[Thonya] That's gonna blow my top off.
Holy [bleep] .
[narrator] Moonshine has an Irish forefather.
We're going back before moonshine was even moonshine.
[narrator] And its name is poitín.
Look out belly, here it comes.
[narrator] The high-proof Irish liquor
that brought moonshine to America.
It is a different taste.
It's totally me.
[narrator] Three distillers bring their best recipes...
[Thonya] You're from the actual place.
He's got something up his sleeve.
[narrator] And a rebel spirit.
[Platt] Have you had this before?
Probably too many times.
It is so awesome just to hear him say a full sentence. [laughs]
[narrator] And only one will be crowned
Master Distiller.
Greatest jar of poitín ever made, by me today.
Welcome to Master Distiller, guys.
We're fixing to go way, way back into time,
to the great-great-grandpappy of moonshine.
Poitín.
The Irish immigrants that came over to America years ago,
they brought their skills of making poitín to the Appalachians.
And this is how we got moonshine in the area.
Tickle, tell us all about it.
Poitín, pronounced puh-teen or puh-cheen,
is the OG great-granddaddy of moonshine.
First made in Ireland in the sixth century,
poitín is made in a pot still
and traditionally made out of a malt barley base.
But you can also use potatoes,
crab apples, wheat, beets,
just about anything you've got.
Around 1660,
England realized they were broke after their civil war
and Oliver Cromwell's wars with Spain and Holland.
They decided the fastest way for them to make some quick money
was to start taxing Irish liquor.
Well, I think we all know how that went.
Overnight, Ireland became a country of illegal distillers
and smugglers.
The untaxed poitín became known as moonshine.
And no matter how hard the English tried,
they just couldn't contain that Irish spirit.
I mean, the one you drank.
And their spirit of defiance.
Poitín is still illegal to make in Northern Ireland.
But in 1997, they finally passed a law
where you can make it in the republic.
Like moonshine,
poitín is sometimes flavored
with local botanicals, fruits or spices.
And as no coincidence,
poitín's high proof and sweet, earthy flavor
work especially well in cocktails.
Sláinte.
You guys are gonna make us your version
of that historical Irish spirit.
Whoever comes out on top of this contest,
you're gonna get a limited run of your liquor
and all the bragging rights that you can pull out.
All right guys, it's time to build that mash.
[Digger] Here we are, guys.
Poitín was made in a backwoods environment in Ireland
where it's pretty chilly as well.
And that's gonna hinder your mash building capability.
But we want you to make liquor like it's made historically.
You have one hour.
Get your signature poitín mash bill.
This will fly by.
Your one hour starts...
now.
-[Conor] Oh. -What you pouring in there, Conor?
Uh, so it's Munich 2 Malt.
-I'm getting a little Irish accent in there. -Yup. Yup, yup.
-You're no stranger to this, then. -[Conor] No.
My name is Conor McNeice.
I'm from Belfast,
and I'm currently living in Kansas City, Missouri.
I'm a distiller and facilities manager
for Restless Spirits Distilling Co.
And it snowballed and ended up as a distiller.
All the equipment we have here.
Essentially beer equipment,
because to make whiskey, you've gotta make a beer first.
I do feel like I have an advantage.
Poitín is a specialty for me.
I make it 3 times a week
and I'm very, very practiced in doing so.
I come in here pretty, pretty confident.
That's where you're from, is Ireland?
-Yeah, from Ireland, yeah. -[Thonya] Nice.
Yeah, I better step up my game now,
-if we got someone-- -I was just about to say--
-We got an import from Ireland. -[Conor laughs]
-[Thonya] I was just about to say, "Oh, no." -Yeah.
I'm Thonya Biage from Clover, South Carolina.
All right, guys, you wanna help Mommy cook dinner?
-Yeah. -Yes, ma'am.
[Thonya] Okay.
I'm a stay at home mom.
That's it. There you go.
My husband, he works
and on the weekends, we make liquor,
it's our little hobby to do.
Right here, is a four grain.
We've been distilling for about four or five years now.
Barley and rye, corn.
I kinda do the ideas behind the ingredients and the flavors.
This is a special, limited hot chocolate.
And he kind of is the still hand.
But together, we make the good liquor.
My first experience with poitín was rather shocking.
Came off awfully high proof and you got to take it down some.
Here's a finished product,
it's got a little bit of a cloud to it from the cold.
But, once I got it to where it needed to be,
it was so smooth and so good.
And we're carrying on a heritage of good people.
It's an exciting thing to be a part of.
Have y'all ever mashed out in the woods before?
-Nope. -That's all we do back at home in Clover.
How about you, Platt?
Swear I've done it before.
-I don't know. I drink a lot, too. -[all laughing]
My name is Platt Robertson. I'm from Las Vegas, Nevada.
I'm a bartender,
home brewer, overall lover of booze.
My little baby here, this is my five gallon pot still
that I use on my stove.
I originally started home brewing about 25 years ago
and then progressed to wine, cider
and like so, eventually,
uh, distillation around 10-12 years ago.
It looks like water,
but this is a jar of a 100 proof moonshine.
My first experience with poitín was just,
I was introduced to it by some Irish friends who'd told me about it.
And this right here is why we go through this process.
To moonshine.
Whoo!
Of course, I gave it a try and just,
kinda got hooked after that.
All right guys, you burned half your time.
You got 30 minutes left.
Plenty of time.
Now, Conor, have you had this before?
Probably too many times.
-Honestly. -[Platt laughs] Okay.
[Conor] Definitely an acquired taste, spirit.
[Platt] Does anybody do aged poitín?
Uh, so that would be a whisky at that point.
So, poitín has to be clear.
It has to be above 80 proof.
Conor's a professional distiller.
He's from Ireland. [laughs]
Uh, he should definitely have a leg up.
There's very loose terms in terms of how you make it.
So my mash bill is Munich type-2 Malt,
honey malt, and chocolate malt.
I'm sitting over here watching you and worrying.
Grains, I'm not seeing some that are--
that have been busted.
[Conor speaking]
[Digger] 'Cause I can tell by the look at your mash,
-you're getting tannins out, so you're getting flavors. -Yeah.
-I'm definitely-- -[Digger] But, I'm afraid
-you're not getting enough convertible sugars there. -Yeah.
That hard shell on that grain
makes it hard for those enzymes to break down that sugar,
for fermentable sugars to turn into alcohol.
Do you have an alternative plan?
[Conor speaking]
[Mark] If anyone can handle a problem with poitín mash,
I suspect it would be our Irish friend.
[Platt] I've probably made poitín about,
the last three or four years.
One of the difficulties in dealing with poitín
is it's not readily available here in the US.
I have a little dried malt extract going in,
I've got different specialty grains.
I've got some Munich malt, honey malt.
I have little oats.
We look forward to tasting you liquor, my friend.
-Good luck. -[Platt] Appreciate it.
[Thonya] I gotta cut these potatoes.
What else you got going on your-- apart from the potato?
Raisins is like, a poor person's fruit.
-[Conor] Yeah. -[Thonya] I figured
that'd go back to the 1600s as far as I could get. [chuckles]
I'm approaching it just like any other shiner would.
Your grains and your nutrients
and everything else and winging it, just like they would.
[Digger] Tell me about your plan here.
I'm using malted barley, white sugar,
dark brown sugar, with my raisins.
This poitín thing, uh...
I'm gonna try to make it as good as I can.
Guys, you're down to three minutes.
[Conor] Uh, I do feel the pressure
that I'm representing he country
and producing an-- a spirit
that represents our culture.
But, I am confident that I can-- I can do it well.
[Digger] Five, four, three, two one.
You're done, guys.
Step away from your barrels.
Go with us. We'll come back when it's time to pitch that yeast.
All right, guys. Welcome back.
Today's the big day.
Time for y'all to run y'all's mash.
Make that base spirit that you're gonna build your drink on
throughout this competition.
So we're gonna judge you on your flavor,
your proof, your clarity.
[Mark] The winner of this flight
will get first choice into the still house
in order to pick their still pots.
[Digger] You have three hours to bring us your best jar.
Your time starts now.
Good luck and get with it, guys.
[Mark] That's a dark looking mash
that Platt's putting in there.
[Thonya] Sh-- still got a big old cap on it.
My barrel, it still maybe needed,
like a day or two to work off.
It smells really good.
It's got a lot of alcohol in it, though.
But I can still run it
and I can also use it with my second run.
Conor's straining off a lot of his grains.
He's working with un-ground grain.
[Conor speaking]
My worry is that I did not get enough,
and I won't be able to get those nice flavors
that I'm hoping for in the higher alcohol content.
[Digger] Uh, lady and gentlemen,
one hour down, two to go.
[Platt] Boom, pack a plow, guess who's got liquor now?
-Nice. -Yeah, we're running.
[Mark] Platt, are you happy with your mash?
I am, it-- it tastes a little bit
like a German beer called a Rauchbier.
They-They use a little smoked malt,
and that smoke kinda balances out the malt sweetness.
So, hopefully, I've made a good beer
that will turn into a good spirit.
Maybe if I don't look at it, it'll start to work. [chuckles]
-[Conor] Yeah. -[Thonya chuckles] Mmm!
-I did it. -[Conor] Nice.
-Oh, there you go! -I'm looking at it, so I did it.
[Platt] I knew you were right behind me.
[Conor] I kind of looked over and I could hear
the other two are up and running.
Mine is not doing that.
Now I'm happy. What about you, Platt?
-You happy back there? -[Platt] Oh, yeah.
-Yeah. -How you doing over there, Conor?
It ain't like you've got all the time in the world here.
[Conor] It's sort of getting up there, but...
I'm really surprised how long it's taking.
Had a bit of trouble, getting my pot to heat up.
I think my flames are tiny.
His is pretty small.
[Platt] How are you looking on temperature?
At about 110.
-Play with that little needle valve. -[Conor] Yes.
-That's just-- -[Thonya] There you go.
[Mark] We've all been on that side of the table.
At home, they're under no time constraints.
And here you're under tremendous time constraint.
[Conor speaking]
Look at you running. Come on, Conor.
Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!
All right, guys, you're down to one hour.
Better be getting together.
[Thonya] Look at that pretty thing right there.
Oh, good Lord.
That was fast.
Yeah, I think that's gonna be my head.
Oh, my! Smells good.
Holy moly.
It had that right fruity flavor
from the raisins and everything.
That's my poitín.
Oh, wow.
I'm getting good, clean jars of high proof spirit.
Plenty of alcohol.
[Conor] How's it tasting, Platt?
[Platt] The smoke's very faint.
Further down the run,
I started really picking up those flavors.
The maltiness, the peatiness.
Overall, I think a well-executed run.
Thirty minutes, lady and gentlemen.
Conor, over there, daggone.
He's got something up his sleeve.
What you hiding over there?
-I see you. -[both laugh]
[Conor speaking]
Just waiting for the flavor to kind of brighten up a bit.
Right now, it's got a lot of, uh...
that, kind of, bitterness to it.
The flavors I'm going for is a nice, fruity malt sort of flavor
that you can get using the malted barley,
honey malt and chocolate malt.
[Platt] Conor, how you looking on proof over there?
I'd say I'm at about 115 or so.
It's getting-- starting to drop.
The second jar of proof drastically drops.
So, I didn't have a lot to play with.
Some good smells in this room right now, guys.
-Yeah. -[Platt] It does smell good.
[Thonya] A lot of people normally talk...
about how I talk and stuff,
and they say how much they like my accent.
I swear to God, I love your accent.
[laughs] Thank you.
I never thought that I would actually have a chance in my life
to say that I love someone else's accent.
And it happens to be Conor's Ireland accent.
It is so awesome just to hear him say a full sentence.
[all laughing]
I'm used to it by now, I've been here ten years.
All right, guys, you got five minutes left.
You should be buttoning them buttons up.
That is the greatest jar of poitín ever made, by me today.
-Okay. Good. -Wonderful.
I think this is gonna be her, y'all.
Blending all those jars together
brought my proof, my clarity and my flavors,
to bring the best jar that I could
to the table for the judges.
[Digger] Bring it in here, sister.
I think I got y'all something special.
[Digger] Well, we hope so.
[Conor speaking]
[Digger] That's your prized pony?
I think so.
We've got work to do now.
We got to get busy.
[Tim] Do you wanna go with Platt?
Since he's closest to me.
It is definitely a clear jar.
-Looks like a good 100 proof bead to me. -[Tim] Yeah.
My flavor started coming in around 190 proof.
[Digger] That smoky essence right off the bat.
Then it falls into that caramel note.
-That's good. -[Tim] That's a sweet-smoky.
It's sweet-- sweet-smoky taste.
It's a little bit fiery on the back end,
-and that could be just 'cause of the-- -A little on the front end.
The chocolaty, but it's not unpleasant.
-All right. -[Digger] Numero dos.
Another clean jar.
Hey, buddy.
[Tim] Let's see what this one here looks like.
I think that looks really good.
[Platt] Thonya, you have a lot of jars.
Look like you had a pretty good run.
You too, I mean, I ain't too worried about the run.
It-It gave me a good bet.
White, smooth on the nose.
[Tim] Mmm-hmm.
Got a little fierce from the front end,
but after your second sip,
that fire on the front end goes away.
She's got some alcohol in here.
It's got a lot of flavor in it, though.
-It has got a lot of flavor. -[Tim] Lot of fruity flavor.
Fruity flavor, I guess it's coming out of the raisins, maybe.
[Mark] I like it.
-Conor. -Clear.
If anybody out of the three
should know how to make a proper poitín,
Conor should be the one.
-[Digger] I mean, do we just... -[all exclaiming]
-We got some alcohol there. [chuckles] -[all exclaiming]
I'm very happy I was able to get as much alcohol as I got
and as much flavor as I got.
Damn fine nose.
A little something here out of whack.
That is a whole grain.
-He didn't get the conversion he had hoped for... -[Tim] Yeah.
...because his grain wasn't ground.
His grain did not finish out fermenting.
That's why we're tasting that--
that earthy green taste.
It didn't get none of the goodie out of the husk.
But, good and clear, looks good.
I think he failed on the flavor.
I'm one, two and three.
-I'm with you. -I can live with that.
[Digger] You can see jar's a little bit lighter.
We had to sample right smart
to come up with a good decision.
Conor, you did an excellent job
for what you had to work with.
[Tim] We can taste the grains,
but we're tasting the outside of the grain.
-Yeah -I wanna pat you on the back, young man.
You went right on in,
you stood your ground,
and you brought us a fine jar of liquor.
-Thank you. -I can't wait to see
-you're going, if you've got something in mind. -In mind.
Yeah, I've got a plan.
And Thonya, Mama B.
In all them taters,
I was really expecting a vodka taste.
But, whatever else you got in there that worked out,
-it worked out in your favor. -Thank you.
Proof, I believe you can proof that jar with the lights out,
'cause you know what you're doing on proof.
Thank you so much. I've been practicing so hard.
[Digger] Platt.
You used the dry malt extract,
and that brought that wonderful caramel note to it.
-Damn fine jar of liquor right there. -Thank you.
[Tim] We picked up that-- that smoky flavor, that you put in there.
The smoothness to it is incredible.
-I just want it so. -Yeah, it's okay.
-It's great. -Thank you.
All three of you, I'll give you a A, all of you. Outstanding.
[Mark] Nobody's going home here.
This is just simply to find the picking order
for which you'll go into the still house.
[Digger] And from the way we judged,
Thonya, you're number one in the still house,
Platt, you're number two
and Conor, you're number three.
Tickle!
Yippee ki-yay.
What have we got going on here?
-[chuckles] -[Tim] These guys right here are making us a poitín.
-Okay. -Which is from the old country of Ireland.
[Tickle] Well, I'll tell you what, I'm looking forward to that.
If y'all got y'all's shoes in full wheel drive,
y'all drop your jars off and come with me.
All right.
We are here today in the rain to pick still parts.
You're gonna have three minutes in the still house.
Thonya, I believe you're up first.
Starting now.
Three minutes goes by real quick in there.
[Thonya] So, I totally got first pick in the still house.
That -That won't make liquor by itself, Thonya.
And it's not like, a "lady come first" type thing.
It's totally me.
[Tickle] Two minutes.
[Thonya] Tickle, you are killing this.
All right, we have got a doubler and a pot.
[Thonya] I was able to get a thumper.
That's something that I really needed
to incorporate my flavors
over into my oatmeal cookie that I was reaching for.
-[Tickle] Have you got what you need? -[Thonya] I hope so.
All right, Platt, you are up next.
And your time starts now.
All right, I don't see a still yet, Platt.
Yeah, I mean, you've had a grand total of three or four seconds.
All right, look, that's the way I like to see it.
[Platt] It's very intense picking.
You've never been in that room before.
There's parts all over the place.
[Tickle] All right, we've got a thumper out.
If I'm second,
I probably need to add some more flavor.
I'm fine on the proof,
but it's probably a little more flavor I need to add.
And that thumper will help out.
[Tickle] Then it's coming down to it.
-[Platt] All right, I'm coming out. -[Tickle] All right.
-Are you good, Platt? -[Platt] I think I'm good.
All right.
Conor, it's left up to you.
And your time starts now.
But of course, those two guys,
both took the, the only two thumpers.
All right, here we go.
We've got a condenser and we have got a pot.
[Tickle] All you gotta do is connect these things together
and time is ticking.
Okay, here we go.
Conor, did you get everything you needed?
[Conor] Uh, we'll find out.
-[laughs] -[Tickle] All right.
[Tickle] Well, we made it back
through torrential downpour on your boat.
Nobody drowned or nothing.
I'm gonna leave them in your semi capable hands.
[Digger] All right. Adiós, amigo.
All right, guys.
Time for y'all to go to work.
We wanna see those stills together
in a safe and functioning manner
in 30 minutes.
Hopefully, you got everything you need.
Your 30 minutes starts now.
[Mark] Oh, the plant's gonna have to run hotter than they did initially,
'cause they didn't have thumpers to heat up.
[Platt] I got everything I needed from the still pick
to complete the run the way I wanted to.
I was very happy with it.
So my still at home, it's no big fancy thing.
That's not gonna taste very well.
Working here is a whole lot different.
It's a bigger scale.
I thought I'd be a whole lot nervous because it was bigger.
But I threw myself in there and I got, I got right to it.
Guys, you've got 10 minutes in, 20 left.
[Conor] Thought I had a...
Didn't like the flavors that was coming from my mash.
[Tim] It look like Thonya going pretty simple, ain't it?
It'll be simple, but it'll be efficient, it'll work.
I am confident, I have ways of figuring out how to fix it.
[Mark] You're gonna be fine.
You can run slower, but you're gonna...
-You've got a lot less stuff to heat up. -[Conor] Yeah.
There's been a lot of better liquor
made on less than that, I promise you.
Looks like everybody's done.
All three of y'all made a great poitín already.
Now we wanna see what you can do
to improve your flavors in this second run.
Four hours, that's all you've got
to get your very best jar on our table.
Your time starts now.
Good luck and get with it, guys.
[Mark] This poitín challenge,
we don't have any particular flavor profile to look for.
-This is quality, is what they're looking at. -Yeah. Yeah.
It's all about quality.
Miss Thonya, did your mash change any?
It actually sure did, um, there was no more cap on it.
So, my plan for this run
is I'm just putting a little bit of my distillate in the thumper.
I also added some of my mash into my pot and my thumper.
Just trying to bring over the brown sugar, the oats,
and just some of the raisins.
This poitín, there's not, like, a manual.
What have you got in that mason jar?
It's a little bit of old fashioned oats.
I just grinded 'em up a little bit.
I'm hoping to just bring it out a little bit stronger.
[Mark] Well, it was a very good flavor to start with.
-Don't screw it up. All right. -[Thonya] Okay.
[Platt] My strategy with working with poitín
is to extract a little more of the malt flavor
using the thumper,
keep a little bit of the peat,
but also produce a smooth, finished product.
[Mark] I like it there, over there, flat.
-He's sparging that grain bag into his thumper. -[Mark] Yeah.
[Platt] I'm using, uh, one of my bags.
My malt, specifically the pale ale malt.
I want to kind of rinse the grains,
pick up more of that malt flavor through the thumper
to really intensify that flavor.
[Digger] I'm seeing a little orange zest going on over here.
I hope he's very, very careful about that,
not getting into that pith.
Conor, I see you're grating some orange zest over there.
Is that one of your secret plans you had?
Yeah, so I've got some allspice, a little clove and some orange.
So, I'm gonna try to make a bit of an orange space.
-Okay. -[Conor] Kind of a fusion.
This poitín for me
isn't gonna be your traditional poitín.
I decided not to use any of my mash.
I didn't like any of the...
Some of the flavors that came out in the distillation for--
because of the, er, uh, the fact that my grain wasn't milled.
You're using what spirits you have,
-and you're trying to re-influence its flavor. -[Conor] Yeah.
[Thonya] So, the vapors will pretty much just go up
-and go through the bag and come over... -[Conor speaking]
Yeah.
I believe we're about ready for competition here.
All right, guys, you're halfway home.
Two hours down, two more to go.
Ow.
Platt, looks like we're moving right along.
Yeah, I'm up to about 120,
and I start hearing her thump a little bit.
I think I'm about to be running.
That's gonna be crazy.
Yep, see? What'd I tell you?
[Conor] Yours going already?
-[Thonya] Yeah. -[Conor] Nice.
[Thonya] Oh, my God.
-Everything I put in there came through. -[Platt] Yeah.
Those old fashioned oats, they really came through.
God.
They really mixed in good
with those raisins and everything else.
[Platt] Liftoff.
Hoo!
[Conor] Drippy drips.
[Thonya] What you got over there?
[Conor] Yeah, I just started getting the heads out at the moment.
-[Thonya] Oh, okay. -[Conor speaking]
[Thonya] You got a good, uh, notes and flavor, though?
[Conor speaking]
[Thonya] I ain't gonna lie to you, Conor was my biggest scare.
Um, I was very intimidated.
[Conor chuckles]
[Thonya] Um, and I still am.
[Conor] Well, you don't need to be here. It's tough, dude.
[Thonya] Ain't no telling what you can still pull out of that back pocket.
I mean, you're from the actual place.
You come with a major punch.
One hour left, lady and gentlemen.
Ooh-ho-ho!
Hot.
Holy, [bleep] .
That's my who-- Whoo.
That's gonna blow my top off.
So, I'm tasting and I'm blending
and I'm getting something that I like.
It had that right fruity flavor from the raisins and everything.
I'm very, very proud of myself.
All right, my guys.
I think I got y'all that,
that good old jar that y'all wanted.
[Platt] Conor, is that orange zest coming through?
[Conor] More on the nose, you get the clove on the taste.
...just 'cause, um, it's very easy to over extract.
So, it is-- It was a risk, but...
There you go, guys.
Beautiful clear jar.
I'm tasting and blending my spirit.
Been able to get the alcohol content I need, the flavor I need.
-Gentlemen. -There you go.
We've got all our jars in.
We're gonna head outta here, taste it,
come back and tell you what decision we've come to.
That's where we're at with it.
-[Mark] Let's do it, Tim. -[Tim] All right.
Poitín, the original moonshine.
It's the original moonshine.
We got three completely different recipes here.
All right, I wanna start with this one right here.
-Conor. -Conor.
[Tim] My man Conor is from Ireland.
[Mark] And, you know,
Conor has not been happy from the get go.
[Tim] Well, he's a little bit low on proof,
-but let's see what it tastes like. -[Mark] Yeah.
[Conor] Feeling okay about it, not having the thumper.
It's really heavy on the nose.
And it's pretty heavy on the palate.
This, he had grains in the beginning.
But now I don't taste no grains.
He used orange zest, all spice and clove
Just all that coming from that little hammock bag.
Yeah, he didn't have a thumper, did he?
Uh, no, that little hammock shack.
You know, he was really, really disappointed
in the fact that the only flavor profile he brought
was just the chaff on the outside of these grains.
-Yeah, that don't give you a lot of flavor. -[Digger] No.
[Digger] And I think he was really, really trying
to push it to bring more flavor in.
I think he went and overdid it.
I can't get past all the citrus and clove.
The thing about it is, guys, I like that taste
if it was only half that taste.
[Tim] Let's try Platt.
Now, Platt's got a pretty jar.
-That's a good beat. -[Tim] Good beat.
I'm feeling pretty good.
Got my proof down. Good, clean jar.
Might've lost a little bit of peatiness with that thumper,
but I think I picked up low malt sweetness.
-So, overall feel pretty decent. -[Conor] Yeah.
Oh, my.
He said that he was gonna try
to cut back on just a little bit on the peatiness of it.
And I think he did it.
-He nailed-- -Mission accomplished.
Because I'm getting more of a Munich malt...
-I like it, you know. -...sweeter, earthy flavor.
Very smooth on the back end.
-[Mark] Yes, it is. -On the back end, very smooth.
On the proof, tasting like '60s.
Well, we've got one more to...
[Tim] I know, I know, yeah.
-[Digger] ...check out here. -Thonya.
And it is a clear jar now.
All right, here we go.
-I'd say she's 105 or better, a 110 maybe. -[Tim] Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
[Thonya] I think my flavors come through.
But it was more of a challenge.
[sighs] I hope I turned in a really good jar, guys.
-It is a different taste. -It is a good taste.
When she threw all those potatoes in a pot,
I was looking for a vodka.
-It ain't no vodka. -It ain't no vodka.
[Digger] The raisins,
-I think it's smoothing it out. -Smoothing it all out.
Smoothing it all out.
I think it's a good drink.
Well, guys, we only have to send one of these guys home.
I hate to see that.
[Mark] So, we know where we are?
-One hundred percent, sir. -No doubt.
-[Digger and Tim] All right. -Here we go.
Let's get with it.
Platt, the mad scientist over there,
your flavors came through.
And I think that the really big thing that helped you
is you sparging the right grains there on the last.
-They all just shine right through. -Thank you.
I was not a fan of the peat, smoke, scotchy stuff.
And I did like yours for some reason, a lot.
Good job, boss.
Pleasure's mine.
Thonya,
I believe all of this stuff that you put in the thumper
really influenced it a lot.
The sweetness that came through,
and I'm gonna attribute that to the raisins,
really brought that flavor profile.
Boom, I mean, they just hit you right in the mouth.
Across the board, it was just a really nice drink.
Thank you so much.
Conor, really remarkable.
You recovered well on that proof.
You brought the alcohol.
You, you were really under the gun on that.
Thank you.
I think that your fortitude shows what a distiller you are.
I like the way that you went about
trying to correct that little boo-boo that we had,
that was absolutely no fault of your own.
Thank you.
Conor, we can taste that Irish in that.
You did a little trick over there.
You put some,
put some cloves and you put your orange in it.
I would've stayed away from that,
stayed with the original plan from the beginning.
I think the orange should come in the next step.
I think you kinda jumped the gun a little bit.
But you got a good jar.
You kept it clear and clean.
All across the board, fine job, every one of you.
But the parades can't go on forever.
There was just one that fell a little bit short.
And Conor, unfortunately,
that jar bought you a ticket home.
And I think you're a damn fine distiller.
And if all the cards had been correct in your game with your grain,
I think we'd be facing a whole different competition.
Definitely wish I could go further.
But just to be here, it's just been a, an honor, and...
and I hope I do get the chance to come back
and show you guys what I actually can do
and what I'm gonna, what I'm capable of.
[Thonya] Well, my buddy Conor got eliminated.
I was, of course, worried about him.
He was from Ireland.
But now it's my turn.
Thonya, you got this. [chuckles]
Welcome to your last challenge.
I know the pressure's on.
You've already showed us you can make a good poitín.
You got nice jars right there on the table behind you.
We're gonna ask you to make it into something else.
When I was in Ireland myself,
we drank poitín after distilling it fresh.
But they brought out lemons, they brought oranges,
and they also brought sugar cubes
that they added to it
to maybe kill some of the harshness.
[Digger] You're here to build us your signature cocktail
and compliment it whatever means you feel necessary.
You have 30 minutes.
Your time starts now.
Good luck and get with it, guys.
Ireland, when they do a cocktail,
is really made out of whatever's available.
So, what the next round brings, I don't know.
I don't know where they're going.
Working with poitín and that smoky flavor, you have to be kinda careful.
[Mark] What is that?
I can't tell if it's basil or mint.
There's no set rules.
[Digger] Platt,
you care to tell us
-what direction you're going in, brother? -[Platt] Yeah.
Whenever you create cocktails,
you kinda break spirits down in two categories.
Brown and white spirits.
Poitín is really neither one.
But I think the answer to this dilemma is the mint julep,
which is one of the classic cocktails for a brown spirit.
But if you take the bourbon out and throw in a little rum,
you've got a mojito, a classic white spirit cocktail.
So, this drink is based off of the classic mint julep.
For this drink, I'm working with fresh raspberries, some sliced peaches,
a little bit of agave nectar,
some, uh, fresh limes and some fresh mint.
Sounds like you got a plan, boss.
[sighs]
I'm going against Platt in this cocktail round,
and he's a bartender.
That's a little bit intimidating.
But I didn't come here to lose neither.
We're in Tennessee. We're in the backwoods.
We're not spinning bottles over here.
Thonya?
Are you thinking too hard that you can't tell us what you're gonna do?
I don't know if I should keep it a secret or not.
Well, we'd love to know if you care to share.
I just added some of the dark brown sugar,
some more raisins, some cinnamons, a little bit of salt,
some, uh, raw honey, make an oatmeal cookie.
Look out, belly, here it comes.
[Thonya] Here it comes.
Uh, when muddling fresh herbs and fruit,
you want to obviously extract all those flavors.
Muddle it, but you don't wanna tear the mint.
Gentlemen, I'll show you an old bartending trick.
If you'll take mint...
those oils will start to come out.
And when you go for the drink,
that mint will just hit you right on the nose.
So, if we like mint, it'd be a good thing.
I don't like mint.
[chuckles softly]
[Digger] Halfway there, guys.
Got 15 minutes to get that beautiful cocktail ready for us.
[Thonya] It's smelling really good over here.
I'm kind of shocking myself.
Every year I was reaching for that, uh, raisin oatmeal cookie
and I'm hitting it.
This recipe is a winner to me
because everybody was raised with oatmeal raisin cookies.
I'm gonna infuse that in my shine,
and I'm gonna hopefully give y'all
what's close to a oatmeal raisin cookie as I can get.
I don't know whether to drink it or eat it.
That would be doing both, I reckon.
That actually seems like a good idea,
so she's got me a little worried.
I'm making a version of a mint julep with my poitín
brought in the fruits to have a sweet balance to that smoky flavor.
-I hope he goes light on the lime. -Yeah.
-[Tim] That lime, he can mess it up. -[Digger] That, that's...
Poitín should not be a sour.
[Digger] Looks like everybody's where they need to be.
We've just got to get them in front of us.
Gentlemen, there you go, straight from Las Vegas.
Thank you, sir.
All right, my guys,
I got your, uh, oatmeal raisin cookie.
I hope it does the trick.
Well, you have your seat,
we're gonna go taste and deliberate,
and we're gonna come back
and name the next master distiller.
[Mark] I'm telling you,
they don't look anything alike.
I'm sure they're gonna taste absolutely nothing alike.
Do you wanna go with Platt's first, I guess.
-It looks good. It's a pretty color. -[Digger] Yeah.
He's a professional bartender from Las Vegas.
We expected nothing less than a beautiful drink.
-It's minty. -[Mark] It's good.
[Digger] It's citrusy.
That first little bit'll lock your jaws, won't it?
Did mine. Whoo!
It's a refreshing drink.
-It's good. -[Digger] Yeah.
It's something like you would get down in a coastline now.
He distilled a fine poitín too.
I like that.
Let's move on to Thonya's.
You know, Thonya said,
she was trying to make us a oatmeal raisin cookie.
Well, ... your alcohol.
-There you are. -Yeah, boy.
This is very tasty.
And I think she hit her mark on the oatmeal raisin.
-It's kinda there. -Yeah. Yeah.
That's pretty standard.
This is just a strong drink.
It had ice cubes mixed in with it.
That's what I said, a small rock glass.
-It is rock glass over a big ball of ice. -Yeah.
[Digger] It would've tampered down a little bit.
Both of these have done a great job.
They made an excellent poitín.
At the end of the day, which one's gonna sell more?
I just think that one has a broader reach than the other.
-I agree. -She did now.
Whoo.
We asked you to make a cocktail with your poitín,
and you certainly did that.
Platt, that's Key West.
That's on the beach. Very refreshing.
Obviously, your bartending skills have served you well.
Presentation's spot on.
But I'm not gonna say they served you any better
than your distilling skills.
We've got to judge all of it.
And you absolutely know what you're doing.
Finish nice, sweet. Perfect proof.
[Digger] Platt, underestimate yourself a little bit.
That right there, that's layered.
It's beautiful to the eye.
Good taste, goes down really, really smooth.
It would sell here in Gatlinburg, Tennessee,
and just as well in Key West, Florida.
Miss Thonya,
she made something that represents exactly where she comes from,
the backwoods.
The only thing I could've seen that you...
might've done more to lighten up a little more the alcohol
to kind of bring out more flavor or something else.
But it's a good drink.
[Tim] I mean, it tastes good.
But it does have a whole lot of alcohol in it.
If you had that in a small rock glass,
and tuned it down a little bit,
I think that would be 100.
Outstanding job.
You work with what you know how to do,
-and you do a good job at it. -Thank you.
Both of you, outstanding.
Both of you know what you're doing.
That being said...
Platt, you're the next master distiller.
-Thank you. -[Tim] You found your calling, buddy.
-[Platt laughs] I hope so. -[Tim] You found your calling.
[Platt] These judges are legends in the business,
and have them say they like what I do is just a great feeling.
My chair, I'm just saying it was my honor and privilege
to judge both of y'all.
I didn't get the results I wanted,
but I'm leaving here
like a master distiller that I know I am.
But hey, I'm a backwoods girl.
I can go right on back to the backwoods
and do exactly like I've been doing.
-[Tim] Congratulations to both of y'all. -It was an honor.
-Thank you. Honor's all mine. -[Tim] Head on out.