-Your time starts now. -[narrator] This time on Master Distiller...
All right, come on, Tickle. You've gotta come help me.
[Tickle] All right. No, no, no, I can't help you.
[narrator] Grab and go.
Y'all had, probably, one of the toughest challenges that we've ever created.
-Three minutes, big old grocery store. -[man] Yeah. Yeah.
[narrator] Bulk product at deep discounts
make big box stores a moonshiner's ultimate supply stop.
-Smells pretty good. -[woman] Awesome, mine's smelling great.
[narrator] Now, three distillers must compet
to make the most marketable spirit...
Phew, risky.
[narrator] ...from one spontaneous shopping spree.
Maybe one of the smoothest liquors I've tasted.
Hits me right in the crease.
[narrator] Across the countr a handful of distillers
are heirs to a centuries-old tradition.
Some operate on the legal side.
Others practice their craft beyond the reach of the law
[man 1] That water's giving me a heartburn.
-That's the water that's giving you heartburn. -[laughs]
[narrator] Now, they'll face off to earn their plac
in America's liquor-making legacy.
-[man 2] Running now. -[man 1] There we go, Cole.
[woman] Yes!
[narrator] Judged by three legendary moonshiners.
[judge 1] She thinks outside the box. I've never saw that before.
[narrator] They'll go head to head in a series of challenges...
If you don't like it, there's something wrong with you.
[narrator] ...to determine who has what it takes to be named Master Distiller.
This is one of the toughest judgements we've had to call, guys.
All right, guys. Welcome to Master Distillers
Y'all gonna run us a little liquor and show us
out of you three, which one really is the next Master Distiller.
Now, along with that, you're gonna get your bragging rights,
which is a pretty big deal.
But the really big deal is you're gonna get a limited run of your recipe
at a major distillery. That's a big deal.
Tim?
Now, in the backwoods, you gotta work with all the ingredients that you have.
And one of the best places to find them is at a big box store.
Tickle, tell us all about it.
Making liquor was a skill that helped folks survive difficult economic times
like the Great Depression.
With federal agents on the lookout for large purchases of moonshine supplies,
shiners turned to discount and outlet stores
as a way to buy cheap ingredients in bulk
without standing out from the millions of other everyday Americans
looking for a good deal.
You save money on it, you can buy a whole lot more.
[Mark] All right, guys.
We're gonna send you to a grocery outlet store.
There you're gonna have three minutes
to gather up your ingredients that you need to make your mash and flavor.
Then, once you get mashed in,
you're gonna have five days to let your mash ferment.
Then, we will test it for flavor and ABV.
Then you're gonna run that mash and turn it into some liquor.
Tickle!
How's it going here, fellas?
[Tim] Well got three contestants here,
and they don't have anything to make mash with.
-Is that right? -[Tim] Yeah.
[Tickle] I know where a perfect store is.
Y'all follow me.
-Don't forget where to bring them back, Tickle. -[Tickle] I'll try.
Just so happens that we've got some friends
at one of these big-box grocery stores.
Now, the inventory, it is constantly changing.
So, there's never really any telling what you're gonna get when you get there.
Could be... Well, who knows.
You know, in a moonshiner's perfect world, it'd turn to sweet corn.
But it could also be a pallet of hot dogs.
You ever made any hot dog shine?
-Can't say that I have. -Hope I never have to do that.
I'm not getting my hopes up on having any of the ingredients I want.
-[woman] You ready to run? -Fat boys don't run.
[chuckles]
Well, here we are.
Longest draw goes first.
All right. Looks like our order is Cole, Erin and Bruiser.
All right? Now, y'all gonna have three minutes.
Make sure you get everything you need.
-All right, Cole. Your time starts now. -All right.
All right, look. These ingredients ain't gonna get yourself, Cole.
Get them hot dogs and them onions
and a little bit of mustard,
and make us some good shine.
Get some cornflakes.
My name is Cole Hardman, I'm 29 years old,
and I'm from Irwin, Pennsylvania.
I became interested in distilling because I like building things.
So, I'd built a still just, basically, for the fun of it.
This is a maple syrup evaporator.
This is my honey extractor.
My first spirit was just a pure corn alcohol.
And I was really surprised that I was able to make something drinkable
on my first try.
And it was pretty addicting to go from there.
This is my still.
It started its life as a 15-gallon stainless beer keg.
I have no desire to be a legal distiller.
The illicit aspect of it is probably a big factor in why I do it.
My favorite thing about distilling is the experimentation.
I want the judges to love that I put scientific thought into it.
I want them to see my skills that I can make do with whatever I have
in the Big Box Challenge.
One minute left, Cole.
Come on, you can do it.
[Cole] I'd like to make a grain mash.
So, I'm grabbing sugar, cornmeal and cornflakes.
It looks like he's just shopping for diapers or something now,
I don't know.
[Cole] Pure sugar.
I was looking for some caramel, couldn't find any.
But I did find a whole bunch of fruit cocktail.
And I'm planning to put that in my thumper.
Canned fruit. Fruit cocktail.
Ten seconds left and you made it.
That's a lot of stuff.
-Well, you know... -[Cole] Everything you need.
[Tickle] ...I'd rather have those ingredients and not need 'em,
than need 'em and not have 'em.
Miss Erin, now it's your turn.
Your time starts now.
All right, come on, Tickle, you gotta come help me.
[Tickle] All right. No, no, no I can't help you.
I'm gonna stay over here with these fellas.
I'm Erin Dash.
I'm 44 and I'm from Minnesota.
This is the vanilla.
I'm the head distiller at a gin distillery in Minneapolis.
We make everything here with maple sap.
It is our sugar of the north woods.
I have been a cook, a cafe manager,
um, a Montessori teaching assistant.
I happen to know somebody who wanted to start a distillery.
I said, "Listen, can I help you out?"
And that's how I got started.
Just take that zest right off.
I have been distilling for about seven-and-a-half, eight years now.
There just is a thrill of making.
You know, when you're involved and you're putting your heart and your soul into something,
maybe your blood, maybe your sweat,
hopefully not your tears,
there's just that deep, deep satisfaction.
[Tickle] Erin, are you finding anything?
Oh man, you got no berries.
Where are any berries? [bleep]
Big box store did not really quite work out like I wanted it to.
One minute.
[Erin] I was able to find so nectarines that are just about
ripe enough to do something with.
And some jalapenos for a sweet and spicy spirit.
[Tickle] 30 seconds left.
I know you were talking up a good game.
[Erin] I went to the sugar isle,
and I was really hoping for that nice dark brown sugar but
did not have any, so I had to grab white sugar.
Erin? Erin!
There she is. Look it!
Oh, look, she just skidded sideways coming out of there.
-There you go. All right. -[Erin sighs]
Erin, did you do good?
This is not what I planned, but we're gonna do it do it.
[Tickle] All right, Bruiser, you got three minutes.
And your time starts now.
-[laughing] All right. -Bruiser!
Bruiser, are you finding anything?
-Huh? -[Bruiser] No. Not yet!
And you know what? He was right. Fat boys don't run.
So, my name's Charles Martin. Everybody calls me Bruiser.
I'm 35 year old.
Born and raised in Clay county, Kentucky.
So, right out of high school, I spent about 12 years in a coal mine.
Broke my back, which overcome it.
It's hard, rough, living.
It's like making moonshine.
Being a moonshiner, you gotta learn to adapt.
Moonshining, in my family, man, it goes like, way back.
Like, to the dinosaurs, I'm assuming.
My Granny seen me as specia and passed it down to me.
And I just wanted to keep it alive.
And as long as there is blood in my veins and breath in my lungs,
I'm gonna make liquor.
Got some of the finest Kentucky moonshine money can buy right here.
Lot of people they ask me, they're like,
"Man, you make that liquor for the money?"
I'm like, "No. I make it for the love of the sport."
I'm a liquor making fool, man.
The basket needs to be getting full there, Bruiser.
[Bruiser] I do got a secret weapon.
And it's a liquor that no one's ever tried.
Called Tiger Shine.
It's the smoothest, high proof liquor you'll probably ever drink.
[Tickle] Hey, you might be over on there eating something.
He said he was hungry.
15 seconds.
That fat boy better start running.
All right. Look at him.
-He's skipping across the line. -[chuckling]
[chuckling] All right. Well.
Did y'all all find what you wanted?
-Pretty much. -[Tickle] Pretty much what you wanted there?
[Bruiser] Got some oats and some honey.
And I plan on flavoring that liquor with that watermelon.
Well, now that you've all got all y'all's ingredients,
let's get y'all mashed in, all right?
Welcome back, guys.
Looks like y'all did some shopping.
And you made it back in one piece with Tickle.
That's always a plus.
We're gonna see what you do with your "rung what you brung" meal here.
Cook us a mash out of what you got at the big box store.
-Timmy? -Be careful. These pots do heat up real fast.
Don't scorch your mash.
[Mark] I hope y'all got what you wanted to get.
But if you didn't, you gotta work with what you got
make it work for us,
and good luck to all of you.
[Digger] You have one hour.
Your time starts now.
-Good luck, guys. -Get busy.
[Mark] What are you doing there?
[Tim] She offers me a hug, I'm gonna gracefully decline. [chuckling]
Crank it wide open. You know when to turn it down.
[Cole] Flames weren't very big.
I've never distilled with propane.
I'm used to my electric still.
And I can monitor the voltage, I can monitor the temperature.
And propane, and outside, it's gonna be a little bit of a challenge.
[Digger] You probably don't have the valve on the tank
-open all the way. -No, it's open all the way.
What about the red valve? It cranked all the way down?
Oh, yeah. She's burning out.
[Erin] How long do y'all think it will take me to cut these nectarines?
My question is, you're cutting those in half,
but you ain't taking the pit out.
Not worried about any bitter flavors carrying through?
[Erin] I'm not actually. I think I'm gonna have enough sweetness...
-[Digger] Okay. -...that probably if the bitter comes through at all,
it'll be a benefit, you know?
I have made a few brandies before,
and all of them turned out absolutely lovely.
So, I feel like, "Give me some fruit. I'm good."
It'll be a balance.
I like somebody this confident.
I liking her confidence.
[exclaims] Ah! [bleep] Sorry, guys!
-Sorry! -Need first aid.
-[exclaims] Ah! [bleep] -[Digger] Yeah, first aid!
I looked up or somebody said something to me, and...
I cut my thumb. [chuckles]
-[Tim] Did you slice it good? -That's okay. It's not too bad.
[grunting] Let's see what we got here.
Who knew Tim was first aid crew?
[Tim] Yeah, I've been fire and rescue for 25 years.
[Erin] At this point, I'm totally distracted.
I'm bleeding, I've still gotta cut my nectarines,
and I gotta keep going.
-[Tim] It be hurting tonight. -Yeah. It's okay.
Whatever happens, I'm gonna get this mash done.
Guys, you got 30 minutes.
All right.
-Good work. Good. How are you doing? -I'm good.
[Tim] What's he cooking there? Cornflakes?
Uh, he's fixin' to put raisin bran.
He just got oats in there.
I see he's got honey over there too.
[Mark] Got honey.
Our man, Bruiser over here.
-Is this like a recipe you working on? -Absolutely.
-It's something you did before? -Yeah, many times.
You knew what you was going to get.
I knew I was going to make Tiger Shine.
I got almost everything I think I needed.
But I can adapt and overcome, you know?
[Erin] Smells beautiful. Smells like pie.
-[Tim] Erin! -[Erin] Hey, Tim!
All right. Tell me what you cooking.
Man, I'm just cooking up some nectarines.
[Tim] It don't take much to soften them things up.
[Erin] No, it doesn't. So, I'm gonna throw in the sugar
in just a second here. And then...
-I think I'll be good. Yeah. -That's it?
So, nectarines, water and sugar.
That's all I'm doing for this run, yep.
Even though you sliced into your finger there
-while you was cutting your nectarines up... -I did. I did.
...you just took it and went on with it.
I'm all good. I'm gonna survive.
[Tim] I smell something over there.
It looks like it's pretty hot.
[Cole] I grabbed whatever I could find in the big box store
to make the grain mash.
I hope he listened to you when you told him
-that how easy it is to scorch. -[Tim] I'm telling you,
it is so easily scorchable.
Scorched it.
-I told you. -You did. You did tell me.
At the very beginning, I had a little issue with my regulator.
I couldn't get the flames quite hot enough.
But then, when it was going
I might have been set it a little too hot,
and I did scorch my grains a little bit.
Not bad. Not bad enough to ruin the mash.
But I definitely know I did scorch 'em a little bit.
Yo.
That looks like I'm done.
Looks like everybody's done.
Y'all chase on out. We'll monitor the temperature.
When it gets time, we'll either pitch the yeast for you,
or come get you to pitch it yourself.
Then we'll measure your starting gravity.
And then we'll see how well your big box mash works out.
-[Erin] Sounds good. -All right, guys. Head on out.
[Mark] Good luck to youse.
[Digger] All right, guys.
Welcome back.
You had to pick all the ingredients for your mash at a big box store.
Now, it's easy enough to put your mash together from a tried and true recipe.
But when you have absolutely no control over your mash bill,
that's the test of a true distiller.
[Digger] Every mash has its own story.
We wanna see your story.
And we're gonna start this by tasting your mash.
Then we're gonna use a Brix hydrometer,
to actually measure the gravity now,
compared to when you made it first.
[narrator] A brix hydromete measures the relative densit of a liquid compared to wate
otherwise known as specific gravity.
By comparing the specific gravity of the mash
before and after fermentatio
distillers can calculate ho much of the original sugar'
been converted to alcohol.
The higher the Alcohol By Volume, the better.
This will set the order for the still parts pick.
So, if you are banking on having a thumper
for an extra distillation,
you better hope your mash worked out.
All right, guys. We're gonna get to work.
Y'all head on out to the creek.
We'll come and get you when we reach a verdict.
Well, I'm gonna start with Erin here, guys.
-Yeah. -[Mark] Maybe a piece of finger laying in here.
-They're in there checking our mash, right? -Mmm-hmm.
-And we've not even got to see our own mash. -[Erin] Yeah!
-And we can't defend ourselves. -Yeah.
-[Cole] Feel a little better. -It's like sending your baby off
-and just not seeing it again. -[Cole] Yeah.
Like, "Ugh, how is it gonna turn out?" Oh, my god.
[Tim] What, are you seeing the fingers in there?
[Mark] Nectarines.
Frankly, my plan just went right out the window.
I was hoping for nice, juicy, local blackberries,
and it just did not happen.
[slurps]
Wow!
Damn, it taste good though.
Nectarines is what I had to end up with.
And her initial gravity was 1.080.
It ain't moving, so that's telling me it's on zero.
No doubt about that.
Oh, yeah. She's over 0.99.
[Mark] That means that she ain't got no sugar left in there.
This is kind of like a polygraph test.
This, right here, proves...
-That I didn't lie? -But you said it had no sugar in it.
And absolutely, there's no sugar in it.
[Digger] Cheer up, now. She's got a potential alcohol ABV
of 10.6.
All right, fellas, next up here's ol', big Cole.
How about that taste?
Funky?
Little something out of whack in there.
The regulator screwed me up a little bit there.
And I might've burned a few grains.
Not ideal but not ruined.
I looked in your borough. It was more brown than black.
-You should be all right. -[both chuckling]
It looks really good.
[Digger] That's the way corn mash supposed to look.
I'd like to get into the stillhouse first or second.
I'd like to get a thumper because I saved a lot of those
-fruit cocktail cans to put in my thumper. -[Erin] Yeah.
But hey, if I don't get one, we'll make do without it.
-There you go, Timmy. -[Tim] That's why I'm being very careful with this.
Ugh. This is a scientific... concoction here.
[Digger] He started out with a gravity of 1.070.
What we're seeing right here is 1.000,
which he didn't completely dissolve all sugars.
So, he's got a potential ABV of 9.0 to 9.1.
-Now, we go down there to... -[Mark] Bruiser.
-Whoa! -[Digger] There...the size of country hens,
from what I've seen.
[Tim] What's it smelling of there, Mark?
[Mark] It smells like good still beer.
Whoa! [clicks tongue]
That'll lock your jaws.
That's good.
If the liquor run goes anything like the mash did,
I feel like I should do pretty good.
[Mark] It's not as rich as Cole's.
There you go, Timmy.
-See what we're working with there. -Mmm-hmm.
[Digger] Ah, Bruiser had the starting gravity of 1.070.
He went to 999.
So, his potential ABV
is definitely, I'm gonna put him like, 9.8.
-Now, the yeast is definitely satisfied right now. -100 percent.
-Tickled to death. Yeah. -[Tim] Tickles to death.
All right, guys.
I guess, the numbers don't lie. Do they?
-[Digger] No. -[Tim] No, sir.
Didn't like math or english, but I damn sure liked my science.
[Tim] That's a good way to get started.
All right, guys, we put the pencil to it, crunched the numbers,
did the science, did the math,
and the numbers do not lie.
I did taste every one of your mashes, guys.
Honestly, I'm glad that it didn't come down to taste
because it would've been a difficult decision.
Put the pencil to it, crunched the numbers,
did the science, did the math,
and the numbers do not lie.
Bruiser.
You went to .999,
meaning your yeast did everything they were supposed to do.
All you've got in there is alcohol and all the sugars you got in there.
So, you're right at 9.8 ABV, Alcohol by Volume potential
in that barrel of mash.
Cole.
You stopped at 1.000.
You zeroed out, but you did get all of it out there.
So, you're about 9.1 potential alcohol by volume in your mash.
Erin.
You got all your sugar out there.
Your potential alcohol by volume is 10.6.
So, that being said...
Erin, you're going through the doors first.
You're going through the doors second, Bruiser.
And Cole, you're going through the door third.
I've done my job, Timmy. Now it's up to you.
Okay.
Tickle!
Hey! Good to see y'all guys again.
Not only does Tickle take you to the grocery store,
Tickle's gonna take you to the stillhouse.
That's right.
All right, well, we're gon' head on to the stillhouse.
-Y'all come on with me. -[Digger] Good luck, guys.
We are here to do our still pick.
You're gonna have three minutes in there each.
Erin, I believe you're up first.
Your time starts now.
I'd make sure everything fits together, Erin.
Okay, here comes Erin with a pot.
All right, Erin.
Time is ticking.
I'm gonna do, probably, the shotgun condenser.
I'm not gonna grab the thumper because I don't have experience with that.
Not seeing gaskets. What the hell!
-You've got 30 seconds, Erin. -[Erin] Oh, my god.
-30 seconds left. -I can't even... I can't figure this out.
You ain't gonna get no liquor out of that thing, Erin.
Not by itself.
You can do this. You can do this.
I don't know, man.
You got everything you think you need?
-I don't know. -Good.
-I hope you do. -[Erin chuckles]
[Tickle] Bruiser,
your time starts now.
All right. Have you got a still yet, Bruiser?
My strategy is just keep a simple still,
get a thumper if I can.
If you don't put something out here, you might as well go home.
There we go.
We have got a thumper, and a condenser and a pot now.
I was trying to get it and get out of there.
Well done, Bruiser. All right.
All right, Cole. Your time starts now.
I see there's a thumper, so I'm happy,
'cause I needed the thumper
to help get rid of some of that scorched flavors.
Here we go. All right.
He's double-fisting it. There we go.
That's like drinking with both hands, you know it?
All right! Look at him.
Oh! Look, Cole's got it going on there.
He's wasting no darn time in there.
I don't know if he's getting stuff or he's tearing the damn stillhouse down.
[Cole] I'm just grabbing everything that's left.
I'll make something work with what I have.
-Are you done, Cole? -I'm done.
-[Tickle] You're done? -I got everything everybody else forgot.
All right. One of the fastest still picks I believe I've ever seen there, Cole.
We'll head on back the way we came.
-Well. -Mmm-hmm.
-We successfully made it back from the stillhouse. -Yeah?
My job's done.
-Good seeing you. -Later.
You have one hour to get these stills together in a manner
that they will function, and function safely.
Your time starts now.
Good luck. Get with it.
[Tim] I don't know where that thumper coming from down there.
-[Tim] Bruiser. -[Mark] I didn't see it initially.
His gonna fit, he just gotta level it out.
[Digger] That will not work.
[Erin] Hm. This is gonna be interesting.
I think I must be missing something and I don't know.
[Tim] She'll have to rig up something to hold it.
Pretty neat, watch out there.
Wow.
[Erin] I'm getting a little nervous. I'm a little confused.
I couldn't even really visualize exactly what it was gonna look like, in the end.
[Mark] She thinks outside the box.
-I've never saw that before. -[Digger] Yeah.
[Mark] I think she's got it.
I'm kind of stoked to taste what liquor comes out of it now.
-[Cole] I think that's a professional setup up there. -[Erin laughs]
I'm digging it.
Cole, you feel all right about your run here?
Yeah, it's exactly what I wanted to put together.
-What about you, Bruiser? -[Bruiser] Absolutely. Feel good about it.
Well, everybody's finished up.
All right, guys, it's time to see if what y'all got at the big box store
will make some profitable liquor.
At the end of this round, somebody's going to go home.
So, with that being said, you got four hours to run us your very best liquor
you've ever run in your life.
Your four hours start now. Good luck, guys.
-[exclaims] Ah! [bleep] -Don't fear the poof.
[Erin] Hello, baby.
Oh, my god, it's boozy.
Hey, guys, how's your mash looking?
[Cole] Looking good. I'm happy.
Even though I have the lowest ABV,
I'm still confident that I c pull out one good jar that could win this.
-Smells pretty good. -Awesome. Mine's smelling great!
Mine's better than wiping your hiney with a wash rag.
You get to that point, something went horribly wrong there, buddy.
[laughs]
Cole, you're gonna put anything in your thumper?
[Cole] Yeah, that's what all them fruit cocktail's for.
You know, I would have stole a little bit of your mash in there too, now.
I did scorch my mash a little bit.
So, that's why I'm not charging with mash.
Not ideal, but it's not horrible.
I was not too worried because I'm gonna charge my thumper
with fruit cocktail and a little bit of honey.
I know when you use honey, honey can definitely hide the scorched flavor.
Do you always use watermelon?
[Bruiser] My favorite's probably black cherry but...
watermelon's all I could find at the store.
Bruiser, you want me to help you cut any of that?
Now, you stay over there.
[all laughing]
She don't have good track record with that knife.
No, sir.
[Digger] Two hours left, guys.
[Erin] Bruiser, did you remember to bring me that coon pecker?
-[chuckling] -[Bruiser] No, I just made one out of copper there.
[Erin] I just saw that.
Oh, I got a drip. I got a drip!
Soon as I saw that spirit come off of the spout,
everything in my body just relaxed.
I'm starting to get a flow.
Tiger shine!
You got drip, Cole?
[Cole] Not yet.
I am struggling a little bit
I'm taking a lot of time for my thumper to warm up
because I have a lot of mass in my thumper.
Cole, this is crazy.
-Let's go. Let's go. -You know it.
-[Bruiser] It's at zero. -[Cole] Oh, I know.
[Bruiser] You got drip, Cole?
-[Cole] Not yet. -[Erin] Cole, this is crazy.
I am struggling a little bit
It's taking a lot of time to produce any alcohol.
I'm running now.
-[Bruiser] There we go, Cole. There we go. -[Cole] I'm running now.
-Yes! Oh, my god. -All right. [chuckles]
My still's finally making alcohol.
It's crystal clear.
It smells good, it tastes good, I'm very happy with it.
[Bruiser] That water's giving me heartburn.
-That's the water that's giving you a heartburn. -[laughs]
[Digger] All right, guys. You got five minutes left.
Hope you all got your pick of the litter pulled out.
[Erin] I think I'm done. I think I got my jar.
-Mmm-kay. Bring it on up if you're ready, Erin. -[Erin] All right.
Feeling really, really good about the jar I picked.
It's high proof.
And I've got a good base flavor.
-There she is. -Yes, ma'am.
We'll come get y'all when we reach a decision.
-Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you. -Good luck, Erin.
[Bruiser] I'm ready.
When the judges taste my liquor,
they're gonna taste my heritage.
A true hillbilly heritage.
-Tiger shine. -Tiger shine.
... from Kentucky, and that's my granny's recipe.
Good luck, my friend.
-Appreciate it. -[Digger] Yes, sir.
Cole, I don't mean to put any pressure on you,
but you right now,
-have 15 seconds to get us a jar in here. -All righty.
I'm ready.
I believe that my shine's definitely tasting.
The fruit cocktail and the little bit of honey,
and you could definitely get the aroma of it,
and a little bit of the taste from it.
This is the best I could do with what I had
and I'm pretty proud of it.
Hope you guys like it.
-Good luck, Cole. -Good luck.
I'm looking forward to tasting all of this.
Guys, I'm gonna say, this is probably the most
pressure we've put on a flight of contestants yet.
-Three minutes, a big old grocery store. -[Mark] Yeah.
Thing about it is, guys, this is the only run they're doing.
-Mmm. -You know? And one's going home after this.
So, pressure's really on.
Since we've been here,
I swear this is the first time I've been nervous.
It's Bruiser.
[Mark] That's Tiger Shine right there, Tim.
-Pretty clear. -[Tim] Yeah.
Don't see anything floating in there.
-Said that was his granny's recipe. -Yeah.
[Tim] I'm gonna say 90.
[Digger] I'm gonna say it's around 95, maybe a little higher.
It's building bridges.
I would've loved them if they had found some like, black cherries,
and some vanilla.
That's my jam.
But, you know, watermelon, it's pretty good.
I'm tasting watermelon in there.
[Digger] I get a little watermelon.
Not a heavy presence, but it's just, little light hint.
[Tim] I smell the raisin bran.
But bran and oats makes a real smooth liquor.
-Well, it's a smooth liquor. -I think he did a good job.
Maybe five more point on the proof.
I didn't temper mine.
I turned it in straight off the worm.
My granny always told me, "Don't add water to your liquor."
It's smooth as it can be.
Probably one of the smoothest liquors I've tasted...
Honestly, that proof hits me right in the crease.
I think that's a good proof.
Well, moving on. Cole.
It's clear.
I kind of just made a jar of my liquor from what I had.
I really didn't have a plan.
It wasn't anything like I normally make at home.
I just used what I could get
-Looks good. -Yeah, it's fine.
Ooh.
What we've got here, gentlemen, is scorch.
I think when he scorched it in the very beginning,
it fermented in there.
And then, he distilled it in there.
[Digger] It's overcome.
So, the cocktail in a can he got
-in the first shopping spree... -Yeah.
...and he held it back to use as flavor.
So, he had a idea and a plan.
[Mark] It's a good proof.
It don't set you on fire.
[Tim] It's definitely smoother.
Almost like a cocktail or punch.
Well, let's move right on to the next show.
[Tim] Erin.
Clear, nice, full.
I know that those guys don't really like anything that's too high.
So, I was hoping to land somewhere around 105.
-[Digger] Pretty good bead. -[Tim] Mmm-hmm.
-[Digger] Little low. -[both] Yeah.
[Tim] It's about 80 in there.
No thumper, that's why she's got that little proof.
Come around with 85 proof liquor, I like to drink it.
[Erin] I got a good taste of it and was like,
"I'm calling it. It's done. It's good."
[Tim] I think this is gonna be brandy, I think.
-[Mark] Yeah, it's got a good note on it. It's floral. -Wow!
It's really floral.
-It does taste brandy-ish, don't it? -It does.
I'm surprised the nose is a lot stronger than the taste.
Now, this is not bitter at all.
Those nectarines were nowhere near ripe.
They was nowhere near ripe.
That's why she cut her finger up trying to slice them up.
It was harder than Superman's kneecap.
Everybody rock solid?
I think we ought to just go back in there and tell them what we thought.
[Digger] Let's go give them our decision.
Y'all had probably one of the toughest challenges we've ever created.
You were thrown into a strange grocery store,
got three minutes looking for something which you didn't know where it was at,
and then, you had to bring it back,
get your mash made, and then, run it.
I mean, it's a pretty tough situation.
But I'll have to say everybody did a fine job.
Tiger shine.
-Tiger shine. -That's how he says it.
Fine job.
But didn't get any watermelon in there.
But I got a little on the nose.
But maybe that smoothed it out a little bit.
It was a good, smooth drink of liquor.
I didn't try to bring too much watermelon out
'cause a lot of people like the liquor straight.
Well, you did good, you got a good recipe.
-I think you said it was your grandmother's recipe. -[Bruiser] Yes, sir.
[Tim] I think you oughta continue making it.
-Thank you. -[Tim] Good job.
Cole.
Did a fine job.
Proof is good, clear.
[Digger] Remember your first day, when you was building your mash?
What happened?
-Scorched it. -Yep.
Sure did.
And that carried through your distillation.
You almost overcame that scorch.
Tried my best, sir, to get rid of it.
How you got it as clean as you did,
I have no idea.
But it's just almost gone.
And that's something to be proud of.
Erin.
Your nectarines were in there all over the nose.
I mean, it was floral, fruity, right up the front on that nose.
Just, it was really light on the palette.
That was...
Honestly, it's a little bit disappointing.
You would've never picked nectarines that weren't ripe.
But again, had to work with with what you had.
Well, unfortunately,
somebody's gotta go home, two's gotta continue on.
Cole, unfortunately that jar bought you a ticket home, buddy.
-I'm awful sorry. -Thank you, guys.
-Yes sir. Thank you. -It was a pleasure working with you.
At the end of the day, it's a little disappointing that I have to go home.
But I worked with some great competitors
and there's absolutely no shame in losing to them.
Good luck!
All right, guys. Now there's two.
Means we're closer to naming the next Master Distiller.
Now, it's time to show us that essential backwoods skill,
planning ahead.
You're gonna take what's left of your big box store ingredients,
you're gonna flavor your liquor.
You had a good jar before,
and I hope you have a good jar when you finish.
Don't mess it up.
Your time starts now.
Good luck, guys. And get with it.
They said I'd turned in a great jar of liquor.
So, I'm not going to mess it up.
And all I'm gonna do is keep it simple, one ingredient,
add the juice to the liquor,
and it's not going to get no better.
-[Digger] Oh, that is a smart person. -[Mark] Yeah.
[Tim] She's putting gloves on.
I have some jalapenos to infuse with.
[Digger] Tim?
I'm looking forward to seeing you drink this pepper liquor.
Mmm.
[Erin] Doing the infusion, for me, with the peppers is definitely a crap shoot
because I have heard that Tim doesn't like spice too much.
Oh, you thank her, buddy.
[clicks tongue] Phew. Risky.
[smacking tongue]
[Digger] Look here, Timmy, he just making light of you,
-eating that watermelon... -I know. He just dipping in there,
chewing on little chunks of it.
[Bruiser] You want some of it?
Yeah. He'd eat that whole thing, he'd take it like a pill.
I wish I could say this was the first time
that his vote's has been bought with a watermelon,
-but it ain't. -Yeah. [laughs]
Yeah, it happens.
[Bruiser] Long as it works this time's all that matters.
Oh, let's see what you're working with.
[Bruiser] I'll tell you something. That is good watermelon.
That is a good watermelon.
[Bruiser] You got that right.
Tim, looking forward to seeing you drink this pepper liquor.
Oh, you thank her, buddy.
So, I have heard that Tim doesn't like spice too much.
So, I'm gonna take out all the ribs and the seeds
to make sure that we didn't get the real spicy stuff,
we just stick with that fruity flesh.
I think he's gonna be okay with the level of spice.
Be careful with that spice, Erin.
I'm being careful.
Bruiser's went from Tiger Shine to Pink Cadillac.
-You love watey-melon. -I love watermelon.
If you don't like it, there's something wrong with you.
-That look like lemonade. -Don't taste like lemonade.
All right, folks. You're down to five minutes.
[Bruiser] I'm done.
I've brung my A-game. I done what I came to do.
Lord willing, it's good enough.
This is flavored with one ingredient each.
You're basically not flavoring, you're really just complementing it.
-[Bruiser] Complement. -Looks like it from over on this side.
[Digger] Guys, here's your two minute warning.
-You ready? -I'm ready, Bruiser. Let's go.
See, that's what I like to see right there.
-Camaraderie. Working together. -Camaraderie.
-[Tim] That's what it's all about. -[Mark] I like that.
Guys, y'all get over and sit down, relax.
Have y'all a little drink, amongst friends.
We're gonna go and have a little drink amongst friends.
But the only thing different,
we're coming back and telling somebody, "You're the winner."
Well, wherever you wanna start, Timmy, it's your choice.
Ah.
Bruiser. Kentucky.
It looks like pink lemonade, don't it?
It does. Although, it is the watermelon.
[Mark] And there's not a lot of it.
It's not overpowered.
[Tim] All right.
Tiger Shine, Mamaw's recipe.
My biggest fear of this whole ordeal, I guess, is not representing,
you know, where I'm from, my heritage, my family.
I think you have nothing to worry about there
because you have represented yourself.
-I hope they don't beat me up when I get home. -[Erin laughs]
It's got alcohol in it.
It's pretty good.
It tastes like watermelon. Little bit.
Yeah, you get a little watermelon on the tongue.
I was happy with it before,
I'm happy with it now.
You can overcomplicate something real easy.
I think he had a good job.
It's hard to cook something in 30 minutes.
And like Mark said, just one ingredient.
-It's cool we both took a similar approach too. -Yeah.
-Erin. -Erin.
-That was another good jar of liquor to start off with. -Mmm-hmm.
-Looks like it changed the color a little bit. -[Mark] Very little.
[Tim] Man, it looks like she got some proof in it.
I think hers has a much better nose than Bruiser's.
Yeah, Bruiser's don't have any nose.
I think it's good. But I think it needed more pepper.
It's got a little hint of that pepper in there, but...
it kind of leaves you wanting more pepper in the mix.
I did learn that Tim didn't like hot peppers.
-I decided to go really mild. -Yeah.
Everybody knows I don't like anything spicy.
-Yeah. -I think she did pretty good.
Because, I mean, I can tolerate it.
The pepper heat in it is not as hot as the liquor heat.
-Yeah. -It's still up there.
-It's still a good proof. -Still up to a hundred proof.
They all had a hard challenge. They had three minutes
to get what they could get.
But, you know, strictly,
in terms of marketability,
one peer will set the standard.
That's what we're looking for.
-What he said. -Yeah. Something that stands out.
Erin, I wash you the best of luck.
-Back at you, Bruiser. -[Bruiser] Thank you.
[Digger] All right, guys. Come up and get your jars.
This one's the toughest judgements we've had to call, guys.
-Bruiser. -[Bruiser] Yes, sir.
[Digger] That jar of liquor,
when I drank it, I could get the watermelon,
but it kind of left me lacking for more watermelon.
But you didn't destroy or take away from your original spirit.
It's simple. It's what we look for.
Erin, you went for the jalapeno pepper.
I get that. That's what we want, that balance between sweet and spicy.
But, there again, just like the watermelon there,
you didn't bring enough spice to the party, really.
Erin, I think you should've put a little bit more pepper.
[sighs deeply]
But you kept your proof, you kept that dominant flavor.
I think you did a good job.
But unfortunately, we can only crown one Master Distiller.
And Bruiser, you're the next Master Distiller, my frien.
-Congratulations. -Oh, my goodness!
Awesome! I am surprised. I'm shocked.
I've got half of my life in making liquor.
And all of it's worth it right now,
being named the Master Distiller.
And It's a great honor to put Tagger Shine on the map.
-[whispers] You should come back here. -[Erin] You know, losing,
it sucks, but,
guess what? I got my coon pecker, so I'm a moonshiner now.
-[Tim] Congratulations to both of you. -It was an honor, Erin.
-[Erin] Told you. I told you. I told you! -[Bruiser] Hm.
-Lifelong friendship has been made right here... -Yeah.
in our very presence.