[narrator] this time on master distiller,
three appalachian states...
[tim johnson] ohio, stepping up.
[jon bray] alabama represent.
I can see why this sells good in west virginia.
[narrator] three distinct styles of corn liquor.
These are three rough-looking, outlaw, corn-cooking-making moonshiners right here.
[narrator] it's west virginia...
Not cocky, just confident.
[narrator] versus ohio...
Tastes like cornbread.
[narrator] versus alabama...
She's a rolling now.
[narrator] ...To find out who makes the best outlaw corn liquor.
We got an appalachian standoff.
[narrator] across the country, a handful of amateur distillers are heirs
to a centuries-old tradition.
Some operate on the legal side.
Others practice their craft beyond the reach of the law.
Now they'll face off to earn their place
in america's liquor-making legacy.
It's still looking pretty good.
[digger] it looks like a jar of water.
[narrator] judged by three legendary moonshiners,
they'll go head-to-head in a series of challenges.
Time to bring the best appalachian corn liquor we've seen to date.
[narrator] to determine who has what it takes...
I don't disappoint.
[narrator] to be named master distiller.
I ain't ever had no rules for making moonshine.
-No. -Just one. Don't get caught.
[man laughing]
boys, I wanna welcome you all to master distiller.
We're fixing to put you all's skills to the test.
We got a appalachian standoff, outlawed corn whisky.
I'm really looking forward to tasting what you all are gonna put in these jars, guys.
It's gonna be a tough one. We ain't easy on them.
Number 1, you're gonna get your bragging rights.
Number 2, you'll get a run of your liquor in a major distillery.
-That's pretty awesome just in itself. -Yes, it is.
This is our wheelhouse. This is what we love.
And we're expecting good things from you.
All three of you all are part of the appalachian tradition of making corn liquor.
I mean, you got west virginia, you got ohio and you got alabama.
Tickle! Tell us about it.
When people think of appalachia,
they think about places like the smoky mountains in kentucky.
But, really, the appalachian mountains, they run
from way up in new york all the way down to alabama.
Most of the europeans, who settled these mountains,
came from scotland and ireland.
But they not only brought their stills with them,
they brought their love of making liquor.
Since corn grew better here than wheat, or barley, that's what they ran.
And that's how appalachian corn liquor got its start.
During prohibition, illegal distillation boomed.
Backwoods distillers, all across appalachia,
sent their moonshine to the thirsty cities.
Pretty soon, everybody knew about the corn liquor from the mountains.
Now, there's a lot of hidden, local recipes out there, just waiting to be discovered.
We're about to try some.
Oh, that tastes like home.
All right, guys. Now it's time to get down to business.
You all brought your own individual recipes from your own region.
We wanna see what we can learn from you all as well.
So, good luck to you. You got one hour, starting now.
[narrator] contestants will use their trademark recipes
to create a regional corn liquor base
that must carry them throughout the competition.
Jon, tell us about your grain bill over there.
Man, I went pretty simple.
There's a guy down the road from us that's got a farm
and we went to his farm and got all the corn.
We ground it up into just about cornmeal, it's pretty fine.
-About, like, grits. -[jon] right.
[both] yeah.
-It's just a straight corn-- -yeah.
[jon] you know what they say. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Actually, jimbo, you remember from alabama, that won the master distiller before.
-Right. -He's his nephew.
-[digger] jimbo. -Yes, sir.
You hit your flavor profile through and through. You're the master distiller.
Congratulations.
Alabama represent.
So, we got another alabama, appalachian, corn liquor maker.
She's a rolling now.
I'm jonathan bray and I'm from carbon hill, alabama.
By day, I work for the road department
and after hours, you can catch me in a still house.
This is where the magic happens.
Making liquor, it's always been in my family.
My great-grandfather made liquor and then,
it was just passed down to my uncle.
What's up, nephew?
What about it?
And it sparked even more of an interest in me, so I took up to it,
and just been following his footsteps.
I got some cranberry liquor getting made right here.
My butter-cran. It's what I'm known for.
Butterscotch is very popular in the south, especially in alabama.
To me, it means a lot to be from alabama.
We say alabama represent.
We say roll tide where legends are made.
We live off the land. It's what we do.
So, that's what I'm here to do today.
I'm hoping that this isn't my first and last step. Hope that I win.
Winning master distiller would definitely give me the validation that I need.
It would give me the confidence
and the title behind me, to push and to sell liquor.
[aaron] warming up in here already.
[digger] oh, yeah.
I'm from ohio, way up north, so it's, uh, chillier up there.
You're gonna love it here.
My name is tim johnson. I'm from vermilion, ohio.
This whole area is peach orchards.
Don't have no problem getting any corn.
I'm a multi-generation moonshiner and, uh, I built my own still.
Gotta make sure all these are tight, so they don't leak.
I worked at ford motor company for 33 years.
And, um, I think being a mechanic,
and working on the race car, really helped me out.
Over here's where I just ran some corn.
My favorite liquor to make is corn.
I just love the taste of it.
I love the smell of it, when it's cooking in the garage.
The smell smells like you're in a bakery.
I put a burner underneath my thumper,
so when I run fruits in here, I can heat it up.
I'm kind of like an old-school guy,
but I throw a little twist of new-school guy in there.
I love experimenting.
They call me the mad scientist,
all my friends do, and my wife.
I try different things and sometimes it works, sometimes it don't.
[whistles, coughs]
130 proof.
Need to tone that down a little bit.
I think if I win master distiller,
that I could, uh, have the courage to go in
to starting my own little craft distillery.
I think it would change my life.
[aaron] I've never had one of these fancy temperature gages.
I don't know if we're right or not.
I know if I stick my hand in there
and I say, "damn it, it's hot in there."
that's what I do, it's like scalding a hog.
You know, aaron bass, here, there's a good chance
-that he's made and sold as much liquor as we have. -[digger] oh.
My name's aaron bass and I'm from west virginia.
By trade, I'm an electrician, for the last 25 years.
Been making liquor too long to remember.
Pull cold water out of the creek down here,
to cool this thing off and make liquor.
Even though it's illegal, there's a lot of pride in making liquor.
Uh, it's an appalachian heritage.
It's been done for hundreds and hundreds of years.
And I'm just carrying on what was started a long time ago.
This is, uh, watermelon. Number 1 sellers in the summertime.
Everything is all kept upstairs.
I don't write anything down. I don't measure anything out, other than rough measurements.
Keep it simple and it works.
Going legal is kind of a retirement thought.
Winning the title could be a stepping stone
to that, to help out, you know.
Looks pretty good on a resume.
Hey, aaron.
Tell me about that corn, there.
[aaron] that's fresh, sweet corn, cut off the cob yesterday.
That all you're gonna do is fresh corn?
No. Fresh corn and rice.
-Rice? -[aaron] rice.
-Really? -That comes from a japanese buddy.
It gives it just a little sweeter taste.
-Yeah. -Well, that'll be a first for me.
I'm looking forward to that.
Tell me a little bit of something
about your ingredients you're using here, today.
Well, my grandpa used to use, uh, malted corn.
He'd malt in the creek himself in pillowcases.
Oh, yeah. That's right.
And trying to get close to his recipe, as possible,
but I add a little kick to mine with some smoked wheat in there.
Ohio-grown wheat, ohio-grown barley.
That's interesting.
Never had any corn liquor that's had anything smoked in it.
-Uh-huh. -So, I'm looking forward to trying it.
-Who knows? -That's right.
I'm not afraid of change at all.
[digger] we've got three different recipes.
[mark ramsey] they all in the appalachia, though.
All of them's got corn and all of them's got sugar.
[digger] right.
Five minutes, boys.
Hope you all are where you need to be.
[aaron] I ain't ever had no rules for making moonshine.
-No. -Just one. Don't get caught.
Done. Boys, step away from your barrels.
-[aaron exhales] -we'll get your mash moved to the mash room.
After that, we'll see you in five days, when your mash is done.
All right, boys.
Time to bring the best appalachian corn liquor we've seen to date.
[mark ramsey] you all are on equal ground here.
No thumper, no frills.
The winner of this challenge gets first pick of steel parts.
You got four hours to get us a perfect jar on the table.
Your time starts now.
Good luck, boys.
-[digger] boys' party's just getting started. -[mark ramsey] oh, yeah.
[tim johnson] oh, [bleep].
[digger] always check your slop valve.
Ain't trying to put no pressure on you, boys.
But, you know they's 10,000 people
making corn liquor in their back shed, backyard, their barns.
We wanna see what separates
you all's liquor from the rest.
All together a different mash, boys.
We're gonna get some good paste.
Well, everybody's lit up.
What's your mash feel like, aaron? You like how it turned out?
[aaron] yeah. I think it's pretty good.
Corn flavor came through, it was a little sweet,
so it did exactly what I hoped it was gonna do.
Guys, two hours left in your run.
[aaron] I don't like this stopwatch stuff, boys.
Yeah, you ain't kidding... [laughs]
these are three rough-looking, outlaw, corn-cooking-making moonshiners right here.
I don't know if I wanna make one of them mad.
I don't give a [bleep], I ain't scared of hell or what's in it.
[jon] getting warm up there?
Yeah, it's warm.
[jon] thought I smelled a little bit of alcohol.
Oh, yeah. It's coming from over here,
which ain't gonna be long at all.
Yeah. I went slow, man.
Yeah. I'm going slow too. You're up a little more than I am.
-[jon] yeah. -I'm, like, at 120 right now.
177.
-[jon] you dripping now. -[aaron] yeah.
I've always heard what temperature it starts running at,
but I've never actually known that.
My version of a thermometer is if it says 98.6, I'm good, so...
You can taste this.
It's like taking a bite of corn off the cob, right there.
It's pretty good.
[jon] there she blows.
-[tim johnson] getting dripping? -[jon] oh, yeah.
-They taste a lot alike, mine and yours does. -[aaron] yeah.
It's corn, baby.
-Good try. -[aaron laughs]
there's gotta be some coming soon.
There we go.
[man] ohio stepping up.
This is gonna be the different taste, I think.
I taste a little bit of that smoke.
You can, can't you?
That's what gonna make the difference.
That's what's gonna set you apart.
[tim johnson] I just hope it comes through.
You ain't gonna have to worry about your flavor
coming through there, with no thumper.
I haven't run a whole lot without a thumper.
Just a couple times.
Now that I remember, it does have more flavor when it's like that, you know.
Yeah.
[tim johnson] when I was walking around,
checking my other competitor's flavors out, I was, like, [sighs]
I taste more corn in theirs than mine.
When I did a run at home, with the wheat, it didn't come out as much.
And I used a thumper, so I think, maybe,
that could have been a little bit of it.
The thumper'll strip it.
But, I'm tasting that wheat and I'm, like...
Oh, no.
I think his corn got lost in the wheat.
You can taste this.
It's like taking a bite of corn off the cob, right there.
It's pretty good.
When I was walking around, checking my other, uh,
competitor's flavors out, I was, like, [sighs]
I taste more corn in theirs than mine.
Sat around all week worried about this, wondering, "is it gonna work?"
[digger] you never know.
A lot of pressure will make you make mistakes, sometimes.
[tim johnson] I just wanna keep this going.
Take a deep breath and just bear with it.
[smacks lips] oh, yeah. Think I got more corn coming through now.
-Slow and steady wins the race. -[jon] that's right.
[aaron] you're awful quiet over there, jonathan.
[smith] gotta watch it, silent majority.
Just out of curiosity, did uncle jimbo give you any tips?
Yeah, we may have practiced a few times or 100.
-May have practiced a few times or 100? -Yeah.
We'll see how it works.
Well, boys, you got one hour left to build us the perfect jar.
It's still looking pretty good.
Aaron, you're tempering over there. You feel like you're where you need to be?
I'm exactly where I need to be. Just trying to get one perfect jar.
That's all we need.
Jon? When you just picked you one out of your run, you didn't temper one.
-[jon] no, sir. -You think you're gonna do any tempering or just--
sometimes, you know, you have something good,
-you mess it up trying to make it better. -[jon] yes, sir.
I don't think... I don't believe I'm gonna temper yet.
There you go, mark. It's gonna be difficult.
-[ramsey] well, aaron's shut his still off. -[aaron] it's done.
-It's done, done. -I think I'm done too.
You're gonna have a hell of a time picking out one, ain't you?
[johnson] I already am. [chuckles]
I've got two of them sitting right here I'm looking at.
[aaron] yeah, I did the same thing. There is a pro and con to both of them.
Oh, it's a little cool.
-All right, fellas. I think I got the jar here. -[digger] that the one?
-That's the one I'm turning in. -[digger] all right.
-All right, judges. Here it is. -[ramsey] all right, aaron.
-[bangs on crate] -[digger] hmm.
-Not cocky, just confident. -[ramsey] looks pretty good.
-[ramsey] that it, brother? -That's it.
-All right. -You asked for corn liquor.
That's corn wheat.
-[digger] yeah. -[jon] nothing less.
All right, tim. We ain't gonna finish drinking if we don't get started.
All right. Looks like this is tim's jar.
I think it went pretty good for all of us, really.
-I think we all represented our states well. -Yup.
[smith] ain't a lot of proof.
-[digger and ramsey exclaim] -at least 80, 85 range.
Hmm.
Yeah, ohio had a lot of different grains over there,
and most of it was malted. It had some smoky wheat in there.
-Oh, I can smell that smoky wheat too. -[digger] yeah.
-There's a lot of that wheat in there. -[digger] yeah.
But it ain't unpleasant.
No, but it's not what you're looking for in corn liquor.
I did the malted corn, but I just wanted to have a little twist to it.
-I didn't wanna do what everybody else was doing. -[jon] that's right.
I was surprised the, uh, smoke come out of that like it did.
-His grain build got heavy. It's a scotch, now. -It... Yeah. I--
-yeah, I hate to say it: It's a wheated scotch. -[digger] yup.
Well, moving along.
-[digger] we've got aaron. -Another pretty jar.
-[smith] oh, boy. -[ramsey] that's 100% liquor.
-[digger] mmm, that jumped to that. -[smith exclaims]
yeah, he said he wasn't cocky, but he is confident.
-Not harsh at all. -Ain't... It ain't harsh at all, no.
Total different news, ain't it.
-[digger] yeah. -Totally different news.
-I like that sweet finish on it. -Apparently, it's that rice.
I threw in a little bit of rice. I played around with it a lot
and got that happy medium where it doesn't overpower the corn.
Just a little hint of sweetness.
That's a pretty good drink right there, and the proof is dead-on.
Yup. We move on to the next one.
-All right. We got-- -[smith] alabama. Jon.
Oh, that is so clear. Yeah. I can see the moon...
-...Shine. -[laughs]
-[ramsey] that's a decent proof. -[smith] pretty nice proof.
-Yeah, I'd say mid-90s. -And clear.
[ramsey] it's simple as it got.
-Yeah. -Coarse-ground corn.
-I mean-- -sugar and water.
He really expressed this is alabama corn liquor.
Pretty good smell. Sweet corn.
-And a good taste. -[digger] it is a pretty good taste.
-And the proof is pretty spot-on. -Yeah, it's--
[digger] about where you'd want, sipping whiskey.
Smell like corn liquor. Look like corn liquor. Must be corn liquor.
I know where I'm at.
-That's where we're at. Right there too. -Yeah.
-I wish you well, brother. -Yes, sir.
-I wish you well. -[laughing]
boys, get your jars and go back to your stations.
There's a little bit at stake, but nobody's going home.
It's just pigs pecking over which of you all will go
to the still house and pick your parts.
You all got good jars from your region.
You know, west virginia, ohio, alabama.
Taste in your product... It reflects back to your mash bill.
Tim, you said you wanted some of that smoky, malty flavor in there.
And, uh, you damn sure got your wish.
You successfully made a hillbilly scotch.
So there's your downside.
The smokiness of that red wheat was the predominant flavor.
But, that being said, there's plenty of time to clean that up.
Now aaron, you used that whole kernel corn and a little bit of rice.
And you were corn front to back, and a good sweet finish.
-Excellent job. -Thank you.
[digger] jon laid a damn fine jar of liquor right there.
Corn liquor straight through and through.
-[smith] good job to all three of you. -Thank you.
So, aaron, you're number 1.
Jon, number 2. Tim, you're number 3.
Tickle!
How's it going?
-They was doing all right. -Yeah?
-They got over, though. -Yeah? That right?
They need some more still parts.
-They need to go ahead and get a little bit advanced. -All right. Sounds good to me.
-You all come on. -[ramsey] see you later, guys.
-[johnson] thank you. -[ramsey] good luck.
-So, you know why ducks have feathers, right? -Why is that?
Just to cover their butt quack.
-[johnson and aaron laugh] -[jon scoffs]
all right, fellas. You all are here to pick your still parts.
Aaron, you've got five minutes. Starting now.
Feel free to set some of your big stuff out, if you want to.
Ah, well, you know what? Wasting zero time there. Oh, yeah.
[aaron] uh, just gonna keep it simple. A pot and a thumper.
You know, and a worm. Don't need anything elaborate.
Keep in mind, you gotta have everything.
I don't see no kitchen sink in here.
You don't see no kitchen sink?
-Hell, no. -Well, how the hell you gonna make liquor?
-[both laugh] -I can't make it without my kitchen sink.
-[laughing] -[laughs] all right.
Have you got everything you need, aaron?
-I've got everything I need. -All right.
Now, jon. You got five minutes, starting now.
Don't forget your box. You might need it for small parts.
-Yeah. -Yeah. 'cause they all won't fit in your pocket.
-That's for darn sure. -[smith laughs]
[jon] the still pick, I'm not too nervous,
'cause I have, probably, four or five different setups at home
that I can mix and match. So I'm pretty confident at what I do.
All right, well, he's well on his way.
You've got almost enough stuff here to make liquor.
You just gotta be able to put all this together. Good job. Checking fittings.
-All right. That'll work. -[jon] maybe.
Um, okay. You've got three minutes to figure it out.
-All right. -All right?
I promise you, there is a part in there that fits. You just gotta find it.
-All right. Right, do you think you got what you need? -I think so.
-You think so? -Think so.
All right. Well, that brings us down to tim.
-You got five minutes. Starting now, tim. -All righty.
The judges said that I had a real good hillbilly scotch.
But hopefully I can strip that wheat flavor out of there.
So I'm hoping there's something in there
I could find that's gonna work for me.
-Oh, lord. -[tickle] all right.
Okay, tim. Are you finding anything other than a pot?
-Uh, not yet. -Not yet. Okay, well, that is not good.
-[clanging] -well, I was hoping to get a thumper,
but it's probably not looking that way.
So I'm gonna have to figure something else out.
If those parts are still in there when the time's up, they're mine.
-Open her up. -All right. You got 15 seconds.
15 seconds. All right, you know what?
-[johnson laughing] -he did not disappoint.
-I don't disappoint. [laughs] -tim did not disappoint.
-[johnson] you all need anything? -[all laughing]
-[johnson] I'll make something out of it. -[tickle] yeah.
Welcome back, man. Gonna see them still building skills.
Looks like you're gonna have to have a bucket full of skills.
-[laughing] -damn it, man. [laughing]
[laughing]
think I got a little bit of everything in the box.
You got one hour starting now. Good luck, fellas.
[jon] hope I got one that'll fit that.
Aaron, I see you're playing it pretty simple.
You got any other tricks up your sleeve you're gonna play?
-Keep it simple, stupid. -I'm with you.
-[laughs] -he knows you too.
-[laughing] -hell, I'm world-renowned for being stupid.
Well, I had a crazy still I had to build
and I wasn't sure if it was gonna work at first.
I just came up one gasket short.
You ain't got a 2-inch gasket, do you?
[aaron] 2-inch gasket? No.
Now you know, being a mechanic,
if you're gonna join something together, you gotta have a gasket.
-I know. [laughs] -[laughing]
that don't end up good on the racetrack.
Well, I had a crazy still I had to build and I wasn't sure
if it was gonna work at first. I just came up one gasket short.
You ain't got a 2-inch gasket, do you?
-[aaron] 2-inch gasket? -[jon] hey, I got one.
-Oh, sweet. Thank you. -[jon] yup.
-You got something figured out? -Yup.
[aaron] oh, [laughs] wow.
Kind of look like something you'd put on the back of a rocket. [laughs]
we've never saw this before. But it will work.
-How about it, jonathan? -I'm about good.
-Steel's not level. -[digger] yeah, you're sitting a little cocked.
[jon] oh. Good deal.
-Anybody not done? -I think we got it.
Record time. Nine minutes.
But, sad fact is, you don't get to tack that on to your runtime, so...
-[laughing] -you should have took the whole hour.
All right, this round is all about your regional recipe.
What sells best in your little slice of appalachian.
You've had some time to modify your stills, make some changes.
Bring us your best seller. Clear jar on this table in four hours.
Look around, one of you won't be here after this round.
-Good luck. -Your time starts now. Good luck, boys.
Ooh. [whistles] thank goodness.
-[smith] you got some ninja moves over there. -Yeah.
[digger] aaron?
-Yes, sir. -Tell us what you're doing over there, buddy.
I am getting some fresh strawberries ready to hand-juice
in great-grandma's hand-juicer.
Is that going into your thumper...
-I'm sure? -It's going in my thumper. Yup.
-[ramsey] okay. -That looks like pretty much all you're working with.
-Is that right? -[aaron] nope. [sighs]
oh, okay. He got a dinosaur egg.
[aaron] got a dinosaur egg. I'm doing a strawberry-watermelon.
[jon] hey, don't bribe the judges with watermelon now, aaron.
[aaron laughs]
tim, I noticed you gave your cap a suppository there.
[laughs] yeah. There's some, uh, peaches I wound up in a copper mesh.
-You stuff them up in there. -[digger] mmm-hmm.
Hopefully, it'll help carry the flavor through there a little bit better.
-I put a gallon of peach cider in there from back home. -[digger] mmm-hmm.
And, uh, put a vanilla bean in there.
-I know how you are about peaches. -Mmm. Yeah.
-Could be my favorite. -I like them too. I love them.
I also thought I saw you pour a quart of fermented corn?
-Yeah. It wasn't fermented... -Wasn't fermented?
-But it was, uh, cream-style. -Oh, all right.
So I'm trying to get some of that, uh, wheat taste out of there.
-Put a little corn back into it. [laughs] -[laughs] okay.
-[digger] jon? -Yes, sir.
What are you bringing to the table over there, buddy?
Right now, I'm making cranberry.
I make it to the next round, I'm gonna make it a butter-cran.
-Okay. -Uh-huh.
I got a... About 2 gallons of cranberry juice in here.
And then I've got a half a gallon of cranberry juice and some cranberries in here.
-All right, sure. -Sounds like plan to me.
-[smith] all three of them sounds really tasty. -They do.
[ramsey] everybody's lit.
-[aaron] hurry up and wait, now then. -[johnson] yup.
This should help. Liquor coming out real soon.
-Smells good. -[johnson] yeah, it's starting to come up my parrot now.
-[aaron] here we go. -Yeah, you smell the heads in that.
-[exclaims] yeah. -[laughing]
-[aaron] jet fuel. -It's coming out of my rocket engine, so, you know---
[aaron] yeah. [laughs]
-[ramsey] you running yet over there? -[jon] oh, yeah.
-What you think about it so far, you happy with it? -Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, she's coming out pretty good.
I think she's a little high-proof right now, but...
Hey, you can always do something about high-proof.
-You can't do nothing about low-proof. -[jon] that's right.
[aaron] should have some liquor before long.
There she goes. We're making some liquor, guys.
45 minutes, folks. Times are drawing near.
I don't know if I'm tasting the vanilla up my fingers
or if I'm tasting the vanilla from the liquor. [laughs]
I don't taste no more wheat in that, that's for sure.
[aaron] no, I think you cleaned that smokiness out of there.
How you like it over there, aaron?
[aaron] good.
-[jon] coming out high? -Yup.
You know, aaron... He's running strawberry watermelon. You know.
Strawberries had a tendency to put fire in your liquor.
I'd like to get one I don't have to add much water to.
-[jon] yeah, good luck. -[johnson] you taste that melon though.
-Yeah. -I don't taste strawberry.
I can't... I can't hardly taste the strawberry,
strawberries fall apart so damn quick, you know.
[jon] here's to a real high-proof, just like mine...
-[aaron] yeah. -...Is right now.
I done went through so many jars, I don't know what to do.
They all wanna win.
West virginia, ohio, alabama. They all wanna win bad.
[chuckling] money.
-Money? -Money.
It's a competition. Everybody wants to win.
[ramsey] hands are bringing it in.
[aaron] but I am confident. I know I make good liquor.
-Thank you. -[digger] get on out, brother.
-[ramsey] good luck, aaron. -[aaron] thank you.
I think I've got what it takes to win.
I had a good jar of liquor. Just got rid of the spoke-y taste I had in it.
-Well, fellas. About as good as it's gonna get. [chuckling] -[ramsey] all right.
I was nervous. I don't usually run cranberry in the liquor.
I usually flavor with straight liquor.
-Believe this is all I got. -[ramsey] is that it, jon?
-That's my best. -[digger] that's all we need.
-[ramsey] all right, buddy. -[jon] but I think I did a really good job,
and I'm pretty happy with where I'm at.
-[digger] good luck. -Thank you, sir.
[jon] thank you.
[smith] pretty jar.
-There's one of them. -Good-looking jars of liquor.
[johnson] well, what do you all think?
-Got a clear jar on the table, so. -[laughing]
-[laughs] it's always a plus, right? -It's always a plus.
I feel like I'm going to the wedding.
What's that a-following you?
-Where'd you find him now? -I got mark rogers standing outside.
I looking for tickle, I couldn't find him.
Marky, I'm glad you're here, buddy.
Well, I am too. I believe I'll sit down a minute.
We need a little help tasting here. Reckon you got it in you?
Well, I know a lot about corn liquor and appalachian mountains.
How it's supposed to be made, how it's supposed to be tasty, you know.
[narrator] born and raised in the appalachian mountains,
mark rogers is an infamous moonshiner.
Known for his backwoods corn liquor,
he's mastered the age-old techniques
to produce high-quality shine with a sweet corn flavor.
-Whiskey-pusher, get busy here. -Okay.
Jon here, from alabama.
[smith exclaims] look at that, how clear that is. Nice b.
High.
-[ramsey] you don't mind it a little high, do you, mark? -I love high liquor.
[both laughing]
oh, that smells good!
Cranberries on the nose, ain't it? Boy, it smoothed it out right nice.
But it is giving me
-a dryness taste -yeah.
At the end like a good wine.
-Yeah, good. -[mark] it's good.
That's that cranberry comin' through.
Nothin' wrong with any drink of that liquor. It's good liquor.
-[digger] yep. -I agree on that.
-Well, let's try ohio here, tim. -[tim] fine.
[digger] that's a nice, clear jar.
What's that, 105 or 110?
[mark] that's a high proof right there now.
There's a little teeny-tiny bit of that wheat left,
but now, he's...
He's polished it off pretty good.
-He's polished it off really well. -Yeah.
There's vanilla. It's a good drink.
I was worried about that smoky, wheat flavor.
That's why I added a little more corn to it.
Mm-hmm.
Mean, it ain't bad liquor, but it's a little fiery on the backend,
which is typical of wheat liquor.
I taste wheat. That's all I taste, wheat.
Hey, you know, tim did an outstanding job of cleaning it up.
And he only added the peach and vanilla to it.
Hey, ya can't beat that.
Not in my world.
Let's go to west virginia.
[tim] where's y'all. I can't see nothin' in it. Looks like jar of water.
[mark] high proof right there.
[tim] that's a nice bead.
Mark rogers taught me that strawberries will make hot liquor.
It will, buddy.
I was beginning to worry.
It was comin' off so hot that I did not wanna use water to cut it.
-I think it could've been about 10 proof. -[tim] a little bit--
-[digger] lower. -Lower.
[ramsey] but it's a good drink.
Can ya taste any corn in that liquor?
[tim] little bit.
Take a big drink and swallow it.
-And belch real big. -[ramsey chuckles]
and I guarantee ya you'll taste the corn.
You know what, guys, win, lose, or draw, our states are going to be proud of us.
You know, we represent who we are,
but we also represent where we're from.
-That's more like it. -For sure.
I think I'm gonna hide my still when I get home.
-[aaron laughs] yeah. -[jon] yeah, that makes two of us.
We know all three of these guys are good distillers.
-[tim] they're at top of their region! -Right.
But we are in an outlaw, corn, liquor competition here.
Yeah, if you do somethin' here, you better get it right.
Fair enough.
Well, boys, if we're locked in, I'm gonna go get 'em.
[tim] yeah, go fetch them.
[digger] welcome back, boys.
We tasted right smart of your liquor.
But, you know, sadly, one of you just gotta go.
Welcome back, boys.
We've brought in our appalachian-corn-liquor guru right here mark rogers.
How you doin', bud?
How ya doin'?
We're gonna tell ya our pros and cons from each one of ya.
Startin' right down here with my buddy mark rogers.
I'll tell ya what. Right there's some good liquor.
Yep, 'bout as good of liquor as I've ever drunk right there.
Thank you, sir.
You lost some of that sweetness from you first run.
Ya had that corn and rice in it in the beginnin'.
But now, I think you went up on your proof again.
I think you went up 115, possibly, maybe higher.
It's mark roger's take 'cause he was reminding us again.
When you use strawberries, it gives your liquor a fiery nature.
And if... I think maybe if you proofed it down,
you might've got more of that flavor to pop out.
But all in all damn fine job.
Tim, I gotta pat ya on the back, boss.
I would of never have believed that you would've taken that smoke
out of that red wheat.
I mean, in your first run, it was the dominant flavor.
Kudos for what ya did.
Ya did somethin' with the flavor
that I know you put peaches or somethin' in it that I'm tastin' a little vanilla.
Real good jar.
But, uh, I'm still tastin' wheat.
I think in the beginnin' you need a little bit more corn in your mash peel.
Jon, did a fine job all the way around.
You know, you proof's spot on.
Um, I think ya might of went a little bit overboard on you cranberries.
They were too prominent in there.
And they just finish better.
But all in all, your corn's still there.
I tasted more corn in yours than I tasted in all of them.
Guys, I'll have to say across the board
some of the clearest, cleanest jars we've saw.
You know, I think y'all will probably should get calluses on your hands
for pattin' yourselves on the back.
But, you know, sadly, one of ya just got go.
[digger] tim, that jar bought you a ticket home, buddy.
It's not a bad drink. Just ain't got no corn in it,
and your flavor didn't come through.
-[digger] I'm awful sorry. -All right.
Well, I didn't have the winning jar,
but I still... I think I represented ohio very well, and...
-Good job, buddy. -Good job.
...I think my grandpa and my great grandpa's lookin' down on me and thinkin',
"well, he makes some good liquor."
-[tim] good job. Good job. -All right, thank you.
I had a blast while I was here. Met a lot of great people.
And if someone's in a market with some good scotch, come see me.
We got ya ready to do your flavor.
This your regional recipe from where you come from.
During this run, you can flavor it as you see fit.
[digger] you brought your best sellers your region.
It's up to us to see it'll sell elsewhere.
We have to separate 'em in some manner.
And usually it's the marketability factor.
Could you build a cocktail with that?
Could you do anything other than just drink it out of a jar?
There's lot of criteria we look at.
Ya time starts now. Good luck, men.
Hattie boy, I'm gonna tell ya what.
I never thought about butterscotch, cranberry liquor.
Sounds good.
I've had watermelon before,
but I don't know that I've ever had watermelon and strawberry.
But a good thing on aaron I see.
If he adds that stuff there, that's gonna make his proof go down.
Yes, sir!
[aaron] this watermelon juice and a little bit of sugar
just to sweeten it up just a touch.
Take a little bite out of it.
Judges said my jar had good flavor,
but just a little higher than what they wanted to see it.
So my strategy is to lower my proof a little bit.
[ramsey] aaron's tastin' the crap out of his.
He'll be liquored up. Forget to bring his jar to the table.
-Good way to be, boy. -[aaron chuckles]
so doggone good.
Jon, what's you workin' with here? Look like you gotta lot goin' on.
-I went from a red cranberry juice. -[tim] yep.
And now, I'm in a white cranberry juice here cookin'
with some butterscotch flavor.
I wanna taste more of the butterscotch
in this flavorin' than I do the cranberry.
How'd you do that? Out of candy? Or how'd you do it?
Yes, sir, it's just butterscotch candy, and I went and grounded it up.
It's the easiest way to melt it within an hour.
The judges said that my proof was really well on my flavorin' run jar,
so I need to go in there with some good flavor
and try to keep the proof the same.
If I could do that, I believe I got a good chance.
Do ya think ya uncle jimbo's rootin' for ya, jon?
I believe he is.
I'd say you're right.
-[ramsey] looky here. -[digger] he gonna make ice cream.
[ramsey] he's gonna make it get cold quick.
[digger] yep.
I want it so cold your lips stick to the jar.
I'd rather have my liquor cold as room temperature any time.
-Butterscotch and cranberry. -That's right.
I ain't never heard of that.
-That's, uh, somethin' way down south I guess. -Yes, sir.
Yes, that's how we like to call it.
I ain't never fooled with that, but, uh, lookin' good.
Thank you. Thank you, sir.
Have you ever fooled with strawberries and the seeds and all that before?
Well, I've never actually put 'em in the thump.
That was a little trial and error.
[aaron] strawberry's not real predominant in this
-'cause I just used the strawberries in the thump. -Yeah.
Both you boys got a good lookin' drink.
And I wish y'all luck.
-Thank you, sir. -Eye on the kids.
Ya down to 20 minutes.
This ain't gonna cool quick if I don't get some kinda top on this thing.
But, jon, I noticed you just got three jars in your bucket there.
Now, are you gonna blend those?
No, sir, no, I'm gonna put different amounts of alcohol
and see which one turns out.
The alcohol sittin' there ready,
so all I know I've got load her and shake her
and put her on the table.
[tim] aaron's may be frozen.
We might have to warm it up to get to lay it off.
[aaron chuckles]
[digger] like tom cruise in cocktail.
Throw it up there and catch it, and then pour a drink out of it.
-Woo. I don't want to take that kind of risk. -[aaron chuckling]
1 minute, fellers.
Ain't either one of these fellers rattle too easy.
I had two jars mixed up and ready to go.
One's a little bit lower proof, a little bit sweeter.
The judges said I was a little bit too high in the beginning.
Uh, they said marketability.
-All right, aaron. -There it is.
So I'm goin' with the lower proof, a little bit sweeter
in hopes that it doesn't bite me in the butt.
-Thank ya, aaron, good luck. -Good luck, aaron.
-[aaron] thank you. -[tim] good luck, boss.
People like butterscotch or ya don't.
Ya know, it's just like any other thing.
But if you taste mine, I think you'll acquire a taste for it.
I like it.
The tartness from my cranberry kinda counteracts the sweetness
from the butterscotch in the jar.
So it's the best of both worlds.
-Just in the nick of time. -Thank you, sir.
-[tim] good luck, brother. -[jon] thank you, guys.
I mean, this is a bonafide grudge match.
I wish we didn't have to cut somebody loose,
but there can't be two master distillers.
Ya gotta good drink?
-Of course we do. -We hope we have.
I've got three jars of good corn liquor over here.
We got a little bit too deep in that tastin' on that last challenge.
Yeah, felt pretty good.
-Mm-hmm. -[all laughs]
I talk fake matters. Just have fun and feel good.
Exactly!
That's what I think.
That's why we brought... We need you in here to help us.
We 'bout to burn our taste buds up a little bit.
[all laughing]
[tim] mark, I sure am glad you came.
I'm glad I'm here too. I think. [laughing]
all right, tim.
-Mm-hmm. -We gotta get to drinkin',
or we ain't gonna figure this one out.
How do you think it went, old buddy?
Pretty good.
Seems like we was both pretty satisfied up there.
[tim] all right, we've got alabama, jon.
We kinda look in these mixed drinks
as I count 'em for 60 or 70 proof.
Oh, man!
-[whistles] -[ramsey] that's good.
I like it. I like it a lot.
It tastes really good.
If I bought one jar of this, I'd buy me another.
It is sweet.
It is sweet, and I'm not a sweet drinker.
But the flavor I dig.
You can taste the butterscotch.
-I'll tell ya that. -[tim] mm-hmm.
I mean, there's a little tartness in there, but it doesn't say cranberry.
I'd say it's between 60-70 proof.
Yeah.
Take ya about two more drinks. You know exactly what it is.
-[ramsey chuckles] -all right.
[mark laughing]
I know one thing I come here to do,
and that's to represent who I am and my family and where I'm from.
And I represent the tide.
I've done everything I can do to represent us well.
All right, aaron.
[tim] well, I think we got a little bit more proof in there.
Definitely a watermelon on the nose,
but it's a candy watermelon.
That is really sweet.
And ya can't taste the liquor in that one
'cause it's got too much syrup.
But it is cold!
[both laughing]
all right, give me another one.
I mean, honestly, I can see why this sells good in west virginia.
Yeah, you could go worldwide with it.
Oh, yeah, it's watermelon through and through.
I think he would have been a whole lot better off
if he just put more of the juice,
put a higher proof jar of his liquor in there.
And let the juice stand on its own merits
without puttin' all that sugar in it.
Liquor's been in our heritage in those mountains for a lot of years.
And I just hope I make 'em proud.
-I'll give a cheers to that, buddy. -Cheers.
-Good luck to ya. -You too.
Marky, where you at? You yeller or pink?
-I'm good. -All right, he's good with it.
-Now, you go get 'em. I'll sit right here. -All right.
[tim chuckles]
[mark] looky there.
-[digger] here we are, marky. -There ya are.
Welcome back, men.
You brought your best sellers your region.
It's up to us to roll the dice and see if it'll sell elsewhere.
Aaron, watermelon. Bam. Hits you right in the mouth.
Good drink, front to back.
I didn't get a whole lot of alcohol on the nose,
but it's still a fine, fine drink.
Looks like watermelon, smells like watermelon, tastes like watermelon.
But, you know, maybe that's so much flavor you put in it
kinda masks that alcohol.
I'll tell ya. It's 'bout the coldest drink ever tasted. I ain't kidding.
Cold, cold, cold. But it is a little on the sweet side.
-Now, jon, good drink, great flavor. -Thank you.
You've done it real good.
You've got a good butterscotch flavor.
I didn't get any more of the cranberries in there,
but the butterscotch taste was spot on.
It too was just a little bit sweet,
but I could pick up alcohol on the nose as well as the tongue.
The proof was right where it needs to be.
[tim] I do have to say hats off.
You took a candy and ground it up
and made a concentrate powder out of it
instead of maybe puttin' in liquid concentrate in it.
And that's outstanding.
There's really not a whole lot of negative to ya
'cause none of ya have messed up
from the time ya mashed in to the time you got your finished last jar.
Ya just tweaked it to your likin', to your region.
I know they're marketable in your respective areas
'cause, I mean, obviously you already sell 'em.
But I think there's a market out there nationwide for both of these products.
I wish we didn't have to cut somebody loose.
But there can't be two master distillers.
Jon...
...You're the next master distiller, buddy.
-[digger] congratulations. -Thank you.
-Thanks. -Good job, man. Good job.
-Thank you. -Good job to you, man.
I'm super happy. I brought my a game.
But I got to learn on the top.
So, you know, this is a double win.
I think jimbo's gonna be super proud of me.
We've replayed this moment in our heads for years now.
So I think he's gonna be super excited.
It's been an honor to get to taste your spirits.
And I look forward to seeing big things from both of you guys.
I think I represented west virginia really well.
I turned in the best jar I could
turned out [chuckles] it wasn't the best jar.
But I'm happy. Goin' home back to my mountains and go back to makin' moonshine.
Thank ya, boys. Y'all been great competitors.
Thank you. Thank you, guys.
It's definitely a family tradition.
Roll tide. Alabama represent! [chuckles]
-let's go get us a drink. -[chuckles] yeah.