The SWEETEST Ingredients for Moonshine
It’s a breakfast of champions. We got some donuts over here. Then we got buckwheat pancakes. I did just add my blueberries. I was wondering what was floating on the top. I saw. Then we got a sweet pea bloody mary. Damn. It makes breakfast worth getting up for, don’t it? Makes you want to get out of bed.
Yeah. Yeah. May make you want to get back in bed. Yeah. Yeah. After he does. We need to bust on some nuts, don’t we? I’ve been itching to bust nut. Hazelnut rum. It’s one of our most sought after recipes. Might as well get all that goodness out of there. Nutbased spirits has been around for a long, long time.
JCO, tell us all about it. You know, people started drinking nutbased drinks in ancient times. The ancient Kelts, they would use it in pagan rituals and even as a health ton. Roman soldiers brought that tradition back to Rome with them from Britain. Medieval monks started using it as medicine.
And soon distillers from all over Europe were adding regional nuts to their liquors. Hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachios. In the 1970s, bartenders discovered how great these spirits were in cocktails, and the market for them exploded. They’ve stayed popular ever since. And sipping this, I can see why. Nutty. Wishing all luck.
This competition, it’s going to be nuts. Mark, I’m glad you said that. Not me. Yeah, I know. Timmy, it’s time for y’all build your mash. You got one hour and your time starts now. Good luck, guys. When you’re making any nutbased spirit, as many nuts as there are, and way to do it, your imagination’s the limit. Well, there’s millions of combinations.
We know all too well if you eat anything over a handful of nuts, you’re busting yourself to death with a little hammer. 30 minutes, y’all. That’s all three of them going in different directions, ain’t they? Yeah. Lots of different nuts. Hello, Amanda. How are you? You know, Mark and I both love a good hazelnut run.
So, that’s a good thing and it can be a bad thing cuz we’re going to be a When you said that, I was said, “Oh, boy. So much more nervous, but I’ll do my best.” Winning and losing ain’t the whole thing here. It’s learning some stuff. I’m probably newer to this game than like everybody here. I’m probably like the newest newbie, but I am like a total nerd.
So, I read and I read and I read and I read. Well, if you see anything you think we need to know, you call it our attention. Okay. Yes, sir. All right. Good luck. Thank you, Jonathan. How about that Hawaii mashup you got going on? What I got in here is a couple of different molts. I got two row molted barley, some crystal malt, and then threw in some vanilla bean.
We got the kabooi nuts as well. Well, carry on, brother, and good luck. Thanks, sir. Frank, you going to make liquor or you going to make peacon pies? Little bit of both. That boy. At least it tastes like peon pie when I’m done with it. It’s a recipe that I developed the way I was taught. You’d have to sell a quart of this for $80 to make ends meet after you use all that honey.
It sells really good though. Good deal. Well, carry on, Frank. Good luck. Thank you, sir. Guys, you’re down to 10 minutes. Better be putting buttons on all this. We don’t need any scaldings here. One minute, y’all. Thanks. Appreciate it. No problem. Five, four, 3, two, one. You’re done.
Step away from your barrels. Your mash’s going to sit here for 5 days. Ready or not, it’s got to be run. Good luck to all of you. Thank you very much. Welcome back, guys. Today’s y’all’s run, your signature run, your mash. Hopefully, it’s worked off. Pennsylvania hazelnut, some Hawaiian kouit, and some Texas pecans.
We want some of the best tasting nutbased spirit we’ve ever witnessed. You all have the same basic steel setup here. Yeah, this is about as simple a setup as it gets. The winner of this round gets first choice in the steel house to pick parts. Your four hours starts now. Pretty well count on if it tastes all right, it smells all right, it’s going to make liquor and it’s going to make pretty good liquor.
You’re in good shape. Oh, my mash didn’t make nothing. It didn’t work off the way it should have. I was really worried with the amount of alcohol my mash produced. Not the most amount of alcohol and not the greatest proof. What happened? I I think it could have been yeast that I used. Very well. Maybe. I accounted more for warmer weather yeast and the nights down here dropped down into the 70s.
Okay. No, we’re not in Hawaii. I’m hoping that I can still pull out good tasting 100proof liquor. See what happens. Frank, how you feel about your mash, buddy? It’s starting to go bitter. There’s some alcohol in it. I think I’ll be able to be all right. I am very happy with the mash. I’m feeling great.
Well, if it comes out right, it’d be like drinking a slice of grandma’s pecan pie. Amanda, you feel all right about your mash? I do. I think it tastes good. Has some good alcohol in there. It’s kind of mild. It’s not really really hazelnut. Heavy nutty flavor. Hazelnut’s almost like a subtle flavor and you have to really work with it to bring it out.
I’m hoping just to like predominantly let the hazelnut shine. Folks, y’all got three hours left. Where you at? 190 189. All right, we got liquor running over here, guys. All right, Frank, you got heads running over here. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, you’re already running the filter in yours. Oh, yeah. Always filter with something.
Put some of those roasted pecans. My filter with a little bit of charred oak. Figured it give it just a little more flavor. I mean, it’s a lot like the 11 herbs and spices. You’re on to something, Frank. Watch your water, Frank. Look like it’s already been aged. Too bad I can’t hand that in cuz that is pretty. And we’re off.
I am right behind you. You’re in it. Yes. Oo, that does smell nutty. I couldn’t smell it in the mash. It’s coming out. Oh, yeah. Getting into the heads. Running the pace I’m running. I’m going to need three more hours. Mine’s getting higher now. Now you realize those steel pots have got a hook in the I know. I saw that.
Now, the nuts are really interesting to work with because over time they impart more flavors, butteriness. They become more complex and nutty. Have you got it hooked inside? Yes. Definitely a challenge to work with. Should be good. Okay. Thank you, sir. But it’s rewarding end result. Well, what flavors you plan on pulling out of that? There’s a little bit of vanilla in the bag and KO nib for smoothness and fermented hazelnuts.
It’ll even raise my ABV a little bit and grab on to a little bit of those flavors as it comes out. That’s what I’m hoping for. be awful to make damn hazelnut liquor come out tasting like cantaloupe, wouldn’t it? That would be awful. 1 hour left, guys. Didn’t produce as much as I thought or I hoped I would. I’ll be lucky.
Like jar jar and a halfish. Yeah, we’re not judging quantity. We want quality. Of course, the more you can get, I’m sure that’ll help you for your next challenge. You didn’t use all your mash. I still got about a gallon and a half now. I think I’m going to save some. I’m saving some for my thumper. Yeah, that’s what that’s what all that’s going is into the thumper.
Guys, you got 30 minutes left. Damn. Trying to run through some tails. Your flavor is in the tails. Man’s got a a line of jaws over there. Yep. She’s making finite cuts. I’m just about done. Frank, good looking jars. Thank you. I was able to get a good run out of See, I ended up with six jars.
We going to put you through it. Something fierce. You know the deal. You boys been here before. Y’all competed. Y’all winners. We’re going to build a little family recipe. Your recipe. You’re well aware of the fact that liquor store shelves are full of moonshine these days. There are some that you can’t get off those shelves.
There’s some that just has to come from a jar from the back woods. Pass down recipes from generation to generation and each generation improves somewhat. So that’s your challenge today. Show us that recipe that the regular normal people never get to taste. Everybody’s fixing to see it. Now, y’all going to get bragging rights that you kicked everybody else’s asses if you happen to win.
But on top of that, you get this little trophy, put on your mantle as a reminder that you kicked everybody’s ass. It’ be all right. It’s a little bootleger truck with a keg in the back of it. Man, I’d love to have that little thing on my mantle above my fireplace. No fighting between you two. No more broke bones.
You’ve done enough this month. You got one hour to get this mash built. Five days to ferment it and then we’ll see y’all back here. You 1 hour starts now. Good luck, boys. Oh, hell. Mike, put that bucket of kerosene in there. I hope that ain’t white, guys. Let’s get a little fire in it. Yes, Lord. I recently broke my foot.
So, I’m sitting here with a freaking purple foot right now. My doctor told me not to come. He told me to keep my foot elevated and keep it on ice. And I’m back out here at work doing what I do. Are you having fun yet? Oh, yeah. Glad to be here. Moonshiner Josh, I’m from Columbus, North Carolina. All right, y’all. It’s already rolling.
I was always fascinated with moonshine. I really think it’s just something that came natural to me. It’s just in my DNA. My uncle Amos Amos Owens was one of the most famous moonshiners in North Carolina history. And that does add a lot of extra pressure because you got the family name to uphold. Tell me what you working with.
I brought some creek water from back home. I know makes good moonshine. Yeah, I am here to make a family recipe. I brought some white corn, yellow corn, corn malt. Do you have a name for it? No, this is just a family recipe that I was taught to do and I just added a grain or two to it.
I went and dug up a bunch of sassifras which is where root beer came from. So, it’s just a root beer moonshine. Good shot. Thank you. I’m here to win. All right, Dan. What’s going on? What you working with over here? You got a whole lot of buckets here. Yellow corn, molded barley, and mild dry.
And I put just a little cold water in here on top of it at first because I found if you pour hot water in it, it just pile up like a softball. It’ll keep it from doing that. It’s just a Tennessee recipe that’s uh been passed down to me. I am Daniel Mayor. I’m from Seville, Tennessee. Yeah. As a kid, I always had a real big interest in moonshine and distilling.
It means a hell of a lot to me to be able to make the same mash that a friend of mine’s great grandpa made. His name is Gre Sutton and that it was his dad’s recipe. I love to keep this art and heritage alive because that’s what it is. It’s art and heritage. Oh, Ludy. Today, I’m making traditional four grain liquor.
Old-times back when they used to make this, they would use cattle brand. Instead of using cattle brand, I always use raisin brand. The raisins actually work as a yeast nutrient, which produces more alcohol. I hope that it turns out as good as it did for me in the past. All right, good luck with that. It’s an honor to get to compete with two competitors that are pretty stiff competition, but now you know Mike.
Michael’s no dummy. He knows what he’s doing. I worked side by side with him for a long time, but we used to be partners. It seems to me like you just dump me off and take somebody else. I had to bring somebody in here to help me finish this. I mean, I’ve got money to make, too. We no longer work together, and I feel that he done me wrong, and I don’t hate him. I just don’t trust him no more.
I believe it’s a loyalty issue, you know, that’s been breached. You got to be professional, and I can get along with the devil. Hey, mate. What do you say, Tam? What you doing now? I’ve got my water here heating up. I always put a little cool water in my grain.
Stir it up to where it won’t ball up when the hot water Daniel. Yeah, pretty much. We used to work together. So, we do a lot the same way. You put yeast in his. Did you put a yeast in? I didn’t do I don’t never do that to mine to start off with. Do you have a name for it? Just call it Mayor Creek. That’s strange cuz his last name is Mayor, but it’s actually a place called Mayor Creek.
Okay. Good luck. Yes, sir. Thank you, brother. I’m Moonshiner Mike. I’ve been up here in Tennessee for about 15 years now. And I’m from South Mississippi. I’ve been distilling and tampering with Moonshine since I was about 16 years old. And I plan on doing it to the day I’m dead. The way moonshine started in my family was from my great great grandmother.
She actually taught her husband how to make moonshine. And my grandmother is the one who passed down the recipes to me. All right, that ought to be enough to try to prove down. My great great grandmother was from Maynard Creek, Mississippi. So, the name of my family recipe is going to be Mayor Creek and rye.
This recipe is over a 100 years old. You always got to wait on your shoulders when you’re doing what comes from home. You want to make it right. Ah, damn. That’s fine. Got a lot of pecan trees in Mississippi and Louisiana. So, I put a spin of pecan smoked rye. My grandfather, my grandmother, they would want me to put in a little something new without screwing it up.
Smoked rye smells so good. All of them’s going to be great. I know that. I see a hard decision in our future, but we shouldn’t have to taste no bad liquor. I might regret this. Y’all boys watch out. What are you going to do? What the hell, Josh? You’re going to burn your hand up. Oh, you all right? I wasn’t waiting all day on that damn bucket.
One minute, boys. Y’all better stir fast. Is that all? Yes, sir. Buddy boy. Three, two, one. Step away, boys. Y’all are done. Woo! Chase on out and get you a little rest. We’ll see you in some 5 days. All righty. Looking forward to it. Family recipe. You made what you’ve been taught to run.
Now it’s time to see which one of you going to win this race. Now Josh, you’ll notice we put you a little something extra over there, boss. We didn’t have a for real wheelchair. Well, that’s a chair with wheels. Damn it, man. I did what I could do, man. Let’s get this show on the road. I want some liquor.
Whoever’s got the best jar gets pick of steel parts. You know what you got, boys? Four hours. Your time starts now. Good luck, boys. Hopefully your mash worked off. Ready to run. Yes, sir, buddy. And I still working off, but it ain’t done. My heart sank when I looked into my mash barrel cuz it ain’t ready. Now, I’m a purist.
I like white liquor and I like age liquor. But if you’re going to be in this business, you got to know what sells. We’re talking about sipping cream. Sipping creams are the rage right now. They out sell anything in any distillery. I’m telling you, people love them. Digger sipping cream even beat Tim Smith’s liquor in the very first competition that we three had.
Y’all voted for what you like. And I reckon everybody liked cherry sipping cream. Congratulations, my brother. Well, that’s ancient history. So y’all guys, you brought your own corn mash and it’s ready to run. Yeah. All right. You guys are going out to the farm stand. Get your ingredients to make your flavor base.
The winner of this run gets first pick of the cream for your final challenge. Mhm. Tickle. What we got here today, Jim? Well, we got three champions here. Three champions. Three champions. And they need to go to the farm stand and get some ingredients to make some sipping cream. I can tell you this.
It’s going to take one of these champions right here to make a good sipping cream. That stuff ain’t easy. Y’all fellas, come on with me. Good luck, fellas. While the term sipping cream is fairly new, cream laors have been around for decades. Back in the 70s, Irish distillers wanted to make a sweet, lowerproof whiskey drink for a wider market, and Irish cream was born.
Whiskey snobs said they were crazy, but people love the stuff. And now there are over 200 brands of cream laores. All right, fellas. I promise you our judges want a sipping cream. They need a knife and a fork to drink. All right. Now, y’all know we’re here to get your pantry pick for your flavors for your sipping cream.
Now, we’re going to have three minutes in there, but to tell y’all’s order on going in, we’re going to draw straws. All right. Longest straw goes first. Shortest straw goes last. And in no particular order, which one would you like, Daniel? He’ll give me that. Give you that one. Josh, which one would you like? All right, Richard.
Okay, now which one of them’s long? Hey, give me my straw back. You got me. Our order is going to be Josh, Richard, and then Daniel. The short straw. All right, Josh. You got three minutes. Your time starts now. Well, you ain’t got it three minutes. I’d hurry up. All right. Look, Josh, you got all kinds of stuff in there.
Look, Josh, there’s some pomegranate right under. I don’t even know how to spell it, but I’m pretty sure you’re sure it’s good stuff. You know what you remind me of? Remember when you was playing little league? They’d holler that whole time. Swing. Bada ba batter. You remember that? My name is Josh Owens. I was born in Columbus, North Carolina.
I’ve had a fascination for moonshine in general, making it, drinking it, being around it most of my life. I think it runs so deep in my veins, I just did it. I’d probably kill somebody. I’m not like your traditional guy. I’m like the mad scientist. I’m pouring this and pouring that. I’m going to say that right there.
It’s probably about a 100 proof. Being up against stiff competition means you better have your game on. Throw a handful of nuts in there. something. Josh, I mean, one minute left. You got me so flustered. I can’t all kinds of liquid stuff, Josh. Let me just You do realize you make it hard to even think straight.
Okay. Yeah, I do. That’s my job. You got to do something with it. Your time is running out. I really don’t know a whole lot about sipper creams other than they’re pretty popular right now and that I’m fixing to try my hand at it. 5 seconds. Four. Three. If you want it, you better hold on to it.
Your time’s up. Oh, well, what did you do? I don’t know what I did. I got me some oranges. All right, Richard, you got three minutes and it starts now. I’m going to start walking. It ain’t going to take me long. My name is Richard Landry and I’m from New Iberia, Louisiana. First time I came here, I was a contestant for Master Pastilla and I actually won.
This is that stuff right here. My dad never did this. My grandfather never did this. His grandfathers never did it. I’m starting my own legacy here. And it’s truly important that I do this the right way. These whole pineapples over there. That’s what I would use. Richard, I want to do something different with sipping cream. I need some citrus.
You need some citrus. I’m not scared to do something that nobody else wants to do. All right. Look, these nuts over yonder. That make a good crunchy sipping cream. All right. I just need to be embarrassed about that. He makes it hard to think. Are you done? I’m done. Okay, two and a half minutes left.
Rich, that will have to be one of the fastest pantry picks I believe I’ve ever seen. Daniel. Yes, sir. I promise you they left you all kinds of stuff in there. And your time is going to start. Don’t go nowhere yet. I ain’t told you. Now, here’s your straw. I’m Daniel Mayor from Seville, Tennessee.
This one here now, I’m liking what I’m seeing. Oh, yeah. This mice right here is ready to run. I’ve been actually making liquor since I was about 16, 17 years old. I started out carrying corn and sugar for two older friends of mine. That sound right there is music to my ears. One of them said, “If you keep up with the interest that you’ve got, I’m eventually going to show you how to how to make this match.
” It’s high shots. Them bubbles is leaving fast. I said, “I already know how to make your mash. Who you think’s been making it for the last two years?” Everybody else has chosen for their sipping cream. All right. Big jug of peach cider. Mix some of that root beer with it. I promise you it’ll be good. You know, you know what I’m doing.
Nothing I like better than peach root beer. I’m tuning you out. Well, you got two minutes left. Tune that out. Get one of them cans that ain’t got no label on it. the dent side of it. All right. Be a good surprise. You know, moonshine is moonshine and corn liquor is corn liquor, but uh you know, there’s a whole lot of people that say this sipping cream is real good stuff.
You got a minute and a half left. That’s all I need. I love peaches. Then I found honey. And I thought honey peach flavored sipping cream would be real good. So, uh I’m just trying to make the best flavor of sipping and cream that I can make. Hopefully the judges like it. I believe we’re good.
God dog, you got you shopping. All right, let’s grab y’all’s baskets and head on in. All right, I I want to see what kind of sipping cream y’all come up with. You know them things going to be good, right? Should be. I hope so. Honey liquor. That’s what you’re here to do for us. If you look around, you see there just two of you.
That’s for a reason. Honey is finicky. Hard to get to ferment. It’s hard to get flavor out of. The Backwoods liquor world is a very tight-knit community. produce a bad jar, people talk about that. But if you produce something really special, folks talk about that, too. Casey, your father’s known all over Texas for producing the best honey shine, and we understand that you’ve put your own spin on it.
Troy, we’ve heard for years about a backwoods, Missouri liquor man that made a wonderful honey shine. You’re that man. I can’t wait to see what you two bring to the table. What you got at stakes, your bragging rights, and a limited run of your signature liquor at a major distillery. So, I’m not surprised that both of y’all are veterans because honey is a risky base to make liquor.
You know, both of y’all have been trained to work under stressful conditions and take calculated risks. That said, people have been making liquor out of honey since the beginning of time. Tickle, lay some of that honey history on us. Fermented honey beverages were drunk in India some 4,000 years ago. Ancient Greeks called it ambrosia, and it was believed to be the drink of the gods.
The Kelts and Anglo-Saxons drank meat out of cow horns, goblets, and I kid you not, even the skulls of their enemies. And they thought that it gave them magical powers. I know when I get deep in a jar, I got magical powers. Different honeys produce vastly different flavors, and it takes a very skillful distiller to be able to pull those flavors through and still produce a high proof yet smooth jar of liquid.
Unless you have your own hives like I do, the expense isn’t always worth the risk. Good raw honey can go for as much as $200 a gallon. If you mess your run up, you’re out a lot of money. But now, if you get it right, you can sell that liquor for a premium. Whoever ran this got it just right. It’s the bee’s knees.
All right, guys. We got 1 hour to build you mash. Got 5 days to ferment. Then we’re going to get back here and run it and see what you can do with it. Come with me. We’re going to go make a little mash. All right, guys. You know what’s ahead of you. You’re all recipes. You’ve got your dad. You’ve got your own.
goes back to your grandfather and we want to see it. You got 1 hour to build us your honeymoon shine mash. Your time starts now. Hey, Casey, can I buy your striker? Absolutely. There you go. Uh-huh. I’ll tell you, when I first started, I was in a hurry. I wanted to get that liquor. I freely admit it was horrible.
I mean, I wouldn’t have fed that to my truck for gasoline. It was that bad. My name is Troy Hollyy. I live in Bisrus, Missouri. I enlisted in the military in 1982. Worked my way to a staff sergeant, gun chief, and I ran operations for an artillery piece. So, I spent 22 glorious years in the in the artillery and had a great time doing it.
Little old honey liquor right there. What started my interest in distilling? It’s a family heritage. My mom’s family, they were coal miners and you didn’t make a lot of money back in those days, so they had to start moonshining to make ends meet. First spirit I made was oldfashioned corn liquor. You know, that’s what my grandparents did, and that’s the foundation behind any good moonshiner.
So, it’s hot. Winning Master Distiller would be one of the greatest highlights of my life. And I’m hoping my grandpa is going, “You’re doing it right, kid.” Where did you get your recipe from? My daddy, of course. He’s been doing it about 20 years. Daddy daughter. I like it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Daddy daughter.
My name is Casey and I’m from Houston, Texas. I was in the military for about 6 years. I was a combat medic while I was in the army. Did a deployment Iraq, Kuwait. I’m very proud that I served my country and I’m very proud of what I did for my country. 205 kick it up 190. 190. All right.
I’ve been doing this about 10 years. My dad’s been doing it about 20 years. I started when I got out of the military. I was having a hard time holding down a job, you know, suffering from PTSD. And my dad showed me this still. He’s like, “That’s a still. I make I make roomshine.” He walked me through the whole steps and, you know, I did a couple of runs and and I was hooked from there. I see it steaming right there.
Running liquor pretty much saved my life. There’s nothing better than somebody taking a drink and saying, “Hey, let me have another one.” That makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something and that makes me feel like I have a purpose again. Oh, there we go. Yeah, Doc, you did your time in the box. I did. Worth every second of it, too.
There’s folks like you that did what you did that brought brought a lot of guys home. Doc pull s 30 minutes guys still got plenty of time. What you going for? I am using orange blossom honey. Honey is very finicky. If you use too much honey it overtakes it. So when you make it you have to pay attention to the detail of what you’re doing with it.
You honeys they’re good and there’s a time and a place for them like that. But if something like this I want something to pop. I want that to give you a kiss on the front. Get that honey and that nutty. But on the back, you got that peachy apricot. That Oh yeah. Little kiss. Little honey kiss. The mash bill is just peaches. My apricot.
A little bit of vanilla bean and roasted peacons. Apricots have that wonderful effervescence to them. Okay. They work well with peaches. That’s coming right along. I’m always It’s going to be great. I already know that. Okay. I’ve got great ingredients. I know what I’m doing. That’s what I’m talking about.
Oh yeah. I got my recipe from my daddy, but I put my own twist on it. It’s going to be a honey mash. You got the sweet corn, you got the spicy rye, you got the kind of the drier barley, and I put cherries in mine as well. I got a story behind my honey. My honey lady told me George Washington brought over the tallow tree for two reasons.
Shade and honey. The honey brings a really good flavor because you have a natural sweetness without that refined taste to it. Honey’s a lot more clean. Casey, you got you a solid game plan. I’m just waiting for my water to start boiling. I really don’t want to put anything on an open flame.
I don’t want to take the chance of scorching it. Once everything gets heating up, then I’m going to start dissolving my grains, dissolving my honey, and then just let it cook for as long as I can. That’s what I tell folks. Honey is finicky. It’ll leave you out in the cold before you know it. Carry on, Casey, and good luck.
Thank you, sir. Troy, how you doing, sir? It looks like you’re making some sort of pie. Tell me about what you’re doing here. Put my peacons in, my peaches in there, my apricots. This is a honey I’ve used multiple times. I swear by it. Orange blossom honey. It’s deep. It’s rich. It’s got flavor for days.
Good deal. Well, we’re looking forward to tasting all of them. All right, Troy. Good luck. I’m going to move on. Thank you, sir. That’s perfect. That’s exactly what I’m looking for right there. All right, Ben, welcome to Master Distiller. We’re going to find out the end of this competition which one of you all truly is the master distiller out of your flight.
If you win, you’re going to get your bragging rights and you’ll also get a limited run of your liquor at a major distillery. It’s a pretty big deal. Good as gold. We’re going to make a little breakfast influence liquor. That’ll make breakfast good all day long. You know, when you think about it, whiskey is made from cereal to begin with.
So, it was just a matter of time before folks branched out from there. So, Backwoods Distillers and Legal Distilleries, they taking the love of breakfast and they distilling it. Tickle, tell us all about it. They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Whether that’s true or not, America loves breakfast.
We have breakfast for breakfast. We love brunch. Then you got my personal favorite, breakfast for dinner. Liquor makers are paying attention. From bacon washed vodka to maple whiskey, breakfast flavors are a growing market. Distilleries and home distillers are coming up with their own take on breakfast spirits. Using mashes made with cereals and baked goods, and even infusing with breakfast flavors after distillation.
Now, that’s the best part of waking up. You guys have all brought your own special mash recipe. I’m really excited to see what you guys bring to the competition. All right, guys. Time’s come to build that signature mash. You have 1 hour to put your mash together. If you look around, we don’t have anything around here to make any mash with because we’re going outside old school. Come with me.
Breakfast liquor. Yeah. Sound like something tickle would do. All right guys, we’re outside old school. Build us your best mash in 1 hour. Your 1 hour starts now. Good luck, guys. Fire in the hole. There we go. Just got to cook this corn. Got a whole bakery over there. And dude, I am.
Man, it smells good from here. Yeah, tastes good, too. My name is Steve Townley. I am from Golden, Colorado. I’ve been distilling about 2 and 1/2 years. I do about 20 to 30 batches a year. So, there’s always something fermenting in my basement. You love this part, don’t you guys? Because, you know, parts are going to fall on the floor and your doggies get tweets.
I love the process from the mash to the fermentation to the stealing and the flavoring. So, I’m a jack of all trades. I’ve done some crazy stuff. I’ve made a moonshine. I have some Halloween candy, a pumpkin beer, my handy dandy drill. Winning a title master distiller would be just a game changer. I hopefully get a career in the distiller world.
Anybody want a donut? It’s never too many donuts. I know, right? My specialty, believe it or not, is my doughnut moonshine. That is breakfast. Get in there. The key ingredient is donuts. So, I try to stick to the um the neutral ones, more like the glaze, maybe the devil’s food. My favorite, believe it or not, donut to use is like the sprinkles.
That’s where you get the flavor. Stephen, Mr. Digger, how are we doing, sir? Well, I’m still above ground. How about you? Hey, living the dream, my friend. Tell me about this bash bill. Well, it’s donuts from one of my local bakeries at home in Colorado. It’s got some brown sugar in it, some cane sugar, some sugar in the raw.
Uh-huh. And I’m going to top it all off with a little oats. Cool. If you like donuts, you’re going to Hey, you can’t beat donuts. Who doesn’t like a good donut? Somebody don’t like donuts. I don’t like them. Still cold, too. Got to get some steam rolling off. Yeah, dude. I’m going to scorch my corn where they say the watch pot never boils.
My name is Brian Hamner. I’m from Gardener, Maine. And this is where we get all our malt from. Big ass silo. I’m the head distiller at Main Craft Distilling in Portland, Maine. I run the entire production side of the distillery. We age all our stuff minimum of 3 years. I’ve made 700 gallons of whiskey and then I’ve made numerous other spirits, gins to vodkas, rum, single malt Highland style whiskey.
So, I’m very confident in my distilling. I’ve never produced a spirit that I didn’t like. This is how we stoke our fires here. Why work harder when you can work smarter? I put out a lot of bottles that are on the shelves, but none of them with my name on it. So, it’ll be really nice to have a spirit and with my name on it.
And they’re going to call me master at my work. Brian. Hey, how’s it going, Digger? Oh, I’m still going. How about you? I’m doing all right. Just trying to cook this corn down. Tell me about your grain, Bill. So, it’s got equal parts corn and molted barley. Buckwheat. I put roasted and raw buckwheat in there.
So, what I’m going for is a buckwheat pancake flavor with blueberries and a bit of maple syrup at the end. Well, good luck. I’m gonna move on down the line to How’s it going, brother? How are you, man? Trying to get this water heat up as fast as I can. My name is Arasmo Woods. I’m from Beville, Texas.
This bad boy right here, I call this my copper Cadillac. I learned how to make moonshine a long time ago, back in my late teens, working in farm fields. kind of hung out with country people and started doing some country things. All we do is open the top, fill our chamber. I realized I had a talent for it. I’ve been distilling now for about 20 years and I actually started making breakfast style spirits about a year ago and it was cuz you know you wake up the next day from drinking, you know, it’s the hair of the dog kind of thing and they
want something that got a good taste to it but still makes them feel a little better. That’s really smooth for 140. Well, tell me about your mash meal. We got 60 lbs of raw cane sugar. So, we’re going to start off with a silver rum. Yeah. Then I’m going to make a sweet pea rum. And then we’re going to make some good sweet peas. Bloody Mary.
We’re talking about Bloody Marys. You’re my wheelhouse. Ain’t nothing better to scab over with. That’s for sure. Hair of the dog. Yeah, boy. The Sweet Pea Bloody Mary. It’s definitely unique and anybody that’s ever tried it has told me it’s memorable. There’s so much dramatic difference here.
I mean, it’s going to be a tough contest. Y’all better have your A game on. I didn’t bring no B game. A boy. If I win, it would definitely be some good bragging rights. And we’re going to plan on opening a distillery in Fort Worth, Texas. It’s a breakfast of champions. We got some donuts over here. Then we got buckwheat pancakes.
I did just add my blueberries. I was wondering what was floating on the top. I saw. Then we got a sweet pea bloody mary. Damn. It takes breakfast worth getting up for, don’t it? Makes you want to get out of bed. Yeah. Yeah. May make you want to get back in bed. Yeah. Yeah. After he does.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Master Distiller again. Three Masters of the Craft. That’s what we’ve got here. The end of this competition. One of y’all get your bragging rights and something a little special for your manel. We’re going to see what true masters of the craft can bring us in the spring variety.
You know, as the weather thaws and winter turns into spring, that’s a sure sign of shine season. You know, it’s always easier to go outside. There’s more for us to choose from. We don’t have to depend on dry grains or cold storage apples. Distillers have always welcomed the springtime. Diggle, tell us all about it.
The coming of spring means one thing to a backwood shiner. More variety and more money. Spring is traditionally the time when backwood shiners begin to ramp up their production with grains and fruit both being plentiful. During the winter months, distillers have to rely on cold stored grains and fruits to tide them over.
And cold stored fruits don’t make near as much liquor. With warmer weather, you get fresh berries and grains. And everybody knows that seasonal liquors fetch higher prices. Limited edition. All right, guys. We got a guy here knows a little bit about spring alcohol. Even though there’s been some bad blood between us, our guest judge is a master at using fresh ingredients and building some good quality liquor out of it.
Mikey, I love everything springtime, man. From ramps, strawberries, dewberries, the whole nine yards. We’ve asked y’all to bring your base mash in here. You’re going to run that and afterwards you’re going to go to the farm stand to pick your ingredients to enhance your spring recipe.
I cannot wait to see what you guys can bring to the table with this one. All right, guys. Y’all ought to know the drill by now. 3 hours. It’s all you going to have. Bring us a jar of spring liquor up here that’s going to make us forget all about that long hard winter. We got that. Yes, sir. All right. 3 hours. Your time starts now. Good luck and get with it, guys.
Get busy, guys. Good luck, boys. Good luck. So, how’d your mash do, man? Smells pretty sour. My name is Amanda Bryant and I’m from Pocono Lake, Pennsylvania. When I first came on Master Distiller, I was actually a roofer. Since then, I have taken on the ceiling full time. It’s a good sign if the bees like it.
This is the part that I’ve been waiting for this whole time. It’s hot, but it’s really smooth. I won my first master distiller with my hazelnut light rum. I also beat Richard with a pecan pie in Thanksgiving. And Amanda, you get the little piggy. Really? Oh, thank you guys. I just want to keep winning.
And what are you going to do? Wild flowers and honey. That’s spring for sure. And I got a traditional corn mash. Keep it simple. Stick to the basics. Wild flowers and honey. When I think of spring, I think of fresh flowers, honey. Honey. So, I’m going to try to incorporate that into my spirit like a spring day.
What kind of honey is that, Amanda? It’s wildflower honey. So, this one has a lot of lavender and lilac flavor to it. I’m trying to heat it up first with a little bit of warm mash so it preps my thumper. And once I get this mash a little bit heated up, I’m going to throw some jasmine, chamomile, and the thumper.
I’m going to do everything that I can to win. How about yours, Richard? It’s pretty good. I want to drink some, but I ain’t eat nothing yet. I wouldn’t drink mine for $10. Why not? I don’t like what green beer does to you. I’m Tater. I’m a true blue through and through. Backwoods moonshiner. Born and raised in East Tennessee.
And we’ve got a long history. Moonshining and liquor around here. All three of us coming into this spring fever competition have one master distiller. I have one. Applejack master distiller. Here you go, fell tater. You’re the next master distiller. Congratulations, old buddy. So, I’m very confident in my skills of making liquor.
So, what are you making, Tater? Strawberry flavored sweet liquor. I started my strawberry brandy last week. I just took strawberries, got some cane sugar, corn, and turned her loose with some good yeast in it. I’m going to infuse it through my thumper and try to bring out a good flavor in it. Strawberries just represent spring to me.
I mean, they’re the first fruits you get here. So, I’m going to add strawberry pie filling to the thumper. You mean strawberry liquor before? Uh, time or three. You got strawberry pie filling? Yes, ma’am. I did. The canned ones are more soft. They should cook up better in the thump cake. And they do have a lot of sugar and syrup in them.
Yeah, them strawberries is going in that thumper ters. Mark Rogers always told us strawberries you had to be careful with it because it make you liquor hot because ain’t no way to get the seeds out of a strawberry. Strawberry can make a fiery liquor. It can. Woo. One of my favorite memories sitting on Granny and Papa’s porch eating strawberry homemade ice cream.
Is that what you’re going to put in your jar? Strawberry ice cream. I don’t like you letting my secrets out till it’s over with. I’m over here listening, hoping you do. My name is Richard Landry and I’m from New Iberia, Louisiana. I’ve been on Master Distiller a bunch of times. My first trip here was Cherry Pounds.
Richard, you’re the next master distiller, my friend. Congratulations, bro. I’ve done apple pie. I’ve done popcorn sutton based liquors. I’ve won some. I’ve lost some, but I’ve been up against Amanda and Tater before and I know they come here to beat me. So, I guess I come here to beat them, too. How about you, Richard? What are you bringing to the party? Pomegranates and blueberry.
Oo. So, we’re going to use this fruit in both stages. I’m going to ferment the pomegranate with the corn. And then we’re going to use it also in distillation. So, for my spring drink, I’m just going to do something healthy. Pomegranate blueberry with a cornbased mash. We’re going to do something a little bit different. I always do it different.
Pomegranates are a lot of work. But you know why they’re a lot of work, right? Cuz they’re delicious. Cuz they’re so worth it. You got to work for it. This would be awesome to win this spring competition. I mean, with this win, I can become master at spring. You burn one hour. Got two left. It’s hot.
Guess what? Got liquor. Yep. Give Bye. Yeah. Oh, you’re ripping, huh? I bet you if you smell who fat, you’ll get drunk in a bicycle. You can smell it day going right. Boy, it smells good. You better watch out. I’m hoping my strawberry pie filling should carry a strawberry flavor. Richard, how many of them pomegranates you think you’ll have to shuck out there to put in your thumper? I’m going to do three of them.
It’s a lot of work. Where does pomegranates grow, Richard? At the grocery store. Welcome to Master Distiller. Tea infused liquor. That’s what you’re going to make for us. By the time this is over, you’re going to show us which one of you all truly is the master distiller. What’s at stake here, of course, is your bragging rights.
But if you are the winner and name master distiller, you’ll get a limited run of your tea infused liquor at a major distillery. Every backwoods distiller worth their salt knows that a good sweet tea moonshine is a gold mine. And even commercial distillers like myself, we are infusion tea into our moonshine whisies, gins, vodkas out there.
Tickle, tell us all about it. Hot tea has been popular in America since colonial times. But even before the Revolutionary War, Americans were drinking spiked tea in the form of high alcohol punches. Philadelphia Fish House Punch was made with black tea. Region’s Punch was made with green tea and five different types of liquors.
During Prohibition, Americans turned to non-alcoholic iced tea, and iced tea exploded in popularity. Everything came full circle after World War II when suburban cookout culture boomed and Americans rediscovered the joy of putting a little liquor in their sweet tea. These days, tea centered spirits are trending on social media and in the liquor market.
From classic jars of sweet tea moonshine to green tea infused vodkas, distillers and drinkers alike are seeing how versatile tea can be. Ah, now that’s down home right down there. All right, guys. At the risk of sounding a little tiny bit corny, this really is my cup of tea. It’s time to build that mash. You’re going to do it the way we’ve always done it in the backwoods.
All right, guys. Come attempt myself. All right, guys. Going to mash us in some tea. And I’m going to be honest with you, that’s going to hit Tim Smith right in the crease. He cut his teeth dranking tea and moonshine liquor. And even today, I have RTD on the market. It has tea and moonshine together.
So, uh, this is your first challenge of making your infused tea spirit. You have 1 hour to finish your mash. Your time starts now. Get to work. Good luck, guys. It’s getting hot. So far, that thermometer is pretty accurate. That one I got on mine at home just it’s for looks for pretties. My name is Brad Luingberger. I’m from Salem, Indiana.
I’m originally from Kentucky. Born and bred Kentucky boy. This is my newest deal here. Then I’ve got some inspiration in here. You know, Popcorn Sutton was the true blue original moonshiner. I’ve been around moonshine about my whole life. My grandpa made liquor, my uncle made liquor, and then last 5 years or so, I’ve kind of just took what I’ve learned and started.
The first spirit that I ever made was just a regular old corn. And I got my first jar and I was so happy like I’m showing my wife, Mary, Mary, Mary. and the bottom fell out of it. Like literally the bottom fell out. But I’ve made a lot of good jars since. I think that’s good. So, if I can replicate this, we’ll have something.
So, for my liquor, I’m going to make a sweet tea sweetened with honey. And uh I think it’ll be good. I got some uh flake corn. Yes, sir. Some oats, some honey malt, and get a little sweet in it. There you go. Good luck. I’m not looking to go legal. I’m not looking to open a distillery. I’m just proud of my liquor and I want the world to know how proud I am.
Chris, have you cooked outside? Oh, yeah. I’m not in a distillery at school. I’m standing right by a river. My name is Chris Williamson and I’m from Maple Valley, Washington. I work as a project manager. I also attend college full-time for South Puget Sound Community Colleg’s brewing and distilling program and then uh making moonshine whenever I have time.
My family’s been multi-generational moonshiners for as long as I can remember and I’ve been distilling for over 20 years now. At the school I’m learning on a 250gal pot still and at home I typically have a 50gallon column system that I put together. This is my my home modular still. You’ll see in these bubble plates filling up with distillate and it’ll produce a very high proof, high quality spirit.
My experimentation with tea flavors has been a lot of trial and error. So, I’ve gone back to a grainbased corn whiskey that I’m planning on blending in with my sweet tea. So, it looks like you’ve got a pot full of a cauldron here. I got a pot full of a cauldron here, sir.
I got some cracked corn, uh, six row barley, some crystal malts for to give it some added flavor. What’s your plan for your endg game? Well, you know, I think I’m going to go for just the my tried andrue, uh, sweet tea moonshine recipe. Winning master distiller to me would be huge between family and friends and community. Bringing something like this home would I think would be huge for all of us.
All right, guys. 30 minutes in. You got 30 minutes left. It’s taking a long time. What’s your temperature at, Christine? It’s at 38 Celsius. She’s a Canadian. Let me get my calculator out here. My name is Christine Hoy. I’m from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I do work as a distillery consultant.
I started in the brewing industry and then I wanted to get into hard alcohol. So I spent over a year in Scotland making Scotch whiskey and then one in Wales and two in England. I thought the whole experience was very unique and not something that a lot of people in the world get to have. So I started making videos and the website to kind of showcase what it’s actually like working in the distilling industry.
Hey, it’s Brewbird. In this video, we’re talking about hydrometers and refratoters. I really just love the nerdy aspects of it. And if I put my hydrometer in, boop, it will start to float. For my mash bill, I’m using two row pale malt. And my secret ingredient is lyche tea. Yeah, this is my latest creation, which I made with some liteches.
Litech are from Asia. very sweet and I’m excited to introduce everyone to lite cheese. Is this the first time brewing outside? Yes, I’ve always done it legally. You got 5 minutes. 5 minutes to get your mash in your barrel. How you doing down there, Christine? Uh, not good. My conversion was really bad.
I think the temperatures are off, so I’m not sure if I’ll get enough alcohol. I wish I had brought some sugar. probably got two gallons of inverted sugar I inverted home that I’m not going to use. I am going to take you up on that. Thank you so much. Don’t beat me too bad now. I’m giving you my secret here. Oh, thank you. Oh, Brad, he’s putting in there.
He’s slopped hogs before. Okay. You ready? Mhm. Oh boy. Five 4 3 2 1 bam. You done. Welcome to Master Distiller, y’all. I don’t think I’ve ever welcomed three contestants to a sweeter contest. You’re going to take this dough and pastries over here and turn it into booze. The winner not only will get unlimited bragging rights, but you’re going to get a limited run of your spirit at Two Trees Distilling Company.
Just like liquor, everything you see on these tables over here started from grain. Grains like wheat, barley, and corn are standard components of making whiskey. Savvy distillers throughout history have discovered they can access the same fermentable ingredients faster by mashing in breads, cakes, and rolls made from cereal grains.
As early as the 16th century, Russian distillers use stale bread to make a type of vodka called bread wine. Today, rye bread is used by some novice distillers as a shortcut to making rye whiskey. But with convenience also comes a challenge. While cakes and sweet rolls contain additional sugar that yeast readily turns into alcohol, the nuts, fats, and proteins can impede fermentation and introduce off flavors, making it a true test of a distiller skill to turn complex pastries into great tasting liquor.
You got some of the finest pastries here in the world to make your mash with. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What? What? Hang on. Got a surprise for What do you mean you got surprise while you here? We’ve got three judges at the table already. I can’t let y’all do a baked liquor competition without some of the best baked goods around.
Mama, what you hollering about? How’d you get your mama here already? My mama makes some of the best carrot cakes known to man. And we serve them every day at our restaurant. Son, I didn’t know these was going to be used to make liquor. I thought y’all was going to eat them. That’s what I thought. I tell you what, mama.
We’ll sacrifice one to some liquor. We’re going to eat that other one. That’s what I’m talking about. Good to see you, Mama T. Behave yourself. Thank you, mama. Well, you know, they mashing in with my mama’s carrot cake. I I got to stay here to make sure it’s done right, you know. Well, we’ll let you sit through the mash in.
All right, guys. Time for y’all to go over to the table there and pick some sweet stuff and make that mash. Nate, you’re up first. You get two minutes. Your time starts now. Good luck. Get with it. I got to try this. Carrot cake. All right. Don’t drop that. Boy, that’s valuable stuff.
Right, Sher? I’m Nate Newh Hall from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I’m 50 years old. I’m a Bon Vivant, a lover of life, a surfing cowboy riding the wave of high vibration. Best thing I ever did in my life was become a Navy Seal. A lot of hard work, but uh the camaraderie and the friendships are worth a lifetime. Uh when I got out of the Navy Seals, I started to look for something different to do.
I kept bees, uh brewed beer, finally landed on distilling as the most romantic thing uh that I could think of. And I went whole hog into it. I built a distillery and uh we started to experiment and make products. Lo and behold, we came out with several double golds at some of the most prestigious competitions.
Probably go with some of these buns. I tell you, I think this is the coolest competition. Knowing how to distill, knowing how to read proof, knowing how to taste profile. There’s so many elements to it. I don’t even know if I can fit any more on here. Having these guys taste my spirit is a dream come true. All right. I can’t do anything else.
So, you’re in good shape. Jason, you got two minutes. Get all the goodies you want. Your 2 minutes starts now. Good luck. All right, Jason, you’re wasting a lot of time getting that basket. I mean, come on now. Working with baked goods, you have a lot of different options. Whatever you know, the flavor profile you’re looking for, you can find it in your bread.
All right, going for more regular bread. I can’t say that’s a bad idea. Definitely was going for the rye and then a few things to just sweeten it up like some donuts, cupcakes. My name is Jason Barloi. I am 45 and I am from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I am a tattoo artist. I’m a stay-at-home dad and I pride myself on creativity.
Everything about me is creative. I’m an artist. I’m a musician. I love to do anything that is artistic and that’s making liquor. I’ve been distilling for 15 plus years. So, what got me into distilling was a lot of the outlaw lifestyle. Like if it’s illegal, I’d like to do it. I’d like to make a lot of liquor.
Cream cakes. That’s about the last thing I’d want in my mast. Got to have a little bit of everything. If I win master to Steelers, I probably going to fall on the floor and cry like a baby. And that’s the honest to God’s truth. I worked really hard to get here. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.
All right, we’re good. And you finished in a minute and 10 seconds, so you’re in good shape. Last but not least, Katie, you two minute starch now. Good luck. All right, Katie, what are you going to go for? Uh, definitely not nuts. I’m choosing what I can pull sugar out of. So, something that maybe has a good starch conversion in it.
All right. Yeah. See, there you go. Now you’re wasting time. My name is Katie Black. Like the color. I am 30 years old. I currently live in Asheville, North Carolina. This is where I work. I am a brewer, wine maker, and cider maker here in Asheville, but I used to work at a distillery as well locally.
I was fortunate enough to go to a local trade college for a distillation degree. Our education went from whiskey mashes all the way through to different traditional styles around the world. There is such a beauty in taking something from one form and completely changing what it turns out to be. I would like to think that my time in the industry and my passion is what’s gotten me here.
All right, there’s donuts. All right. I hope that I can walk away with knowledge from my competitors and from the judges. But don’t get it twisted. I am definitely out to win.
