Narrator: This time on "master distiller"...
This mash bill is made up of rye.
...American whiskey.
Bring us that mahogany gold.
Heritage grains meet charred u.S. Oak.
We get up here and see it in the oak, man.
The iconic american spirit that spurred a rebellion...
I can't even see through it.
...Whose rich distinctive flavor still stands
as the ultimate test of a distiller's skill.
He's putting more water in it, man. Look.
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...
I hope he don't bring that jar he just held up.
Narrator: ...Judged by three legendary moonshiners,
they'll go head to head in a series of challenges...
Going to give you a run for your money.
I think I'm going to give him a run for his money.
...To determine who has what it takes...
We got to bring our "a" game, too.
...To be named master distiller.
Use a little evaporation,
kind of like the egyptians used to do.
-- Captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com
captions paid for by discovery communications
digger: Gentlemen, welcome to our little still house here.
Y'all competing for the title of master distiller.
Once you win that, not only you get the bragging rights,
but you also get your own liquor label
here at sugarlands distilling company.
Now y'all are here to make little whiskey.
Narrator: Whiskey is distilled alcohol
made from fermented grain mash.
In colonial america, where traditional ingredients
like wheat and barley were difficult to grow
in the tough new England soil,
colonists began experimenting with rye,
a hardier cold climate grain,
and corn, an indigenous north american grass.
Rye's spicy, robust taste, along with the sweeter,
smoother flavor of corn, revolutionized
the whiskey-making possibilities in the new world
and gave rise to a new category of american whiskeys.
In honor of this rich whiskey-making history,
the first challenge features a predominantly rye recipe
dating back to the days of the founding fathers.
All of you have the same still standing behind you.
We provided you with a base mash bill.
This mash bill is made up of rye.
The winner of this round, you get first pick of oat flavoring
for aging their whiskey.
Men, you've got four hours to run this liquor.
By that time we expect you to have a jar tempered out.
The lid's got to be on that jar
and that jar's got to be on the table.
Your time starts...
Now.
♪
narrator: The first run of the rye mash
will showcase the contestants' technical skills
using the same ingredients and equipment,
while the whiskey they distill
will also serve as the base spirit
to demonstrate a more modern whiskey making technique,
rapid oak aging.
Well, johnny seems to be serious about what he's doing.
He's intent, ain't he?
Johnny: I live on a dead end.
If you come down there, you're looking for one of us.
If not, we turn you around and send you back out pretty quick.
[ chuckles ]
my name is johnny... And I'm from south alabama.
Little bit of rain never hurt nobody.
Liquid sunshine.
I'm an illegal distiller. I work in the backwoods.
This is a good friend of mine, billy simms.
I had an old buddy of mine
that's done it years and years and years
and got him teach me a little bit about it.
Gave me a recipe, basically put me on the mountain
making moonshine and put me where I'm at today.
I got reputation for being the cream of the crop,
having pretty much the best whiskey around.
The little 10 gallon pot, kind of old,
look raggedy-looking, but it made a lot of liquor.
Away from people. That's where I do my best work.
Them boys had hydrometer refractometers.
Looked like a science experiment.
Sometimes less is more.
Oh, this is when you was in preschool.
I got one son and I got a beautiful new granddaughter.
She's going to be four months old.
Strawberry lemonade, about a hundred proof.
Pretty much run moonshine, babysit, and ride my motorcycle.
I see peter, I notice over there.
He's very particular and cleans.
Here we go.
He doesn't look like the backwoods guy.
Well, that goes with his profession, funeral director.
Oh, yeah, yeah. That's pretty clean.
My name is peter cheney and I'm from phelps, new york.
I've been distilling for 20 years.
A lot of my goal has been to make a very good whiskey.
I'm actually a funeral director. I own a funeral home.
I think we ought to start it up over here.
I've always had to be there, so I needed something to fill
the time when I wasn't busy and started distilling.
This rye is just spectacular.
You can just smell it when you pick it up.
What I make at home, I do a lot of stuff
just to kind of practice
and I'll share it with my friends.
We go out to other distilleries and you can try their stuff
and my friends always look at me and say,
"yours is better, yours is better."
digger: Casey has got his fire going.
He's in a hurry, like he's going to rob the bank.
That'll give plenty of time to temper a good job.
I guess so.
The challenge is to come here and make a whiskey,
and that's something I do pretty well.
My name is casey flint. I'm from southern west virginia.
I grew up in a family hardware store.
There's me at the hardware store as a little kid.
About 13 years old, we started mashing in my closet.
Grew up, I went to college and majored in biochem.
So I learned a lot about biology and a lot about chemistry,
and that's pretty much the fundamentals of distillation.
The thing about distillation and mashing
is it's a living organism.
It eats sugar and it poops alcohol.
A little bit of insulation when it gets nice and cold.
That way you don't have to push your temperature
so high on the pot. The more you know about it,
the better whiskey you can produce.
♪
and at home, I don't use the thumper.
I actually double distill. But here with the timeframes,
what we've got to work with, go ahead and use the thumper
and I'll double distill it in one round.
Narrator: To distill whiskey,
the fermented grain mash is heated
in order to separate the alcohol vapor from the remaining liquid.
The vapor then travels to the thump keg,
or doubler, moving through another volume of liquid
for a second distillation before making its way to the condenser,
where it's cooled into high-proof whiskey.
All three of them are using a doubler.
Johnny uses a beer.
He's going to strain it. There you go.
Johnny: I use beer in the thumper to infuse it
to give it a little bit more flavor
rather than charge it with water.
But I didn't put very much in it
because the mash was real thick looking.
Peter uses water. Casey uses water.
I like to put the water in because I think it really keeps
the product clean when it comes out.
I don't want it to distill to do what they call puke
and have it like push out some mash into my final runs.
-That will make it clean. -Yes, it will.
Water, it'll filter it, but it distill your liquor.
There's a lot of people say not to use water in your thumper.
They like to throw mash in there and tails and everything else.
But as far as other than being a country guy,
I'm a chemistry guy, too.
Don't believe everything you hear.
Stand by, nasa. Getting ready to happen here.
Narrator: Once burners are lit,
distillers have to carefully control the heat
as the mash approaches 173 degrees,
when the alcohol vapor is stripped from the liquid.
This window of time is crucial.
Contestants must regulate the heat
so it's high enough to produce alcohol,
but not so hot that it scorches
the residual starches from the grain.
He ain't got nothing happening here,
and he was the first one to light up.
So I'm a little confused.
He lit up 30 minutes before everybody else.
Things were moving along.
I was looking at my thumper and that's when I noticed
I started having temperature issues.
The water in the thumper is not heating up.
That's when I realized the water that I used
to fill my thumper was extremely cold.
That's when I knew I had to do something quick.
♪
he's insulating.
So my plan is to try to conserve as much heat as I can.
I mean, obviously, moonshining is a nice slow process,
but when you're under a time limit,
ingenuity can do a lot for you.
♪
I'm not sure what he was trying to make sure it don't get away
or what over here.
Where we at, casey?
We're coming, fella. I'm insulating this still.
Trying to speed it up.
I didn't really stick my finger in it before I put it in there.
You don't have anything running yet, right?
Nothing running yet.
If I can get enough distillate, I can make a good batch.
Peter: Casey got it all going on over there.
Buddy, what did you build a tent, man?
Yeah. I had some spare time. I figure make a chicken coop.
Building clubhouses.
Digger: Hey, men, if y'all wasn't already nervous enough,
I'm going to put a little more pressure on you.
You're halfway done.
You hear that thumper starting to thump good?
-Yeah. -It's starting to hit.
Boy, it smells good. Here we go.
You got it going, bud?
I'm running right about where I want to see my stream come out.
Narrator: As alcohol runs off the still,
distillers make cuts to separate
the dangerous compounds found in the heads
from the most desirable liquor in the hearts
before reaching the lower-proof tails,
which contain the heaviest, funkiest flavors
of the base grain
that can transform into more complex taste profiles
in oak-aged whiskey.
I can't see my gauge. It's all fogged up
so I'm totally running blind and just doing it the way
I know to do it. Old school, follow the copper.
Johnny: Jar number four.
Boys, you're over in 20 minutes.
♪
you got liquor coming there now, ain't ya, casey?
It's coming.
Narrator: To complete this challenge,
the distillers must not only
deliver a crystal-clear liquor with a spicy rye bite,
they must gauge the alcohol content
using only the time-honored shake test.
Johnny: Pretty much starting to drop a little bit.
Being a little bit more drinkable.
That's probably about 120 or so.
Got about two more jars and then get a little bit of tail
then I will cut it off and take jar number two
and jar number four and blend them together.
Johnny done broke out the big jar of water over there.
Must be too hot.
Johnny: Maybe add just tad bit of distilled water
and you get something about a hundred proof,
good drinkable rye whiskey.
-That it, johnny? -Guys, here it is.
Special delivery from south alabama.
First to the table.
♪
-pete's getting a new jar. -He's getting close.
Peter: I like a spicy rye, but I didn't know that mash,
so I've charged the thumper with water.
I cleaned it up too much. Nervous. I'm nervous.
So we're actually going to give this
a little bit of a whirl here.
But when we had the chance to go back and blend,
I took my fourth jar, which was deeper in the runs.
All that water that was in the thumper
was now gone.
♪
that's clear.
And I blended them up a little bit in the original jar.
That's good.
I waited until it just tasted right.
There you go. -Crystal clear, pete.
Yes, sir.
♪
no pressure or anything, casey, but you're at eight minutes.
I'm getting worried because I know
that I'm not getting enough distillate.
Mark: He ain't got a hundred milliliter
in neither one of them jars over there.
I hope he don't bring that jar he just held up.
And I know that I'm maybe going to run short.
♪
three minutes.
It doesn't look like I'm getting in the hearts.
It's stressing me out over here.
I've got to get something for these judges.
♪
narrator: Coming up...
Oh, my lord, how much chips is in it?
Whiskey meets wood in a 48-hour challenge
that'll send one shiner home for good.
Tim: I think he's only at one jar.
Kind of tastes like damn pasta water.
Three minutes.
♪
narrator: An outlaw distiller, a backwoods biochemist,
and an undertaker turned undercover shiner
are using the same heritage rye recipe
and still set up to make a winning american whiskey
for the title of master distiller.
I'm starting to get out of the heads.
I got just enough distillate in my jars
to make me a good batch.
You're at one minute.
Narrator: Competitors need to find the right balance
of clean hearts, flavorful tails,
and perfect proof as the distillate from the first run
will be used in the next challenge, oak aging.
Casey: I almost got my proof and added just a little bit more alcohol
and then all of a sudden I wasn't getting bubbles
like I wanted to, so I decided to go with some water.
Finally, I just gave it a good swig
and actually got hit almost right where I wanted.
Here we go. With 35 seconds to go, casey slides in.
There's 100 on there.
We got you, brother.
♪
I got the "last minute casey."
hits you on the nose.
After that, it ain't got anything.
That damn liquor kind of tastes like damn pasta water did.
He didn't get two jars out of the 20 gallons.
He's saying it's a hundred proof.
Well, it's way off from a hundred proof.
This is johnny boy's.
Good looking jar of liquor. I'm telling you.
It's got that dryness taste to it.
That's what rye is supposed to taste like.
I think he missed his proof a little bit.
Yeah, he's a little low.
But everything's there. The nose is there, the palate's there.
That's the undertaker.
I believe he overestimated it a little bit.
It's funny how all of them want to be a hundred
and none of them are a hundred.
He did all right, I mean, it's got a good nose on it.
-It looks good. -I wouldn't be at all ashamed
to drink that right now or aged 10 years.
Go get them boys.
Take your spots, gentlemen.
Cool casey, your liquor was good and stout.
It'd be a good aging liquor,
but rye's got that peppery, slick feeling.
Real spicy, rye's a real spicy grain.
And we didn't find it in this jar.
You don't have full jar in your lot do you?
I'm a little disappointed with what I brought to the table.
I didn't get into the hearts like I thought I did.
I just kind of ran short on time.
The milk might not be as sweet, but it's there.
Don't mean you can't catch up. You're salvageable.
That's the undertaker.
There ain't nothing right here to be ashamed of.
You've got the alcohol there,
but it don't have the right finish like we wanted.
Mark: I think casey and undertaker,
think you both charged your thump kegs with water.
The water will steal your flavor and your alcohol.
♪
johnny, you've got a good flavor here.
It's smooth on the front end.
Got that peppery bite on the back end.
Johnny charged his with mash.
It's just a personal preference in the world of liquor making.
So, all that being said...
Johnny, you're the number one jar of liquor right here.
You get to go pick out your aging chip before anybody else.
Narrator: Before the turn of the 19th century,
all whiskey was sold clear,
but as distillers discovered that storing liquor
in charred oak barrels improved the flavor,
barrel aging became a signature of american whiskey.
Rapid aging is a technique used by backwoods shiners
to speed up the barrel-aging process.
Instead of putting the liquor into charred oak barrels,
they put charred oak chips into the liquor itself.
As the liquor soaks into the oak chips,
the caramelized sugars in the wood imparts sweetness,
and the carbon and the charred wood
filters out tannins and sulfides.
The effect is similar to barrel aging,
but the greater surface area of the oak chips
speeds up the process, resulting in a whiskey
with a smooth flavor and a rich brown color
in just a matter of days.
Alright, guys, I'm going to take you to see the oak man,
he'll fix you up with what you need.
We get up here and see old dwight, the oak man.
You guys get you some chips or cubes, whatever he has.
Mark: Dwight, he's an excellent moonshiner.
He's just a walking encyclopedia of moonshine.
I do want to caution you boys.
You choose wisely because after this
next little stage of the game,
well, now one of younz will be going home.
Hey, dwight. -How you doing, mark?
This is my friend, johnny. He was the first winner.
He won the challenge. Help him out, dwight.
I'll do it, do everything I can.
We've got several different kinds here.
Got the white oak, medium charred,
and the heavy charred oak chips.
Well, the raw whiskey I got there,
I want to give it a smoky oak flavor.
I think I'm going to go with
some of the medium toasted chips.
Narrator: Medium charred chips strike the perfect balance
between wood flavor and smoky charcoal.
With less medium chips to choose from,
the remaining distillers have to decide between two extremes --
lighter toast chips that may not impart enough flavor
in the short amount of time,
or darker toast options that may overpower the base whiskey.
I don't want it to overtake the rye.
Rye is a pretty dominant grain.
Johnny used almost all of the medium toast.
So, I went with the...Medium,
and I also added some of the cubes that were offered.
Casey: I'm extremely limited in with the chips left,
but it's my only opportunity to do anything to improve.
All right. I think I'll take a little bit of this dark oak,
and I'll go for a little light oak, as well.
I went with a heavy and a combination of a light oak,
as well, and I think that'll be hopefully enough
to save my jar.
It's time to take your liquor and go from this --
it's crystal clear as spring water --
to this right here in 48 hours.
It's up to you to get your chips
the way that they need to be to get them to this point.
You're not held to these bottles right here.
You can take what you got, blend you some more,
get your best possible profile
to put it in there and start aging it.
Bring us that mahogany color.
Get the job done.
-Okay. -Go to work.
Alright, boys. Good luck.
♪
mark: Believe it or not, you wouldn't think something that works
that fast can change the taste profile of it, but it will.
Narrator: The distillers may add any combination of chips
and cubes to the liquor
they collected during the first run.
As long as the final mixture is contained to one jar,
that'll be aged for a period of 48 hours.
What'd you get in this bag?
Went with two different types. Try not to add too much.
The other fellows, they've got plenty to play with.
Myself, was still in the head, still had some acetone flavor,
and that's going to be a tough jar to improve on.
Let's try to work some magic.
Uh-oh, look he's putting more water in it, man. Look, look!
Casey: I've went with a heavy and a combination of a light oak.
Hopefully that'll provide a little oak flavor
to overcome those acetone flavors.
♪
tim: Johnny's one, his looks real dark.
It's going to do what it's going to do
once you put them in there. Hell.
Peter: Well, I wanted to make a char.
Give it a smoky oak flavor, go along with the rye.
Mark: What's old undertaker doing over here?
I think he's only at one jar.
Oh, my lord, how much chips is in it?
Peter: When we did our first run, they kind of critiqued me
about putting water in the thumper.
So, when I oaked it, when we went back in
and we were able to blend them, I actually use that fourth jar
because I knew that would be a stronger rye.
Might've been touching the tails a little bit, too, for flavor.
Just put them in, got some flavor out of them,
hopefully got a little color.
I don't want to get too crazy with the toast.
I just wanted to pull a little bit out,
and we're going to let it go.
It could be terrible. I don't know.
We're going to find out soon enough, though.
There you go, fellows.
I can't even see through that.
I don't know what the other guys chose,
but as far as what I chose I'm pretty confident with.
Thank you, casey.
Moving it around, stirring it, shaking it.
It ain't going to change.
♪
-thank you, sir. -Yes, sir.
Bring us the finest taste in quick aged liquor you can do.
Narrator: Rapid aging meets alchemy
as distillers sweat the first elimination.
What are you doing, casey?
I'm try to use a little evaporation
kind of like the egyptians used to do.
-Hmm. -How's he getting that smell?
I have no idea.
Honestly, it would pass for a really, really good bourbon.
♪
welcome back, boys.
Narrator: A funeral home distiller,
a backwoods whiskey runner,
and a moonshiner with a master's degree
are warring to see who makes the best american whiskey
to earn the title of master distiller.
Digger: Johnny, you've got a good flavor here.
All up straight, we'd drink it all day long.
After an initial run of the house heritage rye mash,
they used a 48-hour rapid-aging technique
to imbue charred oak flavor.
Mark: Believe it or not, you wouldn't think
something that works that fast
would change the taste profile of it, but it will.
I'd like for you to meet tim jones.
Nice to meet you guys.
Tim is a whiskey expert in the big state of kentucky,
and we know what comes out of kentucky.
Narrator: Kentucky is the birthplace of bourbon
and home to over 70 whiskey distilleries,
and native son tim jones works
with some of the biggest names in the business.
He knows everything about making and marketing
a top-shelf whiskey.
You've had your 48 hours.
It's time to take your liquor,
finish it however you see fit.
Bring us the finest taste in quick-aged liquor you can do.
Downside is one of you are going home after this round.
Digger: Your time...
Starts...Now.
♪
narrator: The distillers may temper the oak-infused spirit
using the remaining liquor from their first run
to present a final blend that most closely resembles
the flavor profiles of a barrel-aged whiskey.
♪
yeah, I'm interested in a new york guy
making some rye whiskey.
Peter: When I first turned it in when we oaked it,
I know that tim smith had picked it up and he said...
Tim: I can't even see through that.
That right from the get-go had me nervous,
but if I can draw even 25% or 50% out of those bolder chips,
that might give me that middle of the road flavor
that I'm looking for.
A little mad science over here.
Yeah, I had a little going on.
Look at that. Which one are you going to put on the table?
-This is the winner! -This is the one?
That's the one right there, yes, sir.
I'm not going to take a sip yet.
That's okay.
Oh, whoa!
That's a honeycomb smell on that thing.
-Thank you. -It's wild.
Yes, sir.
Digger: Did johnny have the most...
Yeah, I think he had most liquor.
Look at color on that sucker.
Jones: Looks good. Smells good, tastes good.
That just basically come in here and strain the chips off
and temper a little bit, and it's going to be good to go.
Keep it simple. Make a good product.
♪
casey, what you doing over here, man?
I'm trying to air it out a little bit, brother.
I didn't get quite into the horse like I wanted to.
I started roughly from the last jar and worked my way forward,
so there's not a lot of room for error.
I'll tell you what, though.
The big bold flavor on the heads over here
with flavoring with oak. It could play in your favor.
The wood turned out good for me. I'm happy with the way it oaked.
Having a strong background in biology.
I'm doing everything I can in my power to make sure
I get to that last round and show my skills
and see what I can do.
♪
all right. You've got 35 minutes.
Tim: Don't feel rushed.
♪
it looks like johnny's done put the cap on his.
Johnny: We aged it. It was real, real dark color.
So I was thinking I can pull the color down
with a little bit of distilled water.
Johnny man's on the move.
-Here comes johnny. -Believe I got it ready for you.
Look at his color on this, boys.
It looks like its been in barrel long time.
Well, so far I'm digging the coloring.
It's got good color on it.
I didn't want to go too far with it
and was also enjoying drinking it
for a moment to make sure it was really good, so.
There you go, gentlemen.
Peter done drank some of his.
Yeah, he did.
That a boy. I highly recommend it.
This looks good.
Casey, just keeping you posted buddy.
You got 20 minutes.
As far as distilling goes, it breaks down into chemistry
and it breaks down into biology
and those are the two things I'm good at,
so I'm taking every minute I can do to improve that jar
so that I make it onto the last round.
♪
digger: What are you doing, casey?
You gonna give it up? You holding on to it.
Trying to get it heated up.
They can get far enough through my run.
We don't care as long as you don't stick it
down your britches. -All right, good deal.
My plan is to get that jar heated up by any means possible
to try to increase the temperature
and get some of those volatile substances off of there
and improve the flavor of what I've already got.
Wait a minute, what's he doing over there now?
Now he's wrapped his jar up like a princess lady.
What you got going on, casey?
Try to use a little evaporation,
kind of like egyptians used to do.
♪
the hour's up. I've done everything in my ability
to increase the quality of the product
I'm trying to put up on the counter.
I know it's a vast improvement over what it was.
Good luck, buddy.
They're all different.
They're very different.
I don't know about you guys, but I'm nervous.
-I am very nervous. -I'm very nervous.
You got four different judges, four different palates.
You're the guest. I'm gonna let you start where you want to.
Jones: We'll start on casey. He took a lot of time.
We got to look at some clarity here.
It's a little cloudy, not as clean as we'd probably hoped.
I'm not going to call it unpleasant,
but there's not anything pleasant about it either.
It almost tastes like it was column to steel
versus pine to steel.
It's just there. It's just in your mouth and it's wet.
A homeless alcoholic would probably welcome that.
In his defense, I think it's not the clarity that he wanted.
It's not salable, is it?
I wouldn't put it on the shelf.
He had a little knowledge,
and I don't think that he had enough knowledge.
This here, this undertaker, you spoke highly of it.
I like to know the difference in his wood chips
'cause on the nose I think it's like...Honeycomb.
I mean, it's unique. -How's he getting that smell?
I have no idea, but I'll tell you,
it's at the finish of it, too.
I mean, isn't that different?
-I like that. -I do too!
I like that a lot!
Honestly it would pass for a really, really good bourbon.
Tim: Did he blend any more? I didn't notice.
-He did. -He worked it man.
-He did blend some more? -He worked it.
I think he knew where he was going...
And when he got there, he didn't mess with it anymore.
This is johnny boy's.
-We've got color. -A lot of color
♪
-different. -Definitely different.
Once it goes away, it's gone. There's nothing lingering.
Yeah. When it's dark like that,
you want that rich vanilla flavor from the wood.
Digger: And the proof is just not there.
He could have blended a little bit differently.
I think when it came to him going back to his table,
he let his color panic him and he went with water
where he should have went a little bit of liquor.
I think we're unanimous on our choices, aren't we?
I think we all -- we all agree.
I believe we're all in agreement.
Yeah, we agree.
Well, I'm going to go fetch them boys.
Narrator: Two days of aging...
That's a hell of a jar of whiskey right there.
...Leaves two distillers remaining.
We made you all sweat long enough,
it's time to tell you which one's going home today,
unfortunately.
♪
the moment of truth for you.
Narrator: Three experienced distillers
have presented their best jars
of a rapidly aged american rye whiskey
to a panel of expert judges.
One of them is about to go home.
It never ceases to amaze me how the three different distillers
can come up with such different flavor.
I think this flavor came down to the blending process.
We're going to pass everything off
to our guest counterpart here,
tim, because he talks much prettier than we do.
Peter, I felt like I had high hopes for that new york boy...
And honestly I felt like you found
a really good balance of proof and flavor
and utilizing the wood and the flavoring with the grain.
I was kind of hoping to catch maybe a little vanilla taste,
so if I use some of the cubes too, when I put them in,
I actually let them sit in there for just a little bit,
and I actually pulled about a cap full out
and then left some in. I didn't leave all those cubes.
I think it's an exceptional jar of whiskey.
Flavor, nose, palate and finish were all right there.
That's number one. -Thank you very much.
Casey, johnny, we've made you all sweat long enough.
It's time to tell you which one's going home today,
unfortunately.
Johnny, I felt like really enjoyed the flavor and the nose.
Your color is there. My gut told me
johnny probably looked at this and said,
"it's probably a little too dark.
I need to do something about it. I'm going to proof it down."
and I felt like, to be honest,
I felt like maybe you went a little too far with it.
Yeah, I did.
The taste doesn't line up with the color.
Casey, I feel like you had
some really nice grain notes on the nose,
and then on the finish I felt like it got a little flat.
You vastly improved the jar of liquor
that you first brought us.
The fact that you have the skill to take that jar
and improve it as much as you did --
-thanks, sir. -...Is pretty impressive.
It's going to be with heavy hearts
that we got to say bye to one of you.
Casey, this jar bought you a ticket home.
All right. Appreciate you guys.
-Sorry, old buddy. -It's all right, man.
Casey: Finding out I'm eliminated is tough.
I came off with the worst jar,
I improved it the best I can, but it wasn't enough.
Good luck, my friend, good to see you.
Extremely wanted to get to that last round
and take my home recipe
and show these guys what I'm working with.
Back to west virginia I go.
Time to move on.
The final run is going to be made from the ingredients
that you brought with you.
That's going to be your signature mash bill
and that'll be your signature run.
Narrator: For generations, american whiskeys
have been divided by dominant regional grains.
In the south, corn is king.
In the north, cold-tolerant crops like barley and rye rule.
For the final round, the last two distillers
must craft their own signature whiskey
using local grains they brought from home.
Johnny: I'm a traditional old school distiller
known for making just a simple good corn liquor.
It's a single grain mash, you got crack corn.
Instead of whole corn, crack corn or yeast
has already busted out. A lot of the old timers say
I hadn't had anything like that for a long time,
and it kind of takes them way back to the younger years.
Okay, grain it down a little more
and then we'll put your yeast
and let her work off and do her thing.
A few days, come back and we'll run it off.
Peter: I am making a multigrain mash.
I used flake corn maize, rye, and then I use barley.
The malted barley actually will help the corn convert
from those starches into sugars.
And then I also throw in triticale.
And triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye.
I don't want this grain in my mash when I ferment it,
so I'm going to have to hand siphon all of it.
These grains love to soak up a lot of your mash
so you really got to make sure you squeeze that out.
About 17 more to go.
Narrator: Once the yeast is added,
the mash is left to ferment.
During fermentation,
the yeast consumes the sugars and starches in the mix
and releases alcohol as a byproduct.
When the mash's alcohol content reaches 10% to 20%,
the yeast dies off and it's ready to distill.
♪
digger: Well, men, if your mash is ready, it's time
for y'all to run it and let's see what you can do with it.
This is going to decide who's master distiller.
We're going to give you four hours.
You get a jar on the table and lid on that jar,
starting...
Now.
Peter: It was like a muhammad ali/frazier fight.
Johnny won the first round.
I won the second round with the oaking.
♪
johnny: I'm glad I made it to the last run
and the last run being what we do at home,
that's one I'm more comfortably with,
so I feel real good about it.
Johnny's, his just look like a standard corn grain and mash.
Isn't that white corn?
Well, they use white corn and yellow corn.
They use whatever was in their area.
We have very little white corn.
Peter's looks a little heavier.
Looks like whole milk, rather than skim milk.
He's got a lot of rye in his, I can tell that from out here.
He's got rye and barley.
I'm pretty sure from new york,
he's going to have something different.
So on the final run I'm going with four grain.
I want to take that risk
because I'm trying to give them a jar of liquor
that they haven't had, something that's different.
Now, you didn't have no grain in yours.
What happened? -Nope.
I fermented off the grain. I mashed it down
and then cleaned all of it off through the siphon over there
and decided to go off the grain.
♪
now peter is fixing to light his up.
Did you lose any eyebrows over there, peter?
I lost a little bit of hair for sure there, I smell it.
Well, that'll happen on these big jobs.
Tim: There we go, getting ready to get some over here.
Yeah, they're pretty much neck and neck
on everything right now.
Once we get that heat dispersing,
boy, it'll kick in pretty quick, won't it?
-Yep. -That's when things happen.
Gentlemen, 20 minutes.
Narrator: Two perfect jars....
I believe I'm going to edge him out and be master distiller.
Mark: You got something sitting on a table over here
that's going to give you a run for your money.
Maybe I'm going to give him a run for his money.
...But only one winning whiskey.
It's master distiller, it ain't distiller.
She's about ready to start spitting out.
It's tricking me, holding back a little bit.
Digger: Oh, yeah, it's right there on the edge ain't it?
Yes, sir.
That's kind of like j.B. At pissing.
Boys, we got liquor coming out.
Squirts a little bit, then stops and starts back.
Oh, god. I suppose that happens
when we get a little older, right?
Well, I found out after I got past 50.
You think you're through pissing until you put it up.
That's... -[ laughs ]
johnny's, his just looks like a standard corn grain mash.
Narrator: A southern outlaw shiner and a new york undertaker.
Digger: Peter's is a little heavier.
It's like whole milk than skim milk.
We're going with the grain for the final run
of their signature american whiskey.
Boys, you got two hours.
But only one can be the next master distiller.
Peter: So this is my first collection jar right here.
Johnny: You're running pretty clear.
I'm very pleased with how it's coming out looking.
Got a good strain, good high proof and good sweet corn smell.
Tim: Yeah, both of them got the "a" game.
It may be difficult for us to make a decision.
All that corn smell's starting to really come through.
Smells good.
We've got to bring our "a" game too.
Good corn flavor, right?
Mm-hmm. Nice and clean.
Yeah. I always like the smell of that corn.
I believe the judges is gonna like my corn liquor.
Going to take them back to simple times
back when it was just pure straight corn liquor
and a lot of flavors wasn't around.
I know you've got straight corn.
Peter's got a combination.
Peter: I am going with four grains.
I wanted to do something that they hadn't had.
Something that hasn't been brought around them too much.
Gentlemen, 20 minutes.
I'm shutting mine down.
Johnny: You're back there playing mad scientist.
Yeah, no, it's all about that, huh, buddy?
Pete's a tough competitor.
It's been a tough bout all the way through,
but I believe I'm going to edge him out
and be a master distiller.
I got her about where I wanted her,
and a good taste, corn comes through real well.
Proof about where we need it, good and clear.
That's all I got to offer.
Fellas, this is what I got to offer you.
Is that the one, johnny?
-That's the one? -Pick of the litter.
Yeah, it sure is clear.
-Yes, it is. -It is nice, buddy.
Pete, the pressure's on, let me tell you.
Johnny is tough, man. He's got me worried.
I can't lie.
But I'm happy with the run, I couldn't do any better.
I think it tastes pretty goshdarn good.
You got something sitting on a table over here
it's going to give you a run for your money.
-Well. -I can see it.
I think I'm going to give him a run for his money.
-Good luck to both of you. -Thank you.
All right, boys.
We're going to start with the first jar that came in?
It don't matter to me.
-Welcome back. -What's going on, guys?
Long time, no see, brother.
Tim: And just in time.
This is johnny boy's, straight corn.
Well, I can smell that.
Don't even have to raise it to my nose.
Man: Yeah, johnny be good right there.
What corn liquor is supposed to be?
It's sweet at the front and then finishes with a little bite.
I'd like to have a truckload of that.
You ain't [bleep] good, good bead.
He's on the money.
I don't know that a better jar is possible.
It's just back to back good corn liquor.
That may be 105 on the tongue.
-It's 100 on the bead though. -It is one good-looking jar.
This jar right here might just raise the bar.
I've made a lot of corn liquor
and I wouldn't want to go up head to head with him.
-Nope. -God, it's so good.
It's so good, you can do so much with that.
You know the old undertaker.
I know that that one's going to be different...
Because he's got multigrains in there.
He's got rye, malted barley and corn.
It's got something different.
The hybrid grain he put in there.
♪
it's damn good.
And that spice is rye.
It's got a good rye finish on it.
Mm-hmm. [ whistles ]
for me, it breaks down from front to back.
So I think complexity for sure.
This is crazy.
Now, I'm up a stump on what I'm going to do here.
I might flip a damn coin.
Lord, have mercy.
So I think what we're trying to figure out is, what can we sell?
What would we put on the shelf?
I mean, it's master distiller. It ain't distiller.
Inside these jars, they're both winners.
Unfortunately, we've got to make one of you
off the next master distiller.
Jones: You know, they're both so exceptional.
I really think, johnny, you're really raising the bar
on what corn liquor should be.
We're kind of blown away by it.
I don't know about that, but I appreciate the compliment.
No, it is.
Digger: There are people that spend a lifetime
working in legal distillery trying to achieve this.
Jones: Peter, this jar of whiskey right here
probably encompasses everything
I would expect from a master distiller.
Digger: Yep. I mean hell, it's still rolling around
inside of us right now.
Thank you.
As a master distiller,
you're going to get your liquor put on the shelves...
And when it comes down to it...
Peter...
You're the next master distiller.
-Congratulations, peter. -Thank you, buddy.
-Man, you better... -Oh, yeah. Thank you.
It's disappointing to lose,
but I lost to a great competitor.
And then them telling me that
it was a second-to-none corn liquor,
I've raised the bar,
I'm going back with more than what I come with.
Johnny, it was just the marketability,
that's what we had to look at. -Okay.
Peter: Johnny's a great competitor.
I mean, I learned a lot from him here.
Congratulations.
Thank you, digger. Thank you, man.
-You're welcome. -I appreciate it.
I won master distiller today,
and it's pretty crazy.
♪
narrator: Next time on "master distiller"...
You'll be making a pechuga mezcal.
...The moonshine of mexico.
-They're hiding in the forests. -Like us.
Narrator: Like tequila with a twist.
I've never put a chicken in still pot.
But only one shiner can survive this mexican standoff.