You're not used to working on such a shoestring budget.
Definitely a challenge.
[narrator] This time on Master Distiller.
See what y'all can do with $30.
We got a couple tricks up the sleeve.
[narrator] Who gets the biggest bang
for their buck?
That's good looking mash right there.
I'm pretty satisfied with it.
[narrator] Successful shiners are resourceful in hard times.
[Devone] That's what moonshine is all about.
Working with what you got.
[Faye] Sometimes, you got to be creative.
[narrator] Now, three up and comers will compete to see
who can turn $30 worth of ingredients...
That's not a lot of money.
[narrator] ...into a run of 100 proof shine
that could sell for ten times the cost.
[Tim] Bang for your buck.
They made every penny count.
[narrator] Across the country, 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.
I sure do smell the peanut butter.
If they don't taste good, at least they'll smell good.
[narrator] Now, they'll face off to earn their place
in America's liquor-making legacy.
[Nick] Oh, Lord.
[narrator] Judged by three legendary moonshiners,
they'll go head to head in a series of challenges...
The biggest struggle is to stay under $30.
[narrator] ...to determine who has what it takes...
[Nick] Hunk-a Hunk-a Burning Love.
[narrator] ...to be named Master Distiller.
[Nick] Go big or go home.
Lady and gentlemen, welcome to Master Distiller.
We're going to test your skills
and then at the end of this journey,
one of you all will be named the next Master Distiller.
That comes with a lot of bragging rights.
But the biggest thing is you'll get a limited run
of your signature liquor at Sugarlands Distilling Company.
Backwoods distillers live on the edge.
We have to balance the cost of raw goods to show a profit
to make a living.
[Mark] So, if you can source ingredients on the cheap
and successfully turn a run out of it, you've literally
turned straw into gold.
So this competition, you have $30 to source your ingredients
for your signature recipe.
We expect you to make us two gallons of shine
and present us with a full quart.
It's time to tap into that old-fashioned Appalachian Knowhow.
Tickle, tell us all about it.
We all know about supply chain issues these days,
and Americans are seeing the cost of everything go up,
from milk to propane.
Turning a profit is hard when the cost of raw materials is so high.
But that's something we've always excelled at in the backwoods.
Corn was plentiful for our ancestors,
but very difficult to bring to city markets in bulk.
You know, before paved roads and all.
Turning cheap corn into expensive, smooth liquor solved that problem
and the profits built entire communities.
From turned fruit to foraged berries,
the cheaper the ingredients in their mash bill,
the better.
Now, the more skill they put in their run,
the more they could charge for their alcohol
and the bigger their profit was.
Mmm, tastes expensive.
Guys, you're gonna have one hour to build your mash,
but you ain't gonna do it here.
We're headed out to do it in the backwoods.
Follow me and Mark.
-Come on, guys. -We'll be back, Timmy.
[Tim] All right, I'll be here waiting on you.
All right, guys.
You can make a successful run of good liquor with $30.
At the end of the day, profit margin is higher.
[Eric] But most of that money will go into making
your 30 gallons of mash for both your runs.
You got one hour.
Your one hour starts now.
Ooh.
Lookie here.
Bucket. [chuckles]
[Mark] She figures things out in the hurry.
[Eric] Problem-solving. That's what we do.
[Faye] My name is Faye Johnson.
I am 30 years old, and I live in Pittstown, New Jersey.
I'm a distiller.
I work at Bellemara Distillery.
I've been in the food and beverage industry for 15 years,
and I've been professionally distilling since 2016.
I have a bachelor's in food science,
and during my undergrad, I really fell in love
with fermentation and food microbiology,
which got me into both brewing and distilling.
My background specialty is paper basket gin
and smoked American single malt whiskey.
Not only do I make the products,
but I also help run our bar and cocktail program as well.
We're going to do gin for this one.
[Faye] At the distillery, we make all of the bar ingredients ourselves,
whether it's juicing the fresh citrus
or working with fresh fruits to create a variety of syrups.
My experience is I'm not working with traditional ingredients.
Something's always going be a little bit different.
[Faye] And you don't want any grit in your cocktail.
So, this is just like a riff on a traditional sour.
Voila, one cocktail.
[Faye] Making something that tastes good.
That in and of itself is just super rewarding for me.
Working with 100 percent barley mashes
is kind of my thing, but the budget didn't allow
me to only work with barley, so I really have to think
about how much barley I could get away with, purely just based on the budget.
I'm assuming that you're not used to working on such a shoestring budget.
[Faye] Yes.
Based on this budget, I had to find
how much two-row malted barley I could use.
So, I'll be doing two-row barley and white sugar.
I've never worked with white sugar before,
but I was able to get under budget.
-Good luck to you. -[Faye] Thank you.
[Devone] Hey, man, what you got cooking over here?
[Nick] Got a little bit of corn I grew.
That's got a real good smell to it.
You got to keep stirring it so you don't get it stuck to the pot.
[Nick] Oh, yeah. What you got over here?
[Devone] I just got water right now.
I'm gonna keep it simple.
Don't want to scorch my grains,
so I'm gonna throw that hot water on my corn.
Try to break it down the best I can, and I'll keep on rolling like that.
I'm Devone Graham.
I'm 24 years old, and I'm from Pembroke, North Carolina.
I'm a heating and air and refrigeration technician.
I've been distilling three years.
I run every chance I get, because I love it.
My heating and air background, I built my own still.
It's really a good way to keep your money down.
And I like the process of building it.
Most of us are looking for something
to progress their craft.
This is my still that I built.
We call it "The Ugly Duck."
It's ugly, but it makes good liquor.
The first spirit I ever made was a corn whiskey.
Corn-based spirit is a winner for me
because I think I've pretty much mastered it.
Where I'm from, it's a small farm town
and you got plenty of corn.
But 30 bucks doesn't get you far these days.
So I had to call in a few favors to get my corn for a good price.
What's your plan?
The plan is to keep it simple.
I'm on the budget I'm on.
Got some corn pretty cheap.
So I'm going to stick to a corn base mash, you know?
And I got a couple of tricks up my sleeve for flavor.
[Mark] All right. Good luck.
Guys, you burn half your time, 30 minutes left.
[Mark] Man, what's going on over here?
[Eric] Garlic?
[Mark] I don't know, surely it ain't...
[Nick] I'm just adding the peanut butter and honey.
My name's Nick Calo.
I'm 31 years old, and I'm from Denver, North Carolina.
It's been about four or five years that I've been making moonshine.
My grandfather settled in West Virginia's coal miner
and the coal mines would give them tokens,
but it can only be used in their general store.
So they would use what tokens they got from the coal mines
to buy their ingredients to make moonshine where they made their real money.
I think this is a good challenge for me as a moonshiner
because I'm currently renovating a house.
I got a three-month-old, so I'm living on a budget already.
I'm going to make a corn-based whiskey
with peanut butter and honey.
You know, I grow my own corn and I have honey bees on my property as well.
Oh, so it's your own honey you got from home?
[Nick] Oh, yeah.
Thirty dollars doesn't get you much.
I'm trying to stick to whatever I can grow
or whatever I can harvest.
So I pretty much put that $30 into the powdered peanut butter.
[Mark] How much money did you have to waste on a jar of powdered peanut butter?
[Nick] I was able to find 32 ounces for $10.
So, the majority of my money's in the peanut butter.
[Mark] Majority of money's in the peanut. Okay.
I'm looking forward to trying it.
Well, I admit. I've never fermented in like a bucket before.
-[Mark] Oh, no? -[Faye] No.
Guys, you got 10 minutes left.
Get this mash bill.
[Faye] Are y'all busy?
There you go, that's how you do business.
Go team. Oh, wait, sorry.
Thank you.
I love the smell of barley so much. [giggles]
[Eric] All right guys, looks like everybody's pretty well motionless.
If y'all wanna chase on out, we'll come get you
and let you check on it. Pitch your yeast.
-[Faye] Awesome. Thank you. -[Eric] Y'all head out.
Good luck.
[Eric] All right guys. Welcome.
You right here in the heart of moonshine country in East Tennessee,
a place that's near and dear to my Mark Ramsey's heart.
This is hallowed ground for our ancestors.
Moonshine Forefathers did it decades ago.
You're gonna have four hours to run your mash.
Make us some of the finest liquor you've ever made out of 30 bucks.
Your time starts... now.
Good luck.
[Nick] Devone, how do you think your mash did?
Oh, I'm pretty satisfied with it.
I think it's going to turn out pretty good.
What about you?
[Nick] Well mine don't taste sweet any more,
so I think it's good to go. How do you think yours did?
Um, I've never worked with just white sugar before in a mash.
I wanted to work with malted barley in my mash.
And in order to make that work,
I kind of had to use white sugar to meet the budget constraints.
[Eric] I believe he's got his flame figured out, ain't he?
[Mark] Yeah. Already.
-[Faye] Devone, are you already charged? -[Devone] Yeah.
I'm gonna put five gallons in there too to start heating it up.
And that little bit of time, I got time to strain the rest of my mash out.
I feel real good about my mash.
I got the corn flavor that I wanted,
and I'm still under 30 bucks to make a mash bill and flavor it,
so I'm really excited with it.
I sure do smell the peanut butter.
Smells like we're making sandwiches.
Well, if it don't taste good, at least it'll smell good.
I researched who's going to have powdered peanut butter on sale.
And I was able to find a big box store that had 32 ounces for $10,
trying to find it as cheap as possible.
[Eric] That's fire in the hole.
[Tim] He's putting a whole lot of things in the bucket there.
[Faye] I got my numbers confused, so when I heard 20 gallons, I was like,
"Oh, that's how much I need to put in."
And as I'm straining my mash, I started hearing whispers
that I might have overcharged my still.
Y'all are making me nervous.
[Mark] You put 40 gallons in a 20-gallon pot.
That's pretty good.
As long as it doesn't puke, I'll be fine.
All right ladies and gentlemen, three hours left.
[Faye] All right.
[Mark] There you go. It's lit.
What's the picture of the cat?
So that's a picture of Pizza Cat.
It was my distillery cat in Nashville,
and I had the honor of being her retirement home.
Oh, well, really?
Being able to have a picture of Pizza here with me
definitely helped to take away some of the nerves.
[Devone] You got some, Nick?
Yeah.
Nice smell of peanut butter.
[Faye] Um, y'all are trucking right along.
What temperature are you at?
I'm at a cool 84 degrees.
They got their stills to temperature way before mine.
I was the last one to get my temperature up.
That is more challenging for me than anything else right now.
I'm not used to working with this equipment,
so this feels like I'm going in blind a little bit.
[Devone] That's what moonshining is all about,
is working with what you got.
I'm not sure if I'll be able to complete the run in the allotted time.
[sighs]
I'm not sure if I'll be able to complete the run in the allotted time.
What you could do,
it wouldn't hurt probably to take out two or three gallons or so.
[Faye] Think I'm gonna take some out.
My biggest struggle is just trying to get my temperature up
because I overcharged my still.
So I am trying to get closer to 10 to 12 gallons.
So this way I can catch up to what my competitors are doing.
Should heat up a little bit faster now.
Ladies and gentlemen, you got two hours left in the run.
You're halfway home.
You think you got into your hearts yet?
[Nick] I think it's a hundred-proofer right there.
[Devone] Mind if I give it a smell?
[Nick] Yeah. Big difference between one and number four there.
[Devone] Yeah, I bet so.
You really smell of peanut butter all the way through.
[Nick] I'm glad it turned out like it did.
You know, it's my first time using powdered peanut butter.
I built my ingredients to be something innovative.
A lot of peanut butter flavored whiskeys out there.
But you don't see any of that brings
peanut butter over straight from the still.
And that's what I'm shooting for.
[Faye] Finally at 172, it's starting to feel hot.
-[Nick] It's getting there. -Oh-ooh-ooh. Ah.
I was really worried about the white sugar,
but I'm excited to see how clean
my spirit actually came out.
And that made me feel a little bit more confident,
even though I was in unfamiliar territory.
How many jars do you, um, y'all have?
I think I'll end up with eight or so.
[Nick] I think I'm about a six.
[Devone] Yeah, I think, I'm near the end.
Guys, y'all got one hour left.
Y'all about ready?
[Devone] Yeah, I'm gonna let this one run off, man,
and I think I'm done.
I'm very pleased with my alcohol.
I'm happy with the taste and the proof.
I feel like that's going to be the best jar.
I think it's going to turn out real good.
[Nick] Faye, how do you think yours did?
[Faye] It's more complex than I thought it would be, which is great.
It'll give me more to work with later.
I really hope that my flavors work,
because I just don't necessarily have the money
for different ingredients.
-[Eric] Is that one, Devone? -That's the one.
All righty, buddy. Good luck.
[Faye] Are you done, Nick?
[Devone] Yeah. Yeah, I'm shutting it down.
[Faye] It's definitely got alcohol in there.
[Eric] It's high proof, it's about 115 now.
Feel good about it, Nick?
[Nick] Feel good. It's as good as it's going to get.
[Eric] Sounds good.
All right.
I believe I'm done.
This seems about right.
I was the last one to get my water heated in the mash.
I'm now the last one to plant my jar.
So I need to be quiet and focus on my work.
[Mark] I don't think I've ever seen any blending this precise.
I mean, she's pulling it up by the CC.
[Faye] One of my jars has a higher proof,
the other has more malt character.
So if I use those together, I can get the flavor profile that I want.
[Mark] Oh, you're going to put Pizza on the jar.
Well, I'll tell you what.
Why don't you three follow us three out.
[Mark] Welcome back.
[Eric] Just bring them on up.
Three fine looking jars of liquor.
[Tim] At this point, no one is going home.
This is the only to put you in order to go to the still house.
[Eric] Y'all sit back and relax.
We're going to go taste, deliberate and we'll be back.
-[Tim] What do you think, Timmy? -A lot of stuff there.
Started out well.
Let's see what Devone is working with.
-I'll tell you what, then, it looks nice and clear. -Mm-hmm.
-Uh-huh. -Good bead.
Oh, you're working with something there.
-Mm-hmm. -[Tim] About 90?
Somebody read the memo on proofing.
[Devone] I made corn liquor.
And those guys are notorious for corn liquor.
Tim is going to be a tough cookie to crack,
so hopefully I turned in a good jar.
[Tim] And that's a good taste.
Simple corn recipe.
I think he did a good job in buying the right ingredients.
We know he don't have over $30 in it.
That's all they have.
I don't care what he put in it, that is outstanding.
It shows that he's got the backwoods moxie
to take what he's got and make something with it.
Kind of makes you worried to drink a liquor this good.
Are they going to foul it up on the next step?
I stand pat with this.
Let's try another and let's see.
Moving on.
-[Mark] Who we got here? -[Tim] We got Ms. Faye.
[Mark] And that's another clear jar.
We ain't dealing with no rookies here, are we?
-No. -A little bit higher proof.
Yeah, I'm saying she's 100, 105.
It's a... it's at a good drinking proof.
All things considered, I did pretty well,
I mean, definitely out of my comfort zone.
This is sugar and a little bit of barley.
No corn, no rye.
That's a good nose.
[Eric] It's got a really clean taste.
[Mark] You can tell on the tongue
that it's a little higher proof.
-[Tim] Yeah. -[Mark] You get that all at the back.
Really, really balanced out well with that barley.
I mean, you know, it's just a mild, earthy, slightly nutty taste.
Now, you're going to get that different taste because it's not corn.
It plays out well all the way to the end.
Big Nick's got his work cut out for him.
At least he's got a full jar.
[Mark] He does. And a clear jar.
[Tim] All right, here we go.
-Are you there? -A little low.
-A little bit lower. -I want to call it 85.
Yeah, okay.
I'm using the peanut butter powder versus creamy peanut butter that I use at home.
I don't know if that's gonna end up hurting me in the end for the flavor.
[Mark] A little air in it.
-Yeah. -[Mark] Yeah.
-It's a good nose. -[Tim] Good nose.
It's a little bland for me.
I think it needs ten more proof points.
It's peanut butter.
I can't get any of it on the nose,
but I get it on the palate.
It's not a bad drink, though.
No, it's not.
[Tim] It's real smooth, real buttery.
It's a little low on proof, but it's a fine, fine drink.
[Tim] Yeah.
I know where I'm at.
Yeah, I know where I'm at.
I agree.
Let's go back in there and break the news to them.
Come up and get your jars.
All right guys, I'm gonna tell you,
every one of you damn sure knows what to do with 30 bucks.
There ain't a jar over there I wouldn't care to put my name on.
Faye, your barley was spot on.
All in all, it was right where it was supposed to be.
You had that sugar in there that provided
that sweet, and then that barley
was in there with the good earthy, nutty tones.
Your proof is a little bit higher.
I think you all were 100, 110 maybe.
You're the highest out of the league here,
but I think you got something you can work with.
Devone, corn liquor, top to bottom, sideways,
crooked, upside down and backwards.
Very good.
[Tim] Definitely backwoods corn liquor.
I feel like you're about 95 proof.
Good job.
Big Nick.
It was a really good drink.
You fell a little short on the proof.
We all think you're right in the neighborhood
of 85 proof.
Peanut butter, honestly, I couldn't pick it up
on my nose, but I could pick it up on my palate.
It served its purpose well.
[Eric] All right, guys, it's time to rip that Band-Aid off that hairy leg.
[Eric] But here's where we stand.
Devone, you're the number one jar.
Number one in the still house.
Faye, you're number two in the still house.
Nick, you're number three in the still house.
That being said, I'm going to turn it over to Timmy
to get y'all up the road.
Tickle.
How's it going, fellas? What do we got here?
[Tim] Well, they just need a little bit of still for us to get them to the next level.
All right. Sounds good.
Y'all come on with me and we'll get y'all going.
[Tickle] All right.
We are here to get your still parts.
You're going to have three minutes in there.
That's plenty of time to get everything you know you need.
-Devone, I believe you are up first. -Yes, sir.
[Tickle] You're going to have three minutes,
and your time starts now.
All right, Devone, three minutes.
For my still pick, I'm gonna keep it simple.
I'm gonna get a pot cap, thumper, worm, find my gasket.
The thumper, I'm just using it to infuse flavor.
[Tickle] Are you finding everything you need, Devone?
-[Devone] Oh, yeah. -[Tickle] Two minutes left.
Two minutes left.
All right, here we go.
We have got a condenser.
Devone's got him a condenser out there.
Let's see what we can find.
He's a man on a mission in there.
It goes down quicker than you think it does, doesn't it?
Y'all might not have any still parts left.
All right, out, lookie yonder.
Look, he done put half his stuff together already.
All right, you've got one minute left.
All right. Devone, are you good?
[Devone] Yeah, that's it.
[Tickle] All right, Devone, if you'll take your stuff
and carry it back over there, we will give Ms. Faye a chance.
Ms. Faye, you got three minutes and your time starts now.
-[laughs] -You might wanna get your box.
[Faye] Going into the still pick
I decided to just go with this standard pot and condenser.
I think it's important for me to go with my gut
and do what I know how to do.
[Tickle] Your time is half way up.
-Got it. -All right? Oh, okay.
All right.
We have got a pot out.
All right, lookie here.
We have got a condenser and you're going to have to hurry up now, because--
Oh, Lord, are you all done?
Do you have what you need?
-Are you done? -Yes.
-Are you sure? -Yes.
All right, well, if you'll grab your box and carry it over there.
All right, Nick.
Three minutes and your time starts now.
All right.
[Nick] My strategy is get everything that's left.
I definitely want to get a thumper,
something to help bring that proof up.
[Tickle] You have got two and a half minutes left, but it ain't that long.
All right, lookie here.
He just got a thumper and a pot.
He's got his condenser.
All right. He's got the three big pots.
He just needs to connect all that together.
Oh, and he sounds like he's getting everything.
Down to one minute, Nick.
One minute.
Hey, boy, if you ain't got everything,
I don't know what else you're going to get.
All right, well, now that y'all got all of y'all's still parts,
let's grab our stuff and head on back in.
[Eric] All right guys, you'll have one hour
to successfully build a still.
Your time starts...
now.
Good luck.
Everybody's moving along like clockwork here.
-[Faye] How are you all doing? -[Devone] Doing all right.
How's your's coming?
[Faye] I think I'm done.
It looks like a still. [laughs]
Hey, are you all done, Devone?
Yeah, I believe so. I kept it pretty simple.
Most of what I would do at home.
[Eric] I think Nick that last piece he put on there,
he needs to turn up...
-[Tim] He needs to switch it, Needs to switch it. -The other way.
Yeah.
[Nick] I'm using a cap that I'm not familiar with,
and some of the parts just don't match up.
Guys, I think I'm running out of ideas.
[Devone] Nick, maybe if you put your reducer back that you have.
-Yeah. -[Devone] Put this right here.
[Nick] For Devone to jump in and help me when he saw that I was struggling, man,
it means a lot.
You know, he walks the walk.
[Devone] You want it sitting as flush in there and you can get, Nick.
He's pushing a four-inch cap into a half-inch pipe.
He can't run it hard.
[Devone] There you go.
-[Nick] All right. -[Faye] Yay!
[Eric] Well, everybody's got all their goodies together.
The time has come to make us a little liquor.
To boost the quality of flavor and the price of your liquor,
you've got what's left of your $30 budget
for your flavoring run and your finishing.
You're gonna have four hours to get us your best jar of liquor.
Now, keep in mind, in this run, somebody goes out.
Your time starts now.
Good luck, guys. Get with it.
[Nick] After this first challenge,
judges told me I have low proof
and just a hint of peanut butter.
So, I got a few steps I need to do to correct that.
[Tim] What's that?
[Eric] More Peanut butter I'd say.
[Tim] Peanut butter powder.
Secret weapon.
[Nick] First I'm going to make a second jar of peanut butter with my mash,
hopefully to bring some more of that through
and kind of change it up.
[Devone] Nick, what you making a milkshake over there, buddy?
[Nick] Peanut butter and bananas.
It's definitely difficult to infuse peanut butter and banana.
My plan is, throw the bananas and peanut butter
in the thumper to make sure that both carry over.
[Devone] I was wondering where the idea came from.
I've never seen it done.
[Nick] Well, my wife's a big Elvis fan
and we got married at Elvis's house,
so no better way to honor that.
And one of Elvis's favorites, it's peanut butter and banana.
So a little bit of Hunk-a Hunk-a Burning Love.
-[laughs] -[Eric] Oh, Lord.
Peanut butter and banana.
That's the best thing on the planet.
Here we go.
These things can be finicky.
[Devone] For this second run, I'm starting off
with a corn-based spirit along with my leftover mash.
My proof is about 95, a 100 proof.
So I'm going to infuse watermelon in my thumper
and cover up some of that corn flavor.
[Mark] Is that just watermelon puree, Devone?
[Devone] Yeah, I just grinded them up in the blender.
I went to the grocery store, bought watermelon.
Thirty bucks doesn't get you far these days.
[Faye] Oh, geez.
We burned one hour, you got three left.
[Mark] Faye, what was that you're working with there?
These are pears that are just growing on a tree in my front yard.
So trying to bring some fresh fruit
since I'll be using dehydrated spent fruit for the rest of my botanicals.
Working with fresh fruits, there's a lot of flavor
and interesting character in there.
[Nick] Hey, what you're cutting up over there, some beef jerky?
[laughs]
After making syrups for the cocktail bar
at the distillery with lemon peels
and New Jersey blueberries, New Jersey peaches,
I dehydrated it into fruit leather
instead of throwing them out.
I'm using food waste, essentially.
I figured, if I can suspend these bags,
that'll help me infuse everything
without anything burning.
Yeah. Is that your thumper, Devone?
Yeah. It's doing the thump keg boogie.
[Faye laughs]
I believe I got liquor coming.
[Faye] Whoa, whoa, whoa. Look at you go.
[Devone] Getting a fruity smell coming out there.
[Faye] Sometimes you got to be creative.
[Nick] Oh, wow.
[Faye] Riding the still low and slow
to give my botanicals time to macerate in the alcohol.
Faye, have you started warming your pot any or...
[Faye] I finally figured out how to turn it on on my own. [laughs]
[Devone] About to get there, Nick?
[Nick] Springing a leak.
[Devone] I think you got a leak.
[Devone] You ready to rock and roll, too, you're losing vapor, son.
You tried tightening it up any?
[Nick] Uh, yeah.
I've made a mistake in the still build.
I used a cap that I'm not familiar with.
If I can't fix this, game over.
[Nick] I've made a mistake in the still build.
I used a cap that I'm not familiar with.
It's that bottom one.
I'm definitely getting nervous,
starting to second-guess myself.
But I'm gonna paste it and hope for the best.
And you've got a lot of joints in that.
[Nick] Yeah. But I brought some paste with me, just in case.
So, think it's gonna be all right.
Two hours left, guys.
Halfway home.
[Nick] Very nice.
-[Faye] Are you coming over? -[Nick] Yeah.
-[Faye] Oh, nice. -[Devone] I smell banana.
[Nick] I think you get the banana first,
and then peanut butter comes in right behind it.
Right off the bat, that's peanut butter and banana.
It's there when it wasn't there for the first run.
So, I feel like I'm already getting to where I need to be.
-[Devone] You running? -[Faye] I'm running.
[Devone] That's what I'm talking about.
[Faye] Moving slow. I'm really happy.
I'm getting all the flavors and the aromas that I would like.
I'm still retaining malt character as well.
One hour, guys.
[Devone] I'm getting ready to turn in my jar.
I'm feeling real good. I've blended it.
I'm at the proof I want, really confident
in the jar I'm about to turn in.
I believe this is the one.
[Mark] Okay.
-That's the one we're getting, huh? -Yes, sir.
That's what you're getting to taste.
Good, full clear jar.
That's what we like to see.
You can go ahead and sit back at your station.
Good luck.
[Faye] This is where my notebook comes in handy
because I'm taking sensory notes on everything.
So, I'm sort of blending things out based on
the flavor profile I'm looking for.
Time's getting slight there, guys, 30 minutes.
[Nick] All right.
Hunk-a Hunk-a Burning Love is ready.
[Eric] Bring it in here, Nick.
Pretty clear, full jar, Nick.
-Yes, sir. -[Eric] Good luck, buddy.
Thank you.
[Eric] Faye, you've got about two and a half minutes left.
Okay. Okay.
I am a little concerned that they might think
the citrus is overpowering.
I'm also pretty nervous because I know,
Devone and Nick are also handing in their bests.
[Eric] Good clear jar.
Well, you head on back there, Faye.
And we'll be back with an answer here short.
Tasting is the fun part.
The verdict's the hard part.
[Mark] Yep.
[Tim] Bang for your buck.
We're going to find out if we can make a jar look
and taste good with $30.
First one, Faye.
I won't tell you Faye's got a really clear, clean jar.
[Tim] All right, let's see here.
Maybe 90? [man] Yeah.
[Faye] I'm definitely happy with what I turned in,
but I'm nervous about what they're going to say.
Ooh... it's got some loud nose.
It tastes like gin, smells like gin.
Honestly, if it had a little juniper in there,
it'd probably be a top notch gin.
It's a good nose. Oh, really.
And that lemon essence comes in really, really good.
Then you get that fruit leather.
[Tim] No doubt she knows what she's doing.
Devone.
[Mark] Yes, sir.
Good-looking jar.
Now, he's working with some alcohol, ain't he? Yeah.
120, 110?
It's up there.
[Devone] I'm a little nervous, but if I had to do it
all over again tomorrow, I wouldn't change one minute of it.
What I put on the table is good and I'm honored this is mine.
Yes, sir.
[Tim] Yeah. That's watermelon.
[Mark] You know, same for me,
like overcooked watermelon don't smell
as good as fresh watermelon.
No.
[Tim] That is not exactly what I thought
it was gonna taste like.
[Mark] It is not nowhere near what I thought it was going to taste.
I like it.
[Eric] That you don't get a lot of watermelon on the time,
but you do get the sweet.
[Tim] Yes. It's a 120 proof.
He needs some more tales
and have to bring out flavor in it.
I agree 100% with you, Mr. Smith.
It's time for Big Nick, the Hunk-a, Hunk-a Burning Love.
I have never, ever had peanut butter
and banana moonshine.
He bought a full clean jar and a half proof jar.
I'm gonna give him 1303 proof.
[Eric] Yeah.
My jar, like I would drink it on the regular.
I'm hoping it's going to mash their taste buds as well.
It's just an honor to have these guys, like,
even taste my product, much less, you know,
give me their feedback on it.
It's definitely peanut butter.
Well, that's a mouthfeel like I've never seen before.
It's like huge poured peanut butter in your mouth.
And it's not that hot.
-[Eric] Uh-huh. -It's different.
I kind of like it.
[Eric] I'm not finding that banana hard.
No, no.
There's way too much proof in order
for any banana to come out.
[Tim] He had put a jar of his back
and said less on flavor.
It ain't unpleasant.
No, it's not unpleasant at all.
Now, what are we doing here? We eliminate one person.
-[Mark] Oh, yeah, we are. -[Eric] Yeah.
Man, I know where I'm standing.
-[Mark] I'm with y'all. -I'm riding with you, Tim.
-[Tim] All right. -Here we go.
Come up. Get your jars.
[Mark] Your challenge was bang for the buck.
And, you know, you started out with 30 bucks.
That's not a lot of money.
Very well done with what you had to work with.
We'll get right down to it. I'll start with Faye.
You said you were headed toward a limoncello,
but you made a really good gin.
Thank you.
[Mark] Faye, I love gin, but I do feel that
it's a modern American gin.
You did a good job.
Devone, corn liquor.
That's what you hit the mark with.
I love your proof.
I'm always looking 95 to 100, and I think you know
what you're doing.
But we were really expecting a big explosion of watermelon.
You know, we got it on the nose.
We just kind of missed it on the palate.
Thank you.
It's was headed in the right spot.
I just don't think it carried through the way
you would have hoped it did.
But honestly, it's a great jar of corn liquor.
Nick, surprise, surprise.
I never tasted a high proof peanut butter moonshine.
But you did a good job.
It's a nice, clean, clear jar.
You wanted the peanut butter and banana
to pay homage to Elvis.
You got halfway there. You got peanut butter.
I think if you got into your lower-proof liquor,
you might have found the bananas.
Hats off to all of you.
All of you should be proud standing here.
Really good job.
[Eric] Well, guys, you've heard everything we got to say.
So one of you has to get cut free.
And as bad as it bothers us.
Devone, that jar brought you take it home.
Awful sorry.
You'll have to hand in your jar and step on out, buddy.
I'd be honored to run a still with you any time, my friend.
-[Devone] Yes, sir. -You did good.
[Devone] It's been an honor. It was a tough competition.
You know, everybody brought something
totally different to the table.
Faye and Nick, they're both outstanding distillers.
Moonshine runs in my veins.
It pumps through my heart.
And this won't be the last time you see me.
[Eric] Another challenge coming up for you all.
Final flavoring.
To maximize that bang for your buck in the backwoods,
you got to stretch high-proof spirits
with post-distillation flavor.
And had very little money to work with.
Now, it's time to stretch that last dollar
to get the highest price for your spirit.
You got 30 minutes.
Your time starts, now.
Good luck and get with it, guys.
Well, in the name of sense,
I want you to look at the ingredients.
That table is not quite big enough.
[Faye] I have extracts that I made
from the dehydrated lemon peels
and blueberries, leftover from the distillery
because I spent most of my money in my mash.
It's just a really great way to reuse ingredients
that I already had on hand at the distillery
that were bar waste.
[Nick] My final flavoring.
I'm going to do peanut butter and banana.
I made a peanut butter simple sirup,
and I made a banana simple sirup at home,
and I brought one banana with me.
You know how to stay within that $30?
My plan is to run the liquor over the banana,
mixing the simple sirups and hopefully
put out something good.
Guys, you're halfway there, 15 minutes left.
[Nick] Faye, how's it going over there?
Oh, I'm good, Nick. How are you?
-[Nick] Going alright. -Are you filtering something?
[Nick] Yeah.
I've put some honey roasted peanuts
and bananas. [Faye] Nice
And then just pouring over some mocktails over it.
Then, I try to pull out more of the banana.
[Faye] Okay. Cool.
[Eric] Five minutes, folks.
[Faye] Feel the pressure of the clock.
-How are you doing? -[Nick] Ah, same.
I am worried I'm not going to have enough banana
in the peanut butter banana drink
just because the feedback
I got last time is they got all peanut butter
and no banana.
[Eric] Two minutes, guys.
Tightening up on you here.
Pressure's on.
[Mark] Faye's-- look at her, she's got a notebook. She has a scale.
She's meticulous.
[Mark] I wish I could be more like that.
I wish I could be more meticulous.
She's all about writing stuff...
Well, he was all about never writing nothing down.
[Tim] Well, you know, I did some research on old recipes
and the ones that were documented,
the best and clear understanding
was written about them.
Oh, I'm sure.
[Tim] It's like Faye is writing the flavor down.
She's right in the flavor.
Mmm, yeah. [laughing]
[Eric] Two minutes, guys.
Tightening up on you here.
[Nick] There was an aha moment,
and I was like, "This is what I got."
You know, it's the best it's going to get.
Finally got, you know,
just a bright little bit of surf in there.
And I was like, any more than that,
it's going to get too sweet.
Thirty seconds, guys.
[Faye] Time is flying by.
At this point, we're counting seconds.
I just need to get a garnish on it.
Get it out.
[Eric] Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five, four,
three, two seconds to spare.
-[Faye] We did it. -[Eric] All right, guys.
We'll be back as soon as we can.
Good luck to both of you.
[Eric] We're going to go get busy.
Here we go, man.
Bang for your buck.
And I mean, they made every penny count.
Nick, he had put $20 in peanut butter.
And Faye, when she was done her final flavor in here,
she'd made the extract out of leftover stuff she had...
It was scrap from the distillery,
she worked at.
The affordability as far as production,
I think, we're neck and neck here.
We're going to go with
which one's got the better flavor
and go from there.
All right, Big Nick.
It looks like lemonade.
[Mark] Looks exactly like lemonade.
We're not going to know anything
about proof out of these two.
[Eric] They don't give us no indication of proof here.
[Faye] How do you feel?
I'm hoping, they don't think mine's too sweet.
You know, I try to keep mine on high proof,
but I also wanted that flavor in there, too.
So I really don't know what they're going to say.
[Eric] I'm not getting a lot of anything.
I'm getting alcohol on though.
I'm smelling peanut butter.
[Mark] You'll taste peanut butter.
There it is. I'm getting alcohol, too.
[Mark] Oh, yeah.
Right there, my legs crawling down that jar.
There's some alcohol in it?
[Eric] There's plenty of alcohol in it.
He brought something to the table different.
I get a lot of bananas.
I'm getting a little bit, but...
[Eric] Just a hint.
But, I mean, it's a good liquor.
You know, really, I mean, you have to think about it.
How marketable is it?
-I would buy it. -[Tim] I'll tell you guys.
Peanut butter, anything whiskey.
It is one of the top sellers out there.
I like it.
Moving out.
Ms. Faye.
[Tim] I've had Limoncello, and it's really good.
But fruity Limoncello, that's a whole new game.
I feel so many different emotions right now.
I'm just glad that I was able to get everything
I needed to in the jar.
But I'm really happy with what I turned in.
Yeah, it throws you for a loop on that nose.
It's got a lot of stuff being thrown at you, and it's really different.
Yeah.
It's got plenty of alcohol, when you taste it,
breathe in through your mouth.
It's real refreshing.
It's a little bit spicy.
[Mark] It's a lot spicy.
[Tim] But it's more like a gin base.
I don't know what category to put this in.
I mean, it's got a lot of alcohol.
It's got a little bit of lemon in there,
but it's so complex.
It's got a lot of flavor.
That's marketable as a gin.
-They're both good, good drinks. -[Eric] Yeah.
We're looking at two outstanding distillers
who did a fine job
with just a little bit of money.
Both of them is marketable, but one stands above the rest.
[Eric] Let's go tell the winner.
[Eric] All right, guys.
This was a tough one.
First and foremost, taste, flavor profile.
Both you'all knocked that out of the park.
And both of you, good job on doing what you did
with the minimum money.
[Eric] Now, guys,
I'm starting with the pizza kitty.
You went from a really good jar
to a really fantastic jar.
Thank you.
That was one of the most complex flavors I've seen.
You were shooting toward a lemon fruity cello.
You also made a really nice gin.
That's kind of where we put marketability factor coming in.
Faye, I can't get a rating on the alcohol,
but I think, there's plenty in there.
Honestly, it's a very, very good drink.
Pizza cat, be proud.
[Eric] Now, Hunk-a, Hunk-a Burning Love over here.
Peanut butter with just a hint on the banana.
You were catering toward the king.
I think you made him proud.
It's a real good moonshine, peanut butter flavor.
Not really the peanut butter flavored whiskey
that I'm used to on the market.
And it seems pretty easy to recreate
because all your ingredients came off the shelf.
Faye, yours were probably various
since yours came from food waste.
But overall, good job to both of you.
[Eric] Well, we can only have one master distiller.
And Nick, you're the next master distiller, my friend.
[Faye] Congratulations.
Oh, my God, that's amazing. Congratulations.
[Nick] Just to even have these guys taste my stuff is an honor.
But for them to tell me I'm master distiller is mind blowing.
It means, you know, hopefully to be able to build a legacy
for my daughter to carry on.
Hunk-a, Hunk-a Burning Love.
[exclaims]
-[Eric] All right guys, head on out. -Thank you.
-We've still got to clean y'all's mess for you. -[chuckles]
I say, after all that, let's go get us a drink.
[Mark] All right.