[narrator] this time on master distiller.
Whiskey world tour, here we come.
[narrator] it's scotch versus kentucky,
versus japanese whiskey.
That tastes just like scotch.
Oh, yeah.
[chris] japanese-style whiskey use malted wheat.
Just a classic kentucky recipe, little corn,
little six row, little happiness, that's all.
We feel you.
[narrator] the world's top regional styles.
Big contrast here, guys.
[narrator] and a whiskey battle for the ages.
We're gonna see some good liquor, guys.
[man] done.
[narrator] 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 just wanna be the best drop, not the first drop.
[narrator] judged by three legendary moonshiners...
There's very little alcohol in there.
[narrator] they'll go head to head in a series...
Of challenges.
Great. Got a bag of tricks over here.
You like that?
Anticipation.
Drum roll.
[lorna] oh, my gosh.
[narrator] to determine who has what it takes...
Anybody nervous yet?
I want it to be perfect.
[narrator] to be named...
I'm not above dirty tricks at all.
[man] I can do this.
[narrator] master distiller.
That's what we've been looking for.
[intense music playing]
welcome to master distiller.
We're fixing to put your skills to the test.
Whiskey world tour.
I hate flying, so this is kind of like a vacation for me.
We got the whiskeys of the world.
We got the kentucky bourbon,
we got the japanese-style whiskey,
and we got the scottish peated whiskey.
Tickle, tell us about it.
Whiskey was invented in scotland
when medieval monks started distilling grains.
Scotch is considered the original gangster.
The most iconic is a single malt peated style.
Whiskey distillation was brought to america
in the 1700s by scottish, welsh, and irish immigrants.
Using the grains that they could grow locally,
different regions developed their own distinct style.
In the south, corn was king.
And by the 1870s, kentucky bourbon
had taken off.
Whiskey production in japan got its feet off
the ground when a young chemist named
masataka taketsuru went to scotland right
after world war I and learned to distill.
And in 1924, he opened the suntory distillery
and the international whiskey game
was forever changed.
Hmm. And I can see why.
All right, guys.
What's at stake is, of course, bragging rights.
But in addition to that, the winner will get a limited
run of their label with a major distillery.
Guys, you're all making different
styles of whiskey from different parts of the world.
That means your jar's gonna taste different than his jar.
Your jar's gonna taste different from her jar.
The distiller that crafts their jar
of their particular chosen whiskey the best
will be crowned the next master distiller.
You're gonna have three hours to make a grain bill,
starting now.
Whiskey world tour, here we come.
I'm digging it.
[narrator] to customize each whiskey's
specific style,
distillers will start their mash
with a regional grain bill.
Once the mash ferments,
they'll distill the alcohol twice,
then rapid age their final spirit to dial
in the flavor profile of their regional whiskey.
[tim] lorna over here, her family is from scotland.
[man] mmm-hmm.
And she actually works at a legal distillery.
Here we are, day in the life.
My name is lorna barclay conrad.
I am the head distiller for a distillery
in nashville, tennessee.
And I've been distilling for five years now.
I grew up in the south, but my mom is born
and raised in scotland.
So it was in my blood and I had a calling.
We're using our smell and taste to make cuts.
I've made a few different kinds of whiskey,
single malts along with rye whiskeys.
And I do enjoy scotches, and scotland
has such a huge variety.
I came here to represent family,
so I'm here to make them proud.
Now chris is from hawaii, he lived in new york.
Mmm-hmm.
And then he is a college professor,
pastry chef, and part owner of a distillery.
I'm chris uyehara,
I'm from skaneateles, new york.
I've been distilling for six years
and I own a distillery.
This is my playroom during the weekends.
I'm a pastry chef by trade.
So a lot of my whiskeys that I make
I go by taste and feel.
Um, on my hands, rub it.
Right now it's still high alcohol.
I found out when grandma made a pineapple moonshine.
She was a immigrant from okinawa, japan
and she was then indentured worker
and they struggled to make ends meet,
so she made moonshines.
So I want to win master distiller
to honor her.
It's also my dream to retire and work
at the distillery full-time.
Curtis, he's a backwoods distiller.
He used to be a chef.
He's one to watch, I think.
My name is curtis wickley, I was in born
in louisville, kentucky.
I'm a mechanic for a mining company.
That's some fine alcohol right there, I'll tell you.
I've been distilling three, four years.
And I started off making wine...
Simple five-gallon still,
electric heat going in. As you can see,
it's not a large operation.
Just wanna do something a little bit fireproof
and test my culinary skills and see
what I can produce in the long run.
I would say my favorite liquor to make
is the kentucky-style bourbon.
Winning the master distiller, I would definitely
can take the bragging rights back home
and open a distillery.
So I can't believe I'm here.
I'm gonna wake up in my bed sprawled out
like that was a hell of a dream.
You got your fire up real high?
Yeah.
Yeah, I usually use steam.
Nervous?
Yeah. What about you?
[curtis] no, I'm good.
I'm out of my element as far as process.
Really? You're out of your element?
What?
There's a lot of differences in working commercial
versus this size.
So just because I do it professionally,
not all of my skills translate.
One hour left.
A big contrast here, guys, from this end to that end,
she's measuring everything and little bits and pieces.
Curtis...
He might've measured his beforehand.
[curtis] maybe.
Fill us in on your grain bill
over there, buddy.
Just a classic kentucky recipe.
Little corn, little six row, little barley,
little happiness, that's all.
The recipe I make is a classic kentucky whiskey,
minus the limestone water.
Uh, 51% corn and then rye.
I'm just trying to keep it all at the bottom.
[tim] okay.
Because the last thing I wanna do is end up
with a scorched mash.
Yeah.
So we're making a kentucky bourbon-style whiskey.
[curtis] correct.
But we're not gonna make bourbon?
No. I'm gonna stick into what I know
with just a slight twist.
[man] lorna, fill us in
on that grain bill.
Going for a scotch style, so I have some heavily
peated malt in there, no corn, no nothing else.
[narrator] peated single malt whiskey is known
for its smoky flavor, which can be controversial
for whiskey drinkers.
Peat is a layered soil made up of decaying
plants and animals found in bogland areas.
Peat burns similar to coal. It dries the malt,
allowing the smoke and vapors to permeate the grain.
The longer the malt is exposed to a peat fire,
the smokier the scotch whiskey will taste.
Though not merely as popular in japanese
or kentucky styles, some inspired distillers now
use peated malt in their recipes,
blending traditions of blurring the lines
between international whiskeys.
This heavily-peated malt will really
come through without overpowering.
Keeping your fingers crossed for that.
I know.
I'm making a scotch style with the peated whiskey
and I'm going to include peat as one of the main flavors
in there, so give it a good nice smoky character.
And then I have some two row
and some honey malt in there as well.
So it'll be a single malt which is
what they make in scotland.
Although we are not in scotland and I can't call
it a scotch, that's what my goal is,
to emulate that flavor.
[digger] chris, I'm really interested in your grain bill.
[chris] I got malted corn, malted triticale,
and malted red wheat.
The recipe that I created is pretty unique,
it's a japanese-style whiskey.
It's a lot of grain to it.
I wanted a full-flavored mouthfeel.
Looks like it'll be interesting.
Yeah. I know. Pressure's on.
Three, two, one, done. Step away from your barrel.
We'll move them in to the mash room
and come back when they come to temperature,
pitch the yeast.
We'll see you guys in five days.
Good luck every one of you.
[narrator] once the yeast is added,
the whiskey mash ferments for five days.
As yeast consumes the sugars
in each whiskey's unique grain blend,
it releases alcohol as a byproduct.
When the whiskey mash's alcohol content reaches 10%
to 20%, the yeast dies off
and it's ready to distill.
[dramatic music playing]
welcome back. Now it's where the river
meets the road.
Time to run your mash.
You all are on equal grounds here,
no thumper, no frills.
The winner of this challenge gets first pick
of still pots.
We need your best jar of liquor on our table
that best represents your region you chose.
You got three hours, your time starts now.
I'm looking forward to this.
It's gonna be great.
[digger] curtis, how do you feel about
your mash, buddy?
[curtis sighs] nervous.
Do you like the way it tastes?
Mmm, I think so.
I sense a little element of doubt.
[curtis] well, let's just say the corn was left
on the grill a little too long.
Oh, okay. We feel you.
I knew I had some issues with my scorching of the mash.
If I was at home and scorched it,
I would have pitched it, but I think
I can overcome that.
All righty.
[digger] chris, uh, how are you feeling
about your mash?
I kinda like it.
I like that little rye notes in the end.
Rye is a very spicy grain.
And it don't require a lot, usually.
I noticed you put a lot of water into the pot there.
I want to water it down so that when I'm done
with the distillation,
I don't wanna be too thick where it'll scorch.
Good idea.
I'm excited about this.
This whiskey tour around the world
are all three different.
Light it up.
Boom, that's fire. I like it.
We need the heat on.
It's getting kinda chilly in here.
[digger] yeah, 'bout to freeze to death.
[chris] what temperature you at, 180?
[lorna] yeah.
[curtis] what about you, chris?
Same, 180.
I'm thinking I need to turn mine down.
I'm only at 165.
We're gonna see some good liquor, guys.
Two hours left.
We got liquor, folks.
[chris] I could [indistinct] a little bit now.
We're gonna be down to the wire, I bet.
[curtis] damn it.
There's a little bit of scorch in there.
When you burn something, it's bad.
[curtis] hmm.
[lorna] look at you go.
[curtis] yeah. I know,
but there's a little bit of scorch in there.
I'm hoping it doesn't come through, but it's still...
Ugh.
[lorna] it'll be all right.
They're running with the simplest operation
they can get right here.
-[tim] yeah. -[mark] there's nothing
to clean it up with?
No. I think you're all right.
[curtis] I smell it.
-I smell corn. -I smell scorch.
You got an hour and a half left.
Anticipation.
[curtis] and honestly with the next
three to five minutes, you're gonna start dripping.
[lorna] it's painful to watch it this much.
We're working in a commercial setting.
You have a little more room for error.
Just running on this smaller still doesn't translate
over exactly like you think it will.
So this is a very humbling experience.
What you doing there?
[chris] I just wanted to dedicate this run
to my grandma, yoshi.
That's so cool. I forgot my crystal.
It hasn't steered me wrong yet.
There it is.
Yes.
[chris] how's it smell?
Boozy.
All of these whiskeys,
they're all different in style.
So I don't expect any of the jars
to taste the same.
No.
[chris] see, it should be coming.
There it goes.
[curtis] bazinga.
-[sighs] -[lorna] good, good, good.
[mark] big curtis.
[curtis] yes, sir.
How are you feeling on about your run?
A lot better than I started.
I think I'm happy with jar four.
This is gonna get that nose together.
All right.
Now, lorna and chris both had official good
luck charms. Did you...
-[curtis] mmm-hmm. -Feel the need
or are you standing on your own merits?
I'm just gonna stand on the blue grass.
Okay.
Thirty minutes, y'all.
[lorna] damn it.
You got to be able to innovate,
overcome, and work with what you've got.
[curtis] my run was smooth.
I knew I had some issues with my scorching of the mash,
but I tried my best to save it.
I think this one is gonna do it, fellas.
Well, that's a pretty clear jar.
[curtis] hopefully I do kentucky proud.
What I'm bringing to the table tastes
similar to a rye whiskey, but that with the wheat
whiskey smoothness and the firmness of the malt.
So I think I might have an edge
because of the uniqueness of the spirit.
All right. Japanese whiskey.
Lornadoo, we're about to see if this juju works.
I'm not used to doing the shake test.
That aspect of proofing experience.
It's a little tough to gage.
Ultimately, I feel really good,
but I'm definitely curious to see what the judges
are gonna say.
The feedback is huge.
I've got a really good feeling about this.
Good luck.
[tim] big curtis, kentucky-style whiskey.
Nice, clear, pretty jar, real clear.
That's about the perfect b there.
That's 100, at least, or north of.
Well, he realizes it. He burnt his mash.
I give a little bit for that.
Lesson number one evil is the scorch.
-And I... -Yeah.
I got it in the first-hand.
Real fain on the corn. It's smooth.
If he knows the use of little charcoal,
he could very well polish it up
and bring that sweet corn forward flavor we need
in a kentucky-style whiskey.
Now, we'll see.
Okay. We got chris' japanese whiskey.
Nice clear jar, looked pretty.
[digger] mmm-hmm.
[tim] shake test.
Seventy-five sell for eighty.
Smells good.
Looks kinda great though.
I can smell some dryness of a... Of a wheat.
You know sometimes japanese whiskeys have that.
It's a good flavor of a thing.
Less alcohol in it.
[chris] I don't drink their stripping run.
-Yeah. Same. -You know, you just ran it
all the way through, get all the alcohol into the mash.
-[lorna] yeah. -And then when we do
the spirit run then we do our cuts.
Let's try ms. Lorna's scotch.
And she's got a little bit of thing in there.
[tim] let's see what we got.
Maybe 75?
Seventy or lower.
-[tim] yeah. -[mark] ooh, smoky,
smoky, smoky.
It's got scorches.
I know.
Has got it right or almost.
Wrong proof.
I think I'm gonna do a lot more blending
on the next run.
At this point, I don't say that curtis is anymore
handicapped than the other two.
[tim] yeah. This got alcohol.
These here got flavored water.
They got to get approved way up.
-[lorna] good luck. -May the best brewers win.
And do great. I'm very excited.
Welcome back.
It was a pretty tough decision we had to make.
Upside ideas, nobody goes home.
This is just a pick and order which you will get
to go to the still house and pick your part.
Curtis, great clear jar.
A little bit smoky.
Some of that came out of your mash.
It's overcomable.
The proof is exactly what we'd expect
from kentucky-style whiskey.
Good job curtis.
Thank you.
[tim] chris, you're perfect on your taste profile.
Thank you.
I can taste the dryness from all your grains
you put in.
Just like a japanese whiskey.
When you see a flavor like that, usually, it's low proof.
It'd sell for 80.
Lorna, you got to taste profile
and that it did smell like a scotch whiskey,
but you didn't distil your proof fine.
Yeah.
It has some cloudiness which is a usual.
Seventy or lower proof.
Chris, lorna both of you are lacking on proof.
I'm pretty sure I need to warn,
you all have worked without a hydrometer before.
It's a huge learning curve but you can do it.
See, everybody in his flag has something
they've got to overcome.
The way it stands now, chris you're number one
and still has.
Curtis you're number two.
And you're number three lorna.
[tim] tickle.
How's it going, fellas?
All right.
These are whiskeys of the world.
[tickle] okay.
And they need some additional items to make
their proof higher and to clean up the spirits.
All right. Y'all come on with me.
You all here to pick your still parts.
You're gonna have five minutes in there.
Chris you're gonna be up first.
Starting now.
[chris] I'm gonna go back with the pot still.
Because with the pot still you can keep
your full flavors.
This sounds like he mean business.
-All business. -Yeah.
You got two and a half minutes.
I just wanted to keep that flavor true
and then just increase the proof.
Four, three, two, one.
-Okay. -[curtis] all right. What you got there?
Curtis, you got five minutes.
Is there a room for you and the stills
in there, curtis?
Uh, barely.
I feel confident.
I might be able get what I need.
Another competitors need to proof up.
And I need just to drip off slide flavor of the jar.
Fifteen seconds.
Oh, there's some parts in there
you've never seen before?
-[curtis] um, a lot. -A lot of them.
Just put them all together. Three, two, one.
All right.
-That was rough. -Okay, lorna.
You've got five minutes. Let me know
if you need to bring anything out,
I will open the door for you.
All right. She's already bringing it out.
I'm a little worried about being third, picking my parts.
They all then leave me anything.
[steven] four and a half minutes.
Get all kinds of stuff,
maybe a good bargaining chip for you.
[lorna] I'm coming out.
I didn't have a lot to work with.
[curtis] you got a lot of bargaining chip.
[steven] y'all grab your stuff and come out.
This is where it really gets fun.
[dramatic music playing]
[digger] welcome back, guys.
This pretty much redemption run for y'all.
You got one hour to get your distiller assembled
and the fashion that it will produce liquor.
You got one hour starting now.
Good luck, guys.
[curtis] you wanna do some slopping, lorna?
It's a quick thing.
I don't have a lot to work with there.
[curtis] I'm doing one without the shotgun.
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] it's all-out world war
as three international whiskeys
battle for backwoods bragging rights.
[digger] we got kentucky bourbon,
japanese-style whiskey,
and we got the scottish peated whiskey.
[curtis] wanna do some slopping, lorna?
-It's a quick thing. -[lorna] yeah,
I'm gonna need condenser.
[curtis] all right. Right behind you, chris,
-right behind you. -We're good.
Let's go.
All right. You're gonna make this happen.
You need help?
[digger] you guys good over there?
You have everything you need.
Knowing how to put it together is another thing.
Essentially it's a setup.
-[laughter] -ten minutes, guys.
I'm looking at enough pots
to build five stills and they put the simplest,
-smallest thing together. -Yeah.
I'm sticking with what I know,
a really basic small pot still.
Well, looks like activity has ceased.
Y'all are where you wanna be?
I think I'm all right.
I'mma stop now before I over-engineer it.
Now comes the time we put them rascals to work
to see if they're gonna do what y'all want them to do.
After this round,
one of you guys is going home.
You got four hours. Bring us your best jar
of your particular style of whiskey to our table.
And your time starts now.
Good luck, y'all.
[tense music playing]
it's getting lit.
I noticed curtis packed his [indistinct]
with copper mesh.
That could be good, that could be bad.
Could get rid all of the flavor.
How much copper mash did you put in?
[curtis] the whole daggone roll.
[tim] pretty good move on your part there, curtis.
[curtis] I'm hoping I can scrub
some of that char flavor off in there.
If not, charcoal's my backup.
Yeah, you know, that's what your jar of liquor
looks like if you run it over and you doesn't cling.
[curtis] I'll have to just walk out.
[laughs]
[tense music playing]
[tim] I see you brought your juju back.
[lorna] oh, yeah.
[digger] you feel you're in a good place right now?
I feel good.
I definitely want it to be good proof.
Eighty proof or is that a hundred and ten proof?
Looking about ninety-five to a hundred.
I wanted the smoke to come through
but I'm gonna be even more precise with my cuts,
now I'm collecting it and blending it back in.
I know that proof is in there,
I know what was in those jars,
and I know I'll be able to bring it up.
Curtis is getting ready to start dripping here
in just a few minutes.
[curtis] there it is. I'm...
I just want it to be the best drop,
-not the first drop. -[lorna] there it is.
Finally.
Chris? Looks like you're ready to start making liquor.
-[chris] it should be coming. -[lorna] there it is.
Yay.
I feel pretty good. I want full flavor,
buttery to the palate.
And when I sip it, I want it to stay.
Your taste profile was very rich.
[chris] I wanna keep that.
That's why I chose to go with the pot still again.
I think you got a good setup.
[chris] the judges said that my taste was very good
but my proof was low.
I just wanna keep that flavor and just increase the proof.
Guys, you got two hours.
They're all teamed in pretty good.
They into the, uh, concentration of the mix here.
Uh-oh, hold on a minute.
Clean up.
-Mmm-hmm. -Okay.
Oh, no, this is my first batch.
-Oh, yeah. -Whoo,
that's a world of difference.
You got one hour and five minutes left.
[curtis] there you go, that's the proof you're looking for.
Yeah.
This space in less than two seconds.
Curtis is spot-on.
He knows how to look at his bead and tell what he's got.
I'm used to proofing it down with a hydrometer.
We don't do the shake test, so this is really tough.
It's pretty high proof.
Just remember,
it's gotta be higher than last time.
Concern on your face tells me
that blending is not your job.
I do some, but not a whole lot.
This is pressure 'cause somebody's going somewhere.
[digger] and not to the next round.
[tim] I see you looking at that pitcher, chris.
What would grandma do?
Drink it. [laughing]
I'm happy, I have no complaints
except for the scorch. I am done.
But I'm hoping that I can pull out
just a little bit farther ahead.
Kentucky-style whiskey.
Gentlemen, that is the best I can do for the moment.
All right. Sounds good enough for us.
-[mark] bringing it in, chris? -Yes, sir.
[digger] japanese whiskey.
-It tastes pretty good. -All righty.
-This is it. -[mark] scotch.
-Lorna doone, once again. -Good luck, lorna.
Thank you.
[mark] well, at least they clear.
-How are we feeling? -Right now,
I'm kind of like the calm before the storm.
My stomach's in four or five different knots.
[tim] I wanna taste chris' japanese whiskey.
-I mean... -Look at that.
Low proof, guys.
You know, proof in the mid-80s,
is what you're looking for in this style,
and he's not far off.
That's a good wheat-y liquor.
And you really want those grains to come
to the front when it comes to japanese style.
He's done that.
Plus, it got a little fruity taste to it.
But he doesn't have to proof that.
He could redeem that easy with just
a little splash of some high proof liquor.
Proofing with that jar, that's a skill.
-Right. -Like, oh, my god.
I think I wanna go on then to lorna.
You want a little drink of scotch.
Well, it's another good... Pretty jar.
I can't get a bead out of it.
[digger] that be in the neighborhood of 80.
This was definitely challenging as far as,
you know, getting the flavor, getting the proof,
getting what I wanted in one jar.
At work, I'd... I don't have to do that.
Yeah, and that's that smoky peated...
-Yeah. -Smell.
That tastes just like scotch.
It's got the flavor, and it's got the note,
but there's very little alcohol in it.
Mick, curtis.
Another good clear jar.
Once again, curtis is spot on with his proof
with that kentucky-style whiskey.
Curtis knows what he's doing.
He just suffered an unfortunate accident
where he scorched that mash.
With that chars, it's...
It takes skill to recover from that.
But I think the charcoal cleaned it up a little bit.
We'll see what the judges think.
We've all scorched mash.
It's just... I can't get past the scorch.
-Are we all in agreement? -I'm good.
-I am. -All right.
-We know who's going home. -I think we all did good.
-Cheers. -Good luck, y'all.
[glass clinks]
[tense music playing]
[digger] all right, guys. Welcome back.
It was a pretty tough work on your judges,
you see right there.
Curtis, you know exactly what you did
from the minute you built your mash.
-Yes, sir. -If you had been at the house,
you'd have turned that out
and run on another run of mash.
Unfortunately, you didn't pull that scorch out of there.
But all in all, you did a damn fine job.
-Thank you. -Chris,
your flavor base stayed the same all the way through.
Your skills of distilling are spot-on.
You got flavor, just lacking alcohol.
Lorna, your smoky peat is coming through tremendously.
It's on the nose and it's in the taste also.
-Except you're a little lower. -Oh.
Guys, I reckon it comes the time
that we gotta swing that axe.
It comes the time when we gotta swing that axe.
Unfortunately, curtis.
That jar there bought your ticket home, old buddy.
-I am so sorry. -Things happen.
[digger] and just so you know, we've all scorched mash.
I gotta commend you.
Not one time during this process,
did you lay any excuses anywhere.
You did what you come to do and made a damn fine showing.
In the big scheme of things,
it makes you the man that you are, sir.
First and foremost, you're a good distiller
but you're a gentleman more so.
Thank you.
The comments from the judges got me a little emotional
just knowing that I am good at my craft.
Unfortunately, I just picked the wrong day to slip up.
Thank you, curtis. Good luck, my friend.
I left a little early but I still feel good.
I'll be back bigger and better.
Oh, that sucks.
Well, guys, this is what's going to divide the both of you,
how you choose to age your liquor.
You can use what's provided for you,
three different types of chips and cubes.
You can use what you brought from home.
You wanna rapid age your jar as closest
to your style whiskey you are making.
Scottish and japanese.
[narrator] both scotch and japanese whiskey
must be barrel-aged for a minimum of three years.
But in the world of the backwoods,
rapid-aging is used to speed up the process.
Instead of putting the whiskey
into charred oak barrels,
charred oak chips are placed into the whiskey itself.
As the whiskey soaks into the oak chips,
the caramelized sugars in the wood impart sweetness,
and the carbon in the charred wood
filters out tannins and sulfites.
The effect is similar to barrel-aging,
but in just 24 hours,
the result is a matured whiskey
with the smooth mellow flavor and a rich brown color.
[digger] and you can use
everything that you've run so far.
In addition, you both got to improve
a little bit on your proof.
Somewhere in your boxes over there,
you've got the jar to boost that octane,
you just need to get there and hunt it.
Get that rapid aging and tomorrow
you'll get 30 more minutes to strain it off,
adjust it if you need to and turn it in.
You got 30 minutes,
your time starts now.
Get busy.
[digger] you know, I hope these guys realize
how finicky these chips can be.
[tim] yeah.
I see chris got a bag of tricks over here.
[mark] yeah, he come in with his own stuff.
And I think lorna did, too.
I'm used to aging my whiskeys longer so it's really smooth,
then proofing it down with a hydrometer.
Again, the proof was a little low,
so I have to make some adjustments
and it's all a new playing field for me,
but it's good.
Oh.
You think he can get any more in there?
For his sake, I hope not.
He knows what he's doing.
I have toasted oak and charred oak,
so I made one with oak cubes,
one with charred cubes,
and one with half and half.
-Hey. -[tim] oh, you came
to get you some more.
-Oh, yeah. -Careful.
All of our aging at the distillery
is done in barrels so we have months
to let that whiskey sit in those barrels.
As far as my proofing goes,
I know it's there in my box and I know I can do it.
[mark] is them's the chips
that you brought with you that you put in there,
-any particular kind? -American white oak.
My favorite type of wood to age with.
I'm doing a majority of that medium toast cube
and then adding in a little bit of heavy toast as well.
[tim] look at chris, man,
you see that top he put on there?
-Are you done? -I'm done.
-You're done? -I'll filter it tomorrow.
That was lightning-fast time.
It's my good luck charm right there.
Now, we just hope for the best. Thank you.
-It'll be fine. -Yeah.
We'll take care of it.
We won't let tim bother them.
Yeah.
Ten minutes, guys.
I don't know if I have the proof.
Twenty-four hours can make a huge difference.
That's very true. I feel really nervous.
I hope that that proof is in there.
That's it.
-You all in, all done? -[lorna] I'm all in.
-Good luck to you. -Thank you.
Good luck.
Well, I dearly hope somebody found a little more
higher proof liquor in their boxes.
[upbeat music playing]
it's the last stage right here, guys,
and it's going to be such a difficult situation.
We have brought a man in that when he walks in the room,
we start looking like crap,
tim jones.
I've had a few whiskeys in my life
so I'm looking forward to it.
[narrator] kentucky native tim jones
is a whiskey connoisseur who works
with some of the biggest names in the business,
giving him access to the rarest
and most coveted whiskey labels in the country.
Sadly, one of you are going home today
and another one will be crowned master distiller.
We expect your best on this table in 30 minutes.
We want a clean japanese style whiskey from you, chris.
Lorna, we want a beautiful peated scottish style whiskey.
Your time starts now.
Good luck, y'all.
You know, tim, they're both very talented distillers
but they're used to working with technology.
Yeah.
And they're doing it just plain,
simple backwoods traditional way here
and it's a learning curve for them. For sure.
[tim] she's making a whiskey that's scotch-like
and he's making more of japanese style whiskey.
And we just look for flavor profiles
that squarely hit what those should be.
Right.
-Hello. -Hey.
[tim] how did you handle the aging?
I did some medium toast cubes
and then just a little bit of heavily toasted cubes.
So, I feel like it gave it a good balance.
On the nose and on the palate, I'm already tasting
a lot of the things I would expect.
Well, you get that smoke coming through.
You really do. Nice smoked peat flavor.
[lorna] yeah. Yeah.
We'll see about the final product.
-See... We'll see, yeah. -All right.
Chris, I noticed you've got a good variety
of your color on your aging.
Was that different wood chips
or a different amount of wood chips?
[chris] it's actually char number four.
-Okay. -And then toasted number four.
-[tim] okay. -So, I went one and one
but just different proof.
[tim] it's great. It makes sense.
Well, it's definitely very interesting on the nose.
Thank you.
It's very sweet, too.
It's going to be interesting when you add some oak to it.
-Yeah. -I look forward to it.
-Thank you. -Guys,
you're down to five minutes.
The cubes really sort of...
It gave it a nice oakiness to it
that wasn't overpowering and some nice,
warm, toasty flavors that I wanted.
All right. I hope the proof is there.
Bring it on in.
-Thank you all. -Good luck, lorna.
What do you think about that, chris?
-[laughing] -I'm praying 92 and 95,
because the flavor of my whiskey
is really complex and then with the oak aging,
it gave it just a little smoke to it
and was kind of magic.
Oh, here goes.
-Good luck, my friend. -[tim] good luck, chris.
We got our work cut out for us, gentlemen.
Fortunate for us, we got the expert.
I was just thinking on the scotches
and the japanese whiskies unlike bourbon.
Bourbon has a big barrel oak finish, you know,
big influence from oak.
These don't necessarily have to have that.
-Right. -[tim] you know,
they're using used barrels
in scotches and japanese whiskies,
so if they're lighter on the oak,
that's fine, let the distillate shine through,
get some of those grain notes...
-Yeah. -That'd be great, too.
Yeah. Neither of those have to use a new charred barrel.
-[tim] no, no. -Right?
So they don't have to dance with oak flavor.
Right. And I'm, kind of, hoping they're not,
-you know. -Yeah.
We got our work cut out for us, gentlemen.
Fortunate for us, we got the expert.
-Right. -Pressure's on, big'un.
I'll pick one. If it's world of whiskey,
we're gonna taste these
and we're gonna have one that's our favorite.
I mean, these are spirits of nations, so it's, like,
you still gotta judge it
against what they should taste like.
-Right. -Yeah.
We've laughed about it,
we've been in the same boat start to finish.
That's right.
Flavors, they're low in proof.
So, I think we both had a challenge
and I think we've pulled it off.
-I was happy with mine. -Yeah.
-You wanna try chris first? -[tim] why not?
I mean, chris has a beautiful jar.
It's a lot of improvement from what we saw in the clear.
-Really? -Yeah.
We've watched these guys built a mash bill
and distill this twice already.
This is a japanese whiskey?
-Uh-huh. -Yup.
[tense music playing]
a little buttery.
Little... Little bite.
Did not expect it to be delicate
as a japanese whiskey and it is.
-It's really nice. -He did a good job blending.
It's got a nice fruity flavor at the end.
That's about what I'd expect out of a japanese whiskey.
I think it's something you'd put on the shelf
and people would be interested in.
-[digger] oh, yeah. -It's a lot of pressure.
-Oh, yeah. It's different... -It's really stressful.
This is different wheelhouse.
I wanna put a good product in front of all the judges.
Let's try ms. Lorna's.
I think she's a little bit light of proof.
Smoky mcsmoke.
[digger] that's the way it's supposed to smell.
It smells really good.
-But I don't get any alcohol. -[tim] she's real close.
It's right in the wheelhouse of what
you would expect out of a scotch style.
She used a peated malted barley.
It's the mash bill we're tasting.
-I get all of it. -It carried through very well.
It's there, but it's pretty one-sided.
She brought flavor, she just failed to bring the alcohol.
[tim] that's a good way to put it.
I'm surprised how much fruity flavor
that I'm getting out of chris'.
Yeah. Well, I think that's a testament
to all the different grains he's using.
Japanese whiskey does have some flexibility
in what they can and can't do.
She's working with one grain, the peated malted barley.
There's different scotches and different regions
over there and some are really, really smoky
or peaty, and some are a little bit more mellow,
and she's, kind of, hit it right in the middle.
So, it's... I think it's tough.
At this point, it's in their hands and...
-Mmm-hmm. -I can't wait to find out.
[tense music playing]
welcome back, guys.
We've done a considerable amount of deliberation here.
Let me say it first off.
Chris, great flavor with the different grains
that you use bringing all those flavors
to where they carry through front to back,
-was very impressive. -Thank you.
You also have a butter rum taste profile.
It tastes really good.
You brought your proofs up a little bit as well
which you're to be commended on.
When I tasted your distillate, it was...
It was really nice, it was very complex.
I think the oak came through and overpowered
a little bit of the distillate and we may have lost
some of the nuances but,
there's some japanese influence there
and I can taste that in that jar.
-Thank you. -Lorna,
you was goin' for the scottish take
on whiskey and the smoky peat, it's there.
You did a really good job at that.
I'm real impressed by that more than anything.
That flavor, it's front to back.
You nailed the flavor profile.
Thank you.
You oaked it and aged it really well.
You know, your scottish heritage,
I don't think anybody would be disappointed
in what you brought today,
-so you should be proud. -Thank you.
But it definitely fallen short on the proof.
Good job to both of you, guys.
Very unique flavors, altogether different spectrum.
You're both very passionate about what you do.
Unfortunately, this is end of the road for one of you.
Chris, you are the next master distiller, my friend.
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
Now, my title is master distiller.
Keep up what you're doing.
That's a really nice badge to have on my shoulder.
[applause]
I tried my best, and that's all you can do,
and chris just did a little bit better.
Lorna, you're doing this at your age,
you got all the time in the world.
-Yeah. A lot to learn. -Yeah.
But you're a way ahead of the game,
-your family is proud of you. -Yeah.
-That's right. -Congratulations, chris.
And I know your grandmother is proud of you.
I think she's dancing in heaven.
-Pressure's off now, guys. -Yeah.
-Oh, yeah. -Great job.
Thank you very much.
Grandma yoshi would be really happy
that I've accomplished this.
It's great, right?
[tim] and you go celebrate now.
Oh, yeah.