of you has done a fine job
building your pot so far.
But you're here to get what you need in this still house
to complete your stills.
You're gonna have three minutes in there.
-Jason, I believe you're up first, right? -Yes, sir.
All right, your three minutes starts now.
All right, Jason, there's plenty of stuff in there.
I got all the parts, all the tools,
everything you need in there, Jason.
[Jason] I am worried about the time that they're gonna give us.
I built a 30-gallon still, which is the same design I'm gonna be building,
but that took my 14 hours.
And there's not that much difference in the build.
So, I elected to go for a ten-gallon still,
because now I will have the time to build the still,
go over the still to make sure there is no leaks, no pressure leaks,
because one pressure leak while you're running,
you're shut down.
All right, you got what you need, Jason?
I got what I need.
[Tickle] All right, Justin, you're up next.
Your three minutes starts now.
All right, you've seen what Jason did,
let's see if you can beat him.
Let's see if you can come out with three and a half minutes left.
There's so much in here, where do I start?
I'm not hearing no noise in there.
All right, you finding everything you need?
All right, we've got a big pot.
We've got a compressor out here.
I came in second simply because Glenn was just
fighting his copper the whole time.
If he had gotten that cone up there,
uh, he would have been second, I would have been third.
So, luckily I've got a bit of an advantage over him.
Hopefully there's some more plugs in there, some extra copper,
um, maybe some bigger power tools.
I'm shopping, I'm shopping.
Thirty seconds left, Justin.
-Are you good? -There we go.
[Tickle] All right.
Glenn, your three minutes starts now.
All right, Glenn, let's see what you got.
-All right. -Dadgummit Tickle, I'm on it.
[Tickle] All right, you're on it. All right.
Glenn is on it!
Glenn says he's on it, but let's really see what he's got.
Of course I'm picking third, man, I was behind
the eight ball there to Justin and Jason.
So, hopefully there's still gonna be some stuff left for me to grab.
[Tickle] I'm hearing some noise right off the bat.
That's a good thing.
All right, one minute left, Glenn.
Time is ticking and it is running down.
[Glenn] Dadgummit, Tickle, I'm going as fast as I can.
[Tickle] You've got seven, six,
five, four...
All right.
-Time to spare. -[Tickle] Fine job.
All right, let's see if y'all can't get the rest of these stills built.
I wanna see it operate so bad.
It's Appalachian steam punk.
I never claimed to ever be a professional,
but I believe the steam's coming out of the wrong spot.
[Mark] That is a safety issue, Kevin.
Yes, correct.
-That's where you start building the bomb. -Yeah.
All right, guys, the next challenge.
you're gonna have four hours to completely finish your still
before it is functional and safe.
Remember, check your still out.
If there's a hole in it, you need to fill it, solder it, whatever.
'Cause we're gonna test it.
One of you is not gonna be able to run it.
Only two of you is gonna be able to run it.
All right, guys, your four hours starts now.
Good luck, men, and get with it.
[Tim] Go!
Here we go.
Oh, [bleep].
I never in my life had so much trouble.
Trying to rush what I'm doing.
This allotted time is so short,
I've got to have my head in my game.
My still plan is to build a condenser
and work from the thumper to the line arms.
I've got to focus on what I'm doing.
It is very, very pressing, and I kinda enjoy it.
Looks like they're gonna start etching that stainless copper.
They oughta put their masks on.
It makes some terrible fumes.
[Justin] Soldering stainless steel tri-clamps
onto copper is a real challenge...
...and requires some pretty strong acids
and the fumes, they'll get you, and you'll, you'll black out.
Thank you, clear. I'm done.
[Digger] Justin, now your condenser,
it looks to me like you're just gonna have, like, a quarter of an inch
of water circulating outside of that.
Do you think that's enough to keep that cool?
So, out in California, we don't have much water.
Uh, so I go through a higher flow,
uh, recirculated through a chiller,
uh, water turbulence, and this is what I've always done.
The judges are definitely looking at me strange.
I have all these massive pieces of pipe,
which are used for water mains.
Um, and here I am cutting it up,
assembling it, throwing pieces in pieces.
They won't have any idea what it does
until I put it together, and I'm running it.
That big old thing's gonna take a lot of heat, man.
[Justin] Yup.
[Tim] One of these guys is not even gonna get to run their mash,
and we may never know what the best mash was.
-[Digger] Yeah. -That's the challenge of it.
[Digger] Yeah.
Losing my mind!
Glenn, how you doing over there, brother?
The struggle's real over here, brother.
I wish I had your hands over here.
Well, if I could let you borrow 'em, I would.
I know.
Men, you've got two hours left.
[Glenn] Well, going in it was just trying to time manage every piece.
You know, I originally planned to build a pump keg.
I, I trashed that idea and was just trying to get the condenser built,
and the plumbing done.
All right, guys.
You're looking at one hour and thirty minutes left in your build.
[Justin] Standing next to Jason, he's finished an hour early.
It is polished, it is clean.
He is ready to put it on the website and sell it.
[Digger] He's done.
D-A-U-N-N done.
[Jason] We are done, buddy.
[Glenn] Jason.
-I think he needs some help. -[Jason] Well, hell, somebody needs some help.
[Jason] What's up, Bubba?
What do you think about this mess up here?
-It's a mash pump. -It does have a seal.
Yeah, I mean it...
[bleep]
You broke my heart, man.
30 seconds.
[Glenn] I realized that there was no way I was gonna
be able to put those stainless steel barrels
and get them soldered in.
I was out of time.
So, I was trying to get the tight to fit tight for presentation.
So, I just took a little duct tape,
and just like a southern boy would,
got it to where it was good and tight,
and, you know, had to present that.
Duct tape?
Yeah.
Six, five, four...
...three, two, one. Step back, men, you're done.
Hello, Sally, I'm tired just watching y'all.
All right, guys, you chase on out of here.
We're gonna bring in Kevin Gordon,
he's the still master that builds the stills for our show.
Kevin's gonna check all your stills for leaks,
and what this is gonna tell us is
which two of you are gonna be able to run your mash.
And, uh, gentlemen, good luck to all three of you.
And again, I salute every damn one of you.
-Good job, brother. -Yes, sir.
Oh, thank you guys, honored.
Kev, what's going on, boss?
[Kevin] Well, good morning, fellows.
Just doing a cleaning run today and checking for leaks.
So, how does it look so far, Kevin?
[Kevin] Jason did a really nice job here, no leaks.
Got steam coming out.
So, we're cleaning the insides out pretty good right now.
He followed the criteria we gave him.
10 to 20 gallon pot,
minimum of a 4-inch tri-clamp, which he's used a 6.
Thump arm, thump post.
Three-quarter inch all the way into what appears to be a two-gallon thump keg.
Right on over into his enclosed condenser.
I don't see anything wrong with this still.
And if you agree, I think Jason's ready to run some liquor.
It for sure is ready to run.
-100%. -Well, let's see what the other guys have done.
Now, this is certainly different.
This is a different animal, we watched this build
and it is insane.
What have you found out in your tests?
[Kevin] So, as far as the still goes,
meeting the requirements, it's good.
Uh, his craftsmanship is different.
But he's not a full-time still builder,
so he has some issues with his cleanliness of his soldering.
But nice cape on it.
And you know, this head here is a little different than what we're used to seeing.
He's gonna get a lot of reflux from this.
It's Appalachian steam punk.
I wanna see it operate so bad.
It's 60 pound or better.
You know, it can come like so.
He's gonna prop it up with something though,
because it will not stand.
If he had a whiskey burner to sit it on, you know,
-and just let it run right off of there. -Yeah.
All right, guys, let's move on to the next one.
[Tim] Moving on.
Well...
[Tim] It's steaming.
I mean, I never claimed to ever be a professional,
but I believe the steam's coming out of the wrong spot.
[Kevin] Well now, he wasn't able to put his tri-clamp on it.
He used some duct tape to seal up the joint a little bit.
There's a few still builders out there that build stills like this.
-And so they have to put a big... -Yeah.
...puddle of paste on it.
-Yeah. -But I also noticed, when I seal that up,
you also see it steaming out his joint there.
[Mark] So, the cape has a leak as well.
[Kevin] Probably my biggest concern with this still
would be his worm.
It's on an uphill gradient.
-And you don't know what it looks like... -[Digger] It's...
-[Kevin]...inside the can. -[Digger]...a pretty good little angle.
-To me, that is a safety issue, Kevin. -Yes.
With this worm pointing like this,
it's gonna gather liquid, and it's gonna put back pressure here,
which is gonna pop that cap.
[Digger] Yeah.
If he had met the compliance requirement of a 4-inch clamp,
we probably would have a much bigger problem.
With the clamp something would have, poom.
[Kevin] Something else is gonna go.
-Yeah, correct. -That's where you start building a bomb.
Yeah.
All right, welcome back, gentlemen.
Guess you can see there's an extra face at the table today.
This is Kevin Gordon, he's the owner of Thunder Road Copper.
He's the still master for our show,
and he's here today to help us.
We've inspected your stills and what they are capable of.
I'm Kevin Gordon. As Mark said,
I own Thunder Road Copper over here in East Tennessee.
Filled your stills with a vinegar water solution to clean them out,
and also to check 'em for leaks.
Looking at all three stills,
it was probably very challenging
getting your stills done in that amount of time that you had to do it,
and I think you all have done a fine job.
But starting down here with Glenn.
Traditional Appalachian Still, kinda at my heart here in East Tennessee.
It appears you had some challenges.
I think you overcome some of them,
but maybe still had some issues with some of the others.
But again, with the time constraints,
I think you did a very good job building your still.
Thank you, sir.
Justin, California guy.
Gotta give you a hand for the creativity.
I've seen some stills like this in the past.
Maybe not to this extreme, but you did a fine job also
with the time constraints you had.
-Stainless and copper don't work well together. -No.
I'm sure the challenges of...
...the build were daunting on you.
-They were many. -Uh, but I want to see how you're going to, uh,
make it work with all that weight up on top.
And, uh...
...it's gonna be interesting to watch.
If you make it to the next round.
Thank you much.
And then Jason, obviously you're a professional
-like myself, and you do this all of your time. -Yes, sir.
You did a fine job on your still.
Nice looking solder work, pipes look good,
-nice and level, great job. -[Jason] Thank you.
I loved all the jobs that you guys did.
You worked really hard.
You showed a lot of skills, showed a lot of craftsmanship, creativity.
And just flat, hard-ass work.
But...
...Glenn, unfortunately, your still is not ready to run.
Yes, sir.
[Kevin] It was a great effort on your part,
unfortunately, with the worm not being able to flow
without some correction, I think it's a little bit beyond,
uh, being able to repair it in a timely manner.
Yes, sir.
Thank you for being here with us.
Well, thank you, fellows.
And good luck to you gentlemen.
The judges were very positive about my still build,
all except for that one piece.
I don't think Master Distiller has seen the last of me.
I'll be back to fight again one day.
Then there was two.
All right, guys, moment of truth.
Not every liquor man can build a still.
Not every still man can run liquor.
But you guys do it both.
I can't wait to see what you bring us.
All right, guys, this is for all the marbles.
This is where you take your individual mash,
and you bring us that spirit.
You've got four hours, your time starts now.
Good luck, men, and get with it.
[Justin] Ooh, smells good.
-How's it looking? -[Jason] Oh, this is fine.
That's some pretty mash right there, blue corn.
How many contestants have we had that built their own still?
-[Mark] None. -[Digger] None.
[Jason] How's your mash looking, Justin?
[Justin] Looks good.
We just opened the barrels, and the mash is smelling great.
There's some alcohol in it.
You know, it couldn't have run better.
[Mark] Now, look at that right there.
Yup, he's putting some vanilla bean in some mash.
[Tim] Looks like he's trying to roll a joint.
[Digger] You know, everybody talks about using caution with vanilla.
Well, yeah, that's the concentrate, you know, the extract.
With these beans, that vapor only brings out a little.
Man, it smells good.
Here we go.
What in the world...
I'd go over and help him if I could.
Now that's the way you do it right there.
That's the way to put it on.
I hope when he turns that water on,
there ain't nothing drip out of there.
I've got my fingers crossed for him,
and I've said a little prayer.
[Justin] How you coming?
[Jason] Should be coming out any second.
[Kevin] You know, typically I think of the Liebig condenser
as the least efficient.
-Mmm-hmm. -But I don't think he's
gonna have any problems with efficiency on this one.
[Digger] No, not with the cold water we got
and the surface area he's got on hand.
-Oh! there it is. -[Tim] Oh, man.
That's a deal killer right there, boys.
[Justin] It is dripping everywhere.
Uh, not just the sides, but it's dripping inside the condenser.
So, along with the alcohol, I'm getting water.
So, I've gotta figure out some way
to make this work with what I've got.
Oh, my God. Pressure's on now.
[Jason] I'm running, love it.
Jason's got liquor, he's a dripping.
Oh, yeah, it's good.
That blue corn is fire, man.
Absolutely love it.
Nice stream for a little pot.
Yeah, I'm trying to slow it down a little bit
and get that perfect little two or three drips a second.
But, uh, jar number 3 or 4 is gonna be the one I wanna turn in anyways, so...
Your competitor over here is having some trouble.
[Justin] Right...there.
I think it's the end of the road for him.
[Justin] I can get it.
'Cause I'm gonna have to flip it over, turn it around.
This is a trainwreck for him.
[Jason] Let me know anything I can do for you, partner.
[Justin] Okay, yeah, uh... I mean, yeah.
Thank you for a second set of hands.
-[Jason] Ready? -[Justin] Yup, you ready?
Yeah, I'm about as ready as I'm gonna get.
So, I think what he's doing is he's turning it over,
'cause he thinks it's leaking at the top.
The water's gonna come out this way, and the alcohol's gonna come out here.
Yeah.
[Tim] Well, that's pretty neat.
And I hope it works.
Baby, you didn't have a quarter-inch either way to play there.
[Jason] Oh, that's perfect.
I'll tell you something, I've never seen such determination.
[Jason] He ain't got no quit in him.
I wouldn't wanna go against him if he had a whole lot of quit in him.
Oh, [bleep].
There isn't [bleep].
I mean, darn.
I think he's still leaking on the inside as well.
I'm hurting for him.
[Tim] The way he's got the still built,
he can't just run it with a coon pecker drip-drip.
He's gotta run it wide open.
Let the alcohol outrun the water.
But allow the water to cool and condense it back to liquid.
He will produce alcohol.
Now, what's it gonna taste like? I don't know.
What's his mash meal? I don't know.
I don't know what kind of ABV he had to start with,
just make something.
I'd rather have hot liquor than no liquor.
But yeah, I mean, that's the name of the game.
[Digger] You know.
That's the name of the game.
Yup, there it is again.
I think he's still leaking on the inside as well.
[Justin] So, I'm noticing as I'm running
that I'm still getting water flowing from inside the condenser.
Luckily I built it huge
so I could, in theory, just chill the entire condenser,
run the water as full blast on high,
cut the water off, collect that jar,
turn the water back on, rinse and repeat.
[Tim] He has figured out a process.
Heat it up, he gets his vapor over there,
and when he's ready to condense it...
...he gives a little quick shot at he condenser of cold water,
cuts it back off, collects his alcohol.
Cools it down, lets it run, cuts it back on.
[Kevin] Are you getting any flavor out of it?
-Yeah. -[Tim] Mission accomplished.
I'm kinda pulling for him just because all the [bleep] he's went through.
And I, I managed to collect half a jar
that actually smells pretty decent.
I'm like, "Oh, my God, this is working.
This is gonna work."
It's working.
-[Jason] Yeah. -[Justin] Right?
There's, there's liquor in it.
Good job, brother.
I didn't come this far to lose it to a leaky bazooka.
All right.
[Digger] Well, he's rapid-aged it.
Well, that changes a couple of things.
Sweet, Mother Mary.
I'm about done, only thing I'm worried about is proof.
I'm happy with is, 100-proof jar.
[Justin] Here we go.
-[Jason] Finished? -I think this is it.
[Jason] Well, brother, I'm ready, too.
If you wanna go turn in together, I would love to.
[Justin] Let's do it.
[Jason] Guys, I hope you all enjoy these.
We busted our ass to put these jars up here.
-[Mark] Yes, you did. -Enjoy it.
Both of you did, you really did.
So, at this point, we're gonna take these jars,
we're gonna go out here, and we're gonna taste and deliberate.
Once we find out what we need to know,
we shall be back directly.
Hope you guys enjoy it.
-[Justin] Enjoy the drink. -[Mark] Good luck to both of you.
Both of them done an outstanding job.
But honestly, guys, all that we're judging now is what's in the jar.
-[Tim] Both jars look good. -[Mark] Let's look at 'em.
Get with it, whiskey pusher.
You know, it's a nice color.
-[Tim] He's got a little bead there. -[Mark] Yeah.
I give you props on being able to just turn in a jar,
'cause I really did not think you was gonna be able to turn a jar in
the way that damn thing was leaking.
If he brought anything 80-proof
or in that neighborhood, I'm satisfied with that.
[Mark] You don't know till you taste.
I'm getting vanilla notes just like it was a nice, caramel, aged barrel.
He put those vanilla beans in, in the copper mash.
Yup, it's got a little flavor in there.
It tastes pretty daggum good to come out of that, that spaceship that he made.
I'm very impressed.
I'm really happy with what he brought to the table, that's nice.
[Tim] I like it. It's good.
[Tim] That's incredible.
That's incredible.
It goes back to the fact that, that he had
an outstanding mash, obviously.
You know, that still might have looked bad,
but it produced some pretty good liquor.
Well, moving on.
[Tim] All I know is, Jason's gonna have to up his game.
Well, he's a professional still builder.
There's a lot of stuff in the bottom of this.
I know what that is, he filtered over charcoal there.
I think he's hit the bead pretty good.
-What do you think there, 90, Tim? -[Tim] Yeah.
Yeah, good job of proofing.
I'm honored to be here, and I'm really curious
to see what happens with the jugs,
because I felt like my jug was a little too hot.
-And mine wasn't hot at all. -So...
-[Tim] Well, it's got a good nose on it. -Oh, yeah.
Man, that's got a nice nose.
It's, it's got a bite up front.
It stays warm on the tongue,
-but it's got a sweetness to it. -It's that blue corn.
I like both of 'em really well.
Think about it, Justin, he has put that mash build
through that still and come out with this.
Rapid-aged in the amount of time he did it.
I'm just amazed that he got liquor out of the still to start with.
When it comes to still building...
...they both did a great job.
But I think when they ran their liquor,
one did the extraordinary.
Well, if everybody's sitting on the same pew, let's go sing a song.
[Mark] Yeah, y'all just come on with me.
All right, guys, we've been gone a long time.
Had a very difficult job in front of us.
What the last challenge was judged on is simply what's in those jars.
Jason, you used the blue corn,
and a little bit of malted rye, I think.
You know, rye is a spicy grain.
You gotta be very careful with it,
but I think you blended it very well.
Thank you.
Jason, I wouldn't have expected anything less out of you.
You did an outstanding job on that still.
That's a fine-looking still.
Uh, I'd be proud to sell it as one of my own.
Your liquor was excellent.
Just like, uh, I would expect
from somebody that builds a still and runs a still.
Thank you, sir.
Justin, you said you was making, how did you call it, a...
We're calling it, uh, a perseverance bourbon now.
I don't know whether you thought you was
making liquor or digging taters.
But great, great job.
Justin, you came in here with a very unique design on a still.
You got challenges along the way.
You ended up with a jar, it looked good.
And it was a good liquor.
[Digger] Justin...
...you built a beautiful mash build.
You know, I wouldn't have thought about that
coming from a rookie off the West Coast.
But, fine job.
You know, your mash by itself was great.
But the fact that you could bring that much flavor out of that mash...
...facing the opposition you did,
I mean, that, that fought you like an enemy.
[Mark] All right, guys.
Now comes the sucky part of our job.
The name of this show, as you guys know,
is Master Distiller.
So, with that being said...
...Justin, you're the next Master Distiller.
[Jason] Good job, brother.
[Justin] So, being the underdog, it's crazy.
I'm the only one...
...um, that's a still builder...
...and distiller. [bleep].
[exhales] Getting emotional.
Both of you are champions in my eyes.
There's just one Master Distiller named.