-I'll fight to the end. -Let's go out swinging.
[narrator] this time, on master distiller tournament of champions...
After eliminating half of the returning champions,
Only three moonshiners remai
Tater mcclure, seasoned bootlegger,
Richard landry, two-time reigning champion,
And daniel maner, renowned backwoods outlaw.
They're all champions. They're all number one at their game.
[both] oh, yeah.
[narrator] now, they need to step up their game
To craft a moonshine benchmark,
Cherry bounce.
[richard] [bleep], we got big pressure.
[narrator] judged by the cherry bounce king himself,
Josh owens.
Cherry bounce is my thing.
I just hope it's got some alcohol in it.
You better get on it.
This ain't a race, but I'm trying to beat you.
That jar of liquor right there looks good.
[narrator] the last distille standing will challenge the judge of their choice
To a final moonshining face-off.
I hope it's you or digger.
This is gonna be tough.
[narrator] there can be only one ultimate champion.
Boom.
You gotta step up and prove which one of you are the best.
Welcome back to the master distiller tournament of champions.
Now, we got down to three,
So the pressure's on.
Richard and tater are on their a game,
But I feel pretty good.
Tater and daniel, I mean,
These guys are juggernauts.
But I came here to win this whole thing.
[tater] I'm just tickled to death
I scratched by to the next round.
Let's see how it go.
I know it ain't been easy on you,
But I'm very proud of all of you for making it this far.
I'm real excited about your next challenge,
Cherry bounce.
I don't care if you a legal distiller
Or a champion backwoods distiller.
A lot of times when you're playing with cherry,
You'll get the cough medicine taste, so be careful.
Now we're gonna make it a little bit tougher on you.
'cause fresh cherries are hard to come by right now.
Cherries are not in season,
So it's gonna be hard to make the exact cherry bounce
That the judges are looking for.
But being a backwoods moonshiner,
You have to work with what you've got.
[tim] nothing's ever easy for a moonshiner.
I won a cherry bounce challenge here.
I know a little bit about it
But not having fresh ingredients,
I'm left to whatever cherries I can really get.
Cherry bounce was so popular in colonial america,
George washington never left home without a canteen
Of his wife martha's special recipe.
Tickle, tell us all about it.
Cherry bounce was one of the most popular alcoholic drinks
In georgian England.
One of the politicians in the house of lords
Was even nicknamed lord cherrybounce.
Guess he really liked the stuff.
Made from running cherries in any mash base,
From rum to whiskey,
And then flavoring the liquor post-distillation
Cherry bounce was brought to colonial america by the british.
It was george washington's favorite.
He liked to take a canteen of his wife martha's recipe into battle with him.
Can't say I blame the guy.
Other spirits overtook it in popularity
Through the years,
But cherry bounce was still made in the backwoods.
The king of cherry bounce was amos owens
He bought cherry mountain, north carolina
And became a legend for his recipe.
Mmm, more bounce to the ounce.
Now it's time for y'all to build us
Your signature cherry bounce mash.
You got one hour to accomplish this feat.
Your time starts...
Now.
Good luck, guys.
It's time to get fired up.
[daniel] we're off to the races.
There is zero interaction going on.
[digger] well, they're focused.
Well, this means good product.
Hey, tater. You're kinda quiet, tater.
What's the reasoning behind that?
[tater] I'm concentrating.
I'm up against a tough competition.
[mark] richard's the cherry bounce champion.
He should have an advantage here.
[tim] I'd hate to be in this contest against him.
I'm the cherry bounce guy.
I mean, I won a cherry bounce challenge here.
But I don't have the same ingredients
That I had last time I was here.
So this is another level
That just makes your heart race a little bit faster.
So, we gonna make a different base.
We gonna start with a whole different base.
My preference is to use cane syrups in this,
But now I don't have that,
Because big companies are buying this stuff up.
They know how good it is, also.
It's real hard to get and it's real expensive
If you can get your hands on it right now.
What's that richard's pouring in that?
[digger] he's using all brown sugar.
[mark] does that just change a little flavor?
It just brings that gravity up, makes it ferment.
I'm gonna put some cloves, some cinnamon, some nutmeg.
Cinnamon is hard to do, the fine line
Between not enough and too much.
Post-flavoring is where that problem presents itself.
That's where I address cinnamon, in ferment.
This is real stiff competition.
I'm up against daniel and tater.
I do not underestimate them at all.
I'm gonna use a real good honey,
An orange blossom honey.
It's a real good complement to this drink.
It's gonna kinda add some texture to the end result.
[tim] honey's a key element in cherry bounce.
[digger] apparently.
Tater's got a 5-gallon bucket of honey over there.
[tater] it'll go one of two ways, north or south.
[chuckles] hopefully north.
It's the first time I've really done a cherry bounce.
My mash build for cherry bounce
Is honey, little bit of sugar, and yeast.
[daniel] oh, that smells good, tater.
It's hard to get cherries this time of year.
They're out of season.
So I went with frozen cherries,
'cause that's the closest to fresh you can get
Versus the jarred or canned cherries.
[tim] I thought they was gonna have real cherries.
[digger] wrong time of the year.
Well, that's part of the process.
See who comes through under the pressure.
What's that that daniel's pouring?
[digger] I think maraschino cherry puree.
-Is that the same thing you've run before? -[daniel] no, it ain't.
So I'll just have to make the best with what I've got.
Cherry bounce, it's a hard mash to get right.
So, my strategy is I'm gonn have to use a lot of honey
To introduce the amount of alcohol that I need.
My cherry bounce recipe will be cherries, honey,
And a little bit of brown sugar.
I have to use the maraschino cherries.
The juice that's in the maraschino cherries
Is packed with sugar, also, so...
The more sugar you have in the mash,
The more alcohol you should make by proxy.
Yours is doing better than mine, brother.
[tater] of course it will. I [bleep] in your cherries.
[both laugh]
20 minutes, guys. Time to get them buttons buttoned up.
Boy, they're focused. I never seen such concentration.
[digger] yep.
[richard] I can't find any fresh cherries,
So I'm having to use maraschino cherries.
[daniel] well, I sure hope we can pull this off.
-I really do. -[chuckles] me, too.
There's a lot of sugar in it
They taste really well.
They're real cherry-flavored, so I'm good to go.
Richard, tell me what the cherry bounce crown holder's gonna do here.
My regular seasoning, my nutmeg, my cinnamon, I put that all in.
I ain't see no cane syrup.
Well, cane syrup was something I couldn't get this time.
So I did the next best thing,
I did some real good brown sugar.
-Uh, probably should have... -I saw you dumping a ton of brown sugar in there.
-Yes. We need a lot of that. -Yep.
Cherries hard to find, but, uh, I even went to another state.
-Really? -I did.
Now, was that for cherries,
Or was that for something else?
-Well, we mix business with pleasure. -[digger laughing]
I like the way you do business.
-All right, well, I'm gonna move on, brother. -Yes, sir.
-Tater. -Hey, bud. How are you?
Spoon ain't long enough.
I don't wanna do it too hard.
Tell me about your mash build.
What do you got going on with it?
[tater] I rounded me up some frozen cherries
And ground them up real good.
-Uh-huh. -I got me some good black honey.
Probably copper and locust.
Just a little honey, not a lot?
[tater] I used about two pounds
And then I added a 5-gallon bucket full of white sugar.
If it turns out, it does.
If it don't, we'll throw it out and let the hogs eat it.
-That's exactly right. -[tater laughs]
Them hogs will eat it, I guarantee it.
Well, I'm moving on to your neighbor, brother. Good luck.
-Thank you, buddy. You take care. -Yeah, man.
-Daniel. -What's going on?
[digger] coming in here to see what you got going on.
[daniel] I put eight gallons of cherry puree
And eight gallons of wildflower honey.
And then, I put about 25 pounds
Of this pure cane sugar.
The only worry I've got is that it tastes good in the end.
I think that'll fit the bill, but we'll just see.
I promise you, we'll tell you if it don't or it does.
That's exactly right.
[digger] all right, brother. Carry on.
All right, I appreciate you.
Ah, hell, it'll still make good liquor, daniel.
[daniel] it will.
[digger] and hell, if not, we can always clean car parts with it.
[daniel laughing]
You got five minutes left on the clock.
If you ain't ready, you better hurry.
My money's gonna be on richard landry.
[digger] I'm gonna bank on tater this time around.
I think he's gonna make richard earn his money.
They all have a chance, 'cause they all number one at their game.
[digger] you damn right.
One of them's gonna pick one of us to challenge against.
This is gonna be tough.
I hope it's you or digger.
[digger] one minute, guys.
Time to get them buttons buttoned up.
Five, four,
Three, two...
I don't even need to say one. Y'all are done.
Y'all head on out,
We'll take care of your barrels.
We'll see you guys in five days.
Y'all head on out and warm up.
Here we go, men.
You beat three of the best,
Got three of you left.
We're gonna whittle down to one.
Next challenge is the cherry bounce run,
With the special judge,
Mr. Cherry bounce himself, josh owens.
Hey, y'all. Y'all know me. Cherry bounce is my thing.
I'm excited to be here for this today.
We got big pressure 'cause josh is here.
He's a real harsh critic of this drink.
You made your cherry bounce mash.
I hope it finished working off,
Because tater and daniel,
You're going up against the cherry bounce king right here.
So I hope you brought your a game.
Richard landry has already won a cherry bounce competition before.
I'd have one hell of a hard time running against him.
You've got four hours to give us
Your best cherry bounce jar on this table.
Your four hours starts now.
Get with it, guys.
Good golly, miss molly.
You know, I'm looking down at my mash
And I'm like,
"damn, it's not worked out.
I'm not real happy.
You know, this looks like some pretty mash.
I just hope it's got some alcohol in it.
It don't smell like it does.
Whenever I looked at my mash, I was real tickled with it.
It was showing it had alcohol in it
Had a good, tart taste to it.
[daniel] tater, mine's sweet. Is yours sweet?
[tater] mine's a bit like vinegar.
I got a problem, daniel. This alcohol is still working.
-[daniel] oh, really? -[richard] yeah.
When I see that this isn't worked off,
My heart starts racing.
I have a whole lot of preservatives
In these maraschino cherrie that are affecting my yeast
So I don't have a whole lot of alcohol to work with.
I'm using different cherries than the last cherry bounce,
So I'm experimenting on most of the new recipe here.
Well, me and you's just the same.
Tater, what all do you put in your thump keg?
[tater] my mash, I added some cherry pie filling
And some cherry juice to it.
Use a little more flavor, hopefully.
[richard] they got alcohol trapped up in these cherrie
Through the ferment process
Any little advantage I could get, I'm gonna take
[digger] how's that going in your thumper, daniel?
-Yes, sir. -All right.
I'm grasping at straws.
Well, one of the things to make a cherry bounce
Is you gotta have fresh cherries.
-Tater used frozen cherries, right? -Yeah.
Fresh froze cherries, no preservatives added.
[mark] now is that not an oxymoron?
"fresh froze"?
-Well, they was froze when they was fresh. -[chuckles]
[chuckles] what the heck?
Whatever tater's got is the best
'cause them other men just sucking mud.
They ain't got no alcohol.
This is not looking good for me at all.
I pray all the time,
But I'm about to start praying a little bit more right now,
'cause this is trouble.
This can get me sent home.
Whatever tater's got is the best,
'cause them other men just sucking mud.
They ain't got no alcohol.
[richard] this is not looking good for me at all.
This can get me sent home.
Well, tater's got his burner going.
They're all lit.
I'm excited.
Well, we got the cherry bounce king
And we got the cherry bounce champ.
[mark] that's right.
[tim] and then, we got two cherry bounce runner-ups.
Yeah.
Well, it's getting hot.
What's your temperature over there?
155 degrees.
Man, you at 150 degrees already?
155 degrees.
I'm just gonna let it run.
I'm at 174 degrees.
[tater] well, I'm just at 160 degrees.
And I'm at 180 degrees.
That ain't a race, but I'm trying to beat you.
I heard you.
What are you thinking, daniel?
-I'm running liquor. -[tater] drippity, drip, drip.
He's got liquor coming out.
That ain't kool-aid.
-It's dripping out of there? -It looks like one of those... On a tree.
The liquor start coming out the spout.
I taste of it, and you can taste the honey.
You can taste the cherry in it.
It's exactly what it's supposed to be.
It's good?
There's alcohol there,
Just not a whole lot of alcohol.
Hey, hey.
[richard] you hear it? Oh, yeah.
You're at what, 180 degrees?
Yeah.
Guys, you got two hours left.
You're halfway through.
[richard] tater, you're running.
[tater] well...
I ain't even coming out the thumper yet.
[tater] I still got heads coming out.
[richard] all right.
That's pretty.
Smell like vinegar.
[whistles]
[richard] that's fingernail polish remover right there.
It's running a lot of alcohol, there ain't much flavor in the alcohol part.
That's the problem when you got high alcohol.
Can't get down to the horse.
[richard] son of a [bleep].
You still ain't run?
I'm right here.
It's taking forever to start running.
You know the old fable, the turtle won the race.
Yeah. [laughs] it smells good.
[bleep] damn.
When the liquor starts coming out, it's coming out kind of high initially,
But it's real cloudy, so I probably won't be able to get the one
Really good jar out of here.
One hour.
[tater] all right. Richard, here's the test.
Yeah, I believe that's a little hot, eh?
[richard] that's a beautiful flame.
[tater] well, that jar of liquor, that turn looks good, daniel.
[daniel] I'm filtering now. I'm trying to get the cloudy out of it.
But now it also robbed some flavor too.
[richard] gotta take the good with the bad.
After the first jar was completely full,
I seen I wasn't gonna produce much.
I stick the second under there,
And it gets up about half a jar and it starts falling off, so.
I know I need to save that alcohol,
So I've got about a jar and a quarter
Of 50 to 60 proof alcohol to work with,
So I'm gonna filter it a little, polish it up,
And try to make best do with what I've got.
[digger] how's that mash working out for you?
Well, I would call that flavored kool-aid.
Very, very little alcohol coming out of that.
Weaker than cat piss.
[daniel] cherries are not in season.
I have to use the maraschino canned cherries.
These old maraschino cherries, you know, they're a tiny bit acidic too.
That's your answer to why you mashed it and kick off big.
I'ma move on, brother.
All right.
-Tater. -[tater] yes, sir.
[digger] got any good flavor in any of 'em jars?
It's all right, but nah.
-Ain't what you looking for yet? -No.
Of course, we ain't judging on proof, remember that.
We're judging on flavor.
That's what I'm worried about.
[digger] well, you're running good stream there, tater.
[tater] yeah, see if it's got any alcohol there.
[digger] well, that high proof might be coming in too strong.
[tater] it's a high alcohol content,
But there ain't much flavor in the alcohol part of it.
[digger] you happy with that?
Not really.
I wasn't worried about you till I did that, tater.
[tater] yeah, it kind of worried me.
[digger] richard.
-Yes, sir. -I don't know whether that's a look
Of concentration or concern.
Concern.
'cause there's not a lot of alcohol in here.
Well, there ain't no alcohol in there, brother.
I'm feeling really disappointed.
I should've went with a more targeted yeast, something a little better.
Maraschino cherries are good for one thing when it comes into liquor.
-That's putting in a jar and pouring liquor over. -Exactly.
-I look forward to tasting your liquor if you get any. -If I get any. Thank you.
I'm gonna pray a little bit harder,
That's the only strategy I got.
I have to flavor this drink
This is a post flavor drink, so I'm praying that my post flavor
Tastes so good that you forget that there's very little alcohol in it.
The fat lady is already singing.
[tater] well you's ain't lost yet.
I still screwed it up pretty real bad.
Two that screwed the pooch
And one's that trying to overcome here.
Daniel, his mash didn't take off
Due to those maraschino cherries and the artificial flavoring in it.
-Yeah. -[digger] kills your yeast.
And richard sat at the same stump that daniel is.
Maraschino cherries, trying to get yeast to thriv in that environment.
Tater, he's made a little liquor,
But he hit a speed bump in there somewhere.
[tim] he's got too much alcohol.
[tater] I'm hoping I can get that jar right there full.
You're struggling to get flavor out right now.
I still got heads coming out.
On my seventh jar,
Was the first jar that I tasted any cherry in it at all.
I mean, heck, it's still rocking at about 130 proof.
'cause his is gonna be too hot with no flavor.
And he's gonna be plenty of flavor, and no alcohol.
That's the problem trying to make stuff out of season.
They gotta work with what they have.
Daniel and I are pretty much having the same problem.
Very, very low alcohol content.
Basically low proof sugar water in a jar.
Fifteen minutes, men.
It got any better?
I'm a realist and I know this really doesn't look good.
I'm really feeling like my head is on the chopping block here.
My finished product is cherry wine.
After I stick the second one under there,
It gets up about like 50 to 60 proof.
But that's not where I want it to be.
I'd like to be about 80 to 90.
This competition is about making alcohol
And I know I've got a killer flavor,
But the alcohol is just not there.
This is the first time I've ever made a jar of liquor
That didn't have no devils in it.
I might be sent home.
Well, good luck, fellers. I'm out.
The fat lady is already singing.
I'ma go ahead and turn this jar in.
-I'll walk right up there with you. -Well, come on with me.
We'll leave tate, look like he working on number eight now.
-Bring it in here, gentlemen. -[richard] yep.
[daniel] that's the best we could do with what we had to do with.
-Good luck, men. -Good luck, y'all.
[tater] hot dang, it's still high.
[digger] tater.
You got a minute and a half to let that jar fill up,
Rest, weigh, put a lid on it, get it up here.
You ain't got no time for tampering, brother.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Boom.
Good luck, buddy.
[tater] I didn't have enoug flavor in mine, so.
It's got me nervous, no [bleep].
Pour us a little something up there, timmy.
[tim] let's look at richard's.
[digger] it's a little bit cloudy.
Yeah, everybody knows richard's is low proof. He said it.
[josh] it's got aroma.
It's got a good nose on it.
Yeah, it smells good.
[josh] smells like cherries.
[digger] it's cherry.
Tastes like cherry liquor that two ice cubes
About this big around melted in.
Yeah, it's pretty weak.
This is his base spirit and he forgot to bring his spirit to the game.
-[tim] not too much base [laughs]. -Yeah.
Richard won cherry bounce contest.
He said everything I used on that run's not available right time,
But tells us different seasons.
It was a challenge. They had to use what they could get.
I'm kind of upset 'cause I feel like I wanna go start all over again.
Well, it looks like tater tot.
[mark] now that's a clear jar right there.
-Ah, he's brought something to the party. -[tim] yeah.
She's up there.
[mark] what do you say on proof, tim?
[tim] I'm gonna say 110.
That smells really good.
I'm getting honey, but I'm not getting cherry in there.
I taste the honey more I do the cherry, I think.
[digger] yeah, I get cherry on the nose,
Honey on the palate.
Tater brought the liquor, but damn, it's fierce.
How many jars did you get out of that?
Ah, seven, eight.
[richard] did it come down in proof?
A little. I'm gonna have to tinker with it and make it bring the cherry out.
He got high proof, but this is cherry bounce
And all I'm tasting's really honey.
Moving on.
Here is daniel's cherry wine
-Is what he's calling that. -What's that? What do you got?
[laughs] cherry wine.
It's not a bad cloudy at all.
He filled it up six or eight times.
I don't think his is as high as richard's.
No.
That's like straight water. Watch it disappear.
-That ain't nothing. -[mark] no.
He's lower proof than richard.
The reason that I didn't produce a hell of a lot of alcohol
Is 'cause I have to use the maraschino cherries.
That's some nice nose there.
[tim] a little different.
Got good flavor, but there ain't no alcohol in there.
No alcohol.
For their final flavoring run,
-You use some of your reserve high proof flavor... -And blend it.
Blend it and bring your proof up.
I'm just hoping that the judges likes a weak drink
-That tastes real good, that's what I'm hoping. -[laughs]
Now they might just be looking for that.
-[chuckles] -well, good luck. Cheers.
-Good luck. -Cheers, my brother.
We good here?
-Yeah. -[digger] I'm good.
Josh, you're the guest, go get them boys and bring them back.
Cut to the chase. Daniel.
That was some of the most tasty low proof liquor.
Flavor's there, proof wasn't.
Had that mash had two weeks to work,
You'd have had alcohol.
[digger] tater.
Yeah, you're gonna have to work to bring that flavor in there
And sweeten them jars up a little bit.
It may be that you just didn't run into your really good jars yet.
Tater, your problem was you had too much alcohol to run.
But I couldn't get no cherry out of it.
Yeah.
Richard. See the comments made to dan.
You had the flavor, you just couldn't get no alcohol.
You guys did the best you could with what you had.
If y'all had used some different cherries and use some different yeast,
That might've worked off a little better for you guys.
But hey, that's part of making moonshine. You live and you learn.
As far as what you guys had to work with,
I think everybody did a great job.
Keep in mind,
Every drop of liquor you got you can't sell,
It's substandard.
You gotta be able to take that liquor and bring it above par,
So you can sell it.
Now you guys are going to the farm stand to get all new ingredients
To fix the flaws in your liquor
Or to just enhance what you already have.
And in addition to the produce,
There is a sweet jar of your corn liquor from a previous run.
It is hid in the farm stand.
If you can find it,
You're welcome to use it.
All right, guys.
The way you're going into the farm stand,
Tater, you're number one.
Richard, you're number two.
Daniel, you're number three.
But we have a plan to make it a little bit more of a challenge.
Nothing's ever easy for a moonshiner
And cooking your meals is still a sight.
That's what we had to do,
So while you're out there, you need to pull some ingredients,
And make us a backwoods meal that pair with the cherry bounce that you make.
Tickle.
-[tickle] well, how are y'all's fellers doing? -[tim] great.
I need for you to take these gentlemen out to the farm stand.
They need ingredients to infuse to help their cherry bounce,
But they also need some ingredients to make a meal
That pairs with the cherry bounce.
Well, anything goes with liquor, right?
[laughs] I guess so.
[tickle laughs]
All right, y'all, come on with me.
Well, you know, fellers, they give me a couple of jars of liquor to put in here.
-[daniel] you didn't drink it, did you? -I drank one of 'em.
It had your name on it.
-[daniel] yeah [laughs]. -[tickle] it was halfway decent.
We here in farm stand today.
Y'all not only gotta make our judges up a good cherry bounce,
Y'all gotta make them something to eat to go with.
And don't forgot, you gotta find your jar of liquor today.
You gonna have three minutes to do it.
Tater, you're up first.
Your time starts...
...Now.
All right, tater.
Look, look. Hey, we ain't making onion bounce.
You just gonna feed 'em onions?
-I probably will. -Yeah?
All right, he gonna feed them onions and some beans.
All right.
I need to make the judges something simple, a lot like myself.
I mean, you can't get much better than beans and onions.
Two minutes left, tater.
Get you some of them tomaters right yonder.
-Make some tomato bounce. -That would be good.
Make some tomato bounce.
[tater] they need some kind of bread.
[tickle] get you some of that bread right yonder.
Make you some onion and bean bread bounce.
Uh-oh, got him some side meat.
Minute and 30 seconds left, tater.
[tater] I believe you're just hungry.
Judge told me that I had a high proof liquor,
Just I didn't have enough flavor in the alcohol.
So my strategy is to get some sweet cherries,
Some sugar and a little bit of honey.
Okay, tater's got cherry cider.
-Thirty seconds left, tater. -[tater] I'm good.
All right, richard. You got three minutes.
Your time starts... Now.
All right, what are you gonna do?
All right, we got more onion bounce on the way.
In the farm stand I'm looking for my spices.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove,
But number one is trying to find my corn liquor
And get the proof up.
[daniel] have you found any liquor yet?
[richard] they ain't got no liquor in here, tickle drank it all.
No telling where tickle hid this liquor.
He hides things so well, he hides them from himself sometimes.
Oh.
Did you just find something?
-I just found something. -You just found something, did you? All right.
Found one of my jars.
This is a really easy fix to bring my proof up.
So now, I'm trying to get some cherry juice.
Something that's sweet as possible
With a whole lot of flavor.
[tickle] one minute left, richard.
Uh-oh, man just found some cherries.
Don't forget, you gotta cook. You gotta shop for groceries.
My mom used to make the best smothered potatoes,
So I'm gonna grab some potatoes,
I'm gonna grab some meat, some bell peppers
And I'm gonna give them a taste of what my mom
Would give me when I'm hungry.
[tickle] ten, nine,
Eight, seven, six.
He don't even need the last five seconds.
All right.
Daniel, you got three minutes staring now.
All right, look, we got more onions and tater bounce.
I'll tell you what. All right.
That's gonna be good right yonder.
Come on, daniel.
What are you finding in there?
You finding anything worth anything?
-[daniel] no! -No? Nothing?
You got two minutes.
My number one objective is to go into the farm stand
And try my best to find my liquor.
If I don't find this liquor, my ship's sunk.
-I'm not finding anything. -[tickle] you're not... It is in there.
-[daniel] I don't see it. -Keep looking.
You got two minutes.
-I'm not finding any liquor. -[tickle] you're not? It is in there.
-I don't see it. -Keep looking.
If I don't find this liquor my ship's sunk.
[tickle] there might be some cherry jelly up there.
Hey, you find you any cherry jelly?
-Yeah I did. -[tickle] did you, all right!
The jar of corn liquor that I found
It's a relief for me because my next objective would be
To find some fresh cherries and little bit of cherry juice and a few spices.
[tickle] you got a minute left.
[daniel] for the judges meal
I thought I'd make fried potatoes and onions and some salt pork meat.
Five, four, three, two, one
Time's up, daniel.
Okay.
Looks like we had us a very successful farm stand pick, guys.
-Let's head on back in there. -[richard] let's do it.
[tickle] all right. You can't just stand there eating cherries.
[digger] welcome back.
Looks like y'all found everything you need, I trust.
How about you liquor? Who found their liquor?
All right, men. Y'all know the deal.
You got one hour to get your liquor corrected.
But, you'll also fix a really nice meal
To pair well with your chosen beverage.
Get us a decent drink of liquor up here on this table.
One hour. Time starts now.
-Get with it, guys. -[mark] good luck, men.
Thing about it is, tater's just got to change his flavor.
These other guys just gotta work on their proof.
I'm worrying about liquor. Then we'll worry about food.
The jar of cherry bounce that I ran off outta the still
Is probably around 50 to 60 proof.
So, I'm gonna take the jar that I found in the fruit stand
And put it in with the cherry bounce.
I know I gotta step my game up
To make it through this part of the competition.
Now, that jar looks like liquor's supposed to look, daniel.
[daniel] yeah, it's some good stuff there.
[josh] what about you richard?
I'mma do a cherry bounce the way I did it last time I was here.
The proof of my jar is probably in the low 50's.
So, having another jar is gonna help me out big tim
I just need to mix my two liquors together and bring my proof up.
Now I'm gonna cut up some cherries.
Get some cherry juice and put that into the pot.
I add my honey to it. Add my spices together. Let that cook down.
And then I'll have something that I could really make a proper cherry bounce with.
-[digger] tater's making a horrible mess. -[tim] yeah.
It's gonna look like a crime scene with all that cherry juice split everywhere.
My cherry bounce ain't had much flavor in the alcohol.
So, I'm gonna use a lot of cherries honey to fix.
Gentlemen, 30 minutes left.
Richard down there fixin' to fry up a tater.
[mark] daniel's serious over here.
He ain't making no small talk, he's fixin' his liquor.
[digger] didn't like that apparently.
Back to the drawing board.
[daniel] it's actually a little higher than I want it.
And I wanna make sure I've got my alcohol the way I want it,
Before I start cooking.
[digger] I like where tater's going.
What are you cooking over there? What are you doing?
[tater] I'm fixin' some red beans
I always put onions in my beans.
You can't get much better than beans and onions.
Heck, that's really good.
Fifteen minutes left to get that meal on the table
And that liquor in our bellies.
-Daniel, you better get to cooking. -[daniel chuckles]
[daniel] yes, they want the meal.
But, ultimately, this competition is about making alcohol.
I've got the flavors that I need.
It's around 80 to 90 proof.
Exactly the way I want it, time to start cooking.
So, dan-man, what's happening, buddy? You gettin' her worked out?
Well, I think I've got my liquor where I want it.
What'd you do to change it?
I took my high proof and I took just a little of the low proof
And poured 'em in on some busted up cherries.
And then I worked it back and forth until I got
A melody in between honey and cherry.
Right on.
I've got it up where, I'm gonna say, that jar is...
80 to 90 proof.
So I believe it...
I believe that we're all right as far as the liquor.
Okay. Good luck.
All right, tater. What you got going on?
I'm trying to get the flavor into my liquor.
How you feel like it's going?
For my first run of cherry bounce ever,
I think it's gonna turn out all right.
That's good. Think you're gonna get it worked out?
I don't know. I'll try, like everything.
-Good luck. -Thanks, buddy.
So, richard, what are you doing to correct your liquor over here?
Well, this is some of that good corn that I made. It's high proof.
So, I mixed that with my cherry bounce that I made.
-And that came out to be a nice clear jar. -It is awful clear.
Good recipe going right there.
That's, kind of, my cherry bounce additive.
I got all the spices that go in there.
And I got the fresh cherries in there.
-Some good cherry juice in the drink. -It smells good.
Got some good honey in it. It won't be overpowering.
I'mma give that a good manageable level right there in the drink.
-Good luck. -Thank you, bro.
I'm ready for some of this food, y'all.
Josh, I have to be careful, or I'll end like you are, right here doing this.
-Oh, you gonna be missing a finger? -Yeah, I might.
I know I'm short on time. And potatoes and onions take some time.
Guys, you got 10 minutes.
Better make 'em count.
[daniel] do we have to turn a meal in?
Yeah, we asked you to.
-Daniel, you better get to cooking. -[bleep]
If you pan fry potatoes and onions, it's gonna take a little bit.
But, if you deep fry it, so to speak, it won't take as long.
-Better get on it. -Can't turn it up too much, we'll have a fire.
[tater laughing] I'm not use to cherry bounce.
And I'm in a hurry to fix.
How's it looking, tater?
[tater] I'm trying to get this cherry bounce right. Might have to add more.
It's a little too hot.
But, I've got a limited amount of time.
So, that kinda worried me.
[tim] you've got something cooking right there,
'cause the smoke's coming off of it.
[richard] I don't know if I'mma turn this pork in.
This has been a tedious process.
Now, the pork loin's not finished yet.
I'm a little nervous. I hope I'm still standing at the end.
One minute, men.
[tater] it's very hard to please four different palates.
Four people can judge it four different ways.
And I hope that I've hit all four of what they looking for.
Daniel, you made hog jowl?
-Yep. -Well.
I've got my cherry bounce made exactly the way that I want it.
Now, I just hope the potatoes done, and I hope they like it.
[richard] y'all ready for this?
I got my drink where I need it to be,
I mixed my two liquors together.
I got a good 110.
But, I don't think the pork loin is finished, that's a problem.
I could be gone after this competition,
This could be the end right here.
-You ain't gonna eat no mayonnaise? -[josh] heck, no.
I wouldn't eat a spoon full of mayonnaise for $500.
-[richard] I got $500, right here. -Well, you can keep it.
I'd rather eat that cockroach you tried to get me to eat last time.
-[richard laughing] -you know, I use to like mayonnaise.
Because these two guys,
I ain't mentioning no names,
But they showed up my house with a truck load of mayonnaise.
-Ugh! -And I had to empty it out and give it to my ol' hog.
[digger] well, he's going for it before it gets in the trough.
[mark] ain't never had nothing like that before, has he?
He'll chew his own damn ear off if he could get to it, wouldn't he?
-[tater] yeah, he's eating that, buddy. -How's that hog fair?
-He ain't wormy anymore. -There ya go.
Pretty cool he ain't calling no names.
But, I bet their initials was mark ramsey and digger manes.
-Handsome son [bleep]. -You dang gone right.
-[all laughing] -yep.
All right, guys. You're under a minute.
Tater's coming up with some taters.
-[tater] I knew tim like that. -[mark] oh look at that, that's pretty.
[tim] no, he ain't got no taters. He's got tomatoes and beans.
-[richard] you all right, daniel? -I reckon.
As good as I'll ever be.
[digger] ten, nine, eight,
Seven, six, five,
Four, three, two, one.
All right, guys. Y'all head on out.
We're gonna enjoy this food and this delightful beverage.
We make a decision, we're gonna come get y'all and cut somebody loose.
[daniel] all right. Give us a holler.
I'll serve the alcohol, you serve the food.
Fair enough.
-Get your bowl there, josh. -All of it looks good.
-[josh slurping] -[digger] let's see what the taterbug's got.
A tatermato sandwich.
Boy, that's a good 'mater.
It's off the chain good.
I had a lot of good teachers with that.
It took me years to get him taught how to do it.
-[all laughing] -[richard] I wanna learn how to do it.
[digger] let's try richard's pork loin.
Hell yeah.
Oh, it's perfect. Just a little over medium-rare.
Not cooked dry.
Yeah, it's pretty good.
Most people that can make moonshine can really cook well.
I was prepared to have to do all that stuff.
[digger] do daniel.
Put some in there, please.
-[digger] there ya go. -There ya go.
Daniel's fat back is off the chain.
[mark] oh, my.
They all done good.
I'm hoping that they corrected their cherry bounce
As good as they cooked this meal.
They had their work cut out for 'em.
Josh, you're the baby at the table.
Get these dishes cleaned up.
-Ah, hell. -Yeah, you the kid.
[digger] here is what we're here for.
And richard's closest to me.
[mark] he went to his recipe that he used for
The cherry bounce contest he won.
Richard you're the cherry bounce man.
Yeah, I'm kinda upset. 'cause this was my time to shine, right here.
[tim] smells like cherry, don't it?
[digger] that's cherry bounce.
Got a little tart.
Good honey in there. It doesn't finish off sweet, it finishes a little dry.
Well, you can really tell what proof it is, 'cause it's so smooth.
It's got such deep flavor.
With the rich flavor of richard's cherry bounce
And the light flavor of that little pork tenderloin he did.
I think it went together like beer and pizza.
It was just meant to be together.
[digger] let's see what the taterbug's got.
The original flavor's there.
Now, I've gotta match that flavor.
And make it bring that cherry out.
His taste profile is totally different.
When it comes to cherry bounce it's gotta have that tartness.
-He doesn't have the tart. -I think it's good.
Yeah, but it's weak.
He put that juice in there when it's too hot.
It cooked that liquor outta there.
-Sure does taste good though. -It really matched up well to his acidic tomato.
Let's see if daniel's done anything there.
Now, he's got a different color going on here.
His original jar had nothing in it but just good flavor.
Well, the bee don't go away.
This time, I've got a clear jar
And I've got a [bleep] load of alcohol proof.
Mean, it's got just enough sweet.
And that liquor comes in there
And then that tartness, it kinda locks your jaw just a little bit.
When you ate his food, and you tasted his cherry bounce,
It was perfect.
I think they did an amazing job for what they had to work with.
They brought their a game.
Well fellas, it's down to us three.
Soon it's gonna be two.
You gonna go fetch 'em, josh?
-Yes, sir. -[digger] all right, joshy.
Welcome back, men.
We'll tell ya what, no more making liquor for ya.
Just gonna follow us around cooking for us.
-We'll make the liquor. Y'all do the cooking. -[all laughing]
Daniel, you...
Did a wonderful job getting that back around.
Finished off well. Had good liquor.
Sweet up front, then that liquor bite,
Then that little tart from the cherries.
Could add just a little bit more tart.
Believe you the top to market across the country.
[mark] big head,
I was real impressed with, you was gonna take that real, real low proof, weak liquor
And do something with it first.
-Thank you. -The proof's spot on.
Flavor is outstanding.
-Thank you. -You alcohol smelt just like cherry.
And that was the first thing I noticed is it had a powerful cherry smell.
I appreciate it.
Richard,
You know, you're the cherry bounce champion.
Started out a little behind the eight ball today.
But, you had the time to put the thought into what you wanted to do to your liquor.
Flavor, spot on. Proof's good.
-It's what cherry bounce is, richard. -Thank you.
You lived up to your standards, buddy.
You cooked, juiced up that pectin to make it good and tart.
Across the board, it was the tartest liquor we had.
And that's part of cherry bounce.
-Thank you. -I mean, we knew you the cherry bounce man.
But, you off the chain now.
I think you're proof was right on the money too.
Thank you.
Tater, I feel like you might of over corrected a little bit.
Now, your liquor proof probably the lowest across the board.
You had put that juice in there when it's too hot.
It cooked that liquor outta there.
Mr. Tater,
Even when you're as good a distiller as you guys are,
Sometimes things just happen.
I'mma tell ya, all the way across the board,
There ain't a jar that's in somebody's hands over there
That I couldn't take somewhere and make some money off of.
All that being said, the sad part about it,
Somebody's gotta go home on this one.
Tater, you're the one going home, brother.
-You went a little too low on your proof. Awful sorry. -Thank y'all.
I'm out, son.
-I'm out. -Thank you for everything, brother.
I'm really, really sad to see tater going home.
[tater] it breaks my heart to go home.
I love everybody to death that's in this.
But, you know, at the end of the day we're in competition.
And, if I'm invited back I'll be back.
And they better watch out.
[daniel] tater's damn good at what he does.
Watching him walk out I know that this is getting real.
It's just me and richard.
Y'all gonna be up against a stiff competition then.
Richard landry is a harsh competitor.
[richard] I'm really ecstati that I made it to the next round.
But, I'm a little nervous.
Daniel's capable of some extraordinary things.
Whoever walks away from this next challenge victorious,
Gets the pick either me, mark ramsey, or tim smith as your opponent.
Get you big kid britches on, 'cause we're gonna live in your head.
Now, you bring these guys into the equation and this is different.
Going up against these judges, I ain't wrap my head around that yet.
No pressure.
[all laughing]
To beat one of the judges and win this tournament of champions
It'll be a big game changer
Because it would say something, with volume,
About my ability to make liquor.
It'd mean the world to me.
We'll see y'all bright and early at daylight.
[tim] get y'all some sleep.
Y'all better get your big kid britches on too.
I'm cinching my belt up.
'cause these guy's have got some talent.