[narrator] This time on Master Distiller.
-You're running. -[narrator] It's a Thanksgiving throwdown...
The first Thanksgiving was 1619
in the state of Virginia.
[narrator] ...Virginia style
That's a fact, Jack.
[narrator] ...and the main course...
You're going to have to have your run done...
[narrator] ...it's not turke
...in the time it takes me to smoke a nine-pound ham.
[narrator] ...as three returning champions
turn their favorite holiday flavors...
Y'all have a seat.
[narrator] ...into a shot at the prize pig.
[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
We're all three searching for that winning jar.
And lucky for all of us, I brought my smoker.
[narrator] Now they're putting their own spin
on an American tradition...
-Candied yam casserole, like, a sweet potato casserole. -Whoo!
[narrator] ...as they make a meal out of the competition...
Never really tasted anything like it.
[narrator] ...for the ultima Moonshiners feast.
[Tim] Amanda, Richard and Dan,
good to see you all, guys.
Welcome to the first Master Distiller Thanksgiving Throwdown.
Most people think the first Thanksgiving
was Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, 1621.
But most people are wrong.
I know and I'm from Virginia.
The first Thanksgiving was 1619 in the state of Virginia.
[Amanda Bryant] Interesting.
That's a fact, Jack.
Tickle, tell us all about it.
Tim, certainly.
Tickle from yesterday, tell us all about it.
Native Americans have been celebrating the fall harvest
with feasting and parties since way before
Europeans stepped foot on America's shores.
Most Americans learn that the first Thanksgiving
celebrated by European settlers in the US,
was at Plymouth Rock in 162
when English pilgrims and the Wampanoag
shared an autumn harvest feast.
However, on December 4th, 1619,
38 British settlers sailed to Berkeley Hundred
on the banks of Virginia's James River.
When they got off their boat
they celebrated what they called,
"A day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God"
for getting them there safel
I'd be thankful I landed in Virginia, too.
It's my favorite.
To this day, the Thanksgiving celebratio
is a time to gather togethe
with your family and friends,
share a meal and toast to your blessings.
[Henry Law] We're here to celebrate Virginia Thanksgiving,
and you're here to bring us the Thanksgiving spirit for the table.
You've each brought your own mash,
and I look forward to drinking three different spirits.
[Tickle] The winner of this challenge is gonna receive
this very Virginia trophy.
[Amanda] Daniel and Richard they really know what they're doing,
so it's anyone's game.
But I really want that pig trophy.
It's cute, right? It's just so cute.
To me, it's just not Thanksgiving
without a Virginia smoked ham,
and lucky for all of us, I brought my smoker with me.
Now, instead of giving you all
four hours to make your run...
...you're gonna have to have your run done...
...in the time it takes me
to smoke a nine-pound ham.
And I'm fixing to go get that started right now.
[Henry] All right.
[Tim] Well, you heard Tickle. I know he can cook a ham.
You all ready? Got all your ingredients?
All right.
Your time starts now.
-Good luck. -[Henry] Good luck.
Really prepared for a four-hour run for this time,
and then Tickle comes out and tells us
that we only have enough time to smoke a ham.
I don't know how long that is,
but I'm gonna lay it to it.
[Richard Landry] We were abl to bring our own mash.
Something that I bought from home, just my little specialty,
something that I know I can make a real good alcohol with.
[Daniel Maner] My mash is a yellow corn white corn
[Amanda] Mine is a tradition corn mash with malted barley
It is kind of a neat competition, though,
cooking a ham and making a batch of moonshine.
I mean, think that you're going to have alcohol ready
to go with the meal ready at the same time,
like, we're going to eat in two, three hours.
We're gonna have it all together at the same time.
[Tickle] I've got some apple, some hickory...
...a little bit of cherry.
These big chunks right here...
...I got these from Tim Smith.
These are oak chunks
that have been lightly scorched
and they age liquor.
And once they're done,
I get 'em, and I like to smoke food with them.
All right. All right.
All right.
Now we wait.
[Richard] Hmm.
Man, y'all quiet, what's wrong?
Hey, we're in the zone, baby.
[Richard chuckling]
Amanda ain't saying nothing.
[Amanda] You know how I roll, Richard.
-[Richard] I know. -[Amanda] I don't let you distract me.
[Richard chuckles]
What kind of flavor are you doing, Richard?
[Richard] I'm going to do, like, a...
...what I would call...
...a candied yam casserole.
-Like a sweet potato casserole in a drink. -Ooh!
Interesting.
I love to bring things that have flavor into distillation,
and what I'm going to do is I'm going to do
my most favorite thing at Thanksgiving,
gonna distill a candied yam cocktail.
It should be good.
Feel that heat, Dan, you got that thing high.
[Daniel] That's what I want. [grunts]
How about you, Daniel? What are you doing?
[Daniel] I'm gonna make a...
...a cranberry-flavor moonshine.
I'm gonna bring a flavor here that
is directly with Thanksgiving.
I'm making a mess on the floor,
-but then I'm good. -[Richard] Mmm-hmm.
The cranberries I've shined,
they're a little bit bitter
[Richard] You'll be able to take care of that?
[Daniel] I think so.
[Amanda] My technique here is going to be really appropriate for Thanksgiving
I'm gonna infuse pecans during distillation
into my base spirit that I'm going to build off of.
My name is Amanda Bryant,
I'm 32 years old,
and I'm from the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.
I won Master Distiller last year
on the Nut Liquor episode with a hazelnut spirit.
I was also on the Tournament of Champions
Being a Master Distiller was probably one of the things I'm most proud of.
It's always nerve-wracking to come and compete,
but I'm proud to represent women and,
and just younger people in general and going out of the box.
If I can overcome my fears and compete with these big wigs...
...no one should really be afraid to pursue their dreams.
If you love something, pursue it.
You won't regret it.
[Richard] Crank this thing all the way up.
I'm Richard Landry, I'm 51 years old,
and I'm from New Iberia, Louisiana.
[Tickle] Get in there close, Richard.
That cow, she prefer working down.
[Richard] I've been on Master Distiller quite a few times.
I call this home. This is not Master Distiller this is home to me.
[laughter]
[Richard] I got a good bit of milk out of this cow, man
I've competed against literally everyone here.
Professional distillers, every moonshiner.
I've been up against the best every time I've been here.
I put a lot of effort into this.
I have a lot of sleepless nights.
I want to know the science behind this.
I want to know how can we make this better.
It got hot in here real fast, didn't it?
This is different being here on Thanksgiving.
They take me in like I'm really family here.
That makes me feel special to be on Thanksgiving Day
doing this with my new moonshine family.
I guess I belong here because it sure feels like I do.
This is, like, the coolest Thanksgiving ever, right?
We're all from different states,
-but here we are doing a run together. -[Daniel] Yeah.
And we find out that it didn't happen in Plymouth.
-[Amanda] Right? -Wow.
[Daniel] They say the first Thanksgiving
happened in Virginia all that. I don't believe that.
First Thanksgiving was in Tennessee.
-[Richard] You think so? -Hell, yeah, it was.
My name is Daniel Maner,
I'm 43 from Sevierville, Tennessee.
This is not my first time here at Master Distiller.
I've run a lot of 'stills and I've mixed a lot of flavors
in all these competitions, and I really enjoy it.
So, I think I've got just as much of a chance
of winning it as anybody.
[Richard] This ain't competition when you're with a man
-like this right here. -[Daniel laughs]
This competition, it'll be pretty special
because of old memories of Thanksgiving
and the people you used to share it with.
And now I'm going to get to share it with two competitors.
I mean, yeah, we're going to be in competition,
but if I would have been told that
I was going to be at the Moonshiner table
with the legends on Thanksgiving
several years ago, I would have probably said,
"It's possible," but then after a little time spent
doing what I do, yeah, I'm going to be there.
No doubt in my mind, because I really enjoy what I'm doing
just as much as they do.
[Tim] Is it marshmallow or mothballs?
[Richard] Marshmallow.
Marshmallows in that sweet potato. All right.
[Henry] He's just gonna put enough stuff in his,
he could have a full dessert.
[Amanda] You got anything to stir it?
[Richard] Yeah, you need something?
Like, a long spoon.
Oh, you got a spoon?
-Voila. -We can share.
-[Richard] Cool. -Thanks, Richard.
Well, I'm thankful for you, brother,
and this spoon right here.
[Richard] In Louisiana, we'd be frying a turkey,
I'd be frying the turkey, I'd have turkey rolls,
I'd probably cook a gumbo.
Like, that's a staple for Thanksgiving.
You have gumbo on Thanksgiving?
And Christmas.
-[Amanda] That sounds awesome. -Yeah.
I can really remember my grandmother
making the cornbread casserole
and just her homemade dressing.
I just, I'd soon eat it as the turkey,
-because it was so good and it's something I love. -[Richard] Mmm-hmm.
Every Thanksgiving, my grandfather would carve the turkey
and I would, like, hover over him.
You know, he always pulled the wishbone on the turkey.
-[Daniel] Yeah. -And, like, we would break it.
-[Daniel] Yeah. -Like, make a wish together.
-[Daniel] Yeah. -I'll never forget that.
They just put stuff in the thumb and just talking.
They're gonna run out of time.
They're talking a whole load of smack over there.
[Tim] They're gonna run out of time.
[Henry] They're gonna run out of time, for sure.
Tickle's out there just cooking away.
Thing about Tickle, he would say the same thing.
You don't fool with Tickle when he's cooking.
[Tim] No, it's legendary.
That's what he knows how to do.
That's what he loves to do. That's it.
I hope you guys are about done
'cause that ham, it's smelling good.
You just about to.
[Richard] You're not finished with that ham yet?
Just about.
-You better hurry up and finish with that liquor. -[laughing]
And that ham's gonna be good.
Tickle can really cook, y'all.
-Like, Tickle... -Can he?
[Richard] Oh, my God.
This is definitely an untraditional Thanksgiving.
[Richard] This is good.
You know, you're supposed to be with family on Thanksgiving,
and we're doing it.
Thanksgiving is like a day to be with family,
so I've never got to run liquor before on Thanksgiving.
Not that I'm complaining, I think it's really fun.
-That's like-- -[Daniel] Well, I reckon that's what we are.
-[Richard] Yeah. Yeah. -[Daniel] We're kinda family.
-You're running? -[Amanda] Oh, shoot.
[Amanda] It's way too fast.
[Daniel] You didn't charge your thumper, did you?
[clicks tongue] No, I did not.
That's why you come out of the holes fast.
I know how long it's gonna take me
to get to my heart's, right?
But I don't know how long it's gonna take Tickle to smoke a ham.
Temperature looks good.
Hmm, let's see what we got.
Oh!
We're all three searching for that winning jar.
[Richard] I see it well.
[Daniel] And Amanda's gonna have two or three before we get one.
Hell, yeah, I'm just getting to the worm.
You're right behind me. Come on, guys.
-[Daniel] Look here. -[Amanda] Did they just start?
-[Richard] Yeah. I'm running. -[Daniel] Rich is dead.
Mine's not got there yet.
No, it's gonna, though.
-Yeah. -[Amanda] It will be.
[Richard] I've made a marshmallow moonshine,
I've made a sweet potato vodka,
and I've dealt with pecans and nuts and distillation also.
So, I'm just gonna take all that experience and marry it down into one
and turn in a real good candied yam casserole.
See if I can smell marshmallows in here.
Yeah, I think I can.
[Daniel] Okay, here we go. We're off to the races.
-[Amanda] You rolling? -[Daniel] And she's just now hitting the worm.
-What do you think? -It's bitter as hell.
[Richard] I mean, this is almost, you know,
a peaceful Thanksgiving, and this is a smooth run, man.
How long have we been running?
-[Daniel] Uh... -[Richard] At least an hour.
[Daniel] Yeah, something like it.
[Richard] Think Tickle's gonna take his time cooking this,
-or he's gonna cut a rush? -[Daniel] No.
-He's gonna rush? -[Daniel] He's gonna roll it.
[Tickle] Oh!
Tell you what, they better be getting
close to the end of their run.
God, I could just take a bite out of that.
Mmm! Damn, it looks good.
[Amanda] Yes, we're here to have fun,
but you don't compete to los
I take every competition pretty seriously
because it's me showcasing my skills
and proving why I belong here.
[Tickle] Y'all hit your hearts yet?
-[Richard chuckling] -[Tickle] You better be.
'Cause that ham, boy, it smells good.
It's got a piece of my heart.
We're hungry.
-Amanda, how's it going? -Pretty good.
Don't show any leaks or anything?
[Amanda] No, sir. Been going pretty smooth.
-Is that number six? -[Amanda] Yes.
-What's it, uh... -Give that a smell.
We were looking, Tim and I was looking a minute ago,
looked like you put some kind of nuts?
Pecans.
Oh, I can smell it.
Are you a fan of pecan pie?
-Yeah, I love pecan pie. -Okay.
I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
[Henry] Are you getting down to where you proof it yet?
[Amanda] Um, almost...
I'm waiting to get to my sweet spot, right?
And, uh, I feel like I'm just about to get into my heart's.
-[Henry] Good. That's great. -Smooth and steady.
[Henry] Richard, what's going on, buddy?
Looked like you had sweet potato and marshmallows.
Yeah, I'm gonna add some nuts to it later on,
to get some flavor out of it in post and...
Can you put it all in your thumper, right?
Not in the mash by itself?
I... no. I'm gonna thumper with that, right?
Cool, you know, Tickle will be coming here quick.
-[Richard] I know, man. -You got to get the job done.
I think Tickle's gonna move faster just 'cause,
Just so he can screw with our brain.
Probably. I see a man over here look a little nervous, too.
-What you got going over here? -[Daniel] Afraid to death.
-[Henry] What's going on, Daniel? -[Daniel laughing]
Looked like you had cherries or something you just put in here?
I did. I put cranberry.
-Cranberry? -Yeah.
-Let me smell that? -Flavor.
I'm gonna tell you right now, you know, those Virginia guys...
...you've been fooled about Thanksgiving heritage here.
-You better have it right. -Yeah.
-I hope I do. -[chuckles]
Smells good, man.
You know how we like a strong drink with our hands.
Hey, even though I'm gonna turn down a flavor jar,
I'm gonna try to get you a hundred proof flavor jar.
That's what we're looking for,
-something that got that little burn, you know that? -Mmm-hmm.
-Now, good luck, bud. -I hope, I hope we have good luck.
[chuckling]
All in all, I really think it's, um...
we want something to be thankful for, like it's Thanksgiving.
-[Amanda] ...flavor, so... -Can I taste yours?
Yeah, go ahead.
I'd like to see what kind of competition I'm up against.
I've competed against Amanda before,
and, uh, Amanda's hard to handle.
She's damn good with her flavors,
and, uh, I'll just go ahead with heat.
Golly!
I believe there's a stink bug in that pot.
[laughing]
That's Daniel Maner's game, man.
He likes to poke at the bear.
Just kidding!
It's good, you got exactly in there what you was looking for.
I mean, I understand it's a competition,
but it also needs to be about fun and Thanksgiving.
All right, y'all.
A little over three hours.
About 3 hours and 20 minutes, that ham is done.
That liquor needs to be done, too.
These guys got jars ready.
[Tickle] They got jars ready.
Mmm-hmm, I don't know what they tastes like, but...
[Tickle] They got the best liquor, though.
Yeah, I got the best jar in my hand right here.
[Amanda] I'm hungry. I wanna eat.
You're hungry? Yeah.
[Tim] We're gonna taste it, we're gonna look at it.
This is gonna put you in order to go to the Farmstand
and get you ingredients for post flavoring.
[Tickle] And now also,
whatever ingredients y'all get to post flavor this liquor...
...you're gonna have to make a sauce
and see how well it'll pair with this thing.
Way too much talking. You guys need to get on out here
so we can do some tasting.
-Good deal. -See ya.
I think all of them look good.
I think we need to get drinking.
Well, slide 'em on down here to me.
You know, we got three beautiful jars
to be thankful for there.
All right, that's Rich.
[Amanda] How do you feel about your run?
[Richard] It should be pretty good.
Potatoes and, uh, and it's not a vodka.
That's... that's the truth.
Usually I use potatoes to make something,
but this time I'm just flavoring it with potato.
That'll be a good base spirit
to do the flavoring with, I think.
I think Rich is definitely on 100 proof.
That's what we like.
I think Tim got twice as much as we got.
-[Tickle] You know, he did, didn't he? -Mmm-hmm.
That's the way it normally works.
-Uh, you know, uh-- -It's a good smell!
It does got a good smell. I was afraid, with the sweet potatoes
it was going to lend a vodka note,
but I'm not getting that at all.
I think he did a real good job,
but I'm not tasting a sweet potato.
I'm getting more of the marshmallow taste.
I'm just really smelling the sweet potato.
I'd love to see the sweet potato carry over a little bit more.
Yeah, Rich is... Rich is pretty good.
-Let's try another. -Yeah, let's try another.
-Yeah. -[Tim] Amanda.
I was really happy with how mine smelled and tasted.
-[Richard] Pecans came out, yeah? -They did, yeah.
[Amanda] They're stronger th some other nuts, so,
it got a little tricky, you know?
I wanted to add enough flavor that it tastes good,
but still get that proof in there
'cause no one wants to drink something that's low proof.
[Henry] I think it's a little bit lower.
[Tim] I'm thinking about 90.
[Henry] I mean, mine's empty.
-And this is Amanda's. -This is Amanda. Pecan.
Yeah, I'm getting a sweet note, on the nose.
[Henry] I sure do love pecan, I know that.
Yeah, I'm tasting it in here, and I...
-Pecan tastes good. Smell. -[Tickle] Mmm-hmm.
[Henry] It wouldn't hurt if the proof was a little higher.
A little punch. Just a little.
It's got a little bit of strong bite to it.
Like, like she might have run it a little bit too fast, maybe.
She got to keep in mind,
I mean, she's already a little low now,
and she's got to add a little flavor to it that's going to cut it even more.
-And dilute it down. -I ain't mad at it either one of these.
Very close.
Um, the only thing I will be mad at,
is if Tim don't hurry up and pour me another shot.
[Henry] That's what I'm waiting on.
[Tim] Yeah, I got one more jar here.
Lucky seven. Daniel's jar.
I charged the thumper with a bunch of fresh cranberries...
[Richard] Some good cranberries.
...and you, they tasted really good,
but now you wouldn't think that they would
carry flavor over, but they did.
-That's pretty good, isn't it? -[Tim] I'm thinking 90.
Pretty much the same with Amanda.
[Henry] It should be good and smooth, then.
He was using cranberries.
-[Tickle] Yeah. -[Tim] Light on the nose.
[Henry] It's very light on your nose.
It's good.
I mean, it's very clean.
Everybody knows cranberries got sort of a tart taste to it.
You know, you've got to be really good to be able to put that
in that thumper and come out with something this smooth.
[Richard] But I can't wait to make this sauce.
I really want to make this sauce.
There's three good jars right here.
[Henry] It's going to be tough, man.
[Amanda] We could all be kind of thankful that, uh
that they trust us enough to handle these curveballs, right?
-[Richard] Yeah. Or get hit by one of 'em. -[Daniel] Mmm-hmm.
-Hopefully not. -[Richard] Hopefully not.
I believe I about know where I'm at on.
-All right, guys, we all agree? -[Henry] Yeah.
-[Tickle] Yeah. -[Henry] Yeah.
All right, I'll go get them.
All right, if y'all go grab your jars
and head to your places.
[Tim] All right, guys.
Well, you did exactly what we thought you was going to do.
All three of you bought us
a good Thanksgiving jar of moonshine.
Daniel,
spot on on the proof.
It was a real, real good taste.
Cranberry is coming right through.
I don't get it on the nose,
I do get it on the taste. I'm surprised at that.
But it tastes like a good brandy.
And I love a good brandy.
Did you add the seeds of those cranberries?
Believe it or not,
those cranberries didn't have a seed in one of 'em.
I couldn't taste a pit, and I was concerned about that.
But it really turned out real well. It was a good job.
[Tim] Richard...
...you know, sweet potato casserole,
you know, it's real smooth,
uh, proof is good.
I don't taste sweet potato, myself.
I'm getting the marshmallow,
but I don't get the sweet potato,
when I know you had big old sweet potatoes.
You was chopping them up and putting them in there.
I could smell the sweet potato,
but the flavor didn't really pull through,
which I'm sure with you're going with sweet potato,
you're hoping there's some sweet potatoes out there on the Farmstand.
Yes, sir.
Amanda.
Pecan pie, clear jar, good looking jar.
We saw you put the pecans in there.
And I can, I can taste some of the pecans.
I don't smell the pecan, but I tasted it.
And Amanda, pecans, I love pecans.
Your proof was just a tad low.
Let's just look at it this way.
All y'all made a good jar of liquor.
What order you go to the Farmstand,
it's just what order you pick what you want up in.
[Tim] You've heard what we had to say.
Good job.
We put you in order, as Daniel's number one,
Richard's number two, Amanda's number three.
And Tickle will be taking you out to the Farmstand.
And don't forget, you got two things you gotta do.
One is your flavoring for your alcohol for us to drink,
and one is for your sauce.
So, that sauce is to enhance Tickle's ham.
[Tickle] All right, well, if y'all are ready,
leave your jars here because we've been known
to drink them on the way to the Farmstand,
and y'all head on with me.
Be a doggone shame if y'all didn't have nothing to plate.
Y'all fellas know what part of the pig you can't eat, right?
-Ain't but one part. -[Daniel] The squeal.
[Tickle] Yes, sir, that's about it.
The squeal. That's the only part you can't. That's exactly right.
All right. We're here at the Farmstand.
There's all kinds of good stuff in there.
Y'all don't forget, not only do you have
to post flavor of y'all's moonshine,
but you've got to make a sauce for my ham.
Yeah.
But don't go ruining my ham, so make us up a good sauce, all right?
-Daniel... -[Daniel] Sir.
-...you're up first, all right? -[Daniel] Yeah.
You're gonna have three minutes in there.
Your time starts now.
-I better hurry, then. -[Tickle] You better hurry up.
[Daniel] So, I'm gonna bring a cranberry shine to the table.
-[Daniel] What in the heck's a currant? -[Tickle] Uh-oh.
[Daniel] On the spur of the moment, I was just thinking,
"You know, that's something I really like,
is cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving time."
[Tickle] Uh-oh.
-[Tickle] You got cranberry juice? -[Daniel] I have.
[Daniel] ...so, I'm gonna try on the fly.
This will make it one time in front of my competitors.
Keep in mind, whatever you make,
you've got to make a sauce, too.
I need to get all these sweet taters.
[Tickle] You need to get all those sweet taters?
-[Daniel] Yeah. -Well, you got 15 seconds left
-no matter what. -That some yam.
[Tickle] And some yams.
Yes, sir. Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
Uh, Daniel, are you done screwing Richard?
-Yeah? [laughing] All right. -[Daniel laughs]
Looks like Daniel's got a strategy.
Get everything y'all need. Oh, yeah,
But, uh, Richard, you're up next.
-Mmm-hmm. I got this. -All right, three minutes starting now.
[Tickle] Come on, Rick. Oh, lord.
He's picking out of Daniel's basket.
-[Richard] We're going to do this really quick. -[Tickle] Uh-oh.
Louisiana. We're going to put a glaze on everything.
I mean, especially when it comes to a ham.
[Tickle] He's learning from Daniel, it looks like. Uh-oh.
Daniel taught me.
I'm going to stick to what I have going on
with the candied yam casserole moonshine...
[Tickle] Richard got a pie.
[Daniel] I bet that's a pecan pie.
[Richard] That's just 'cause I'm a little hungry.
...and make us some candied yam and sauce.
[Tickle] Oh. All right, you got some sugar.
Keep in mind, y'all got to make a sauce as well.
Minute and a half left, Richard.
I won't need no more of...
You don't need no more time?
Well, you ain't walking out of there.
-[laughs] All right. -I'm walking out of there.
[Tickle] Getting it quick, there.
-[Richard] I sure did. The ones you left. -You got some sweet things.
Amanda, it is down to you.
-Time starts now. -[Amanda] Thank you.
Going into the Farmstand last is really nerve-wracking.
I know that Daniel and Richard could take something that I need,
and hopefully they'll share it with me if they get it.
[Tickle] Well, Amanda's grabbing all kinds of stuff.
[Amanda] Competition, it's not the time to experiment.
I have to make a sauce for ham,
so I'm going to make a really good raisin sauce
that we make with ham on the holidays.
I know it goes really well with salty ham.
It's a little bit sweet and tart,
and I have a feeling they're really going to like it.
[Tickle] She's getting some oranges, too.
Are all y'all just hungry? Is that what that is?
[Amanda] There's not a lot that goes into the recipe.
It's mainly a currant jelly, some raisins
and a few other super ingredients,
which I was able to find in the Farmstand.
-All right. You got everything you need? -I'm good. Yes, sir, I got it.
[Tickle] All right.
It's really hard to keep secrets, yeah,
but I think, uh, my aunt Moira would probably
kill me if I told you how to make it.
Let's get on back in there, so y'all can post flavor your liquor
-and make us up a good sauce. -[Amanda] Sounds good.
[Tickle] But don't make it too good.
I don't want it to be better than the ham, all right?
Well, we made it back, fellas.
It's about time you get back.
So we're going to give you one hour to flavor your product,
make your sauce to go with the ham.
And then we're all going to have a good time.
You know what you're doing, it's very competitive.
But we get thirsty and hungry
and we can't drink anything, that y'all get done.
Ready?
-[Daniel] Ready. -The time starts now.
[Amanda] Good luck.
[Richard] Good luck, y'all.
Now, normally they'd have an hour to flavor,
but now they've got an hour
to not only flavor their moonshine, but make a sauce, too.
It's a pretty tall order.
Richard's got a knife out of...
[Henry] You got a can opener over there, Richard?
Nah, I got a can opener in my hand.
I wonder how many moonshiners back in the woods
back in the day said, "Man, y'all didn't bring a can opener here?"
I bet not a one.
Not a one brought a can opener,
but the cans got opened, didn't it?
I think the judges do know what I can cook, and I think they expect
a little bit more of me than just the typical dip.
So I'm going to have to give them a little bit more than normal.
-[Henry] Yam? -[Tickle] Yam's right there.
[Tim] I see. Yeah.
But it looked like you just put the juice in, some marshmallows.
[Tickle] I mean, I was messing with him,
told him to get it, and he grabbed it.
I don't know if he was messing back with me or what.
[Richard] The glaze I'm maki is a candied yam glaze.
I'm going to make it with sweet potatoes,
brown sugar, marshmallows.
It's going to be something that I'm going to be able to put over
the top of this ham and give it a real good flavor.
[Henry] Dan's got a measuring cup,
although he's drinking it, though.
[Tim] How does that taste?
Well, I don't know.
[Tickle] He keeps doing that with the liquor,
-we might be in trouble. -[Daniel] We might, yeah.
[Daniel] It'd be real easy to just go with it.
-[Richard] You think so? -[Daniel] I believe it would.
I love cranberry sauce, so I'm going to bring a cranberry sauce
to the table for Thanksgivin
And I hope people like it.
So, like, uh, Amanda, we have working in two different pots now.
[chuckles]
[Amanda] Well, maybe simmer, simmer, simmer.
Not a big fan of, of any type of flavored spirit.
So coming into this, I want to leave it not overly sweet.
I definitely want to leave it a high proof blend
and just have it taste like real pecan pie.
He sure is beating that jar, boy, I know that.
Don't know what he's mixing up, he's beating it.
You're doing a lot of shaking over there.
What's, what's you're shaking up over there? Making milkshake?
[Daniel] Well, my number one priority is to put you
a liquor up there that you'll enjoy,
a cranberry-flavored liquor.
My second priority is to make this sauce that y'all are looking for.
But this is a liquor challenge so I'm more worried about
getting the taste of that liquor right than I am with the sauce.
[Tim] Some of the stuff, sometimes, you try to put it again and it clashes.
It don't go together.
You've got a perfect ham cooked,
so they can make a sauce that can destroy your ham.
No, they ain't need it.
If they, if we spread it on there and taste it...
No, no.
You're going to take a piece and you dip it in it.
Don't you go to messing my ham.
But it's all going to blend when you chew it.
Try it with beef.
[Daniel] Richard?
-[Richard] Yes, sir. -[Daniel] How you feeling?
[Richard] I feel good about this.
Oh, pretty good.
-[Richard] I guess. -Yeah.
-I hope I could get it better. -What you got in there?
-Sweet potatoes, and? -Sweet potatoes, uh,
brown sugar, white sugar.
A little bit of vanilla, some cinnamon, marshmallows.
All right, guys, you got 30 minutes left.
30 minutes.
-[Tim] Yup. -Thank you.
[Daniel] Half the time has elapsed.
The half the time is gone.
My major concern is that liquor.
He had it too weak.
-[Tickle] Mmm-hmm. -Put too much of that stuff in there and get it down
where it's like drinking water.
You know, we like a little bite to our liquor.
-You're right. -I like a little bite in there,
especially for my Thanksgiving dinner.
And they've been to proof, what, 90 and 100?
-They don't have a whole lot to work with. -[Tickle] No, it's not.
You put a little bit of something in
and they can really drop your proof.
They're going to have to watch that.
[Amanda] So the high proof is a preference, personally, of mine.
I couldn't drink anything sweetened or flavored at a really low proof,
and I know that they all appreciate the same thing.
It also doesn't hurt that, you know, a little bit of extra alcohol in there
is going to help you digest all that food you ate at Thanksgiving feast.
So, like a little dessert digestif.
All right. Well, Amanda, what have you got going on here?
I've pretty much finished my pecan pie flavoring,
-[Tickle] Ooh. -I'm gonna filter it,
-Yup. -and then add a little bit of that
to some high proof spirit.
Wel, I can't lie to you standing over this pot,
that smells exactly like a pecan pie.
-Nailed it. Okay. -[Tickle] It really does.
That makes me feel better.
You got two pots going on over here.
-Yes. -That's your, uh...
This is going to be my sauce for the ham.
-The, um, pecan pie is going in the liquor? -Mmm-hmm.
And then run... run through this again, what you got?
This is called a blackcurrant raisin sauce.
So this is black currant jam,
-Mmm-hmm. -raisins and then a couple other little ingredients.
Like, a sweet sauce to go with, like a nice saltiness of ham.
-So it's sweet salty, and... -Okay.
Well, that sounds good.
I'm very interested in trying it.
But now you heard what Henry said.
Be careful and don't get your proof down too low, there.
-Yeah. -All right?
-I'll remember that. Thank you. -All right.
-[Tickle] Richard? -Yes, sir.
What have you got going on here?
I got some sweet potatoes.
-Mmm-hmm. -Got a nice little glaze started for you.
Yeah, that's got, got a really nice summer sweet potato souffle
kind of smell going on.
Yes, Lord, like my grandmother used to do.
Okay, I will not be upset at that,
-that's for sure. -[laughs]
Your pecans, I see you got some of them in here as well, right?
I just need them to cook down a little bit,
get some of those oils out of there.
-Good luck with it. Keep on rolling here, -Thank you.
-and, uh, I'm gonna go check Daniel out. -Thank you.
[Tickle] Daniel.
-What you got here? -Well, it looks like pig blood, it really does.
[Tickle] It can, it does. It's definitely dark red.
-I'm gonna try to make that the sauce. -Okay.
It's mixed with cranberry and brown sugar, and I'm not going to tell
what else in it, because I probably won't get somebody to try it.
-Bet it'll be all right. -I'm gonna try it.
But, you know, I've never made anything like it, but I'm...
I'm... I'm going to fool with it and try it.
I'll either make it or ruin it.
Ah, well, one of the two.
All right. Good luck to all of you.
Thank you. We need it.
All right, guys, you're down to 15 minutes.
[Daniel] This is something I ain't ever used, Richard.
-What's that? -[Daniel] Corn starch.
-[Richard] Corn starch? -[Daniel] Nope.
Thickening agent?
[Tim] It's going to be a disaster,
-abandon it, that's what it'll be. -A disaster.
[Tim] Take it home to his mama.
And Rich put the last little squeeze on something over there.
[Tickle] Something.
I think he might be straining something now.
Top secret operation.
[Daniel] I don't believe it's going to thicken.
Nope.
I can taste that ham now.
But I want you to taste this ham with this glaze I'm about to put on.
[Henry] We want it here.
[Tim] Five minutes, guys.
[Richard] We're running out of time.
Try to button it up, tighten it up, join up.
Okay.
[Henry] It looks like Richard is jarring up a sauce.
All right, guys, listen up. You got two minutes.
Two minutes.
[Richard] Oh, I would say yes. Daniel.
Better bring me some jars. Put them on the table.
I'm good.
[Tim] 30 seconds.
[Henry] Is that all?
Yeah, y'all keep fooling around.
Daniel, I can't fight it no more.
All right, what you, whats you working with?
This is my moonshine right here.
This is a good Thanksgiving drink
and this is a good sauce right there.
All right.
[Amanda] Almost done?
[Daniel] I've got one more thing to do here.
-[Daniel] No rushing, I guess. -[Amanda] All right, guys.
[Amanda] I got pecan pie and raisin sauce for the ham.
[Tickle] Good luck to you.
-Thank you very much. -[Henry] Good luck.
[Tim] Ten seconds, nine seconds,
eight, seven,
six, five, four,
three, two, one.
-That's it. -[Daniel] How about that?
[Tim] Stressing me out.
God, I'm glad you made it in one second.
-Thank you, Daniel. -[Daniel] Yes, sir.
-[Henry] Thank you, Daniel. -[Tim] All right, good luck.
[Henry] Well, that smell prety good, isn't it?
[Tickle] We've got our spirits here.
We've got the ham and the sauces right here behind it.
-See, that's Daniel's. -[Henry] Yeah.
-[Tim] Very pretty. -It's got a Thanksgiving... Thanksgiving look.
Nice presentation. Nothing floating in it.
Smells like cranberries.
-And I still smell some, some moonshine in there. -[Tim] I smell moonshine.
I really believe with all my heart that, that was a hybrid
or something, because it didn't have enough seeds in it.
-[Richard] It didn't have not one pit in it. -Uh-uh.
It's got a little kick to it, too.
[Tickle] It does got a kick to it.
And he...
just like the color says, that cranberry is in there.
The thing with cranberries, is sometimes 'cause they're so tart,
when you just flavor, like, a liquor, so tart, it'll taste like a wine.
So when I tasted yours, I was like, is it going to taste like a wine?
It gets, like, a dryness to it but it didn't actually have sweetness and tartness.
I'm not upset with that at all.
-Well, let's go on to this ham and this sauce here. -[Henry] Mm hmm.
-[Henry] What's going on here? -[Tickle] Let's see, what's going on here?
[Tim] I got some cranberry.
-[Henry] Look how thick it is. -[Tim] Yeah.
[Tickle] Yeah, he's made a nice sauce.
It's got a got a nice thickness.
And I'll have to say, I think it pairs very well with the ham.
That's good.
[Tickle] Daniel claims he's never made a sauce before.
-I knew he was lying. -But he's got a good thickness to it...
...and I like it.
It's a good presentation and a great flavor.
Okay, I'll move on to Rich.
Thanksgiving is kind of specific because we could have done
anything we wanted to do when we were pairing before, but now we're kinda...
[Amanda] Limited to our options?
That's another curveball.
He used a cream in there.
[Henry] Separating.
And it's separating some.
And Richard don't look too attractive there.
It's got a kick to it.
I'm going to make Tickle a little happy.
I'm try to soften it up a little bit.
I ain't gonna throw 90, 100 proof on him.
I'm going to do what they ask me to do.
You ask me to give you a dinner pairing
It's got a good taste on the back note,
but to be a cocktail, it's a little high to eat with dinner.
That's smooth, though.
-Let's see what he got now. -Let's see what this sauce is like.
This sauce, I'm pretty excited about.
I can see some pecans and stuff like that in it.
Yeah, that is pecan-y.
I can taste the sweet potatoes in there and the pecans.
-That one's really good. -[Tickle] Yeah.
[Tickle] And goes good with the ham.
-I guess it's down to... -Amanda's.
...the last one.
[Amanda] I was trying to shoot for was, like, a brandy,
like a bourbon proof, you know,
right in the ballpark of, like, 75 to 80.
[Tickle] Plenty of alcohol.
-You know, grandma would love that one. -[Tickle] Mmm-hmm.
[Tickle] I'm not mad at that at all.
-[Henry] A couple of drinks, she'd be on the way. -[Tickle] Mmm-hmm.
It's kind of like, uh,
a licorice piece was passed down to you.
I believe the kinks was worked out of that a long, long time ago.
-No argument. -[Tim] No.
You know, Amanda said this was a family sauce, right?
-[Richard] You got to fight heritage now. -[Amanda laughs]
[Richard] We were just fighting her, but now we're fighting out her legacy.
You're going to love it. It's frickin' awesome.
-[Henry] Sauce is good. -[Tickle] It's good.
-Thick, creamy. -[Tickle] Mmm-hmm.
Blackcurrant and raisin.
[Henry] This doesn't have any chunks in it.
They pair very well together.
Just eat that ham and chase it with that sauce.
Unbelievable. I mean,
-I've never tasted anything like it. -[Tickle] Mmm.
Tickle, go get them.
I got a few things. I got to take care of.
-What now? -Why don't you go grab them?
And I got a few things I got to finish tying up.
What do... you got a pig,
I know, you told me you're tying up some.
-You got a pig, don't you? -[stammers]
Are you just gonna leave us?
If I do, he'll be done kicked the back doors out of your truck
by the time you get back, all right?
[Amanda] And I'm thankful to be like right here today
You know, it's... never in a million years would I have expected
to be here competing,
distilling with people with the likes of you guys.
I mean, I'm thankful for that for sure.
To be able to work with good friends,
which is family now.
And we're a moonshine family.
To be with you guys, I mean, Daniel has become like a brother to me.
You know, I know he's a brother because he'll kick me in my ass.
Tell me the truth about myself,
and you'd do the same thing.
-And I'm-- -[Amanda] That's a good, that's a good family setting.
[Richard] Yeah. I'm so thankful.
-[Richard] Wow. -Welcome to a proper Virginia Thanksgiving.
There you go.
-Y'all have a seat. -[Amanda] Thank you so much.
Well, you know, first off, we need to thank Tickle for such a presentation.
I didn't know he was preparing all of this.
I mean, I just thought you were smoking a ham.
It's a pleasant surprise.
-[Richard] Yes, sir. -[Daniel] Done a good job.
You all are very welcome.
Well, let's talk about your jars.
Let's talk about your sauces.
All three of you did an outstanding job.
And it really was tough for us to make a decision
on one of you to get the little piggy to go home.
Daniel, yours was cranberry all the way...
...from the sauce to your 'shine.
Look good, taste good.
Proof is on the money.
Richard, your proof's on the money, too.
You did throw a little trickery in there.
You threw me off a little bit with your sauce.
Because I was looking for the marshmallow,
you know, the yams, something like that.
And then you talked it up, and when I tasted it...
...I got pecan pie.
-[Richard] Mmm. -But it's good.
-[Richard chuckles] -[Tim] Now, Amanda,
she said she was going to bring something special.
She did.
She told us she had a family recipe with those raisins.
I was looking for that pecan pie.
I tasted it in her 'shine.
She made something that we have never tasted before.
-She did an outstanding job. -Thank you.
I was real afraid that one of these sauces
was going to make my ham taste bad.
But it didn't.
Everything went so nicely together.
The liquor even went good with the ham.
[Henry] We put the pressure on y'all.
We wanted a good hard liquor and a good taste to it, add that little burn to it,
which is what Virginia boys like, and the sauce.
It's unbelievable. Really and truly.
I said, let's just give them all three.
You know, it's Thanksgiving.
We got to pick a winner and it's almost impossible.
It's very difficult to say who is the winner,
but somebody gets their little piggy to go home.
And, Amanda, you get the little piggy.
-Really? Oh, thank you, guys. -[all applauding]
[Daniel] Congratulations on that.
Oh, my God.
-The family recipe was great. -It really was.
[Amanda] My life has changed immensely.
This family of men and women that I've met,
they were my heroes, and now they're my peers.
And they respect me like a peer.
Thank you, by actually coming to Master Distiller in the first place.
Because if you hadn't have stepped up to the plate and come.
you wouldn't be sitting here tonight.
[Daniel] You know, you're not going to win every time.
You know that coming into a competition.
But still, yeah, you always give it your best shot.
And my buddy, Henry, a long-time friend.
It's been many years that we sat down together at Thanksgiving.
[Henry] Thanksgiving is really special to us.
I mean, every year... we've been in the liquor business so long.
Every Thanksgiving, for years and years and years,
it was always one of us gone.
And let me tell you, it was not on a picnic either.
You would be behind bars and have, have them at home.
Finally, after all those years
we have the whole family there.
I mean, really, Thanksgiving is really special.
Really got a family of moonshiners here.
[Tim] Really proud of you. Everybody, thank you for being here.
It's really symbolic for me to sit down on a table with them on Thanksgiving
and share this meal.
And thank Tickle, who made a such a great ham.
-[Tim] Good job, Tickle. -All right.
Y'all family here now. Y'all ready to eat?
[Richard] Yes, sir.
I know with these guys, truly know how grateful I am for being here.
I can't wait to try that too.
[Tickle] Oh, the ham ain't no good.
[Richard] Congratulations, Amanda.
[Amanda] Thank you.
[Richard] They accept me in their world.
I'm more thankful than these guys will ever know just to be in their midst.
[Amanda] It's definitely an honor to be sitting at the table
with all of you gentlemen.
Thank you, thank you.
It means more to me than anything just to sit
-and have a meal with you guys. -[Tickle] All right.
Good to have you all here, it's special. Love y'all.
Glad to be here, brother. Love you.
-Dig in. -[Richard] Yes.
-[Tim] We need to pass some in jars in here. -[Tickle] Mmm-hmm.
-Can I try your guys'? I want to try it. -Definitely.
[Daniel] Mmm-hmm.
-Man, it's empty. -Here you go.
[Amanda] Cranberry, anybody?
[Daniel] You know, I was kind of scared to make that sauce.
[Henry] But it's good.
It was good.
You did a real good job.
It was real good.