[dramatic music playing]
Zero proof, that's what I use for chaser.
[narrator] Every distiller faces ruthless competition
selling high proof liquor.
If he makes it this good
with no alcohol, people will buy it.
[narrator] But today's savviest
distillers are leading the pack
in a booming market for zero proof spirits.
There is money to be made in this zero proof stuff.
[narrator] It's the fastest growing segment
in the adult beverage market.
It's just hard for liquor people
to wrap zero proof around their head.
[narrator] Worth over $11 billion today,
but making spirits that deliver on flavor.
[Ian] I got liquor.
Thank you, moonshine gods.
[narrator] Without the hangover.
This is more stressful than the alcoholic version.
[narrator] Can be like catching
lightning in a bottle.
[Tim] I like it.
This is a real deal cocktail.
[Western music playing]
[Digger] Welcome to master distiller.
This one is thinking way outside the box.
Zero proof.
[Tim] COVID, the pandemic.
You know, people started looking at
interesting version of non-alcoholic spirits
to cut back on the alcohol consumption.
Tickle, tell us all about it.
[upbeat music playing]
Zero proof or non-alcoholic drink
is a version of an alcoholic drink
without the alcohol or the alcohol removed.
I know it's crazy.
Any beverage that contains 0.5% ABV
or lower is considered non-alcoholic.
The global non-alcoholic market
is expected to rise from 923 million
in 2020 to 1.7 trillion by 2028.
A great non-alcoholic drink
has all the elements of a great alcoholic drink.
Liquor has a distinct burn and body
that really spreads across your flavor palate
just as soon as it hits your mouth.
Makers of zero proof alcohol
use a variety of flavors
to mimic that burn
and sometimes use thickeners
like glycerin to mimic that mouth feel.
I won't even hardly miss the alcohol.
Well, you know, guys I love fermentation signs.
I read different thing I can find
and I try to do my own research, I always have.
So this hits me right at my wheelhouse.
First off, you're gonna run a top shelf spirit.
Then you're going to take that flavor profile
and mimic it when you run a zero proof version
of which we will compare it.
Now, if you make the final challenge,
we're going to see that that zero proof spirit
can stand out in a flavor jar just like the original.
Whoever's successful, complete all these challenges
will be crowned the next master distiller
and you're going to get a limited run
of your label at a major distillery.
You're going to have one hour to build us
your mash for that top shelf spirit,
but we ain't going to build that mash here.
We're going to go outside where it's less than comfortable.
Come with me.
Watch out for the bears.
[Western music playing]
All right, guys, here we are.
We wanna see your best spirit.
One alcoholic, one zero proof.
It's just gonna be up to you which method you use,
but you have one hour to build us your finest mash.
Your one hour starts now.
Good luck, guys, and get with it.
Yeah.
Let's go.
[upbeat music playing]
[Brittanea] Need help?
I really should've gone to the gym.
Zero proof is basically
something that mimics an alcohol.
I know I can do it. I know it tastes good.
My name's Ian Chambers.
I'm 27 and I'm from Los Angeles, California.
Yeah, I got a good thing coming in.
I work in the music industry.
I manage DJs.
I started moonshining
because 12 years ago, I started making beer
and brewing beer just isn't that fun,
four years later I made the switch.
I distill in the middle of our apartment complex.
This is my 15 and a half gallon keg still
running into my thumper,
into my condenser, pulling water from our tap,
everything out into my pool.
Now, we wait.
I like... I love bluegrass
and I like the whole Appalachian, like, culture
and I was just, like, I'm in LA.
I'm never gonna be able to get moonshine
so I might as well make it myself.
I start in the morning and then by 3:00
in the afternoon, every single neighbor I have
is like crowded around the pool drinking.
[glasses clinking]
[Ian] To moonshine.
[Brittanea] What are you starting with?
I'll put my sugar in first
and then I'm gonna have my corn.
Oh, very nice, dissolve the sugar first.
Yup. Easier to do.
I'm Greg Lancet.
I'm 33 years old.
I'm the assistant distiller
and batch manager
at a distiller in Minneapolis.
Gonna check the proof on this quick.
I'm in charge of helping with mashes,
helping with fermentations, helping with distillations.
I have six different stills here.
Today we're running rum.
I got into distilling about 10 years ago.
My grandpa had an old little bottle collection
of spirits from all over the world.
And it brought out creativity in me.
I'm gonna make a non-alcoholic gimlet.
You know, we're seeing a new generation
who want lower proof spirits
or no proof and my wife and I
just found out that we're actually having a baby.
I'm really excited.
It gives me an opportunity
to make zero proof cocktails,
so it's great. I'm here to win.
That's something I can attach to my name
and it carries some clout.
And when my son is born,
I can be like, "I'm a master distiller.
You're gonna learn from me."
[Ian] You doing peaches first?
[Brittanea] Peaches and plums.
[Ian] How much you got in there?
[Brittanea] We're gonna end it 46 pounds.
If this is an insane amount of fruits,
so we keep going.
My name is Brittanea Belatier. I'm 33 years old.
[upbeat music playing]
[Brittanea] I'm originally from Colorado
and relocated to Louisville, Kentucky.
Good boy.
As soon as I moved to Kentucky,
I recognize I had talent for distilling.
So I started moonshining about three years ago.
Right now I'm a total outlaw.
Everything is covert operations at the house.
I threatened a few of my neighbors
if they keep talking about because it
is an illegal thing.
These are different rums
that I've done in the last couple months.
My degree is in chemistry.
That has helped me in distillation
because I'm able to transpose what's going on
especially for the non-alcoholic versions.
I'm able to kind of formulate more
and work with the science.
I wanted to test a little bit more
with three grain bills so I could learn
what notes there are
and how it comes off distill differently.
My non-alcoholic version
is going to stand out
simply because it has a lot of chemistry into it
because it's still trying to mimic an alcohol.
[Digger] All right.
Well, you've got 30 minutes left.
Ian, tell me about your plan here.
I'm doing like a Dutch style gin.
It's got rye, two row California barley in there,
flake corn. I'm gonna add some sugar
and I'm gonna do botanicals.
But we're looking for zero proof here,
so heck, you're going to eliminate that alcohol.
Okay. I'm gonna distill the botanicals,
pull up the oils and try to make it taste
as much as my liquor version of it as possible.
Are you gonna rerun the distillate or...
-No. -you're gonna use
-some of your spent mash? -Yeah.
Greg, tell me about your stir over here.
So my base is gonna be corn.
I've never seen green corn, it looked leafy.
Oh, no. That's kale.
That's gonna add some vegetable notes to it
and that'll land itself to the non-alcoholic
version as well.
I got some barley back here too,
some rye.
I'm gonna add that in a minute here.
-Oh, yeah. -And then I got some sugar too in there.
What's your plan to bring it down to zero proof,
drink the alcohol?
I'm gonna do some macerations just with water.
-Uh-huh. -Do some bittering agents,
some tannin compounds,
kind of mimic those fuels
that alcohol does to your mouth.
Brittanea, bring me up to date on what you're doing.
I'm going to do a stone fruit brandy...
-Uh-huh. -for the alcoholic version
and try and do a sort of infusion
-through the thumper... -Uh-huh
with additional spices
and herbs during the initial run.
You're talking about peaches, nectarines, uh...
-Plums. Cherries. -[Digger] plums.
Oh, you got cherries in there?
Not yet. That's my secret weapon.
Cherries is one of my favorite vegetables.
Tell me your plan on making it a zero proof.
Well, I'm kind of up against time here.
I'm gonna make a second mash
at a very low temperature
with very low sugar,
um, and the reason to do that
is to create a low ABV with a yeast.
I'm gonna throttle with the yeast.
So ultimately I'll have two different mashes here.
One for full strength
and one for those that don't want to indulge.
Oh, you've got a solid plan it sounds like.
You've got 30 minutes left, you're halfway there.
-All right. Thanks. -[Digger] You're welcome.
[Greg] Ian, you good over there?
[Ian] I'm good. I just wanna scorch it.
I was really anxious before I came here,
but I'm also here to win.
I'm just gonna bust my butt
trying to make this.
Go out without a hitch.
Smells great.
Yeah, I just need all the sugar content
from those jars.
[Ian] Wanna double up.
[Brittanea] I would appreciate it.
Flavors and mimicking
another product is very hard
and that takes patience and different sciences.
A little sugar as possible.
But with the chemistry background,
I'm able to kind of formulate more
and work with the science
to get flavors and mouthfeel out of that.
All right, guys, five minutes left.
Might all be picking up the pace.
[tense music playing]
I'm here to win. I'm a distiller,
so my skillset will translate
quite well to what we're working with here.
Oh, you're a lifesaver.
[Digger] Step away from your barrels, guys,
you are done with.
[Greg] Phew!
[Brittanea] Woo.
All right, guys. We're gonna have five days
to let this run. We can't do anything now,
so come with me. We're done here.
[Western music playing]
All right, guys.
You're gonna have four hours to make your initial run
of your mash and bring us that alcoholic spirit.
This is going to be the benchmark spirit
that we're gonna be comparing your liquor to.
So make it great.
Winner of this challenge.
It's gonna get first pick of still parts
when you get to the still house.
This is when you distill your zero proof liquor.
Your four hours start now.
[tense music playing]
Don't know exactly how this is gonna work.
It's just hard for liquor
people to wrap zero proof around their head.
This is gonna be a learning curve for us, Tim Smith.
I think we handle that.
[tense music playing]
Your four hours start now.
[Western music playing]
I have to come up with a spirit
and then I have to run
another non-alcoholic version of that spirit.
[Brittanea] You look like a baker over there.
[Ian] Right. I'm kneading my dough.
[Tim] It's almost like he's got oatmeal.
That should give him a good bowl of flavor.
[Ian] I'm doing like a Geneva,
so it's like a malt-style gin.
I'm gonna replicate the same botanicals
in my... In my zero proof.
Kind of have to use botanicals.
You need like to have that extra flavor in there
to cover up the fact that there's no liquor in there.
He's got another juniper boiling over there
for 10-barrel still.
[Ian] For this one, I'm gonna...
I'm gonna throw them in the thumper
and when I do my zero proof,
I'll distill some of the botanicals
in this kind of tea I'm gonna make.
Botanicals are pretty good to cross over.
The flavor will come out in the alcohol one
and the flavor will come out in the non-alcoholic one.
[Brittanea] You got fire in the hole?
-[Greg] Yeah, lit up. -[Brittanea] You're good.
I think it's gonna be really hard to replicate flavors.
I did a sweeter apple, honey crisp,
got a little tartness,
carry some of that sweetness over.
So just doing it how I usually would.
Brittanea, what have you got going on over there?
[Brittanea] I did two mashes.
One, I really throttled the sugar and the yeast in it.
So it's a very small amount of yeast,
a very large amount of water.
My plan here is to do a stone fruit
with ginger and vanilla added into it.
Reason I chose stone fruits
is because they're very low in sugar.
I want very little sugar, more water
but I'm still gonna get some alcohol.
All right, guys. We're two hours.
You got half your time burnt, half of it left.
[Ian] I got liquor.
Is it clear?
Oh, thank you, God. Thank you, moonshine gods.
[Brittanea] Are you starting the magic over there?
[Ian] Yeah. I'm trying to get a vibe
for when everything smells like what botanicals
showing up and where.
I started blending based on,
you know, where I taste the juniper,
where I tasted the most citrus,
where I tasted the rye, where I tasted the malt.
Tell me what you think.
Oh, it smells really sweet.
[Ian] It's got that rye burn.
Oh, I think the proof is dead on.
We have one hour left in your run.
I'm gonna try my fifth jar.
Proof it down a bit.
Yeah, it's lower proof than I thought.
Hmm.
I added a little more water.
I was shooting for a 100 proof
and I definitely think it's lower
but my flavors are great, aromas are great,
my clarity is on point
but I'm a little worried about my proof.
-Okay. Cheers. -[Brittanea] Cheers.
Cheers. You guys wanna
-drop them off together? -Yeah.
Three lifelong friends created here.
We're gonna go do a little sampling.
Looks like we've got three fine jars.
[dramatic music playing]
Zero proof but this has got proof.
Yeah. This is about who can make
the best high proof spirit
because they're gonna have to mimic it
in the zero proof round.
Brittanea.
It's a nice clean, clear jar,
I'll tell you that.
It is.
[Tim] Well, let's see what it tastes like.
I smell it already.
[Brittanea] The finish product is where I wanted it.
-Vanilla came through a lot. -[Greg] Yeah.
I was hoping the ginger would come through
a bit more. But I think that'll play more
-into the non-alcoholic side. -Yeah.
[Brittanea] Getting that burn that we're so accustomed to.
There's a little trick here going on,
because looking at it, it's like 75, 80 proof
but when you state it, felt a little spike to it.
It got some fire.
I believe it was run just a little bit too hot.
The alcohol level is a bit low.
-Right. -But overall,
the taste profile is good,
it's good and clear.
Well, let's move on.
[Tim] Ian.
Ian's done a good job on presentation.
At the end of the day, I wanted to make liquor
and I made liquor.
It's pepper to me. Hot.
He muddled those juniper berries
and he should've cut them in
about a fourth of what he used.
It's got a good taste
but it doesn't really balance that
with all the botanicals that he put in it.
Well, moving on.
Greg.
All three of them been clear.
Yeah, you can't take clarity
away from any of these guys.
I needed those honey crisp apples
for the sweetness
and I think I got more flavor
than I thought I would.
You can taste everything
I put in it, which is cool.
There's some rye in there and I get that spice.
-Yeah, but not overpowering. -[Greg] But not overpowering.
It goes well with the apple.
[Tim] Good flavor too.
Yes, it is.
That is a good grain finish moonshine.
It's really good.
I could enjoy a little glass that
over ice without alcohol in it.
And it's got an excellent flavor.
And if he makes it this good with no alcohol,
people will buy it. We know where we're at?
Oh, hell yeah.
-Let's do it. -[Tim] Yeah.
We did quite a bit of tasting up there.
All three of you brought alcohol.
All three of you bought nice, clean, clear jars
and you bought a flavor profile.
All different.
And we can see where you're going
with the zero proof.
So I will start with Ian.
The grains you picked out
came across really well.
-Thank you. -Outstanding job
-of making a gin. -Thank you.
Got something to work with headed towards zero proof.
Thanks, Mark.
Brittanea, stone fruit.
Plum forward.
To me, that's a really good brandy.
Yes.
-Brittanae. -Yes, sir.
[Mark] Excellent clear job,
nice jar, good flavor.
It was plum good.
You proofed it right on the money.
You did a good job of making us a brandy.
Plum brandy.
But I can see where you're going
with the zero proof.
-Greg. -Hi, Tim.
[Tim] You was low on the proof.
Out of the three, you were the lowest.
Your taste and your grain profile,
excellent.
If you was an outlaw in the woods,
you could sell every jar.
I don't know if it was that kale
but that had one of the smoothest finish
on a grain alcohol that I've seen.
I'd like to see that in a barrel
for about two years.
We would see big money coming in right there.
-Thank you. -[Digger] You know, everybody
that's standing before us right now in my opinion,
you've really gotten something that's gonna be
easy to work with I think
going forward with their zero proof.
Nobody goes home.
That's the happy part about this
is it's simply pecking order
in which you will be taken into the still house
and it's gonna be Greg, Brittanae, Ian.
That's the order y'all are going in.
Tickle.
How's it going there, Tim?
These guys need to go to the still house
and get some parts.
One, two, three, just like the stand.
And when they come back,
they're gonna make us zero proof spirit.
Now I've heard everything.
Come with me, all right?
-[Digger] Good luck guys. -[all] Thank you.
[Tickle] I don't know how to run a still
and make no alcohol come out.
I'm kind of at a loss
on why we're doing a still pick
for zero proof.
Nonetheless,
we are here to pick still parts.
You're each gonna have three minutes
in the still house.
Greg, you're up first.
You got three minutes.
Your time starts now.
[tense music playing]
There's a lot of aspects of alcohol
that don't translate to a non-alcoholic spirit.
Are you finding anything that you know
-what to do with? -Nothing.
There's the burn and the flavor
will probably be a little bit less than what I want.
Hey, there we go.
All right. He's got a thumper.
So I needed to get a thumper
and hopefully use some of these apples
that I brought to get the best flavors.
All right, Greg.
Well, you are up next, Brittanea, all right?
You got three minutes.
Your time starts now.
[Western music playing]
I'm sure you can find something
to not make alcohol with.
To make a non-alcoholic version just as flavorful,
like my brandy involves a bunch of different sciences.
I've made liquor for so long
and any time it come out and didn't have
no alcohol in it, I threw it away.
What I cannot work without
is definitely the thumper
because that's where I'm gonna do most
of my fusion of flavors.
[Tickle] Zero proof.
That's what I use for chaser.
That will hopefully kind of bridge that gap
between the mouthfeel of what you're losing
with the alcohol being absent.
There we go. She... You were right at the door.
Just couldn't get it. Arms were full.
Ian, you've got three minutes
in and your time starts now.
All right, Ian. See what you can kind of...
There's a bunch of stuff over there on that side
that I don't even know what does.
There we go. We got a pot out.
Going into the still pick,
I'm just gonna shoot for a boiler and condenser
because I'm just gonna run botanicals through it.
Fill that box up
and get on out here
because we've got no liquor to make.
And I think I'm probably gonna put
a little grain steeping in my boiler,
so I don't really need a thumper.
[Tickle] All right. That's what we've got.
We got a lot of no liquor to make.
Now y'all got all of your still parts,
see if we can make some good zero proof
for these judges, all right?
[tense music playing]
Well, fellers,
I got them some still parts
and I'm not sure why
because they're making y'all zero proof.
Can't even begin to understand.
-Well, see y'all. -Thank you, Tickle.
Welcome back.
You have one hour.
Build us your still.
Your one hour begins now.
Good luck and get with it, guys.
An hour is more than enough.
All I have is a boiler,
I connect it right to my condenser.
I just need to be able to hang my botanical, my grains.
I'm not used to fancy equipment
but building it, I feel very confident
and everything came together exactly how I expected it to.
-We gotta win. -[Digger] All right.
You brought us a good spirit.
Now we wanna see one at zero proof.
You got three hours to run
your zero proof version of your original spirit.
Your three hours starts now.
[Tim] Oh, it's interesting, guys, already.
What's gonna happen then?
[Digger] You know, I don't envy these guys.
They've gotta come up with a flavor and a burn
just like alcohol without having alcohol.
Looks to me like the only way to do that
would be mash like Brittanea's that had no yeast in it.
Get ready to see what the second mash did.
Oh, no.
What up?
[Brittanea] It's not good.
It's all mold.
Brittanea, clue us in on what's going on over there?
You said not good.
[Brittanea] All mold.
[Digger] Let me take a gander at that.
It's on from the woods, we're gonna say.
Uh, yeah.
I'm gonna say that it was probably something
that was on outside that fruits you used.
Yeah. We're just gonna cover this and put it to rest.
Good deal.
You know, I think it's a good move.
Her initial idea doing a very low fermentation.
[Tim] I wonder what she's gonna do now
to get a zero proof.
[Brittanea] My plan at this point is just reuse
my first run closer to the tails.
On this run,
it's all about heat and speed.
Getting it brewed, so as fast as possible,
stripping the alcohol out of it.
This is more stressful than the alcoholic version.
What you got going on over here, Greg?
[Greg] I have a little bit of alcohol in there
from my previous run.
Jars seven and eight.
You both put alcohol in there.
How are you gonna make sure it's gone?
I don't know about you, Greg, but dilution, right?
A little bit of dilution
but, uh, I'm gonna run it out.
I have no liquors.
So, my strategy to make a non-alcoholic version
is I'm gonna distill some botanicals
and soak some of my grain in my boiler.
You're still it, is it producing water?
[Greg] It can infuse water.
But yours is gonna be more of a gin water?
-[Greg] Yeah, a gin water. -[Tim] I'll take it.
We're learning. We're learning.
I'm focused on flavors.
[Digger] But he's putting a ton of botanicals in his bag.
Well, he's trying to get those flavors stewed in,
that's what he's going for.
So, my strategy to match my flavor
is I'm gonna distill some botanicals
and soak some of my grain at my boiler.
I'm gonna do a tea with all the same botanicals
that I've put in the boiler.
I'm gonna put that on top of it
to kind of cook that down, boil it
so I have that flavor.
If he can carry that gin flavor through
into non-alcohol or zero proof,
bully for him.
Brittanea,
tell me about your game plan over there.
[Brittanea] Well, I hung a bag with peaches
-and some plums and some ginger... -[Digger] Okay.
[Brittanea] and some vanilla.
I'm just making a makeshift solvent
with glycerin and citric acid
to extract out just ginger flavors and vanilla.
And then I'm going to kill off the citrus
with sodium bicarbonate or baking soda.
Your education's worth every penny.
Brittanea brings a whole different background
to this with her chemistry background.
So, I'm worried about her.
I'm worried how I'm gonna get my flavors.
So, I'm doing the same mash,
uh, that I use for my regular mash.
Uh, so, I have all my grain in there.
This time, I just brought it up
to 120 degrees.
Trying not to get the sugar converted.
I added that little bit into my thumper.
I'm hoping I can draw as much flavor
from the grains as I need.
Threw an apple in my thumper, a little bit of cinnamon.
So, hopefully I draw out enough flavor
and I have enough time.
All right, guys. You have two hours.
[Greg] Run her hot.
[Ian] Yeast pouring.
[Greg] I'm gonna go clear as I can.
[Brittanea] It came out exactly what I was hoping.
Very plum forward and it has that spice
from the ginger and not very much vanilla.
[Ian] I know I got that rye
and that kind of malty flavor coming through.
I'm really going for the juniper nose.
I'm getting the grain flavor that I want,
uh, from the steeping that I did early on.
My second and third jars are starting to show
more of those, uh, like apple sweet notes that I wanted.
One hour, guys.
Right now, I'm trying to get the mouthfeel right.
I made a chipotle pepper tincture
to try to replicate that spice.
It's just real tough.
That, I would say is probably the hardest part.
You're looking for that palate burn
and your throat or your chest burn.
We always call it a Kentucky Hug.
I'm adding in, um, pepper corn
which I have put in my original distillate...
-Okay. -to extract out that spice.
So not necessarily, like, a pepper spice
where it's gonna be on the back of your throat
but more on the front of your tongue
like you get with alcohol.
I'm gonna use some pepper seeds
to try to emulate
that burn on your throat.
That's hot.
I added a little bit of vegetable glycerin too
which takes off a little bit of burn.
Mine got way too hot.
[Ian] I just want enough
to where it's a little bit burn on your tongue.
-[Greg] Yeah, I know. -Just a tiny bit.
It's harder than it seems.
Ah, lady and gentlemen,
you've got 10 minutes left
to get where you need to be.
You better be scrambling.
There we go.
-Got yours? -That's it.
-[Brittanea] You're filtering? -Yeah, just a little bit.
There are some floaters in there.
I just wanna get them out.
[Ian] So, I filtered mine three times.
Yeah, there's... I can't.
What they would do, if they wanted zero,
we'd distill all the alcohol out of it,
throw it away, and save the spent mash.
[Digger] Pretty much.
Greg is done.
Well, cheers.
Go bump.
-Okay. Let's do it. -Let's go.
-[Greg] Here we go. -[Ian] There you go.
[Tim] All right, guys.
We're gonna compare your zero proof
to your proof then we're gonna compare
the zero proof drinks to one another.
You know, when we come back,
one of you guys won't be here after this challenge.
[tense music playing]
[Mark] Zero proof.
We need to get us, uh, a little taste
of the original spirit
-so that we can compare... -Okay.
the zero proof to it.
[Tim] Get them both poured up.
That is a good grain finish whiskey.
That's very drinkable just the way it is.
Obviously, this young man know what way he was going.
And he brought us a clear jar
to duplicate his original spirit.
That's something that none of the other two did.
And he probably got as clear as he could possibly get.
Well, he was using a chipotle oil.
[Mark] He was trying to just replicate the heat
-from the alcohol without actually having any alcohol... -Yeah.
-[Mark] or fire taste in this fresh spirit. -[Tim] Correct.
[Greg] I don't know. I think I concentrated
too much on clarity, to be honest.
But that's unique. That gives you an edge
because you have the clarity that none of us have.
I ended up adding more water than I have, like, wanted
because I needed to use jars from the beginning.
There was more flavor there, you know?
It's just not possible to get that flavor...
-It's not. -Yeah.
without watering it down.
Wow. Nose is on the money.
Maybe you taste it.
[Tim] It's got some flavor.
You get that fullness of the grain.
Nope. I get water.
You can't taste it like you're tasting alcohol
because you're scared of it.
I get a little of that pepper, Tim,
but I think that he needed to steep
a whole lot more grain to really get that prominent.
Moving on. Time for Ian.
[Mark] Gin. This is our gin, man.
It's gonna be the gin.
[tense music playing]
I think he really overdid it with the juniper.
Every facet of it, front,
middle, tongue, back, it's juniper
but his zero proof
-looks exactly like an apple pie, don't it? -[Tim] Mmm-hmm.
[Ian] It was really hard
to get that juniper flavor to come through.
And definitely, by like that ninth jar,
there's... It was still grainy but nothing else.
More peppery.
Man, light juniper. Light gin.
[Digger] He's got some spice in there,
he got some aromatics but he left the juniper
-out of it. -[Mark] Yeah, it's the juniper added.
It's a pleasant taste
but I don't think it matches his original spirit.
All right. Give me another drink.
-Okay. Brittanea. -[Mark] Brittanea.
[Tim] Peach brandy.
[Mark] Yes, the flavor is good,
I'm not getting any of the peaches.
[Tim] I like it.
-I like it too. -[Tim] Oh, my.
Zero proof. Brandy from Kentucky.
[Brittanea] I think, like, the key of it is the oils.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
Like, it all comes down to oils.
Like, if you can extract oils
and get them in there, the flavor...
Like, if you're gonna think of a scientific way
-of doing it. -Yeah.
There's absolutely no nose in this.
I get a little plum on the palate.
Her base spirit is really kind of special.
It's really good.
Her original spirit,
when you taste it
and as it finishes,
-it's going away. -Mmm-hmm.
-You get the same taste. -[Tim] Yeah.
It's the aftertaste in the spirit.
But it's all the way across the palate
on this zero proof.
I mean, think of it as just as difficult
for them to make this
as it difficult for us to judge this.
Man, I don't see how it can be any harder.
-Well, we gotta cut one of these guys loose? -[Mark] Yeah.
[tense music playing]
[Digger] All right, guys. Come up and get your jars.
Ian, your initial spirit,
very, very juniper forward.
I mean, it would just bam
just like a punch in the mouth.
And I think that scared you
and you backed off way too much
-in your zero proof. -Yeah.
Now, we got an array of spices in there.
I don't know what else you put in there
but I'm telling you,
it brought the flavor game to it.
So, I think you reached your mark.
You've made a flavorful zero proof drink.
-Thank you. -Which is really unusual in that order.
-Yeah. -You can't call it gin now
but it looks good, it taste good.
So, good job.
Thanks, Tim.
Brittanea.
It was fruity.
It was floral on the nose.
I watched how many plums.
I believe it was plums you were cutting up.
Had you put them in your pot to let them steep
and get in there as well, it might've brought
a little bit more flavor in the party
but, you know, all in all,
really good job.
Greg.
You're the only one that chose to bring
your zero proof version
in its original color which was clear.
That must be extremely hard to do.
Good job.
Greg, you steeped your grains
to bring that grain out
and it really came out on the nose.
On the palate, not so much.
I think maybe if you got your temperature,
your water up a little bit, maybe heated it up.
I think you were really worried
of what happen to clarity
more than you were of the grain flavor.
Guys, you heard all the chatter,
you're gonna hear all the buzz.
At the end of the day,
we based our decisions solely on marketability,
who's gonna buy it,
who's gonna come back to buy the second time,
what bars are gonna buy to make a mocktail out of.
So all that being considered,
only two people can advance.
And, Greg,
your zero spirit bought you a ticket home.
-I'm awful sorry, young man. -That's okay.
I'm disappointed.
Kill it, guys.
-Thanks, Greg. -Love you, Greg.
I love making alcohol, but it is completely different
to make a zero spirit
and I tried my best, so I'm happy.
Now, don't get your hopes up too big
because there wasn't a lot of margin
separating anybody here.
It's your final challenge.
I hope y'all brought out your skills
because you are gonna need them.
We want you to build us a cocktail
with your zero proof and your base spirit.
Put them as a beverage like you would serve them over ice.
it'll be your job to make your two cocktails
match perfectly ready to drink.
You got 30 minutes.
Your timer starts now. Good luck.
-Good luck. -Good luck.
Strategy is definitely to keep some of the spirit's flavor,
the non-alcoholic and the original,
make the two versions align perfectly
so you can't really tell the difference between them,
and then, complementary flavors
to kick your taste buds into overdrive.
All right, Ian. You gotta talk,
you gotta say something.
[chuckles] I'm too nervous.
[laughs]
So my mocktail, I went in with the goal of making it sour
and I wanted to add in that creamy note
that pairs really well with stone fruits and ginger.
And to accomplish that, I used egg whites.
It adds this frothiness.
So using that, I was able to bring
your palate to life with the lemon,
smooth it out with the creamy, and then, on the back,
you get all the flavors of the non-alcoholic.
What's your cocktail gonna be?
It's going to be a sour.
What I'm doing right now is trying to make a simple syrup
to put stone fruits back in there
with some ginger and vanilla undertones.
What about you?
I am doing a blueberry basil
gin and tonic.
Oh, that sounds delicious and refreshing.
The way I'm gonna match my base spirit
is I'm really going for the juniper nose,
I'm gonna use some pepper seeds
to try to emulate that burn on your throat.
I'm hoping that the rye comes through.
[Digger] Is that just a little carbonation
-you're trying to put in them? -It's tonic.
-[Mark] Okay. Tonic. -So, give a little bit of flavor.
I'm going for, like, a basil blueberry
gin and tonic and then,
a basil blueberry gin mocktail.
Oh, yeah. Okay.
Five minutes left.
If y'all ain't where you need to be,
I don't believe you will be.
[tense music playing]
Almost. I got this little bit left.
You almost done?
-Surprisingly really good. -How are you tasting?
I mean, not surprisingly.
The colors are a little bit off
but the flavors are almost identical.
Ultimately, they're gonna love it. I loved it.
-All right. -All right.
[Digger] We're gonna go taste, deliberate.
When we return,
one of you will be named Master Distiller.
There's people that can't have alcohol
due to allergies.
There's some people that can't
due to health reason, just,
you know, can't enjoy alcohol.
I mean, you know, there's always the folks
that, like, they enjoy the flavor a cocktail,
but they just don't want that alcohol in it.
-Right. -[Tim] Yeah.
-[Digger] They've never been drinkers. -Yeah.
They probably don't need to be drinkers.
Well, whether they do or they don't,
you know, that's their preference,
so this way, they have something available to them.
-Mmm-hmm. -They'd walk in this door,
pick one of these mocktails up off the shelf,
and that's a market.
Mmm-hmm.
[dramatic music playing]
You know, this is new territory to us
a little bit but like you said,
there's money to be made in this zero proof stuff.
If there's money to be made,
I think we need to take note of it.
-[Mark] Yeah. -Yeah.
Let's start with the original spirit
-with the alcohol in it. -Yes, I agree on that.
-[Mark] Brittanea's. -[Tim] Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm.
It almost looks like a milkshake.
Well, that's kind of the mouthfeel
that that egg white gives the cocktail.
[Tim] I would say it's about 72.
Let me see what happens here.
Pour it over the ice.
[Digger] Oh, there it came.
Looks like a cocktail, doesn't it?
[Tim] Doesn't that look good?
Yeah. Well, this one actually is a cocktail, isn't it?
It is a cocktail. It got some alcohol in there.
-[Mark] Yeah. -Ooh.
Maybe a little lemon in there.
[Mark] I like it.
There is something different there.
Lemon, ginger,
and of course the egg white that she put in...
-[Tim] Mmm-hmm. -for the viscosity.
You know, her base in there is plum.
Yeah.
Damn, I'm gonna be honest with you.
-[Tim] Mmm-hmm. -If her zero proof tastes anything like this...
-[Tim] Mmm-hmm. -she's onto something.
-Yeah. -[Digger] Mmm-hmm.
This next one is the one that counts.
All right. There we go. Look at that stuff up there.
-That's [indistinct] ain't it? -[Digger] I mean, that's merengue.
That's merengue.
[Tim] Here you go.
Ah, beautiful. Thank you, bartender.
Looks like I see a little cinnamon or something.
[Mark] Both of these look right at home
in a glass with ice.
[Digger] It still got the good flavor
-that carries through. -[Mark] I'm telling you.
It's got more on the nose than the one with the alcohol.
I think other than the alcohol,
-it's exactly like it. -[Digger] Yeah.
She put ginger in there.
You know, ginger can be overdone.
To make it hot.
And it's perfect for it.
-It carries... -It's perfect.
[Digger] the flavors through.
I would buy that.
I'm a gin man. I can't wait for this one.
[Digger] Let's get busy.
All I know is Ian better bring it.
Okay. Here is the real deal.
Let's go with it first again.
How did you land on blueberries and basil?
I was trying to find cocktails
that you could go with the juniper in a gin
because there's some malt flavor to my "gin".
[Tim] That's nice.
[Mark] Man, that looks so appetizing in the glass.
[Digger] All right.
Well, now, we need this jar
with gin front to back, that's his original spirit.
I'm picking up more basil than I am gin
right off the nose.
A little peppery in there.
-Well... -It's bold.
[Tim] I think he loaded it with a lot of basil.
At this point, I like them both really good.
-[chuckles] -We just gotta see
if this mocktail...
-It's the one we're judging. -[Digger] Yeah.
Yeah, that looks just like the same thing at this point.
[Tim] They look identical.
It looks exactly the same.
[Tim] Light on the nose now.
I don't get any of the juniper
which makes it run away from a gin.
Because I spilled so much mash
and my main spirit
has a very heavy juniper flavor,
I'm... You know, you can taste it.
I hoping they like this.
Just a couple of little juniper berries in this jar
would've brought the flavor we needed.
But it's good.
This is a real deal cocktail here, no joke.
But when I go his non-alcohol,
I'm losing his flavor
-that he was trying to carry over. -[Digger] Yeah.
It changed.
This is sweet blueberry now.
I'm a gin man, Tim.
And I don't get gin in this mocktail.
Ten people won Master Distiller here.
I know where I'm at.
Yeah, yeah. I know, too.
All right. Are we ready to go break it to them?
-Mmm-hmm. -Let's go.
I'm ready to deliver the news.
[dramatic music playing]
[Digger] All right, guys. Come up and get your jars.
[tense music playing]
Ian,
you're gonna need to call that a blueberry explosion.
I mean, that right there would fly off
liquor store shelves as a mixer.
Yeah, it would be a mocktail,
but it could serve well as a mixer.
And all I can say is, damn fine job.
Thank you.
Outstanding.
Your flavor profile is spot on,
color's beautiful in the glass over the ice cube.
-Thank you. -I don't think
that your juniper was quite as forward
in your zero proof,
but I could never see myself
buying a zero proof cocktail,
now I can.
-Thank you for that. -Thank you.
Brittanea, changed up on us just a little bit.
It's really, really tight, you know,
because you had the zero proof
and you had the one with the alcohol in it,
but you nailed it on the taste profile.
I think they're both outstanding
and I think there is a market
for each one of you.
I don't know where you came up with this concoction.
To me, it was like a half melted
frozen lemon custard
and the flavor boom, hits you right at the mouth.
Not that much difference between the mocktail
and your true cocktail.
I mean, outstanding job on both y'all have.
For first time ever,
we're gonna have a Master Distiller
for not bringing in any liquor to the table.
[laughter]
Which I find totally unorthodox
but here we go.
We are crowning the first ever
zero proof Master Distiller.
And, Brittanea, that would be you, young lady.
[laughs]
-I'm a big zero. -Cheers.
[laughs]
The non-alcoholic market is booming
and it's mind-boggling to even be able
to have these guys taste it and enjoy it
'cause a lot of things on the market right now are not palatable.
Congrats.
So to be able to make a palatable version
of the non-alcoholic is...
That's exciting that they were even able
to stomach it and enjoy it is huge.
[Digger] Top-shelf folks right there, guys.
[Tim] No doubt.