-[narrator] This time on Master Distiller... -[Brad] Oh, wow.
...two beverages Americans will fight for...
-It's like a moonshine snow globe. -[Kristine] I know.
...tea and liquor.
One triggered the American Revolution,
and the other, the Whiskey Rebellion.
I think the flavor is outstanding.
[narrator] Three distillers compete
to make two of America's hardest-won beverages
into one top-selling spirit...
Try to keep up with the big dog down here.
...and a chance to earn the title of Master Distiller.
That's my best right there.
I done already seen things that I ain't never seen before,
and I've seen everything.
[Digger] Welcome to Master Distiller.
Tea-infused liquor,
that's what you're gonna make for us.
By the time this is over, you're gonna show us
which one of you all truly is the Master Distiller.
What's at stake here, of course, is your bragging rights.
But if you are the winner and named Master Distiller,
you'll get a limited run of your tea-infused liquor at a major distillery.
[Tim] Every backwoods distiller worth their salt
knows that a good sweet tea moonshine is a gold mine.
And even commercial distillers, like myself,
we are infusing tea into our moonshine, whiskeys, gins, vodkas out there.
Tickle, tell us all about it.
Hot tea has been popular in America since Colonial times.
But even before the Revolutionary War,
Americans were drinking spiked tea
in the form of high alcohol punches.
Philadelphia Fish House Punch was made with black tea.
Regent's Punch was made with green tea
and five different types of liquors.
During Prohibition, Americans turned to non-alcoholic iced tea,
and iced tea exploded in popularity.
Everything came full circle after World War II,
when suburban cookout culture boomed.
And Americans rediscovered the joy
of putting a little liquor in their sweet tea.
These days, tea-centered spirits
are trending on social media and in the liquor market.
From classic jars of sweet tea moonshine to green tea infused vodkas,
distillers and drinkers alike are seeing how versatile tea can be.
Ah. Now that's down home right there.
All right, guys, at the risk of sounding a little tiny bit corny,
this really is my cup of tea.
It's time to build that mash.
You're gonna do it the way we've always done it, in the backwoods.
[Mark] All right, guys, come with Tim and myself.
All right, guys, gonna mash us in some tea.
And I'm gonna be honest with you,
that's gonna hit Tim Smith right in the crease.
He cut his teeth drinking tea and moonshine liquor.
And even today, I have a RTD on the market.
It has tea and moonshine together.
So, uh, this is your first challenge
of making your infused tea spirit.
You have one hour to finish your mash.
Your time starts now. Get to work.
Good luck, guys.
[Brad] It's getting hot.
So far, that thermometer is pretty accurate.
That one I got on mine at home, just...
It's for looks. For pretties.
My name is Brad Leuenberger.
I'm from Salem, Indiana.
I'm originally from Kentucky. Born and bred Kentucky boy.
This is my newest still here.
And then I've got some inspiration in here, you know.
Popcorn Sutton was the true blue original moonshiner.
I've been around moonshine about my whole life.
My grandpa made liquor, my uncle made liquor.
And then last five years or so,
I've kind of just took what I've learned and started.
The first spirit that I ever made
was just a regular old corn.
And I got my first jar, and I was so happy.
Like, I'm showing my wife, "Mary, Mary, Mary,"
and the bottom fell out of it.
Like, literally, the bottom fell out.
But I've made a lot of good jars since.
I think that's good.
So, if I can replicate this, we'll have something.
So, for my liquor, I'm gonna make a sweet tea sweetened with honey,
and, uh, I think it'll be good.
-I got some, uh, flaked corn. -[Mark] Yes, sir.
Some oats, some honey malt.
-Get a little sweet in it. -There you go.
-Good luck, boss. -Thanks.
I'm not looking to go legal,
I'm not looking to open a distillery.
I'm just proud of my liquor,
and I want the world to know how proud I am.
-Chris, have you cooked outside? -[Chris] Oh, yeah.
If I'm not in the distillery at school, I'm standing right by a river.
My name is Chris Williamson,
and I'm from Maple Valley, Washington.
I work as a project manager.
I also attend college full-time
for South Puget Sound Community College's
brewing and distilling program.
And then, uh, making moonshine whenever I have time.
My family's been multigenerational moonshiners for as long as I can remember.
And I've been distilling for over 20 years now.
At the school, I'm learning on a 250 gallon pot still.
And at home, I typically have a 50-gallon column system that I put together.
This is my home modular still.
You'll see these bubble plates filling up with distillate.
And it'll produce a very high proof, high quality spirit.
My experimentation with tea flavors has been a lot of trial and error.
So I have gone back to a grain-based corn whiskey
that I'm planning on blending in with my sweet tea.
Well, it looks like you've got a potful of a cauldron here.
I've got a potful of a cauldron here, sir.
I've got some cracked corn, uh, six-row barley,
some crystal malts for... To give it some added flavor.
[Mark] What's your plan for your endgame?
Well, you know, I think I'm gonna go for just the...
My tried and true, uh, sweet tea moonshine recipe.
Winning Master Distiller, to me would be huge.
Between family and friends and community,
bringing something like this home, I think, would be huge for all of us.
All right, guys, 30 minutes in.
You've got 30 minutes left.
It's taking a long time.
[Brad] What's your temperature at, Kristine?
It's at 38 Celsius.
-[Chris] Gotta remember-- -I use Celsius.
She's a Canadian.
-Let me get my calculator out here. -Yeah.
My name is Kristine Hui.
I'm from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
I do work as a distillery consultant.
I started in the brewing industry,
and then I wanted to get into hard alcohol,
so I spent over a year in Scotland making Scotch whisky,
and then one in Wales and two in England.
I thought the whole experience was very unique
and not something that a lot of people in the world get to have.
So I started making videos on a website to kind of showcase
what it's actually like working in the distilling industry.
Hey, it's Brewbird.
In this video, we're talking about
hydrometers and refractometers.
I really just love the nerdy aspects of it.
And if I put my hydrometer in.
Boop. It will start to float.
For my mash bill, I'm using two-row pale malts,
and my secret ingredient is lychee tea.
Yeah, this is my latest creation,
which I made with some lychees.
Lychees are from Asia. Very sweet.
And I'm excited to introduce everyone to lychees.
Is this your first time brewing outside?
Yes. I've always done it legally.
You've got five minutes.
Five minutes to get your mash in your barrel.
[Brad] How you doing down there, Kristine?
[Kristine] Uh, not good.
My conversion was really bad.
I think the temperatures are off,
so I'm not sure if I'll get enough alcohol.
I wish I had brought some sugar.
I probably got two gallons of inverted sugar
I inverted at home that I'm not gonna use.
I am gonna take you up on that. Thank you so much.
Don't beat me too bad now,
-and I'll give you my secret here. -Oh, thank you.
Oh, Brad, he's putting it in there. He's slopped hogs before.
[Tim chuckling] Yeah.
-Are you ready? -[Brad] Mmm-hmm.
[grunts] Oh, boy.
Five, four,
three, two, one.
Bam, you're done.
All right, guys, we're all done with the mash-in.
Mark will lead the way out of the woods.
Come on, guys. Good job.
All right, guys, welcome back.
It's your first challenge, your first run.
What you're gonna do here right now is run us your base spirit
that you'll build on throughout this competition.
[Mark] You're gonna be running on a basic pot still.
The winner of this challenge
gets to go in the stillhouse first
in order to pick their parts.
So if there's something specific
that you need for your next run,
bring us a good jar in order to get to go in the stillhouse first.
What we're looking for, proof, clarity and flavor.
Three hours, bring us your best jar to this table.
And your three hours start now.
Bradley's got a big old cap that's he's pulling off here.
[Kristine] Holy moly.
-She didn't build a full barrel of maize, did she? -Oh, no.
You know what, I'm just gonna pour it in.
She's like, "Hell with that strainer. I'm just gonna pour it in."
[Kristine] I had some trouble with my mash.
I didn't extract enough sugar.
And of course that means I didn't get enough alcohol.
So going into the still run, I knew I would have, like, a very low ABV.
I opened up my mash barrel, and I was excited that it looked like
it fermented out all the way.
A little bit nervous
because I still had a pretty thick, uh, cap of barley.
It's pretty thick, but I'm getting there.
[Brad] Now you got some heat.
All right, guys, you burned up one hour.
Got two to go.
Kristine's got hers going.
-[Brad] I got liquor dripping. -[Chris] Yeah?
Yes, sir.
I'm not too far behind you.
[Brad] Try to keep up with the big dog down here.
Trying to keep up with the big dog down there, man.
I'm getting nervous, though.
Oh, look it, I'm already collecting.
[Digger] You're halfway home.
Hour and a half left in your run.
[Chris] Feeling pretty good about it, Kristine?
[Kristine] I'm a little bit worried.
Why is it taking so long?
I don't distill at home at all.
I'm only a legal distiller.
Brad and Chris,
it just seems like they distill a lot at home,
so they definitely have a big leg up on me.
Come on. Come on, come on, come on.
[Chris] What temp are you at now, Kristine?
[Kristine] Um, it's at 172.
[Chris] Feel where your steam is?
You should be able to feel where the heat is.
It's, like, it's hot. Yeah, it is hot.
It's working its way down.
It's just, it takes it a little bit.
Is it? It's coming. Yay!
So far...
I had the perfect stream.
It was, uh, clear.
Everything was just, I mean, money.
What was that? What do you think?
-[Brad] 140. -Oh, you think so?
-[Brad] 130. -Oh, really?
-This is my first jar of hearts. -[Chris] Yeah.
All right, guys, you're down to one hour.
I hope you're getting toward that sweet jar.
-[Brad] What jar are you on, Chris? -[Chris] Going on number five.
It's definitely mellowing out,
and I think it's getting to that flavor that I'm looking for.
-So... -[Brad] Right.
[Kristine] It was tasting really nice, good and fruity,
but I didn't get a high enough proof in my distillate.
[Chris] I've never seen anybody proof like that before, Kristine.
[Tim] She has a new technique, tornado proofing.
[Digger] Kristine, you know, you're going to have to explain to me
about that little cyclonic action.
[Kristine] Yeah. So when I was preparing,
I was trying to learn how to read the beads.
And we found it worked best if we, like, made a tornado
and see how fast the bubbles disappear.
So the higher the proof,
the faster the bubbles disappear?
Yes, exactly.
-It's like a moonshine snow globe. -[Kristine] I know.
Fifteen minutes, guys.
If you ain't where you need to be, you probably ain't gonna be.
[Brad] Yep, she's starting to get cloudy.
I'm in the tails now, so I just need to pick a jar.
-This is it, boys. My best. -That it?
We're gonna go taste and deliberate.
And then we'll come back and tell you our decision.
Good luck to all of you.
-[Tim] This is that base spirit. -[Digger] Yup.
No tea involved yet.
Where do you want to start at, boss?
Well, I just thought the one closest to me.
-Chris. Seattle, Washington. -Seattle.
Nice-looking jar of base spirit.
[Digger] Good and clear.
[Tim] We got low proof.
[Mark] Low proof in that one.
-Somewhere around 80, maybe. -[Mark] Yeah.
I got a little spooked,
but once I do a spirit run on it,
I think it's gonna turn out really well.
He got a good conversion. It's real light on the nose.
You know, Chris was talking about some caramel notes
that he was going to bring to the table,
and I think he just brought it out.
Honestly, I could see this pairing very nice with sweet tea.
I'm anxious to see where Chris goes with this.
All right, Kristine.
[Digger] Yeah, I'm seeing
-a little cloudiness in that jar -Yeah.
She didn't get to get to conversion
from her grains that she wanted to get.
I don't know, like, how successfully I learned how to read the bead,
so I think mine is pretty low, actually.
[Tim] I mean, I'm getting that lychee
on the palate and also on the nose.
And that's what she said she was going to make.
I like what she brought to the table.
And it's got a little bit of alcohol.
I'm gonna give her 60.
It's not much.
But there's zero wrong with the flavor.
Excellent flavor.
She just needs to learn how to proof.
She's doing the tornado twist on it.
[Digger] Yeah, that don't work.
Moving right along, Possum Holler.
Now that right yonder is a A1 clear jar.
[Tim] No doubt about it.
[Digger] Ah, it makes my heart feel good
-to see it bead like that, right there. -[Tim] Mmm-hmm.
[Brad] I was super nervous at first,
but mine, kind of, just went the way I expected it to go.
That is genuine excellent.
Yeah, I can't find the negative in that anywhere.
That's spot on 100 proof.
That's as smooth a drink of corn liquor
that I believe I've ever had.
I know where I'm at now.
-I know exactly where I'm at. -[Tim] Mmm-hmm.
All right, guys.
-Here we go. -Let's do it.
[Mark] You know, the challenge here is tea.
I think all of you have a fine base spirit to do that with.
Right now, the task at hand is simply to rate you guys
to see what order you go into the stillhouse.
Brad, good drink of liquor right there,
-I'm telling you. -Thank you.
Now, didn't you say you used a little honey malt in there as well?
-I did use a little honey malt. -And it came through well.
It complimented it really, really well.
[Mark] You know, I can taste Kentucky in that jar.
What's in that jar is corn liquor, and very good corn liquor.
I have to say it's one of the best-tasting jars that we've tasted a long time.
Well, thank you, sir.
Kristine, you struggled a little bit on your mash coming in,
and it showed up in your jar.
But your flavor was great.
It really brought a really fruity floral note to the nose and the palate.
You got the flavor, you don't have the alcohol.
You brought a good, flavorful jar, a little low on proof.
We'll worry about that in the next round.
Chris, you're in distilling school.
So let me say this.
If you're paying money to go to that school,
-it was worth it. -Well, thank you.
-All in all, fine drink. -Thank you, sir.
All three of you, outstanding jobs.
All three of you know what you're doing.
I look forward to tasting the next jar.
And like I said, this is strictly for stillhouse picks.
And good luck moving into the next challenge.
[Digger] Brad, you're going in number one,
Chris, you're going in number two.
And, Kristine, you're number three unfortunately.
But don't let that count you out.
We've had winners coming in third out of the stillhouse many times.
Tickle.
This is how y'all are getting to the stillhouse.
The best way you can.
[Tickle] We'll get in this boat,
and we'll see if we can find us some still parts.
-Come on with me. -Good luck.
-Good luck, y'all. -They make you leave your jars here.
They're afraid I'll drink 'em.
All right. We are here to pick still parts.
-Ooh. And not fall down. -[Kristine laughing]
For your tea-infused moonshine.
Each one of you are gonna have three minutes in the stillhouse.
And, Brad, I believe you are up first.
And your time starts now.
You know what you got going on in here.
You know what a still looks like.
When Digger told me that I had got the first still pick,
it was like on cloud nine.
[Tickle] I'm hearing a whole lot of sounds in there.
Here we go. We have got a condenser.
Brad's got a condenser out.
My strategy going in was to make sure I get a thumper
to infuse my honey with.
Brad has got a doubler.
You're missing one key component that I can see of right now.
-Uh-uh. -[Tickle] All right? Yes, you are.
[Brad] It's just going to be what I'm used to running on.
I know I can run good liquor on it.
Keep it simple.
-That's the part I was looking for, Brad. -[Chris] Attaboy.
Chris, your time starts now.
See what you can do in there.
-Get it. -Oh, yeah.
Typically, people would just run for those thumpers,
and I actually went for the column.
[Tickle] Have you got a still together?
-Anything like that? -Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
My strategy is to try to clean up what I originally made.
The edge could be taken off.
Running a column, it would give me that opportunity
to kind of refine that down.
Coming out. Coming out, huh?
Is that all you're going to get?
Yes, sir. I think I got it.
-[Tickle] All right then. If you think so. -[Chris] Yes, sir. Oh, yeah.
Okay, Kristine.
You see how much I helped them out, Kristine?
I'm gonna help you just as much.
-All right, Kristine? -[Kristine] Okay.
[Tickle] Your time starts now.
You've got full advantage in here now.
The judges said that my alcohol was too low proof,
so I'm luckily able to get a thumper,
just to try to get a little bit more alcohol.
She's come out here, she's throwing still parts.
I'm last. I don't need to be considerate of anyone coming after me,
so I might as well just take everything.
Good girl. Okay, Kristine.
You got this, Kristine. Time is ticking.
-All right. -[Chris] She has bad knees.
All right. Wow!
Okay.
Oh, are you all right?
Do you have everything you need?
-I hope so. -Oh.
Well, we're not gonna get any tea-infused liquor made out here.
Let's get these still parts back in there
and see what we can't get made for y'all, all right?
[Digger] Time to light this candle, guys.
You've got 30 minutes
to build us a functioning still.
Your 30 minutes starts... now.
Good luck and get with it, guys.
And, Kristine, If you need to,
you can move your whole bench.
Oh, right. Okay. Thanks.
I just grabbed everything out of the stillhouse.
So, I'll be surprised if I didn't get everything I needed.
I've worked with a couple
of stills with thumpers in the past,
so I knew how to build it.
So, I wasn't worried about that.
Damn.
I mean, I don't think that we've ever seen
all of this apparatus assembled. Do you...
Do you guys ever remember seeing
all of that put together?
I've seen people try to put it together.
For me, there's a lot more control
with a... a column-style system,
because you have two different water sources.
So, you have two different forms of control, you know?
And you can kind of, uh, adjust the two as needed
for flavor, for proofing, and all that jazz.
[Mark] Bam!
He's done.
Looks like Brad's got to find him another part.
[Brad] So, as I'm building my still,
I couldn't get it level.
I have two of these stills at home.
It should be easy.
Do y'all have... One of y'all have a shorter thump post?
[indistinct conversation]
-What about you, Kristine? -Probably, but...
What are you looking at? I'm not sure what you... Just look for it. Yeah.
I think that'll teach you, Brad.
[Tim] Yeah, you right now.
[Brad] That fits a little better.
[Digger] Well, guys, I don't see any more activity,
and everybody looks peaceful.
Ready to make some liquor?
[Chris] Yes, sir.
All right, Well, we've got a special guest judge coming to help us out,
who knows a little more about this tea infusion than we do.
So, bring us your best jar, your second run up here.
Don't forget, somebody's going home
at the end of this challenge.
Your time starts... now.
Good luck and get with it, guys.
[Chris] For my second distillation,
it's literally just going to be pouring a little bit of wash,
blending it with my low wines,
and putting the heat to it.
[Digger] Kristine, can I ask what you're measuring out there?
[Kristine] I am measuring
-the lychee tea. -[Digger] Ah.
[Kristine] For the second run,
I'm going with lychee tea-infused liquor.
I chose lychee because I thought
no one would replicate what I was doing,
and I really love drinking lychee tea.
I think it's a beautiful tea,
and I wanted to showcase it.
Kristine, is that the dried lychee fruit?
Yes, it is.
[Chris] That is something.
[Kristine] Have you had them before?
I... No. To be honest with you,
I... I could try a lychee.
-[Kristine] I'll get nice, juicy ones for you. -Oh, my goodness.
They definitely look strange.
[Kristine] They're delicious, though.
They're in syrup.
[Chris] They taste good.
-The texture is strange. -[Kristine] They are good!
-Aw! I saw that! -[laughter]
-I saw that! -[Brad laughing] Sorry!
I did turn around, my back to her,
and chewed it up and spit it in my mash barrel.
It's good!
[Brad] With a weird texture
and taste.
And she busted me out, so I had to eat another one.
There go the honey.
Honey going in the thumper.
Hopefully, that carries over,
to go into my...
Honey Sweet Tea Moonshine.
-Mmm-hmm. -[Brad] Pretty simple.
It's getting hot in here now, y'all.
[Digger] I'm glad we've got that guest judge coming in,
because we definitely have
a stiff competition going on here.
I done already seen things
that I ain't never seen before,
and I've seen everything.
-Gentlemen. -Richard.
-How y'all doing? -[Mark] Hey, Richard.
[Tim] Come on in and have a seat.
What have we got going on here?
[Tim] We're making moonshine and tea.
[Richard] Moonshine and tea?
That some things that I like.
Your Manglier tea is one of the biggest sellers you have, isn't it?
Oh, my God.
I don't even know how there's a Manglier tea tree left
-in Louisiana. -[faint laughter]
I think we're living in the golden age of alcohol right now, Richard.
And we get a chance to see it.
-[Digger] We get a chance to see it. -[Mark] Yep.
[Brad] Oh, [bleep]. Got liquor running.
-[Chris] Already? -[Kristine] Wow.
[Chris] I'm really impressed, man.
That didn't take very long.
[Brad] Beat you, didn't I?
[Chris] Yeah, you did.
[Kristine] Oh! Look!
It's coming!
[Brad] You really got this running slow, don't you?
I'm gonna get as much alcohol out of it as I can.
So, I decided
to just run it really low and slow,
and just collect drip by drip.
That way, I'm favoring the collection
of very high ABV alcohol.
Chris, did you put any tea in yours?
[Chris] No. When I was at home experimenting,
I was getting too many tannins.
And honestly, I kind of scared myself
out of putting tea directly into my wash to distill over.
You know, I actually had reflux going for a little bit,
and it almost tasted like I was pulling too much of the flavor out.
So, I actually stopped all the reflux
and just pretty much ran it, what you would consider, in a pot still mode.
[Brad] Is it running up through the bubble plates yet?
-Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. -[Brad] Or through those sight glasses?
-Yeah. -Can I come down and see...
-Of course you can. -...while I've got a minute?
See? So, what's going on right now,
-is you got the vapor coming up, right? -Yeah.
And this is... This is running cool water through all these.
-It's like a... a mini shotgun. -Okay. Okay.
[Chris] So, the condensate is falling back down
into the pot, and it's just, what's called, "doing some reflux."
-Oh, look it. I'm already collecting. -[Brad] Huh.
Interesting. This is interesting.
[Chris] I think that using a column system
is gonna probably be an advantage for me
because I can get a...
a really good, high alcohol distillate
that I can proof down and be able to turn in to the judges.
This is head two.
[whistles]
A little wet a whistle of yours?
All right. Yeah.
Oh, wow.
-Definitely taste that tea. Yeah. -This is a sleeper, son.
-I'm telling you. -[Chris] Yeah. I know.
What jar is that?
This is four.
I think I was able to get the proof up this time.
And you've 100% got your proof up.
-Still high proof. -Definitely magic of a thumper.
Lady and gentlemen,
ten minutes. That's all you've got left.
If you ain't buttoned up, you ain't gonna be.
[Richard] This is gonna be a good competition.
Kristine, here,
she's chosen a flavor profile
that I would run away from.
So, Brad went for simple honey-flavored tea.
Chris, his still choice...
just surprised the heck out of me.
These are three professionals here.
My father's money.
It's a little high-proof,
but I kind of did that on purpose,
because it was super smooth.
And I've got a little something down here
to prove in these mountains.
-All right, guys. This is it. -[Digger] Bring it in here, Brad.
That's my best right there.
Gosh, man, I'm still so high.
My last five minutes of the run, there was good flavors there,
but I felt like my alcohol was too high.
-[judges chatting indistinctly] -Yeah.
Trying to prove it down to 100 proof.
Hopefully, it's a... a winning recipe.
-Another fine, clear jar. -[Mark] Yes, sir.
[Kristine] I really like the lychee flavors coming through.
Really unique.
So, I'm hoping that'll stand out
to the judges.
Kristine, you're down to five, four,
three...
Just under the wire.
-[Mark] You made it. -[Kristine chuckles]
[Mark] All right, guys. Just know,
when we return with our decision,
one of you will be going home.
Good luck to all of you.
[Mark] Let me officially welcome you
to the judge's table, Richard.
-[laughter] -Thank you. Thank you.
I think we'll start with Kristine.
Mmm.
[Mark] It looks to be high.
But if she's got proof like that
from as low a proof as she started with,
she's a distilling genius.
I think it was sweet.
It was fruity, and the ABV was up there.
[Digger] Ooh!
That's "damn it, man."
I'mma saying that's 150.
[Richard] And this was the lady that turned in low-proof?
Yeah, it was about 50.
It's almost like she just wanted to show you,
like, "I can bring this back from the grave."
[Mark] She did.
I think the flavor is outstanding.
-Yeah. -[Richard] Yes, it is.
And what you're tasting, is that tea.
But she's got a solid foundation here to work with.
If she can make it to the next round,
she can do a whole lot with this.
Let's go on to Chris.
Mr. Chris.
It's clean, pretty jar.
I hope it's 100 proof,
so it'll cool that one down.
[Richard] He's 100.
[Chris] I waited for a long time
to get into what I thought
was something worthy of turning in,
but I... I think I finally did it.
It's got a nose on it.
[Richard] That's interesting.
It's a good grain flavor.
It'll have to have a lot of tea infusion...
to hide from that grain
just a little bit.
But, it's a good drink.
-I like it. -That's a good bottle right there.
All right, well, look at this.
Possum Holler liquor.
-Possum Holler liquor? -Brad.
[Richard] That is a clear, clean jar of liquor right there.
[Digger] Now, that's pretty big.
-High 120s to 130. -[Mark] Yep.
Wow.
Very light.
But, man, that's pleasant.
And that honey is just spot on.
Damn, this is good.
I could drink that with some sweet tea.
Now, you've got to make a decision.
Which one of these guys you gonna send home?
If you bring this to me, I could do so much with it.
I can only go around the corner with this.
Yeah. I'll follow your play on that, sir.
Yeah. Yeah, I'm good.
All right. Let's go.
Here we go.
Here we are,
after a long, hard deliberation.
We'll start with Brad,
the Kentucky-Indiana moonshiner extraordinaire.
You've got "backwoods" written all over it.
And you know I wouldn't expected anything less.
I think the honey really came in good on it.
[Mark] A little high on the proof,
but it drank really smooth.
[Digger] That speaks highly of your skills right there.
It hit the palate really well.
It's not the first time you've dealt
with that honey malt.
The flavor is off the charts.
I was really pleased with that jar right there.
[Mark] Good job, boss.
Kristine,
the flavor was in there.
It was mid-range and finished off well.
The tea is there.
I could smell it, I could taste it.
It's in the aftertaste of it.
That's an awesome job.
Outstanding coming from the last challenge to this challenge.
Can I ask you where you think your proof was at?
110.
You were headed in the right direction.
You were at 150 proof.
[gasping and laughing] Oh, my God!
And usually when it's as high proof as yours is,
it destroys the flavor.
But it did not.
[Digger] Good job.
And here's big Chris down here
with the rocket ship that he built
that nobody has ever built.
[Mark] And honestly,
your proof is spot on.
Excellent job.
That's a grain jar right there.
That's all grains.
I could almost taste them separately.
Sometimes people throw grains in
and they just clash with each other.
These really met well. They marry together well.
Chris, you did a great job,
all the way from the beginning
and all the way to the end.
Outstanding jar.
Three really good jars.
All right, lady and gentlemen.
Two get to stay, and one has to go.
So, uh, we'll just cut to the chase.
Kristine, I'm awful sorry,
but that jar bought you a ticket home.
Okay.
And it wasn't the fact the lack of flavor. I think
your proof was just a little...
High.
-High, high. -High, high.
After the first distillation,
the judges said that my alcohol was too low-proof.
So, I tend to overcompensate sometimes.
But, I was really happy with my lychee flavors.
And obviously, Brad and Chris,
they're awesome guys, so I'm happy
for either of them to win.
[Digger] Your skills are to be commended.
And I'm expecting to see big things out of you in the future.
[Richard] Good job.
-Thank you, ma'am. -Bye!
[Richard] Very good job.
Final challenge.
"Tea infusion."
Whatever additives you're gonna use to complement that tea,
make sure you don't mess it up.
There's a fine line between "compliment"
and "contaminate."
You want to bring the taste of the tea out, definitely.
But we want to taste the alcohol also.
And bring us your best,
because at the end of this challenge,
one of you gentlemen will be named "Master Distiller."
[Digger] All right, men.
Time to infuse that alcohol
with some delicious tea goodness.
You've got 30 minutes to get that prepared
and on our table.
Your 30 minutes starts...
now. Good luck and get with it, guys.
Brad, what is that you put in that jar?
Just concentrated tea.
It looks a little grody right now, don't it?
My final strategy is flavor.
Half pitcher of tea
with honey. Add my corn liquor to it.
It's simple, but they're gonna love it.
[whistling] Whew.
I say they've got a battle on their hands, really.
[Chris] It is the final round,
and it's just me and Brad. And I am nervous as all get up.
This is Seattle versus Possum Holler.
You know, we're gonna throw it down.
First thing I'm gonna do, is start proofing down.
I have a lot of high alcohols.
And from there, then I'll start working on a... an actual recipe.
[Tim] It looks like Bradley is dumping
more honey in there.
The problem with putting all that honey in,
it can be so bold and heavy
that you're not gonna taste the tea.
I think he had a good base to start with.
I just hope he don't "overhoney" that too much.
[Brad] I'm a Southern boy.
We drink sweet tea. That's what I like.
I think I've strategized good all the way
from my mash up to this final product.
Hopefully, I'll walk away
with Master Distiller.
[Digger] Gentlemen,
you're halfway there.
Fifteen minutes burned, fifteen left.
[Chris] For my final product, I'm just doing a blend.
I'm using a Tennessee black tea
that I picked up from a local tea shop,
with, uh, a simple syrup and honey to sweeten.
It's important that I, uh,
bring a balanced drink to the table.
It's something that's going to have
the alcohol note with the flavor,
and the sweet note behind it, I think, is key.
Chris, what you got going on?
You got a lot of jars on the table.
Yeah, so I did a few different variations of a... a sweet tea.
And each one is a different proof.
Just trying to... figure out what the balance plan is.
Five minutes, folks.
[Richard] Brad.
What kind of proof do you think you're gonna pull?
It tastes like 40 or 50, maybe.
[Richard] And you're happy with that?
Well, y'all got me spooked a little bit
by saying "there's a fine line." So...
I'm gonna see how it tastes when it gets cold.
See if I just need to add a little bit more something, something.
Ten,
nine,
eight,
seven, six, five,
four,
three, two...
-By God, that's cutting it close. -[faint chuckle]
So, our job falls now to us going taste
these tea-infused liquors.
And then we're going to come back and let you all know
who the next Master Distiller is gonna be.
[Brad] Let me take a drink of it and see what it tastes like.
Here, I need some of yours now.
-A little Possum Holler liquor. -Possum Holler liquor.
It probably ain't the proof.
Smooth.
It's good. You can taste the honey.
You can taste the liquor,
and you can taste the tea, I think.
Now, if they're looking for sweet tea,
-sweet, sweet tea... -Yeah?
...you probably got me.
I wish you the best, brother.
-[Brad] I wish you the best. -You got this.
-I'm... No, no, I think you got it. -One way or the other,
-you got this. -Well, it's whatever it is, right?
I've already won,
-'cause I'm here. -We both won.
All right, guys.
Tea-infused liquor.
[Mark] This is strictly...
flavor challenge.
It is. A tea flavor.
[Digger] No proof set,
no particular type of tea needed.
No particular sweetener needed.
Just your choice.
[Tim] All right, let's look at Chris.
Uh, he's got more of a honey color.
I'm feeling a little nervous.
-You are? -Yeah.
I hope I made something
that all the judges will appreciate.
You know, being the Northwest kid,
over here on the other side,
you know, I have a lot to prove over here.
So, Chris used a Tennessee black tea in here.
That's something you guys should be familiar with.
It smells good, got good nose.
I taste the honey for sure.
It really complements that tea flavor really well.
-It didn't run the liquor or the tea out of the picture. -[Mark] No,
and I still taste a pleasant amount of alcohol.
-Do you agree? -Yes.
I'll tell you what we got. We got a good balance.
I'm gonna say he's 40-to-50 proof.
-[Tim] Yep. -[Richard] Mmm-hmm. He talked about citrus.
If he would have brought some citrus to the table with this,
this would be outstanding.
Just about any kind of fruit, really, will complement a tea.
I like it just the way it is, just fine.
Good job.
Very good job.
Well, let's move on.
Let's take a ride up Possum Holler.
[Digger] Now, that looks more like traditional tea.
That looks like tea.
Here we go.
Mmm-hmm. And it smells like a traditional tea.
Yeah, it's got a tea nose on it.
Not as strong alcohol.
I like it.
I like it too, Tim.
And it's not overpoweringly sweet,
which a lot of times, that's what people do.
They'll sugar it down, sweeten it down too much.
But my biggest question is,
"Where's the alcohol?"
I mean, he started out with that real honey flavor
-in that liquor. -Mmm-hmm.
But, he just diluted it down.
He broke it down too much. He...
-He used too much-- -He should have been using liquor
instead of water to thin that honey down.
-Yeah. -[Richard] And the water's coming through more...
-Yep. -...than the alcohol is coming through right now.
Well, you know, guys,
both of these contestants
started out with a very, very good base.
But really, only one of them reminds me of home.
We're good? We know where we're at here?
-[Richard] I'm definitely... -100%.
-100%, definitely. -No doubt.
Well, let's go name our next Master Distiller.
[Digger] That's our job.
-[all straining] -Let's go in.
Now, I'm going to tell you what,
y'all brought your A game.
I promise you.
Both of you, to bring the product that you came, you brought to the table,
outstanding job.
-Yeah. -[Brad] Thanks.
We go right over here to Brad first. Possum Holler.
-Possum Holler. -[Digger] I'm telling you,
when you open that up and you smell that, man, that's sweet tea.
This is Sunday dinner with the family.
And that's what you expect your tea to taste like.
I would like to have seen a little bit more alcohol in it.
Still, a real good job,
something to definitely be proud of.
Chris,
I know you went and bought some local, uh, tea
you said you got.
And, uh, I think that was a benefit.
Thank you.
You know, your base spirit was incredibly good.
You enhanced it well.
You brought some alcohol to the party.
You balanced it all real well.
I would say you're probably 40, 50 proof.
A fine job on your part as well.
Thank you, sir.
Both of you should be proud of yourself.
-Thank you. -Thank you, Tim.
[Digger] Guys, I'm... I'm sincere with this,
and I say it's my honor and privilege to judge both y'all.
But with all that being said,
there can only be one Master Distiller.
And, Chris, you are the new Master Distiller, my friend.
-Congratulations. -Thank you, sir.
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
-Ah, man. That was tough. -That was tough.
It was a tough competition.
Possum Holler, y'all.
-[chuckles softly] -[Chris] Winning Master Distiller
is, you know, probably one of the most validating things I've done to date
with my journey within this... this industry.
To be able to get the approval of the icons
of... of our industry right now,
you know, I mean, there's nothing better than that.
I learned this craft from my family.
You know, I'm hopefully gonna pass it on to... to my children.
I hope that, you know, there's more Master Distillers to come...
in our bloodline.
You all are fine distillers in your own right.
And I think y'all both brought
a superior product to the table.
[Brad] I've had a good time down here in Tennessee.
I come down and do what I want to do,
prove that I can run straight liquor.
My tea was just a little off.
Chris beat me fair and square.
But I will get that title
of Master Distiller.
It just wasn't this time.
-Congratulations to both of you. -[indistinct conversation]
Good job.
[Richard] I don't envy you guys' job.
-I really don't. -[chuckling]
We still don't get booed like the referees do.
-Think about it there, boss. -[laughter]
That's true.
-Let's go get us a drink. -Let's do it.