Ah, that smells good.
[narrator] this time on master distiller.
I promise you, you got plenty of honey in there.
[narrator] honey moonshine, made from the most expensiv ingredient in the backwoods
[tickle] that is a nice comb of honey right there.
[narrator] and sometimes, the most dangerous.
She's intense with it now, isn't she?
[kacey] we're both combat soldiers.
Thank god for battle buddies.
Be careful. Both of them are trained killers.
[narrator] across the countr
A handful of expert 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 ear their place in america's liquor making legacy.
[chuckles] there we go. There's the pay day.
[narrator] judged by three legendary moonshiners,
They'll go head-to-head in a series of challenges..
Oh, my word. Look at her, with a bucket of honey.
[digger] you're gonna be sticky mcsticky.
[narrator] ...To determine who has what it takes...
Oh! Oh, that's heaven.
It's that honey.
[narrator] ...To be named master distiller.
I don't believe I've ever saw that much honey go in.
All I'm seeing is dollar signs rolling by.
Welcome to master distiller, guys.
Fixing to put your all skills to the test.
Honey liquor, that's what you're here to do for us.
If you look around, you'll see there's just two of you.
That's for a reason.
Honey's finicky.
Hard to get to ferment, it's hard to get flavor out of that.
The backwoods liquor world is a very tight-knit community.
Produce a bad jar, people talk about that.
But if you produce something really special,
Folks talk about that, too.
Kacey, your father is known all over texas for producing the best honey shine,
And we understand that you've put your own spin on it.
Troy, we've heard for years about a backwoods missouri liquor man
That made a wonderful honey shine.
You're that man.
I can't wait to see what you two bring to the table.
What you got at stake's your bragging rights,
And limited run of your signature liquor at a major distiller.
So I'm not surprised if both of y'all are vets
'cause honey is a risky base to make liquor.
You know, both of y'all have been trained to work under stressful conditions
And take calculated risks.
That said, people have been making look out of honey since the beginning of time.
Tickle, lay some of that honey history on us.
Fermented honey beverages were drunk in india some 4,000 years ago.
Ancient greeks called it ambrosia,
And it was believed to be the drink of the gods.
The celts and anglo-saxons drank mead out of cow horns, goblets,
And I kid you not, even the skulls of their enemies.
And they thought that it gave them magical powers.
I know when I get deep in a jar,
I got magical powers.
Different honeys produce vastly different flavors,
And it takes a very skillful distiller to be able to pull those flavors through,
And still produce a high-pro yet smooth jar of liquor.
Unless you have your own hives like I do,
The expense isn't always worth the risk.
Good, raw honey can go for as much as $200 a gallon
If you mess your run up, you're out a lot of money.
But now, if you get it right you can sell that liquor for a premium.
Whoever ran this, got it just right.
It's the bees knees.
All right, guys, you've got one hour to build you mash,
You've got five days to ferment it.
We're going to get back here, run it and see what you can do with it.
Come with me. We're gonna go make a little mash.
All right, guys, you know what's ahead of you.
Your all's recipes, you've got your dads,
You've got your own, goes back to your grandfather,
And we want to see it.
You got one hour to build us your honey moonshine mash.
Your time starts now.
[troy] hey, kacey, can I buy your striker?
[kacey] absolutely.
There you go.
I'll tell you, when I first started,
I was in a hurry, I wanted to get that liquor.
-[chuckling] -[troy speaking]
I mean, I wouldn't have fed that to my truck for gasoline.
It was that bad.
My name is troy halsey.
I live in bucyrus, missouri.
I enlisted the military in 1982,
Worked my way to a staff sergeant, gun chief
And I ran operations for an artillery piece.
I spent 22 glorious years in the artillery and had a great time doing it.
Good old honey liquor right there.
What started my interest in distilling is the family heritage.
My mom's family, they were coal miners,
And didn't make a lot of mon back in those days,
So they had to start moonshining to make ends meet.
First spirit I made was old fashioned corn liquor.
That's what my grandparents did,
And that's the foundation behind any good moonshiner.
That's hot.
Winning master distiller would be one of the greatest highlights of my life.
And I'm hope that my grandpa is going, "you're doing it right, kid."
Where did you get your recipe from?
My daddy.
-[laughing] -[troy] of course.
[kacey] he's been doing it about 20 years.
-Daddy-daughter. I like it. -Yeah, yeah, yeah. Daddy-daughter.
My name is kacey and I'm from houston, texas.
I was in the military for about six years.
I was a combat medic while I was in the army.
Did a deployment, iraq, kuwait.
I'm very proud of that I served my country,
And I'm very proud of what I did for my country.
205. Pick it up.
190. All right.
I've been doing this about ten years.
My dad's been doing it about 20 years.
I started when I got out of the military.
I was having a hard time holding down a job,
You know, suffering from ptsd.
And my dad showed me to distill.
He's like, "as a distiller, I make moonshine."
He walked me through the whole steps,
And I did a couple of runs, and I was hooked from there.
I see it steaming right there.
Running liquor pretty much saved my life.
There's nothing better than somebody taking a drink,
And saying, "hey, let me have another one."
It makes me feel like I've accomplished something
And that makes me feel like I have a purpose again.
Yeah, here we go.
Yeah, doc, you did your time in the box.
[kacey] I did.
Worth every second of it, too.
It is folks like you, you did what you did
You brought a lot of guys home, doc.
Cool... Cool.
30 minutes, guys. Still got plenty of time.
[kacey] what you going for?
I am using orange blossom honey.
Honey is very finicky.
If you use too much honey, it overtakes.
So when you make it, you have to pay attention to the detail of what you're doing with it.
Your clover honeys, they're good,
And there's a time and a place for them like that.
But with something like this, I want something to pop.
I want that to give you a kiss on the front, get that honey and that nutty.
But on the back, you catch that peachy apricot.
-That "oh, yeah." -[chuckling]
Little kiss. Little honey kiss.
The mash build is just peaches, apricot,
Little bit of vanilla bean and roasted pecans.
Apricots have that wonderfu effervescence to them. Okay
They work well with peaches
That's coming right along.
It's going to be great. I already know that. Okay?
I've got great ingredients, I know what I'm doing.
That's what I'm talking about.
Oh, yeah!
[kacey] I got my recipe from my daddy,
But I put my own twist on it.
It's going to be a honey mas
You've got the sweet corn, you got the spicy rye,
You have the kind of the dryer barley
And I put cherries in mine as well.
I got a story behind my honey.
My honey lady told me
George washington brought over the tallow tree for two reasons:
Shade and honey.
The honey brings a really good flavor because you have a natural sweetness
Without that refined taste to it.
Honey is a lot more clean.
[digger] kacey, you got you a solid game plan?
I'm just waiting for my water to start boiling.
I really don't want to put anything on an open flame.
I don't want to take the chances of scorching it.
Once everything gets heated up,
Then I'm gonna start dissolving my grains, dissolving my honey,
And then just let it cook for as long as I can.
That's what I tell folks. Honey is finicky.
It'll leave you out in the cold before you know it.
-Carry on, kacey, and good luck. -[kacey] thank you, sir.
-Troy. -How you doing, sir?
It looks like you're making some sort of pie.
-[troy chuckles] -tell me about what you're doing here.
Put my pecans in, my peaches in there, my apricots.
This is a honey I've used multiple times.
I swear by it.
Orange blossom honey.
It's deep, it's rich, it's got flavor for days.
Good deal. We're looking forward to tasting all of it.
All right, troy, good luck. I want to move on.
Thank you, sir.
That's perfect. That's exactly what I'm looking for right there.
[digger] two and a half minutes, guys.
Gotta have your mash in the barrel.
Oh, boy.
-[troy] kacey, can you help me real quick, please? -Sure.
One, two, three, up.
[digger] five, four, three, two, one.
Step away from your barrels, guys.
[troy] thank you very much, kacey.
[kacey] yeah, no problem.
Thank god for battle buddies.
Chase on out, we'll come get you when it's time.
Guys, these are the kind of contests we love to see.
You both have stiff competition.
Honey can be tricky, but has a lot of sugar in it,
And can make a whole lot of alcohol.
And sometimes, it's hard to get to that part of the run.
But I know it's not your first day on the job.
That's why you're here.
You're the cream of the crop.
Y'all got four hours. Bring us your best.
Your time starts now.
Good luck, guys.
-Good luck, texas. -Good luck.
We're gonna have another one of them, I'm afraid.
-What's that? -A contest.
[kacey sighs] [bleep]
Look, it's bubbling.
I still got a cap. I'm still floating.
[mark] that is not what you want to see.
May not have the alcohol content.
I tell you, kacey, you got to be careful.
[kacey sighs] [bleep]
My mash wasn't quite where I wanted it to be.
I could've used about two more days with it.
But I know the judges don't want that lower proof
I'm just trying to focus on what I have to do,
And hope for the best.
All we need is one jar.
I tell you, it's got a powerful good smell in here, tim.
Strong smell.
[troy] tastes good.
My mash actually finished up fermenting.
It was ready to go.
My abv was lower than I expected.
I knew it was going to be low because I did not put as much honey in.
I erred on the side of caution.
But I'm ready. Let's get it done.
Ah, smells good.
-You like it? -I like it. I like it a lot.
You know, if he was in the backwoods and the law enforcement showed up,
They would, for sure, think he's cooking a cobbler.
[digger] yeah.
Whatever you don't use, we'll go over there and take it as contraband
And go get us some hot biscuit.
-Kacey? -[kacey] yes, sir.
What kind of rig you run on at home?
I have a 50-gallon copper.
You got yourself a one-barrel still.
That's what the old timers around here call it,
One barrel, two barrel, four barrel.
There.
Kacey, you do have wrenches inside your box.
Okay.
How big is your still, troy, at home?
I have a 16-gallon milk can.
This is my first time ever running copper.
I'm used to stainless steel.
It's kinda like going to prom with a different girl than you used to.
[kacey] you're gonna fall in love with copper, I promise you.
You got one hour. You got three more to go.
-[mark] kacey? -Yes, sir.
You're good with your mash?
I mean, I wish I would've had another day or two,
But it is what it is.
And I ain't never asked this before,
Would you let me have a little taste of that mash, please?
[kacey] yes, sir.
Well, now don't founder me or nothing.
-[kacey laughs] -you know, I mean, really?
Really? Dip that in and get me some damn mash in that.
-[laughs] -[mark] all right. Now that's what I'm talking about.
Wow!
Damn. It's got alcohol in it.
-[kacey] little bit. -Yeah, buddy.
Really good.
Thank you.
I'm looking forward to tasting the end product when it comes out of there.
-[mark] troy? -Yes, sir.
I asked kacey for a little sample of her mash,
And I think I would be doing myself an injustice if I don't ask you for one.
Fill the little feller up.
That's what I'm talking about.
Ooh. It's got some alcohol in it.
Mmm. [smacks lips]
-[troy] that all right? -Maybe you got something there, boss.
Thank you, sir.
All right. This is just a preview of what's next.
I'm trying to do it right.
[mark] I know you will.
-[mark] good luck, troy. -Thank you, sir.
[kacey] oh, there we go.
[troy] that's clear looking liquor there.
-That's 150 at least. -About to say 150... Yeah.
You know, back home I would be hoping that that holds 150, 150, 150, 140.
-Now I'm like, let me get to-- [laughs] yeah! -100, 100, 100.
[chuckles] yeah.
[chuckles] yeah! There we go. There's the pay day I've been waiting on.
Daggone running now.
[kacey] yeah.
Yeah, I got the honey flavor. I'm ready to switch this out.
Getting close to that crunch time, guys.
One hour left.
This one's it right here.
It was really sweet.
A lot of honey in there, a lot of cherry in there,
And then the sweetness of the corn.
[exhales]
[troy] you're good, kid.
[kacey] running with troy is an amazing experience.
We're both combat soldiers, and we've both been there and done that.
And this is just something else to add on top of it.
30 minutes, guys.
If you ain't where you need to be, you better be hustling.
Number nine for me.
You got your jar ready yet?
-No. I'm going to have to go through and blend. -[kacey] and blend?
Yeah, I'm not blending.
I'm going for that one jar.
I got the proof to about where I wanted it.
It was still a little hot for me,
But, you know, it's not about me.
It's about what the judges think.
-That's the one, kace? -Lucky number seven.
Lucky number seven.
-[kacey] thank you. -Yes, ma'am.
[troy] the more I ran it, and I realized my proof is extremely low.
So I started looking for those particular bottle that had a high enough proof.
I had to combine a couple of them to get where I wante for the proof I had
And a little more flavor.
-Good, better and different. -That's the one, troy?
-[troy] that's the one, sir. -[mark] good luck, sir.
Boys, I tasted the mash.
Now it's time to taste the liquor.
I like this right here now.
Honey, honey, honey.
This right here is going to be troy.
-Watching how the copper runs opposed to my stainless steel, -mmm-hmm.
I got an education in copper.
But you running copper for the first time, I was impressed.
[tim] he didn't have enough abv as what he expected.
I'm gonna say he's 85, 90 proof.
[tim] let's see what he's working with.
Good smell.
You get those floral notes out of that honey.
It's really, really prominent right in there.
Hardly no fire in it.
If you're drinking liquor right out of the freezer, right out of a cooler,
That's what you want right there.
That's awful good.
[tim] now he has peaches and pecans and all that in there.
[digger] yeah, I'm not getting any pecan.
I think that was just a waste of time and money on his part.
Exactly, right.
He don't need to monkey with that 'cause he's got a good blend of them.
All right, here we go.
Kacey from texas.
All right. Nice, good bead.
Mmm-hmm. I want to say that's spot-on, right on the honey.
I thought I was going to be a little bit nervous.
I thought that I was going to have some puking in there,
'cause, you know, I started running it kinda hot,
But I was really pleased by the way it ran.
[tim] tastes just like honey out of a jar now.
Really, really good.
And it's got a bite.
Yeah. This got just a little bit of fire to it,
But it's finishing really, really sweet.
That honey and cherry? Oh, boy. You can't beat that.
Kacey brought her a game. That's what it is.
They're both fine, fine drinks.
Both of them is marketable.
[digger] oh, yeah. There is no doubt.
It's a hairline fracture what's separating these two,
But we're not to their end product yet.
Looking forward to the next round.
[digger] boys, we're rock solid one and two.
-I'm gonna go fetch them. -Go get them.
[digger] welcome back, guys.
I'm going to tell you, we knew we were gonna have a tough decision.
We didn't know it was going to be this tough.
This is for the pecking order which one y'all gets to go first
To pick your still parts.
Kacey, fine drink of liquor.
-That honey is there. -[sighs in relief]
And your proof, spot on.
Smooth, smooth. Good drink of liquor.
Thank you.
Be careful on that fermentation working off more,
'cause then your alcohol is going to go up.
Troy, you proof wasn't as high as it should have been.
The benchmark for homemade liquor, backwoods liquor is 100 proof.
But where it's at is perfect for me.
Really tasteful jar there. The honey comes through.
The pecans, I think you should have left them in missouri.
I don't think it really helps you.
Tough decision.
But kacey, you're the first one through the door to get you still parts.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
[digger] I guess you know where that puts you.
Both of you, if you get any better than what you're doing,
That's gonna be dangerous.
We got only one thing left to do.
Tickle!
How's it going, fellas?
Tickle, you know, these guys here have made the perfect honey moonshine.
And they need to go to the still house and find some still parts
To enhance their flavors a little bit more.
Let me warn you. Be careful.
Both of them are trained killers.
[laughing]
[tim] so don't even think about it.
[chuckles] I wasn't planning on pinching them up.
You all come on with me. We'll get us some still parts.
[tim] good luck, guys.
-I didn't get a thumper. So I'm gonna do it old-school. -Oh!
[troy] I had to step back and realign.
I got a little something up my sleeve here.
All right. Y'all are gonna have three minutes
To pick your still parts in there, okay?
Feel free to bring your big parts out.
You got a box for small parts.
Kacey, you're up first,
And your three minutes starts now.
See everything you need in there?
-[kacey] working on it. -[tickle] working on it, yeah.
[tickle] yeah, she's making noise in there.
[kacey] I have one thing on my mind.
I'm gonna be looking for that thumper.
[tickle] that's good. Okay. All right.
We've got a thumper, we've got a pot,
And we've got a minute-and-a-half left.
You can have one of the boxes right there.
All right. Kacey's doing it to it.
All right. One minute.
You got it going on in there?
[kacey] I think so.
Need some help there?
-So are you done? -[kacey] yeah.
-[tickle] troy. -Yes, sir.
It is now your turn.
Your time starts now.
Mmm, okay.
The critique I got told me what I need to do to make it better.
So the second round, I'll be able to put the extra honey,
The extra fruits inside the double.
I'll fix a lot of things using the double.
All right. Okay. Troy has got a pot out.
You've got a minute left.
[troy] I'm grabbing stuff that I probably don't need,
But I'm making damn sure I got everything.
You've got five, four, three, two,
And he grabs everything.
All right, troy.
Now that we've got our parts, let's get them back in there
So you all can put these stills together
And make your next run, all right?
-Yes, sir. Let's do it. -All right. Let's do it.
[tickle] well, they got them some still parts.
[tim] I see.
All right. I'mma leave them in your hands, all right?
-All right. -All right. We'll see you.
[digger] nicely done there, tickle.
All right, guys, looks like you got still parts.
I don't see a thumper over here, troy.
-I didn't get a thumper. -Oh!
[troy] so I'm gonna do it old school.
I'm pretty sure you got something up your sleeve.
Got confidence in you.
Both of you guys know exactly what you're doing.
And as good as your last jars were,
I'm really looking forward to seeing these next ones.
[digger] got one hour to get them stills together.
Your all's time starts now.
Good luck, guys.
Put it together and I'm gonna take it back hard.
Got a little something up my sleeve.
I don't have a doubler,
So I have to get a pot out and simmer it,
Get a good blend, pour my mash in, go to work.
Coming into this round, there's a lot of pressure for me not to mess up.
You know, I came out strong, and I want to finish strong.
[troy] okay.
Think I got my bronc saddled.
Five minutes, you all.
[kacey] yeah, there we go.
Thank you.
-[troy] you got it? -[kacey] I got it.
Thank you, sir.
Looks like everybody's all in, all done.
All right, guys, you got your stills assembled.
Kacey, you got a thumper. Troy, you didn't get one.
Now you know the next step: Rerun your liquor.
We want a good tasting jar, proof, spot on.
Nobody goes home.
But what we have up at stake here for the winner:
Brand-fired new hydrometer.
Might make your job a little easier.
Four hours. We want to see your very best jar on this table.
Your time starts now.
Good luck, guys.
If I had the hydrometer, I would know where I'm at, where I stand.
If I need to add a little bit more, take a little bit out,
It would help me out a lot.
[troy] I'm nervous.
I'm just going to go in like old school.
You know, when I first started off moonshining,
I didn't understand really that much about doublers, about thumpers,
And I ran single line.
Just go in there, do what I know how to do, and run liquor.
Troy got serious. He done take his whole still apart.
He's getting ready to cook something, is what he's gonna do.
We really ain't never seen this happen like this before, have we?
No, this is a new ball game.
Gonna be an interesting run.
The proof that I'm looking to put on the table is between 100 and 110.
Kacey's already got her still cooking.
[kacey] there we go.
[mark] oh, yeah.
She's got the burner on. She's warming up.
Both of them is focused.
I'm telling you, they've got a plan.
Oh, my word. Look at that whole bucket of honey.
[digger] you gonna be sticky mcsticky.
[chuckles]
[mark] damn. I don't believe I've ever saw that much honey going about.
That's the other problem in making honey. It's expensive.
Even if you have your own bees,
What you could have sold your honey for is worth more than the liquor.
Exactly.
[tim] gonna be the most expensive jar ever made here.
You've burned 45 minutes of your time.
Three hours and 15 minutes left.
[kacey] oh, we got liquor.
Now we hurry up and wait.
-Kacey. -[kacey] yes, sir?
[digger] tell us what yours is going to bring us.
[kacey] I'm hoping to bring out more of the honey.
I'm going to kind of say bye-bye to the cherries right now.
I can promise you, you got plenty of honey in there.
$97 worth in that thumper alone.
Just about. [laughs]
Well, good luck, kacey.
-[kacey] thank you. -We look forward to tasting your liquor.
Ah, maybe.
[troy] I had to step back and realign to get those flavors in.
I didn't have the thumper.
I had to put all my fruits, my nuts, and all the juices in there,
And just cook it up.
So he's going to infuse in flavors in there,
And then he's gonna put that in his still.
[troy] if I'd been like you and ballsy,
I wouldn't be going through all this.
If I had just mashed in and did things like you did, threw everything in.
I was just too cautious.
[kacey] let me know if you need something.
Need an extra hour. Thanks.
Guys, two hours left in your run.
[troy] time's going by way too damn fast.
Getting in a good place now.
-[kacey] you good? Okay. -I'm good.
Oh, look at that awful goodness.
He's gonna make it work.
[mark] he's gonna make it work.
I'm concerned with his time.
[troy] hopefully, my abv is going to be high.
I don't need a whole lot. I just needed one jar.
But if it's only one jar, you make it a damn good jar.
[sighs]
-Found your jar yet? -[kacey] no, not quite. Not yet.
[troy] your run, that's number eight?
This is number nine.
[troy] number nine.
[kacey] I'm going to run a few more and see where I'm at.
I've got to think two, three steps ahead
To make sure that I got what I need to put my final jar on the table.
Yeah, you're still high.
-[laughing] -[chokes and coughs]
That'll surprise your [bleep] enemies.
[all laughing]
[grunts] ooh, that's warm.
[kacey] I've got to put a jar on the table that's not too high proof,
That can be pleasurable to the palate.
[troy] you gotta distill.
-[troy] I'm gonna say at least 115, 120. -120.
One hour left, guys.
[troy] hot dog.
It's hot. It's good.
You're running that clear liquor, ain't you, boss?
It's these copper stills. I've never run before.
I'm falling in love with them.
Consistent run, beautiful color.
You know, I don't have nothing to say about how much fun they are.
-Good luck to you. Keep up the good work. -Appreciate it.
-Kacey? How are you doing? -Yes, sir.
I'm good.
Are you where you want to be?
Yes, sir. But if I was back home, this would be one of those eight hour runs.
So I got to do what I got to do to get it in the four hours.
-Yes, you do. Can't wait to taste it. -Yes, sir.
[kacey] thank you.
That still is beautiful. My lord!
Look at that.
I smell honey, honey, honey.
Ooh, honey.
You've already got your jar.
Ten minutes, guys.
Jar 14 made me happy.
But at the same time, I felt jar 14 was a little bit too hot.
But tempered with a little bit of water.
[troy] I'm down to about 90 proof now.
I think I'll run one more bottle and shut her down.
I'm gonna take my last jar and temper it.
[troy] are ya?
Decision, decisions, decisions.
That's the one right there.
-Five, four, three, two, one. -Good job.
All right, guys. Be at ease.
We'll sample. Thank y'all.
Thank you.
-[digger] dismissed. -Appreciate it. Hup.
[digger chuckles]
We got two fine looking jars right here.
Well, this one right here is mr. Troy.
Crystal clear.
-That's a fine bead right there. -[tim] that is a perfect bead.
[tim] if these two are as good as the first two,
This is gonna be dangerous.
How do you feel about not having a thumper?
It was kind of cool going back to my roots.
I mean, that's how I started.
I felt very, very good about my run today.
That's got a wonderful nose on it.
Wow!
That is just good.
Well, that's smooth, smooth, smooth.
And proof is spot on.
[digger] you get that honey up front, on the back.
In the middle, you get that little earthy from the pecans.
He did this with a basic still,
And that shows nothing but his skills.
Kacey's got her work cut out for her.
Well, that's one clear jar.
It's not a full one, but it's clear.
-[mark] class acts. -[tim] they are humble.
[tim] a little bit higher proof there.
[digger] she ain't quite past 110, I don't think yet.
I'm not as happy with this one as my first one.
[troy] why?
My jar was hot. My jar was a kick in the teeth.
I know it was.
[tim] let's see what's working.
Wow.
I smell honey.
The thumper infusion is what puts the nose on your liquor.
-[mark] that's honey. -All the way.
[mark] I think it's a little hot on the back end for my taste.
But I think she's got it going on.
She's got a high proof, and she still kept that flavor.
There's my pick.
There is mine.
All right, boys. We're pretty well solid.
And I want to go get them, so we can start getting this liquor on oak,
And get as much time on that oak as we can.
Welcome back, guys.
You're looking at three boys that just had a tough choice.
Two of the finest jars of honey liquor that I have ever witnessed.
And I can't tell you how hard it was.
It's really kind of mind-blowing.
The first-place jar gets to take this back to their station,
A hydrometer and a test jar.
Kacey, I'm telling you, honey all over the place.
I can't tell you how great that flavor was.
Now, thumper infused flavors gives you a big nose profile, and it has it.
But it also has it on the palate.
It was just a little bit hot for my taste,
But I'm not condemning it for that.
-[mark] it's good. It's really good. -[exhales]
It's nothing but honey in your hand.
It's gold honey.
Troy, I can't say a whole lot bad about your drink either.
Your proof was a little toward the benchmark a little more,
But the pecan finally came through.
[mark] great, great flavor.
You didn't get the thumper that you had hoped to get,
But I promise you the skills that you brought to this contest,
You didn't need it.
You're a shooting expert right now.
[troy] thank you.
You guys knocked it out of the park.
Thank you.
All that being said, guys,
Kacey, you won yourself a hydrometer.
-Thank you. -[digger] there you are, ma'am.
Thank you.
I wasn't 100% happy with what I put on the table,
So the judges' feedback, it meant the world to me.
Like, that just kind of solidified that I'm headed in the right direction.
The damn liquor can't be no better, guys, until we get it oaked.
[tim] one more challenge.
[digger] you have 30 minutes to get your liquor oaked.
When you're done, just button up your station and exit the shed.
They'll age overnight.
We'll get y'all back in here tomorrow.
You strain, blend, however you want to handle it.
You've got 30 minutes.
Your time starts now.
Good luck, guys.
-[troy] thank you. -[kacey] thanks.
[troy] okay.
I see the hydrometer going to work already.
[mark] already.
[digger] what was that one, kacey, out of curiosity?
This one was 110, 'cause my first jar was 170.
That's insane.
That's the honey.
It can be good. It could be bad for you.
[mark] and over here I see troy.
He's doing a little sipping and tasting,
And he's getting things figured out.
I mean, he doesn't have a hydrometer, so he's got to go by eye.
[troy] kacey might've won the hydrometer, but I don't need it.
I'm old school.
When I'm at the house, I shake each bottle,
And I'm usually within about five or so points of where I thought it was, you know.
I'll go from there.
I'm going to do a bottle with just honey, peach juice,
And I'm going to put some oak in it.
Other than that, I'm going to try to turn into liquor right around 100 proof.
I actually bought some of my home state's favorite tree.
I brought my own missouri oak.
-You toast it yourself? -[troy] yes, sir.
Homemade chips, they're finicky.
If you don't rinse them, you soak them too long,
Just all of a sudden, boom, you got cloudy liquor.
And we all know that that's no good in the liquor world.
Guys, just keep you up to date.
You got 15 minutes. You're halfway there.
-Kacey. Tell us about yours here. -Yes, sir.
What have you got going on?
Well, I hope to present a honey peach tea.
My plan going into the final aging
Is to make sure that I put that higher proof jar on the table.
I'm just trying to make sure that my honey comes out before my peach does.
And it looks like you brought some of your own chips with you.
I did.
And I got a little bit of light oak also.
Yeah, light oak to get that heavy vanilla in there and not get any color.
[kacey] I really enjoy using oak
Because it can transform okay liquor into really great liquor.
Five minutes, guys.
[troy] oh, boy.
I love seeing talent like this at work.
[troy] kacey and I are absolutely level right at this point.
Two vastly different flavors, but honey compliments both of them.
Oh, yeah. They're turning some pretty colors.
[kacey] okay, y'all. I'm good.
All right, you can exit the shed.
We'll take care of everything else.
[kacey] thank you.
[digger] one minute.
She's hogtied and done.
We shall see you in the morning, bright and early, about daylight.
-Appreciate it. -Yes, sir.
-Good luck. -Good luck. Get you some rest.
There's going to be some serious straining and blending going on here tomorrow.
I know for sure.
You know, we just gotta look at the market. Can we sell it?
This is the sucky part of our job.
We only have one master distiller.
I've always heard, and I guess it's true,
That honey is the most purest thing on the planet.
Mmm-hmm. It's got natural anti-fungal, natural antibiotics.
I mean, it's its own medicine.
You know, tickle's got bees.
[mark and digger] mmm-hmm.
Problem is he can't get the honey,
'cause the bees won't let him.
Bees intentionally won't let anybody take their honey.
You gotta really know how to get it.
He has to put on one of them bee suits to get in there and mess with them.
I mean, really, would you let tickle around much?
[chuckles]
[digger] welcome back, guys.
24 hours been oaking.
See some awful pretty jars over there.
It's very easy to mess this up at this point,
But it also produces a wonderful jar of liquor.
[tim] be careful. You've already did your aging,
But now you're going to do some filtering.
You know, sometimes you can filter that flavor out.
You got 30 minutes, starting now, guys.
Good luck. Get with it.
-[troy] good luck, battle. -Good luck.
They've done taken a liking to each other, ain't they?
Oh! Oh, that's heaven.
Sounds like you just cheated on your wife.
[chuckling]
The colors when I walked in was spot on.
Oh, that's good, too.
It had a good char.
I knew I was a little light on the honey,
And so that's what I started working on.
I feel like a kid with a chemistry set.
15 minutes, boys and girls.
I don't remember being so eager to taste the finished product in my life.
Yes, that little concoction worked out okay.
Oak is finicky. It's also like honey.
Either it can work really well for you,
Or it can work against you.
That's a shame of this.
I can only turn one bottle, and these are all smelling really, really good.
You get the pick of the litter.
[troy] I just got to pick the right damn one.
Five minutes, guys.
She's intense with it now, isn't she?
Of course, I wanted to put a clear jar on the table,
But it just came out a little bit cloudy.
But, you know, I had to take that risk
So that I could make sure that that honey does stand out.
You ready?
-Ready. -[troy] let's do it.
Outstanding.
We'll come get you when we reach a decision.
Good luck to both of you.
Let's go.
Pretty impressive right there.
It looks like two jars of honey.
I believe it do.
[tim] all right. That's troy.
Smells good already.
Lot of nose.
Took that last sip, and I knew this was a bottle I was gonna to turn in,
And raise a glass to my grandpa.
There's a lot of alcohol in there.
Yeah, lot of flavor.
Gotta whole lot of alcohol in there.
More alcohol than flavor.
And that ruins it a little bit, don't it?
That's probably 110 at least.
That hydrometer would have helped him out.
I think he kind of went way over the 100 proof line.
I'm getting honey on the nose.
But not a lot of honey on the palate.
You got the oak finish of an aged liquor,
But it's so heavy on the oak that you can't separate the flavors.
Yeah, that's whiskey.
He's got a really, really good barrel-finished rapid aged whiskey here.
If it just had a little more honey inside it.
Right.
Yeah, pretty fierce.
It's hot. I like it.
-Let's try kacey's. -All right.
[mark] troy's is a little clearer than kacey's.
[digger] yeah.
I love what I put up there, except the fact that it was cloudy.
But I needed it to get the honey taste.
-That is good. -That's honey, no doubt.
[digger] honey right up there on the front.
Those nice cinnamon, nutmeg, leather notes there on that.
Little bit of oaking it got in it.
That's that butter slick, smooth, silky taste.
It's so good.
Probably 95 to 100 proof,
But it's as slick as a ribbon from that honey.
[tim] it's real slick.
And she was using that hydrometer the whole time.
It's not as attractive as troy.
Troy is a more attractive jar on the table.
You know, we just got to look at the market, "okay, can we sell it?"
You know, they're both outstanding there.
-Troy's is heavy oaked and clear. -Yeah.
Hers is heavy honey and a little cloudy.
I mean, they're both deserving in their own right,
But we've only got one that's a true honey liquor at this point.
-Go get them, puss. -I'mma go fetch them.
Welcome back, guys.
Just so you know, we just tasted two fantastic jars of rapid aged liquor.
It's not every day that we get two veterans to stand in front of us together.
Both of you, all the way through the whole challenge,
Has stressed that you walk and talk your game.
That's an honor.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
Kacey.
Honey, through and through.
The only thing that I see that could be a downside,
It clouded up, but that's something that can be rectified.
I think your base was so strong with honey,
I don't think you can get rid of the honey.
So you definitely got a jar of honey liquor in here.
A little bit cloudy, but the taste is killer.
You knocked it out of the park.
-Troy. -[troy] yes, sir.
[digger] I'm telling you, you flat aged the dog out at that.
Oak through and through.
Great color.
I mean, it's really mahogany, deep mahogany.
That's what I like seeing on aged liquor.
When you look at that jar, there's nothing wrong with it.
Outstanding jar.
Thank you.
I think you oaked it so well that you masked a little bit of your honey.
But all in all, two fantastic jars.
Troy, your paw-paw's very proud of you.
Kacey, your daddy's very proud of you.
I'm very proud of you.
Well, guys, this is the sucky part of our job.
We can only have one master distiller.
Kacey, you're the next master distiller.
Your daddy will be so proud of you.
[troy] congratulations.
[kacey] I knew that this is what I was meant to do.
But the fact that I made my dad proud, made my family proud,
There's nothing that can top that.
And, troy, I can promise you your grandpa is looking down on you with pride.
You're getting me tearing up.
I turned in a really good jar of liquor,
And I think I represented very, very well.
I'm ready to go forward and do bigger and better things.
Y'all head on out. I want you two to go out here and share in those drinks.
-Yeah. -And once you all leave, we'll start crying.
[all laughing]
-It's been an honor, guys. -[troy] thank you.
Thank you.