[narrator] this time on master distiller,
Coffee moonshine.
Number one illegal seller is coffee moonshine.
[narrator] this combo packs a jolt of flavor
With a high-proof buzz.
I think it'll get the job done.
-[mark] I'm telling you. -Holy moly.
[narrator] now, three accomplished distiller
Will put their twist on a caffeinated
Back wood's favorite.
This is really getting interesting.
What are you doing?
[jason] making a cup of coffee.
You don't do this every morning?
No.
[narrator] to see who has what it take
To be named master distiller
[jason] this is what I do.
-Alcohol. -Whoa.
You're not in the back woods no more.
[country music playing]
[digger] welcome, guys.
We're gonna see out of you three,
Which one truly is the master distiller.
Now, what you get with that,
You get limited run of your liquor
To major distillers.
Coffee liquor, y'all gonna make us a run of it.
[mark] to make a good cup of coffee
Takes a little skill.
To make a good jar of liquor
Takes a lot of skill.
[tim] right here, it's one of my jars.
Number one illegal seller right now
Is coffee moonshine in my neck of the woods.
Tickle, tell us more about that coffee liquor.
In 800 a.D.,
An ethiopian goat herder named kaldi,
Noticed that his goats were just jumping around,
Acting all crazy...
After they'd been eating these berries.
So he took these berries to the village elders
So they could check these things out.
By the 15th century,
Folks in yemen decided to roast these beans
And grind them up.
Now, that's when coffee was born.
Before coffee hit europe,
People were drinking alcoho all day
Because it was much safer than drinking the water.
Coffee quickly replaced alcohol
As everybody's favorite drink of choice.
It was only a matter of tim
Before people started combining coffee and liquor
From kahlua in the '30s, to tia maria in the '50s.
Coffee liqueur became more popular
With american drinkers
As the cocktail culture developed.
Nowadays, the coffee liqueur business
Is booming and craft distillers
Are taking recipes from craft coffee.
They're just now learning what we in the backwoods
Have always known.
Coffee and liquor, that's a winning combination
Damn that'll wake you up.
If y'all ready, we're going old school,
We're going outside. Follow me.
[intense music playing]
All right, guys. Get your mash built,
Get it in that blue barrel with the red top behind you.
One hour, your time starts now.
Good luck, guys.
Holy moly.
Lighting mine up.
[chuckles] I'm struggling, guys.
[jason] got it.
[deanna] what a gent.
My name is deanna.
I'm from mount jackson, virginia.
I'm a hemp farmer
And I'm also a regular farmer.
How are you today, cali?
Hey, moo-moos. Come on.
I grew up in the woods of pennsylvania
And my dad had a lot of dreams
We were working on together
One, working with cannabis,
Two, making alcohol,
And three owning a farm that I could pass on
To different generations.
And then my dad passed away.
He died suddenly.
I started distilling because making alcohol
Was something that he started and couldn't finish.
So I'm gonna finish it.
I've been distilling for two years.
I started distilling hemp oils.
And I love the science behind it.
And that became a passion and now I make,
Around every week, just about one gallon.
There's something about...
Starting a process and finishing it.
And every single time getting better,
That is what keeps me moving.
You look like you got a lot of prep work.
Oh, I know.
You have to cut all the tops off?
I feel, like, yeah.
My specialty is strawberry banana brandy.
So I'm using some strawberries,
Bananas, and some sugar.
And the coffee that I'm using at the end,
There's like blueberry hint in there.
It's gonna pair very nicely when I get to the end.
I can start adding our ingredients here now.
Flaked corn, fresh off the farm.
Think this was flaked last week even.
My name is jason.
I'm a home distiller from a little town
In upstate new york called tillson.
I'm a business jet mechanic
I kind of like to tinker with things and fix things
And I decided I really wanted to make moonshine
Because I have a tinkerer-maker kind of background
And I just needed to know how it was done.
This is the first still built about 13 years ago,
Didn't know how to make a mash yet.
I just started picking up books
And reading everything I could on moonshining
And how it works and so far so good.
For me, the real thrill of distilling
Is teaching other people to distill.
I probably taught 500 to 600 people at this point.
And I really enjoy showing them
The simplicity of this distilling thing.
My specialty in the moonshine world
Is making a good flavored moonshine.
I have peated malts available to me at all times.
I have chocolates malts, I have coffee malts,
Anything you ever would want.
I'm gonna get my specialty grains in here now.
So this should really get everything
Smelling like coffee and chocolate real quick.
My base mash is my corn whiskey mash
That I use often with zero coffee
Actually added to the mash.
I just found that specialty malts
Will give me more of the coffee flavor I want
Than actually adding coffee to it.
Yeah. Strawberry is not gonna work.
Be cutting strawberries all day and...
[deanna] you're right.
Throwing the whole strawberries in, huh?
Well, you know what? At this point...
Get it done, get it done.
What you got going on over there?
[matthew] I'm adding my sugar.
Oh, right to the mash time, huh?
My name is matthew.
I am the operations director and general manager
For philadelphia distilling company.
I've been distilling for about 30 years.
I'm a fourth generation distiller.
My grandparents are scottish
I always grew up distilling scotch
And that started my interest making beer and wine
And it evolved into distilling.
This is what I like to nip on in the winter time.
This is a bourbon that I made,
A little bit of simple syrup
And a little bit of homemade orange bitters.
I love distilling,
First of all the history behind it.
That, and the camaraderie.
And there is nothing I would rather be doing
Than distilling alcohol.
[digger] tell me about what you got in mind here.
I'm doing kind of a traditional moonshine based.
I'm using dextrose corn sugar...
-Mmm-hmm. -[matthew] and flaked corn.
[digger] I'm a huge fan of flaked corn.
We got a little cold brew going on.
And that's gonna go directly into the mash.
Well, I'm looking forward to tasting this.
-Thank you, sir. -Well, carry on my friend.
We'll catch up here in a little bit.
Deanna, tell me about your mash build.
I'm good at brandy, so I got kind of fruity coffee.
And I love bananas.
[digger] so what about these strawberries?
Where is that going to come in?
-[deanna] fruity coffee. -Fruity is a good thing.
Something new.
[digger] you don't believe in cooking them up
Till they fall apart?
I'm just used to cutting it up and taking my time,
Sussing it out on the farm, like,
This is way different for me.
-Continue on and good luck. -[deanna] thanks.
Jason, enlighten me here a little bit.
I have my local hudson valley
Flaked farm-fresh corn, maple syrup.
And for coffee, I have some chocolate roasted barley
Just to give it some nice dark color and some richness.
So I'm not gonna be putting any actual coffee in,
But I'm hoping to get that flavor out of it.
Yeah. A lot of people don't usually use
The chocolate malts,
But that brings a lot of flavor to the party.
This is what I do.
-[digger] jason, good luck. -[jason] thank you, sir.
All right, guys.
Fifteen minutes left.
Look at you.
[jason] how many pounds of coffee is that?
I put two and a half pounds of peruvian in here.
I don't know anyone that's ever used a coffee
Directly in the mash.
Hey, matt. Can you give me a hand
Dumping this pot when you're done over there?
Absolutely. Give me two seconds.
I'm fairly confident in my mash.
I'm getting a better coffee flavor
Using just grains and hopefully
Bringing out a very drinkable coffee base.
All right, guys. You got one minute left.
Five, four, three,
Two, one.
Step away, guys. You're done.
We'll pitch your yeast.
When that cools down, we'll take care of it.
Let's chase on out, we're running out of daylight.
[tense music playing]
[digger] welcome back, guys.
Here's your signature mash for coffee infused liquor.
Most of you probably spiking your coffee.
The coffee moonshine is different
And it is a process.
You all got the same still.
But each one of you got your own mash build
So that's what's gonna differ you.
It's time to make us some liquor.
At stake here, pecking order to get into the stillhouse.
Put your best jar on the table in four hours.
Your time starts now.
Jason, you had...
Was it a special roast or a chocolate malt?
[jason] I have coffee malt and a chocolate malt in here.
Looks like coffee and smells like coffee...
-Yeah. -But just grains.
Well, hopefully you get a little of that
Through your distillation.
[mark] that's a fire.
[digger] there we go. That's what I like to hear.
[mark] I smell hair.
We got two lit.
Deanna, you put the strawberries
-In there whole. -[deanna] yeah.
[mark] you had never put them
-In whole before? -No.
What made you decide to do this time?
[deanna] I didn't have enough time to squish them up
-And get the flavor. -[mark] okay.
But hopefully, the strawberry comes through for me.
Deanna,
I'm gonna take a sip of your mash.
[intense music playing]
Well, I don't really know what I'm getting.
That's really altogether new to me.
And I mean that in a good way.
But it don't matter what it tastes like.
If you don't get it in there
And get a fire built under that,
-You ain't gonna make nothing. -I know.
-Just throwing that out there. -[deanna] I know.
-It is a competition. -[deanna] I know.
I looked over both ways and I was like,
"I'm definitely behind."
-[tim] and she got it lit. -[digger] she's got it lit,
-They're all lit. -[tim] at least warming up.
Three hours, folks.
[tin] matthew, you load all your mash in there?
Um, not all of it.
We've still got a second run to go.
And a thumper to deal with.
[jason] yup.
What temperature you up to there, matthew?
About 150.
I'm almost same temperature you are.
Getting close.
[jason] how you doing, deanna?
[deanna] I think I got just enough in there.
Hurry up and leave.
I got alcohol, gentlemen, and lady.
I have never actually done a coffee liqueur,
So I'm hoping that some of this coffee flavor
Is going to carry over through the distillation.
I'm happy with that.
Holy moly, I'm flowing.
Oh. It smells just like coffee and chocolate.
And the coffee flavor is phenomenal.
And we got chocolate there, too.
Why is yours running but mine is not?
[matthew] every mash has its boiling point.
Every mash has a sweet spot, so...
[deanna] yeah.
[matthew] there you go, you have a stream.
There we go.
Ooh, it's cold. That's actually pretty good.
Strawberries, bananas, I just can't go wrong
With that, but, you know.
[jason] see what you got going over here.
Oh, yum. Yup. You're gonna be fine.
Deanna, her mash tasted wonderful.
I'm excited to see what I'm gonna be facing
With the fruity coffee.
You have two hours gone, two hours left.
Good luck.
[matthew] smells amazing in here.
[deanna] how you doing, mat?
[matthew] doing all right.
It's high proof, it's coming out nice.
I need to rundown the details on mine
Because I'm using grain so I need some...
-Yeah. -Of those flavors.
I'm hoping that with the grains that I'm using,
I'm really gonna turn that flavor up in the...
In a clear distillate with the coffee flavor.
And I hope this works out the way I want it to.
I have absolutely no experience shaking it
And just getting my proof.
It's a little nerve-racking.
Count on your bubbles.
You're bubble-proofing and you tested it,
And you've looked at different bubbles
And you're doing just fine.
One hour left, guys.
This is just tails now.
It's actually moving along now.
[matthew] I feel very confident in my coffee flavo
My only concern is it smelled a little bit high proof.
So, I'm gonna temper it with some water.
You know, it's never my idea
To let someone taste just proofed liquor.
Yeah.
[matthew] but it is drinkable
And this is my turn-in jar.
[digger] that the one, matthew?
That is the jar.
Well, mr. The jar, you head on out there to the barn,
We'll be there to get you in a little bit.
Oh, we're getting tight now, guys.
Thirty minutes left in your runs.
I'm, you know, just gonna push it till last minute.
Been a lot of mixing, there's been a lot of tasting.
But my coffee carried nice.
Either way, win, lose, or draw,
You're in a good spot.
I did get the flavor profile through
That I was looking for of coffee and chocolate.
All right. I'm going with it.
-That it, boss? -Hey, fellas.
That's the one.
[digger] all righty, jason.
Chase on down after matthew,
We'll be in to get you in a little bit.
Howdy.
-Howdy. -Howdy.
Here I am.
I did proof it down,
Which was a lot of trial and error,
But I'm an underdog and even though
I don't have as much experience,
I can still do very, very well.
Just literally pouring them all together.
I think five is going to be my best.
Three minutes left, deanna.
All right.
-Here's the last jar. -There we go.
-All right, deanna, good luck. -Good luck.
[mark] I'm gonna start with matthew, he's closest to me.
It's pretty clear. There's a few things
Swimming around in there.
It's south of 80, maybe mid-70s.
[tim] I think he forgot to bring us
The one with the alcohol.
[mark] matthew is the only one
Who's put coffee in his.
It's very weak.
If it had a little more alcohol,
That would be a great drink.
I kind of tempered it down fearing that it was too hot.
I personally like to drink things
Between 80 and 90 when I make it.
[digger] but it's got a little bit of sweet finish.
But it's coffee. It's supposed to be coffee liquor.
-Yeah. It has a good taste. -Let's taste deanna's.
Deanna, half jar.
Well.
[tim] oh, look at that.
She may have borrowed a jar from matthew.
They're both low for this contest at this point.
All right.
It tastes a little bit different.
You think that's the strawberries
That come through there?
She put bananas in it?
Maybe that's what it is.
That's what... That's what that nose is.
-And that's what it is. -She didn't use any coffee.
I think she's trying to run a base spirit.
I'll tell you one thing, that's pretty daggone tasty.
It's a good taste, ain't much alcohol in it.
I struggled with the proofing.
I'm not one to add water to my stuff.
So that was definitely new for me.
Let's move along.
Jason.
[tim] he's got one clear jar here.
That's a 100 proof jar right there.
Jason's mash, he told me
That he put no coffee in it whatsoever.
-He chose chocolates... -Oh. That's-- now you're cooking with something here.
[digger] yeah. That's got coffee flavor in it.
I'm telling you.
[digger] he had heavy toast chocolate malted grains.
Well, that's what I'm smelling.
I stepped up my game when it came to my mash build.
Well, if we're rock solid.
-Go get him. -[digger] I'mma go get them.
Go get him, boy.
Welcome back, guys.
This gives you the pecking order
Of who's going into the stillhouse first.
Jason, good jar of liquor right there.
You know, you got a lot of flavor.
Those heavily caramelized grains you used,
They really popped.
All in all, damn fine drink of liquor.
Jason, let me ask you something,
What do you feel your proof was at?
I think it was around ninety-five to a hundred.
Actually, it was touching, bumping 99,
That's the benchmark.
I think you're headed in the right direction.
[digger] deanna, you didn't have any coffee
Or nothing else, you're building you a base spirit.
-We get that. -Yeah.
Those bananas, they really pop.
They brought the sweet floral notes in there.
Your proof's pretty low.
So just kind of pay attention to your proofing and...
-[deanna] okay. -See where you go next.
-Okay. -[digger] but all in all,
-Great tasting liquor. -Thanks.
Matthew, man, you brought the grain to the party.
You brought the corn sugar to the party.
Your coffee came through from your cold brew
That you pitched in your mash,
All in all a good drink.
But your proof was a little lower than deanna's.
Okay.
I'd love to have tasted that at ninety-five
To a hundred proof.
-Yes, sir. -Tim?
You know, it's just first challenge.
So I think on the second one,
You got something to work with.
-Thank you. -All right, guys.
Time to get out there and get your still parts.
The pecking order,
You're number one, jason,
Deanna you're number two,
And matthew, you're number three.
I wanna apologize for the next step
Because good help is hard to find.
Timmy?
[tim] tickle.
-[tickle] all right. -[tim] uh-huh.
What we got going on here today?
Well, we made a little coffee moonshine.
-Some coffee moonshine. -[tim] yeah.
-Wide awake, huh? -So all three of them
Is gonna haul their still parts.
Drop your jars off there and come on with me.
-All right. -There you go.
[digger] good luck, guys, enjoy it.
And the fun time starts.
[tim] we'll be praying for you.
-[digger] that's right. -Yeah.
We're fixing to have us a good time.
[tim] oh, boy.
One of these pots in here has got a hornet's nest in it.
I got most of the nest but they still in there mad.
Oh.
Y'all are gonna have three minutes
To pick your still parts.
Jason, your three minutes starts now.
Oh, boy.
All right.
I'm gonna build a thumper still.
I wanna add some more flavors.
I'm just gonna keep layering every round.
[tickle] we got a thumper
And I see a condenser right there.
-Make something really special. -You have got 30 seconds.
[jason] oh, man.
You got to connect everything in here, jason.
-I think... I think I'm good. -[tickle] fifteen seconds.
-I think I'm good. -You've got what you need?
-I got some stuff. -All right.
I'm hoping they connect.
Okay, deanna, your three minutes starts now.
Okay. Oh, boy, there we go.
My strategy going into the stillhouse
Would be to get anything that gets my proof up.
Jason didn't find the hornet's nest in there,
-Deanna, do you see it? -Nope.
-Look, she's coming out quick. -So a thumper.
That's what I definitely need for that.
-You got 30 seconds. -Oh.
Look, it's as simple as connecting stuff now.
-You've got this, all right? -All right.
Now you're down to five, four...
-Oh, no. -Three...
-Okay. All right. -Two, one.
-Oh, it's heavy. -Your time is...
-It's heavy. Okay. -Up.
It looks like you did a pretty good job.
-[deanna] okay. -Okay.
Matthew, three minutes.
I'm going into the stillhouse third.
There will be less parts in there
So maybe it might actually be easier for me.
We got a pot. He can boil some mash.
All right, let's go. Time is running out.
Okay, not thinking about running with a thumper?
My strategy was to do my flavoring run
With a thumper.
So my proof will come up.
[matthew speaking]
But that plan has changed.
[matthew speaking]
Time is running out, you're down to 15 seconds.
I'm not having a thumper in here.
Fifteen seconds left.
All right.
You pulled it out, boss man.
Yay.
Without a thumper, I need to pivot
And just keep moving forward and put out my best effort.
Now that y'all got y'all's still parts,
Let's get them on out here
So we can get these stills built.
[digger] welcome back, guys.
Looks like everybody got all the still parts
They could find.
All right, guys, you got one hour
To put us a functioning still together.
Your time starts now, one hour, guys.
Get with it.
I'm used to having a condenser
And then a little mason jar thumper.
This setup was just class a, I loved it.
Guys, I was the first one in.
I didn't grab a cap for the thumper over here.
[tim] he did not grab a cap for the thumper.
Deanna has got me here.
-Thanks, deanna. -There you go.
-[tim] I was just gonna say. -Thanks, guys.
-We got it. -Thirty minutes left.
[dramatic music playing]
Looks like everybody's done, all in, all done.
-Yes, sir. -[digger] all right, guys.
Your big run is coming up next.
We're going straight into it, your flavoring run.
Guys, you know it takes a true master
To be able to blend these two together,
And make a great jar of coffee liquor.
Bring us your best up here on the table
Before your four hours lapses.
Your time starts now.
Good luck, guys.
-[matthew] this smells good. -Uh-hmm.
Okay.
Contact.
[matthew] I'm doing something a little bit different.
-What did he pour in that? -Coffee beans.
[matthew] I've got a little bit of coffee
Packed into our line arm.
So you're pushing all that flavor
Just straight into your discus?
-Right. -How about your proof?
I'm adding a couple gallons of my mash into there,
Bring that flavor profile forward.
So I think I'm sitting pretty, the mash
From my spirit run is gonna hopefully raise my proof.
Jason, what are you putting in your elixir over there?
[jason] got some homemade hot cocoa mix,
Espresso powder, a little fresh vanilla bean.
[digger] now that'll bring it to the party.
Espresso powder.
I'm gonna build on the chocolate
That the grains already hav
To more actual chocolate flavor and coffee flavor.
Deanna, you got a solid game plan assembled here?
I'm gonna put some of my mash in for my thumper.
Hopefully that will get my proof up.
I'm gonna add some fresh strawberries
And it will enhance the flavor of it.
Coffee is a fruit actually.
And bringing out those notes with fruit
Is so much different
Than what everyone else was doing.
So I'm excited to get creative.
[jason] you already hot over there, matt?
[matthew] I'm already a hundred.
What about you?
[jason] I'm up to almost 140.
Gonna have alcohol soon.
Two hours left in your run, two hours burned.
[deanna] I hear the thumper thumping.
[matthew] got a whole bunch of alcohol coming out.
-[deanna] already? -[matthew] oh yeah.
-Still mostly malt. -[deanna] yeah?
A little bit of the cocoa.
[matthew] I've got alcohol.
-Running over there? -Yeah.
It is high-proof.
Come on. Any second now.
Like what's happening?
A little nervous.
It's coming?
Yes!
[matthew] see? Alcohol.
[deanna] she's a-rolling now.
Oh, my god.
That's [bleep] wonderful.
I am starting to feel like a master distiller.
It has taken a little bit but I'm confident
That I am gonna have a great product at the end.
-Jason. -Sir.
How's your run going?
Right now, I have a malted milk ball
-Alcohol coming off there. -[digger] hmm.
A little bit of a coffee on it.
If I get to the infusing, I'm gonna run
A hot brewed coffee and I'm gonna let that infuse.
-Well, we look forward to tasting. -[chuckles]
-Good luck. -Thank you.
Deanna, it looks like you've opened you up
-A little farm stand here. -I know.
Are you satisfied with your flavor?
Oh, yeah.
Now, you know, we're looking for coffee.
Have you got any coffee notes on that nose?
Not yet.
You got a plan for that?
I do like banana-strawberry coffee.
I think it's gonna be really, really good.
But I'm not messing around with any coffee right now.
I have a cold brew prepping.
So if I make it to the final round, it'll be quick.
Cool. If you need anything, holler at us.
[deanna] all right. Thank you.
Matthew, you've been working on those proofing skills?
I have.
You got it up a little higher than what it was?
I do.
Well, you got beat out on the thumper.
Decided to do something a little bit different.
It's gonna increase proof and then
The coffee notes are coming through, too.
Good deal.
Good luck.
Just so everybody knows, you got one hour left.
I'm thinking these are, like, 95, 90.
[jason] okay. Now let's breathe in.
I was, of course, nervous.
Both the other competitors are amazing.
Little hot cocoa, a little...
[deanna] you know what I mean?
...Or marshmallow or something going on.
So it was a little nerve-racking.
Thirty minutes left.
Yeah, there we go.
That's what I'm bringing.
We'll do a little sampling, a little arguing,
And then we'll come get you when we reach a decision.
Good luck, jason.
-[matthew] I'm very happy. -Here comes matthew.
-Gentlemen. -And another pretty clear jar.
-Good luck. -Thank you.
-[digger] yes, sir. -[tim] good luck, my friend.
All right, deanna, you got
Those proofing skills honed up?
We're looking good. I think it's way higher.
All right.
-Here you go. -Good deal.
We're gonna do a little sampling
And we'll come get you when we reach a decision.
-Okay. -[tim] all right.
-[digger] good luck. -See you, guys.
Good luck, deanna.
Matthew's is the closest jar.
-[digger] good clear jar. -Flashing fast.
At least he brought some alcohol this time.
I'd say he's pushing.
-He may be closer to 120. -One twenty.
Since I came in under proof last time
I wanted to make sure that I didn't this time.
-Oh, I smell some coffee. -Oh, yes, you do.
Damn, it's high proof a-plenty, it's hot.
-[tim] yeah, it's up there. -That is a lot of coffee.
And it's not harsh. It's pleasant.
If matthew can bring that proof down
Just a little bit, he's got a winner.
Well, let's move on to deanna.
We ain't gonna get no coffee in that one, boys.
She didn't bring proof to the table either.
If she's brought coffee to the palate
Right here, she's done something.
I'm scared.
I hope I don't get judged too harshly with not having coffee.
I'm a little nervous this time.
There's no coffee there.
Oh, but I mean, there shouldn't be coffee.
She didn't put no coffee in it yet.
Bananas, I get banana in there.
Hell yeah, a lot of bananas.
It's lower than 80 proof.
[digger] it's wonderful liquor.
That's a banana brandy.
I think she's going to add the flavor at the end.
You got to make it to that point.
Let's move along.
[tim] jason, big bubbles goes away.
In the neighborhood of 100.
Jason had no coffee whatsoever
In his mash build or his process
And brought coffee flavor all over the board.
Now he's got coffee in it.
So, this ought to be off the charts.
Very light.
You can't detect it on the nose.
There's no nose.
Hmm.
But now when you taste it,
Man, it's all over your mouth.
That is a lot of coffee.
-And it's not harsh. -It's pretty deep.
Yeah. And it's complex.
It's not just one single coffee flavor,
There's layers of it.
-I like it. -Yeah. I like it. A lot.
-Good luck, guys. -Impress.
-May the best woman win. -[laughs] yes. Okay.
-All right. -Well, we're rock solid.
Well, I'll go fetch them.
[dramatic music playing]
Welcome back, guys.
We sampled some damn fine liquor right over there.
I'mma tell y'all across the board.
Unfortunately at the end,
The news ain't gonna be so great for one of you.
Jason, man, you brought the coffee.
That'll get you drunk, sober you up all in the same sip.
[tim] at first, I don't smell any coffee at all.
But then when you taste it, that's good coffee.
It's a little bit complex.
I think that that homemade cocoa,
Kind of smoothed it out, gave it a little sweet finish,
Your proof's good, really, really a good drink.
Thank you.
And deanna, I am surprised that the proof was low,
But we got a lot of strawberry-banana brandy.
Which is evident because you didn't put
-Any coffee in there anywhere. -Yeah.
At this point, I think you would be
A hands down favorite in a fruit brandy contest.
Matthew, you brought coffee to the table.
The proof, you still need a little bit of work
On the eyeball, getting that proof kind of down there.
But you're in a good place
To tone it down in the infusion.
All in all, good job every one of you.
Unfortunately we have to select two
That move forward and one
That doesn't get to go any further.
We have to select two that move forward,
One that doesn't get to go any further.
Deanna, unfortunately that jar bought you a ticket home.
-Okay. -[digger] awful sorry.
You were right at around 70.
And you come to a coffee contest,
-Bring some coffee next time. -I know.
I had a gut feeling that I should have used
Some coffee so I'm not surprised at the outcome.
That's okay. At least you like my brandy.
You got a big future in brandy making, I promise you.
[laughs] thank you.
I have a lot to take home
And to be proud of through this.
What's next for me is I'm gonna go home
To my animals and I'm gonna just make
Some new batches and hopefully come back here.
[digger] all right, men.
I think you know all that lies before you now.
This is where you can make it or break it.
You've already made your distillate
The way you like it, what proof it is,
But now, you're gonna infuse it.
You're gonna have 30 minutes
To get your coffee liquor infused.
We'll let it sit overnight, come back in the morning.
You're gonna get 30 more minutes to get it
To a presentation state that you desire.
Your 30 minutes starts now.
I hear coffee beans.
[jason] roasted last week, it's a mexican blend,
A medium roast and a dark roast.
[mark] they call him mr. Coffee because he grinds so fine.
[jason] I'm going to infuse a little vanilla bean
And some hot brewed coffee.
Matthew is a professional,
So that makes me a little nervous.
I'm just a self-taught distiller.
But I'm gonna keep trucking along
And hope it holds out for me
And matthew's got a coffee grinder, too,
But it's a little more rudimentary.
Mortar and pestle.
Well, matthew's adding more coffee bean.
[digger] no, that's cocoa nibs.
Cacao nibs.
[digger] well, potato, patata.
I have some cacao nibs.
That's gonna hopefully add hint of chocolate flavor
Which will offset the coffee just a little bit.
And the coffee that I brought today
Is a french roast peruvian,
That's lighter than the beans that I actually
Introduced to the line arm of the still.
-Whoa. -[mark] that'll get your mustache.
That's the danger of alcohol on an open fire.
[mark] yeah.
Jason, this is water and coffee?
[jason] it's a pour-over coffee brewing method.
Ah. What's all that business?
[digger] jason, what are you doing?
You gotta redistill your stuff?
[jason] making a cup of coffee.
Making a cup of coffee?
You don't do this every morning?
-No. -I'm making cold coffee.
A hot brewed coffee doesn't taste good
After a couple hours.
So I'm gonna be dumping my hot coffee
Through a lab condenser, taking the hot product
And making it a cool product
Give it a nice full body flavor.
[matthew] I go, I looked over at what jason
Was using and it's a little daunting
When people pull out that kind of equipment.
I got really nervous.
[digger] now, did that get that to temperature?
Yeah. It's a little above room temperature
But it's much cooler than 200.
[digger] yeah. Seven minutes, gentlemen.
When you get ready, all you need to do
Is let us know and head out the shed.
[upbeat music playing]
[jason] I'm done with my infusion, gentlemen.
Feel free to head out whenever you want to, matthew.
-[mark] good luck, matthew. -It's safe.
-Looking forward to it, buddy. -Good luck, buddy.
I grew up with the motto of kiss,
Keep it simple stupid.
So I'm feeling fairly confident.
This is really getting interesting to me, tim.
Yeah? You're not in the backwoods no more.
[mark] so you just let it sit there and run like that?
And let it shake, and open things up a little bit.
The ultrasonic tanks is gonna open up
Some flavors a little bit.
Basically, it's gonna shake the jar for me.
I like to get a little bit sciencey
With things while keeping them
Along the same path as what a moonshiner would do.
Think I'm all taken care of for the night.
We'll see you in the morning at the gate bright and early.
That's crazy.
[upbeat music playing]
Welcome back, men. Final judgment day.
Your final flavor infusion, we wanna see your best.
Now guys, we've got a new face in here.
Darnell holguin.
He is a master mixologist out of new york city.
Knows more about making drinks
Out of coffee-based liquors
Than we know about anything else.
Hi, gentlemen.
I'm a co-owner of las' lap
In new york city.
Uh, been in the beverage industry
Now coming on to 18 years,
Judged several cocktail competitions,
Spirit competitions and I'm super excited
To see what you guys got going on today.
The proof literally is in the coffee.
I'm just grateful that we have darnell here to help us.
He can explain to us a little more
Of what we need to look for
So that we can judge very fairly.
You got 30 minutes, your time starts now.
This should be interesting.
[tim] darnell, on the illegal side,
The most popular
Used to be this apple pie.
Everyone talks about the apple pie moonshine.
And here, I wanna say in the last four or five years
Myself, it's coffee flavor.
[darnell] coffee. Always been popular
But definitely catching on trend.
Jason, can you tell me a little bit
About your mash build?
My mash build had no actual coffee in it.
I used a lot of grains that are roasted to a point
Where they give my distillate a coffee flavor
Without actual coffee in it.
It's kind of like an essence. Clever.
[matthew] my infusion has a hint of chocolate flavor
Like a kahlua.
And I'm absolutely thrilled to death.
This is a contest. I wanna win.
He wants to win so I'm bringing my a-game.
Matthew, what would you say are the elements
That you feel are more unique in your blend there?
[matthew] so I used a peruvian dark roast,
And then I'm also using an ethiopian
Light roast as a finishing.
[jason] I tasted my infusio and, uh, I was a little surprised
By the bitterness of it.
Wasn't expecting that.
Thank god I have the simple syrups
To bring everything up
To where I want my front final product to be.
[digger] gentlemen, you've burned up 20 minutes,
You got 10 left.
Darnell, when you're looking for a base spirit,
Are you looking for a coffee flavor,
Or are you looking for a coffee flavor
That's paired up to something to make it a little more pleasant?
I'm looking for versatility but, you know,
Some cocktails really benefit from just
More nuanced flavors than more intense flavors.
Coffee works really well with pineapple, or guava.
It could punch through a lot of the other tropical notes
Or citrus notes that I'm adding on to it.
Definitely got to, like, stand tough.
Yeah. Got to have some backbone, as we put it.
Five minutes, gentlemen.
Hope you're getting where you need to be.
-[sighs] -[tim] that's it?
This is it. Matthew's mocha moonshine.
-Good deal. -That's a good name.
All right, matthew, you head on out.
We'll come get you when we reach a decision.
-Thank you, sir. -[digger] good luck.
-All right. -[mark] good luck, matthew.
I don't have confidence until I have
The perfection that I'm looking for.
And I don't have the flavor I'm looking for.
I'm gonna be hitting it with my cream
To make the right balance of flavor.
Jason, what would you say got that color going on there?
I noticed you got a little cloudiness.
[jason] um, there's a little bit of cream in it.
Cream is difficult because it'll cloud the alcohol.
Cream-based alcohol is new to me,
So I'm coming out my comfort zone.
I had that pit in my stomach
And I don't feel confident
In what the outcome was gonna be.
Darnell, you know, I wanna say in the last
Four or five years, young generation entrepreneurs
Jumping into this, like 20s starting a business.
Other beautiful thing really about that, too,
Is a lot of 'em are working, making sure it's organic.
Yep, yep.
Making sure that the environment
Is taken care of.
I imagine when you guys are making moonshine
In the woods, you wanna make sure your environment
Is taken care of, because it takes care of you, right?
No, we don't care about that bit.
[laughter]
We're just trying to get away.
Yeah, in and out. In and out.
We're just trying to get away, make a dollar.
Yeah. [laughs]
[jason] cream is difficult as it's new to me,
So I'm coming out of my comfort zone.
I had that pit in my stomach
And I don't feel confident I what the outcome was gonna b
I don't have much time to reach that flavor profile
I originally wanted.
Jason, you got three minutes, buddy.
I'm gonna add more coffee to make the right balance
Between the cream and coffee and not overpower the coffe
With the creamy flavor, I'm hoping.
[digger] one minute.
If you ain't ready, probably ain't gonna be.
That the one?
It's the one for me.
Give you a judgment here shortly.
-Good luck, my friend. -All right.
[mark] good luck, jason.
Well, timmy?
-Mmm-hmm. -We got to get with it.
All right.
Matthew's mocha moonshine.
Looks like a jar of honey, don't it?
Uh-huh.
You know, darnell, normally, when we shake that jar,
We'd be reading the bead and trying to judge proof.
There's no way to judge a proof
Once it's had something mixed in to the alcohol.
Got it.
-Moonshine. -That coffee comes in strong.
-Boy, it's coffee, isn't it? -It's coffee.
-That comes in strong. -[digger] it's nice though.
It's kind of like a raw coffee.
Like freshly ground.
What do say that is, tim?
-85? 90 proof? -80. Yeah.
I really wanted it to stand alone on its own.
I wanted it to be a base, like,
Ready to drink out of the bottle.
Flavorful notes, that was exactly
What I was looking for.
Speaking from a non-coffee drinker, I like the flavors.
It's more chocolaty than it is stale coffee,
Old coffee flavor, which is what you get
In a lot of the coffee liquors.
The more I sip it, the more chocolate I'm getting.
-And more chocolate. -Yeah.
But this definitely doesn't scream coffee.
Yeah.
Let's move right along.
We're gonna get this one, too, timmy.
Okay.
Jason has a very unique color here.
[digger] you'll wanna shake that one.
[darnell] that is different.
You know, no longer than this was sitting here
While we sampled that other one,
That one settled out of solution, so it separates.
That cloudiness there kind of comes off
A little bit like a coffee creamer.
-Looks like gravy. -You know?
-Instead of the-- -looks like gravy.
-Looks like mud. -Yeah, give me a cup of mud.
When I walked back to the room,
I was little surprised by the bitterness of it.
And thank god I had the simple syrups to help combat that.
That's very sweet right at the end.
You're getting sweetness upfront...
Yeah.
And you're getting the alcohol in the back.
This is my game, right here.
So this is more like what do you do, huh?
Yeah, yeah.
-Wow. -There's plenty alcohol in it.
This makes you wanna taste it again.
I get a much sweeter,
-Creamier taste with jason. -Yeah.
This is what trips my trigger.
There's layers, for sure.
Yeah, there's so many layers to this.
I definitely find a little concern
For how it separates after a little bit, um,
In terms of visually what that does. Um...
Well, now you're...
When we're talking about separation,
I think that if it was made into a legal drink,
That's something that could be addressed
With just a little bit of modern chemistry.
I think it would stay in solution.
Both of them really, really brought in their a game.
But, one of them definitely does stand above the rest, so.
-There's one clear winner, for sure. -It does, in fact.
This point, may the best man win.
At this point, may the best man win.
If we're solid, I'll go fetch them.
-Go get them, cuz. -I'm on it.
If I can stager out of here.
[digger] all right, men, welcome back,
You're to that moment that you've looked forward to
And dreaded all in the same breath.
We're gonna see which one truly is the master distiller.
You get a limited run of your liquor
At sugarlands distilling company
In gatlinburg, tennessee.
Two outstanding coffee drinks right there
And I fell in love with one of them.
Matthew, that liquor right there,
When you taste it, oh, there it is, they're your layers,
Your flavor, your sweetness, your caramel notes,
Your chocolatey note, and the only downside would be
That it's more chocolaty than it is coffee flavor.
But, uh, all in all a good drink.
Matthew definitely coffee went through
And through into your spirit there.
However, that raw cacao is really, really intense.
[digger] now, jason, the flavors are all there.
It's very complex, you know, you get your chocolates,
You get your cream, you get your caramel.
You got something that has wonderful layers
Of flavor there, complemented by other, uh,
Aromas and flavors
And it comes in almost complete.
That said, the separation of the liquid there
Definitely kind of removes a little bit of appeal.
But they could be corrected in the facility
When you actually go to a final product.
50% of our decision on the final product,
Is marketability.
Which brings me down to the point
We can only have one master distiller.
Jason, you are the next master distiller, my friend.
-No way. -[digger] congratulations.
That was awesome.
[matthew] come on. Congratulations.
I came in here as the guy that is constantly
Working on something, or messing with something,
Just a self-taught home distiller.
I do it for fun.
And I'm leaving as a master distiller.
And it just doesn't feel real.
It's been a damn fine honor judging both of y'all.
Thank you.
[digger] thank you for the opportunity.
It was definitely a blow.
Um, I thought I brought my a game.
And for jason to be able to pull off something like this,
I think he was absolutely amazing.
-Good job, both of you. -Thanks, guys.
-Thank you. -Thank you, gentlemen.
-Thank you so much. -Some wonderful work.