Master Distiller (2019–…): Season 3, Episode 14 - Popcorn Sutton Challenge - full transcript

It's right up here
we're gonna stage.

My boy jake is gonna come
through here any minute.

He's gonna stop at that
driveway. He was there
every week.

He's put extra stuff
on the truck.

You'll know what package
you can grab,
you'll see 'em there.

You've got less than a minute.

He's gonna drop something off,

run up there, get your
package, run back.

Then we're gonna head
back to the shed.

-Sounds good.
-Remember, run.

Don't be just doddling
up through there.



-He don't wanna know
nothing about this.
-Sounds good to me.

-He's gonna get a full jar
of liquor for his absentee.
-That sounds good.

Let's fire ahead.

Here a jar of liquor will
get you to do what
a $100 bill won't.

yeah.

go, go!

Heck yes!

Nicely done!

All right. We're gonna go back
to the shed and it's gonna
be like christmas.

-All right. Let's go.
-Let's go.

across the country,
a handful of expert distillers

are heirs to a centuries
old tradition.

Some operate
on the legal side,

others practice their craft
beyond the reach of the law.



Wow!

now, three
of the best moonshiners
have reached an all-time low.

These are hard times.

-You know, we've
only got what we got.
-Turnips.

Have you ever had
sardine liquor?

judged by
a jury of their peers,

they'll go head-to-head
in an uphill battle.

and we got liquor boys!

I don't believe
it's worth a damn.

I's thinkin' 'bout pourin'
it plum out.

to overcome
backwoods moonshining
obstacles...

It's always a hard time,
even in the good times.

and create
a triumphant jar of liquor.

Wow. That's good.

come on in
and get your stations.

Here we are.

Time to get busy.

You brought your
own mash with you,

hope your brought
your pocketful
of ingenuity too,

'cause we're gonna throw
a curveball here, after
a while you're gonna love it.

Go run your signature bash,

then we're gonna do a little
something different with it.

You're gonna get your
bragging rights if you win,

but then we got a prize
that's pretty well
a rare commodity right now.

You get two dozen brand new,
never-used mason jars to
fill up with liquor.

you know, we've always
heard the hard times
makes the best shine.

Daniel, you and mike,
you both come from
a long line of liquor men

that made shine in some
of the hardest times

that this great country
of ours has ever seen.

Tickle, you've done
some hard time.

You had to learn how
to make a little liquor
in the hoosegow.

So whether you got
a bad harvest

or you got a problem
with your supply chain,

if you're gonna make
any money making liquor,

you've gotta work
what you've got.

Even if it fell off
a back of a truck.

All right, guys.
Time to dig in.
It's christmas morning.

Now, while you open it,
I would suggest

might wanna be putting
your plan together
in your head.

You can use some of it
in your thump keg

or put it in mash, do
whatever you wanna do,
that's up to you.

We just want
a tasty jar of liquor.

But, don't hear no grumbling.

Times is hard, you gotta
use what you got.

- that's scary.
- get with it.

Turnips.

Brown sugar.

An onion.

-You got an onion?
- I got an onion.

I don't know what
in the heck that is.

Caramel corn.

That almost look like
some kind of pepper jelly.

That'd be right up my alley.

I don't know what I'm
gonna do with turnips.

Hey, fellas. Have you ever
had sardine liquor?

We may have got
the wrong packages.

-man. Digger's buddy
ain't my friend.

I ain't sure what that is.

I'm steven tickle and I'm
from a little town called
danville, virginia.

Let's swap them jars out
and see what we got.

You know I've been making
liquor for a long time.

Ah!

And I fell on a lot
of hard times myself.

I've been on the top
of the mountain and I've
been down in the valley.

I've been out here running
wide open, free as a bird,

and I've been locked up
like a jailbird too.

Turn around and face me.

And that has taught me a lot.

When times get hard,
that forces you
to look around.

Really get imaginative.

All right.

And use what you got.

Hard times forces you
to do hard work.

Oh, look. I got some
cinnamon rolls.

Yeah? That's good
yeast, ain't it?

Yes, sir.

Lookee yonder.

-What did you find?
-Peanut brittle.

oh,
I'm down for that.

Whatever you got is leaking.

The tops on my radishes,

but I'll throw a little salt
on them and we'll
have a snack.

My name is mike cockrell.

I've been up here in tennessee
for about 15 years now.

And I'm from
south mississippi.

Oh, my god!

Being a moonshiner
is hard times.

They've stolen
everything I got!

$3,000 worth of damn copper.

It's gone.

Don't have nothing left.

It's really, really hard.

We're going through grain
shortages, jar shortages,
sugar shortages.

I just had to think back
to my family history.

I'm living proof
of hard times.

Fire in the hole!

The bread on the counter
wasn't always fresh.

I wasn't about to go hungry.

So I'd eat me a stale
piece of bread.

This right here is where
the magic happens.

I know how to use
what I've got.

What you got, mikey?

Pickled plum.

A plum? That might be good
something that you
can post flavor with.

-I got a jar of honey.
-Honey come in good.

What you got there,
boone? Taters.

- pineapple.
Oh, that's good.
-Ohhh.

-that's a step in
the right direction.

-What is that?
-That's some kind of jerky.

-Give it a try. See
what kind it is.
-Let's see here.

It's fine.

I'm daniel maner
from sevierville, tennessee.

Uh-oh. We ain't got no water.

There's a hell of a lot
of people that think
making moonshine is easy.

It's not that easy.

Just another setback. Just
something else to drown
the slush like today.

Not everybody can do it, but
over the years through hard
times and trial and error...

Good god!

...I think I've got it
nailed down to an art.

Boy, that thing smells
so good don't it?

And when hard times hit

that is the knowledge
that I use that drives me
and pushes me forward.

I've always said the bucket
that I carry don't
have a hole in it.

So if I pick up knowledge
or advice,

I'll remember
it to the day I
leave this world.

Well, I don't know what
we can do with all this stuff.

- I'll tell you what.
We can eat good.
- yeah.

Just so you know, if it's
something that you can't
make liquor out of,

we always like a good snack.

Well...

I had on my mind, soon as
I seen this pack of sardines

I'mma put them in thump cake,
'cause I know you'uns
is gonna taste it.

-thank you.
-Beyond tasting it,
we gotta judge it. I mean...

and you got some
strange liquor-making
ingredients.

I'd say we do.

- mr. Mike?
-Yes, sir.

What all you come
up with, our boss?

Well, I've got a can
of strawberries,
cherry hard candies...

Cherry juice is
what it smells like.

And some cherry jam.

A lot of cherry stuff.

So it looks like I'm going
cherry, strawberry, plum.

You've got a lot of good
things there for post flavor.

Stevie ray, what have
you got going on over there?

I'm gonna say this is a can
of fruit, 'cause it's got
the pull tab on it.

But I don't know.

I'll tell you that's what's
scary is 'em cans
with no labels on 'em.

Looks like it went bad
three years ago.

- oh! We got you
some peanuts!
-I got peanuts.

So now, I think I know
exactly what I'm gonna do.

What I'm thinking is...

Almonds, peanuts,
and peanut brittle,
go into the thump keg.

Maybe afterwards
a little caramel coffee,

sweetened up with some
honey, served
with a nice cinnamon roll.

And actually, I have had
your almond liquor before,

so you've got something
familiar to work with.

Them daniel is
still opening cans.

he look like he'd
been in the salvage yard

of the dumpster, back
behind the grocery store.

Mr. Maner, looks to me
like you the one

that really garnered up
all the unlabeled items.

Well, I could go
two different ways.

I've got pineapples
and pineapple juice.

And I've got apples.

I could make a fruity drink.

Or I've got bacon jerky,
and I've got tomato juice.

- ohhh.
-Tomato juice?

I'm seeing bloody mary
coming around there.

Yeah, it ain't gonna be
a bloody mary, it's gonna
be a bloody maner.

boys, you is thinking
you can work with that?

It's hard times, man.
Gonna work with what
we got and go with it.

You ain't got no choice.

all right, boys.
Good luck to you.

All right, guys. Looks
like you got some
nutritious stuff here.

You know, if you don't mix
it in with the shine,
at least you can eat it.

And all three of you really...

All of it is right, right up
your, as digger would say,
your wheel horse.

wheelhouse.

-What you wanna call it?
-House. Not wheel horse.

-it's up your wheelhouse.

You heard what's happening.
Time to make us some liquor.

Whoever wins this, gets
to steal an ingredient

from somebody else
to flavor his liquor.

Now it ain't nothing
personal, it's just business.

You gotta do what you gotta
do when times are hard.

Four hours. One
tasty jar of liquor.

Time starts...

Now.

Good luck, men.

Mmm-hmm.

Wow, *bleep*.

I formulated a plan
real quick.

I put some peanut brittle
them boiled peanuts,

and almost a whole quart
of almonds over in my thumper.

And I was gonna run
my liquor right through that.

And flavor with caramel
and coffee.

You know, you gotta
work with what you got.

Mike, you thinking sardines
would be good in thump cake?

Hell, I'd put 'em in there.

That'd be good, won't it?

parsnips over here,
you can throw
in there with 'em.

- make a hell
of a garden salad, won't it?
-Yes, it would.

If I would have had some brown
sugar, or any kind of sugar,

I could've went
with a pineapple drink

that I have made
time and time again.

But I didn't have what it took
to tie it all together.

I looked down
and seen the sardines
and the black-eyed peas

and I'm like, "there's
no way I'm putting that

in any kind of a drink
that I'm gonna make
for these guys."

I don't know what I'm making.

I'm just gonna make
liquor is all I know.

I don't know what I'm making.

I'm just gonna make
liquor is all I know.

Well, tell you what, daniel?
That sounds like
a plan to me.

That's the way I'd go.

What I've got to work
with here might not be

exactly what I'm used
to working with.

But I'm gonna take what
I got to work with here today
and give it 100%.

I'm in it to win it.

Hey, daniel?

-Go ahead.
-What have you got in your
little tiny jars over there?

-Black peppercorn?
-That's black pepper.

And this is...

Looks to me like salt,
and I would say

that's coconut milk, probably.

Give it a shot.

I don't know what
in the hell it is.

If you don't know what
it is, I recommend
you stay away from it.

- yeah.
- leave her alone.

Smell it and taste it.
I don't know what it is.

That's clam juice.
That's like what you
put in clam chowder.

-Bloody mary material.
-Bloody mary material.
Yes, sir.

I mean, I could have threw
my hands up and said,
"the hell with it, I'm done."

but no, this is hard times
and I had to make

a flavor out of what
that I had.

-I'm going to use a pineapple
base for bloody mary.
-Mmm-hmm.

That right there is good.

-That jar's a pineapple?
-Looks like it's got
pineapple in it,

but it almost tastes like them
regular hard stick
horehound candy.

Is that right?

I'm gonna put a little
of this in that thumper.

I put the jar
of pineapple/horehound jelly,

and the cherry pie filling
jelly into my thumper.

I just went with what
I thought would be good.

Get out of there.

I mean, I'm here to win
this competition.

You come in with your
bootstraps pulled up
and your jeans pulled tight.

You come in to win
the competition, I don't care
who it's against.

You wanna win. And that's
why I'm here today.

what are you a doin'?

-He's been filling this pot up
for the last 45 minutes.
-I fill mine slow.

-Yeah?
-'cause your
heads boil first...

-Yeah.
-...That way I don't
even run it through.

The method that I use
to heat my thumper up is
different than anybody else's.

I take hot mash,

and I pour it over
into my thumper.

Well, he done it without
blowing himself up.

'cause I cut that flame back.

If I had not, I'd set
my hair on fire.

I'd be missing eyebrows.

So what that did is that
heated these nuts real quick.

And it gives me a whole lot
more flavor coming out.

And there's the result
right here.

Good liquor quick.

Hard times, they really let
you know who you are.

How much strength you've got.

How low you can go,
and how high you can go.

Winning this competition,

it would really just vindicate
me for all the hard times
that I've been through

and show me that I did
come through them

just as strong
as I thought I had.

Got a little bit
of the nut smell in it.

That means it's coming
through. That's a good thing.

All right, boys. You
got two hours left.

I don't even know if I've
started thumping yet.

Wait a minute, baby.

-I'm on 175.
- well, it's
transferring steam right now.

It won't be just a minute
till it transfer alcohol.

and we got
liquor, boys!

Oh, yes, sir!

He got her going now!

I've got the methanol fumes
coming off over here.

-Swim sweet, don't it?

-uncle dano.
-What's going on, mate?

You could go
a couple of different
directions in the end.

I put the pineapple
and the apples

and a little pineapple juice
in the thumper.

And I'm gonna make
uh, like a pineapple
bloody mary. Hopefully.

All right, poot.

-Mike, man.
-What's up, mr. Ramsey?

I noticed you put
your raw mash in there

in addition to the jars
of the pie filling.

You've got a plan
for your flavor, right?

These are hard times.

You know, we only got
what we got.

-All right, boss.
-Yes sir. Thank you, man.

-Get busy.
-Yes sir.

I wanna taste this again,
but I'm worried about

burning my damn tongue up
if I keep over there on it.

Come on,
keep deviling in that.

-We're aiming
to beat you today.

don't be scared of it,
that don't burn a bit.

Yeah, I know.

-Taste it. It don't burn?
-Let me ask you,
did you taste it?

-Taste it.
- I did, watch.

taste it again, mate.
-Right here, look.

uh-huh. Yeah,
taste it again. Get you a sip.

I swear,
that don't burn a bit.

well, I ain't...
I didn't say
it weren't smooth.

But it might...
It'll kill your taste buds.

Does that burn a bit?

I believe something happened.
I believe you put water in it,

boss, there ain't
no alcohol in that.

You say it ain't? I know.
I know it ain't.

-I know it ain't.

I know that it ain't.

-let's see here.

yeah, I know, I know.

No, she's good and smooth.

I can taste the nuts starting
to come through even more.

Thirty minutes, boys.

Time for a nap.

That... Oh! Mike, mike,
mike... Uh, you, you, you...

yeah,
you'll learn that.

yeah, I'm
wide open, man.

- mmm-hmm.
- oh, lord.

did you
run one in the floor?

-Almost damn did it.
- almost.

I don't count nothing but
horseshoes and hand grenades.

You done a fine job.

Whichever one you're gonna
turn in, you might need

to get working on that.
You got 10 minutes left.

Ten minutes.

let me do
a little something here.

The method that I used
to heat my thumper up

heated these nuts
real quick instead of slowly

and it released
the oils out of them.

And what that does is it gives
me a whole lot more flavor

and I felt real good
about my straight liquor.

Gonna hand it in, y'all.

That the one?

That will be the one.

That's the jar
I like the best out of it.

I hope it's the one y'all like
the best out of it too.

All right. Good luck, boss.

Here's your
trashy jar of liquor.

Oh?

Oh, it's clear as a bell.
We'll take it.

I think I done
a pretty good job.

There's no doubt in my mind.

All right, boone,
chase on out of here.

Go out there
and rest a little bit.

We'll come get you when
we reach a decision, brother.

All right. Give us a holler.

it come
pretty quick to me,

the idea of where I wanted
to go with my drink.

So I just made
the best liquor

that I could make out of it.

good looking
jar, mike.

And you ain't got no
cloudy ones up here.

Another pretty jar.

chase on out of here.

We'll come get you
when we reach a decision.

-Good luck, mike.
- appreciate y'all.

- good looking jars,
ain't it?
- all three of them.

Yeah. We oughta get it started
if we wanna get it done.

Well, gotta get it started
we we wanna get her done.

Come on, whiskey pushers.

Well, I ain't gonna lie to ya,
I looked at both of your boxes

and said, "damn,
I wish I had that one."

-yep.

Let's start with daniel.

It's a clear jar.

It is awful clear. It looks
like it just got water in it.

yeah.

Maybe it is.

Try that 100 proof.

- yeah?
-I just hope he didn't really
put them sardines in there.

Smells like liquor.

Smells almost like
a honey molasses or something.

Don't get no sardines
in that one or anchovies.

It's good liquor.

Yeah, there's pineapple
in there on the back end.

Tastes flat and dry-like.
It's not buttery slick.

Well, no, it's got
a dry finish, but it's got
the fruit in there.

I little bit of fiery on the
back of the throat, ain't it?

- just a tiny bit.
-Not bad.

-It ain't horrible.
-It goes away pretty fast.

That pineapple and pineapple
juice helped him out a lot.

And that tasted like
some kind of brandy.

It just don't take like just
everyday, run of the mill
corn liquor.

Pretty good liquor.

If he decides to go the route
of the bloody mary,

that may be
an outstanding bloody mary.

It'd be a great backbone.

I think it'd be
good on anything.

It's good, it's good.
Daniel's done a good job.

I mean, there's no way
around it. I'm gonna have to
make a bloody mary.

I've never
tried a bloody mary.

It's something new for me.

See, and a bloody mary is
something I make all the time

and can make a dang good one.

Hard times is all about
being thankful.

And in these hard times,

I'm thankful that mike
didn't get your box, daniel.

And I'm thankful I've got
what's in my box,

'cause I can work with
fruity tooty myself.

let's try mr. Tickle.

All right, another pretty jar.

Yes it is.

That's a good bead.

yeah, it's good.
A little bit lighter.

- mid 90s?
- maybe 90.

I mean, we don't know
what kind of mash build
it had.

-No, no.
-We knew he put
a lot of nuts in it.

it, it's got
nuts in it.

It's got boiled peanuts,
it's got raw almonds.

Yeah, and that
damn peanut brittle.

Everything in my box
you'd have thought,

"well, only thing I can
do with that is eat it."

exactly right.

-Smells a lot like
daniel's did.
- and it's flat.

I mean it's
almost like back ones.

There's not... There's
no kick in it, is there?

- no.
-Yeah, I think
it's a little bland.

them damn
boiled peanuts

didn't do nothing for it.

That's where you're getting
that dryness from.

-'course they don't
have to use that jar.
-No.

You know, he up his proof.

I mean, that's got
a good taste. It's not bad.

But it don't hang out no time,
does it?

-No, no. It goes away
real quick.
-It goes away really quick.

That's one smooth drink.

-It's not a bad drink
of liquor by no means.
-Yeah.

All right,
let's move on to mikey.

that jar
of liquor is beautiful.

Usually when you see a really,
really clear jar like that,

it's high proof liquor.

- yep.
I'd put 110 on that one.
- yeah, I'm with you.

-And that's ideal.
That's what you want, now...
-You buy them big.

-Yeah.
-...If you're making
a cocktail type drink.

You know what?
He put a horehound in there.

I don't think
he ever decided.

-If it tastes like horehound,
it's probably horehound.
-Yeah.

Said it looked like pineapple,
tasted like horehound.

And I said, "well,
it's a hore-apple."

you know, this,
this hard time recipe, man,

it's started a
challenge me myself.

And I know it has you too,
you know?

But we don't quit.

We take what we got
and we gonna create
something out of it.

Very light.

Yeah. But you can tell that
he drained his liquor slow.

Yeah. It smells great.

it's got a lot
of corn flavor came through.

Whoa. That's good.

it's a little bit
high proof, but...

Just a little bit,
but now there's
no fire in that liquor.

No, you get nothing

that kicks you
in the back of the throat.

-No, that's you.
- your tonsils
come away unscathed.

And it don't finish dry.

It's got a little bit
of a sweet finish.

It's got enough backbone
you could build a cocktail

that you could use
a little bit or a whole lot

-and not hurt yourself.
-Drink it like it is.

-Right.
- that's a good
drink right there.

Well, I've often said
to be a moonshiner,

you've got to adapt
and overcome.

- you do.
-It's always a hard time

even in the good times.

-Yeah.
-It's a hard time
making liquor.

So, this one rolled right up
my alley, I'm gonna say.

I ain't gonna say
I won anything,

I'm just saying in my mind
it rolled right up my alley.

We're all
in agreement then, right?

All right, I'mma go fetch 'em.

-Okay. Easy.

don't break anything.

Eh, it's too late for that.

Welcome back, men.

You know, hard times,
they also call for
hard decisions.

That being said, we're gonna
go through the process.

Daniel, proof about spot on,
finished a little dry
toward the back.

But all in all, it's a good
drink of corn liquor.

Appreciate it.

good tasting jar.

I hate for you to have to
dilute it with something.

I'd like to just drink it
just like it is.

Let me tell you, anchovies,
sardines or not,
good jar of liquor.

Steve, you ready?

You know more about making
a nut-based liquor
than most people.

But also, there was one little
note on the back end there

that I didn't care for,
those boiled peanuts.

I think it left it
a little bit bland.

But, all in all, the proof
is just where I like it

for sipping the way it is now.

Good jar.

Tickle, I'm hoping
you're gonna go in
and make some butter-almond

or rum-almond,
something you're gonna
add to that flavor

because that almond
is coming right through.

Did you blend it with what?
Which jars?

Five, seven and eight.

Too many backings, I believe.
It left you a little flat.

You can tell
there's alcohol in there,

but I lost its personality,
I think.

Still yet,
it'd make a good drink.

Mikey, fine drink
of corn liquor.

It finished well, started well
and ended well.

I think you got
a good jar to work with,

especially when
you go to diluting it
with something else,

it's probably going
to finish at 85, 90 proof.

Great jar of liquor.

I don't know what was in
that one particular jar,

if it was pineapple
or horehound,

but it's a very good,
very smooth drink.

Thank you.

All that being said,

somebody is gonna get
to go pick

something off
their buddy's table

to make us
your flavored liquor.

-Daniel?
-Yeah.

You and tickle ain't gonna
be able to be that guy.

That's all right.

Mike is gonna come through
and snatch something
off one of y'all's tables.

I knew it.

-so I get to be the thief?
-Yes, sir.

-you know, it's almost like
he really didn't want to win

because of daniel, ain't it?

I know it. Golly.

But you know what? I think
there's something

on one of them tables
I might be able to use.

Look out, boys! Here I come.

All right, mikey, get with it.

Time for you
to go snatch something
off somebody's table.

You know,
I won the first round,

and my privilege was to be
able to take an ingredient

from either daniel or tickle.

Let me go over here and look
at daniel's table a minute.

All right.

he's gonna take
your pickled okra.

You know what?

Daniel, you've got all the
ingredients here that you need

to make a good bloody mary.

I'm gonna...
I'm gonna leave you alone.

Ah, *bleep*.

I think I'm gonna
come back over here.

I see a little something
I might need to use.

Well, that ain't good.

I bet it's gonna be
something sweet.

Hey, shut up.

You know, I've got a, a good
base going on over there

so I don't need much.

- it looks like

we've all got ingredients
to make a good drink with.

Can I chose not?

-You gotta take one.
-You gotta take one.

just take
the *bleep* onion.

you know, with hard times,
you feel soft,

you want to try to help
somebody else out.

I don't want to take something
that they really need.

Tickle? I'm gonna
take you up on that.

I'm gonna take
your damn onion.

- all right,
all right.
- deal?

All right. I love you brother.

I love you too, brother.

Mikey, a damn onion?

-Exactly right.
-You had to steal an onion?

'cause neither one of us
is gonna use an onion
in our liquor.

So, I chose to take an onion.

They didn't say
what I had to take.

But I knew
I had to take some item

off of one of the guy's
tables, so I took the onion.

Well, over there is the prize
that you're gonna get

-if that onion helps you
out to that point.

two dozen
never used mason jars.

That being said,
you gotta build us a jar

of tasty post-distilled
flavored liquor.

And we want the best you got.

Jars on the table
before one hour passes,

y'all's time starts now.
Good luck, boys.

all right.

Mmm. Let's see here.

All three of them
had good jars.

They can take these
good jars of liquor
that we loved to start with

and you never know when you go
to make some and blending
and putting flavors in it.

I mean, it may be the next
best thing in the world

and it may turn it into crap.

-Hey, mike?
-Yo.

I noticed you was eyeballing
my jar of honey.

Now I know,
hard times come about,
it draws people together.

It does. That's why I only

-took the onion from you.
- you need
some of this honey?

-I know. Do you
need some of this?

I would like to borrow
just a little bit of it.

-I just need a touch.
-I, I done used what I need.

-I appreciate you, brother.
-All I needed
was a touch of it too.

Thank you, thank you.

Going into the second round,

I just took a jar
of everything that I had,

fruit punch, cherry juice,
strawberry juice,

a little bit of cherry
hard candies, pineapple,
and some plumbs,

and I mixed it
with some brown sugar.

But, you have to be

very careful
when it comes to candies.

I just needed
a little bit of honey to
cut the cherry a little bit

because I did not want it
tasting like a cough medicine.

I don't know
for sure what daniel's
doing over there.

He got something
in his mortar and pestle.

Yeah, he's crunching up
something dry over there.

Peppercorns, I bet.

I know now why they come up
with that daggone modern stuff

to grind stuff,
'cause this is hard, boss.

That's hard times.

I need to find my cup
so I can taste.

of course you do.

People say I taste too much.

no.
Who would say something
about that to you?

- kind of like saying
I drink too much.

I never drink too much.

I drink just enough.

-'cause I stop drinking
when I've had just enough.

Now, I know for a fact, tim,
that tickle will never drink

no more than this right here
in a number nine wash tub.

-a number nine wash tub?

- yeah.
- all right.

Hey, do you think
some of that sardine juice
would be good in this?

-Probably not.
-Absolutely not.

-I'd throw it
right on in there, daniel.

when hard
times hit, you can adapt
or you can sit back and cry.

And rather than throwing in
the towel, I decided
to make a bloody mary.

I truly didn't have
all the things to make it,

but I wanted to give it a try.

When you get something
handed to you that you don't
have a clue what it is,

and then you have to
make something out of it,

that's a hell of a challenge.

Hard times, good times,
or anytime.

I'm glad I'm not
on that side of the table

and have to work with what
they have to on short notice.

It's kinda aggravating,
I'll go ahead and tell you.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Now's when your taste ability
comes into factor.

And I done burned
most of mine out, drinking.

-Who'd have thunk that?

uh-uh. No you ain't.

-Yes sir, I did.

at least you admitted it.

Hell, he can't deny it.

you'd be drinking too
if you was mixing liquor
as good as I'm mixing.

Mixing almond, a honey,
a caramel, and a coffee.

I gotta be real careful with
this coffee going in there.

-because it could overpower

and all this tastes like
is a cup of coffee.

Yeah and if you ain't careful,

we'll just have a damn
wide-awake drunk.

Exactly. Yeah, yeah,
that's all you'll have

-is wide-awake drunk. Yeah.

and you all got 30 minutes.

You got liquor
in that yet, daniel?

Or is that just
your gravy? Your mix?

Just the gravy.

You got to let me taste
that daggone bloody mary
before you turn it in.

Well, if I do any good on it,
you can applaud me,

'cause it's the first damn one
I've ever made.

-let's see
what you got there, daniel.

I don't know what this is.

-But I don't like it.

mike don't like it either.

- you don't like it?
-And I love bloody marys.

I think we're missing
a little bit on the flavor.

-Daniel.
-What?

Dump the rest of that salt
in that jar and dissolve it.

Listen to that cooking
son of a *bleep* over there.

You need more salt, at least
from my flavor palate.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- and a little bit
of that vinegar.

I'd put salt
and vinegar in it.

just shake that in.

Tell you what I'm fixing.

I'm fixing to put a shot
of pineapple juice in it.

That might help
sweeten it a little.

What's wrong with it, mike?
Is it bitter? Sour? Hot?

To me, on a bloody mary,

it's a little bit high
on the proof.

I put that much
of the number four jar in it
so it's probably 140 proof.

I meant for it to have
a little alcohol in it.

Here's one thing about it,
damn hard times

ain't done nothin' to bust up
friendships, has it?

Hell no, they ain't!

Tickle, where you at?

I'm not usin'

the same jar I turned
in to make my flavors.

And what I'm gonna say
is I'm a little high
on the proof right here.

Then I'm gonna take
a little bit
of a lower proof jar

and pour it on in there.

But I got my flavor profile
with my almonds and my peanuts
and things like that

and I'm gonna add that to it.

Okay.
All right mike,
whatchu make up?

With some fruit punch
and some pineapple
horehound jelly

and a little bit
a strawberry syrup
and stuff like that...

Okay.

...I think I may have a pretty
good drink on ice so,
pretty much ready to go.

My mom and dad had to scrape
and scrounge for everything

they could do
to put on the table
for us to eat.

And you know, today,
we only had what we had to use

so I was gonna use
every ingredient
to my advantage

to make a good drink
for people

because I know exactly
what hard times are about,
I came from hard times.

all right,
bring it up here mike.

- it's perty!
- that look like
fruit punch.

Pretty much!

if you improved
what you had earlier,
it's gonna be damn good.

Hope you guys enjoy it.

Appreciate y'all.

you may not
get that jar back.

Maybe not.

But you know
I ain't gonna lie to you,
that jar ain't full.

But it's what
I'm gonna turn in.

It don't look good
but it's what I got during
these hard times daniel.

Well, turn her in, son.

I was extremely happy
with my liquor right there

and I ain't gonna lie to ya,
that might a been my problem.

Tickle, if you can find
the door, head on out

and we'll come find you
wherever you're at
when we reach a decision.

All right then.

it gonna be a pineapple
upside down bloody mary.

Well believe it or not,
I swear to you,
you can't taste the pineapple.

All you taste is tomato.

- tomato's eatin'
it up, ain't it?
- it is.

If I woulda had celery
and, uh, celery seed

I could've tied
it together real good.

But I didn't,
all I had was salt
and black pepper

and I tried to use it
and tie it together
to the best of my ability.

But I'm not really much
of a bloody mary guy,

you know, I tasted one
at a party one time
and it was pretty good.

When I threw this one together

it didn't taste nothin'
like the one that I drank
at that party.

How you feelin'?

I don't believe
it's worth a damn.

I's thinkin' 'bout pourin'
it plum out.

-Hey tim, you notice
digger's learned a new term?
- what's that?

Curb appeal.

-Curve appeal?
- curb, curb appeal.

Good curb appeal.

Oh yeah, what's that?

I guess if somethin' attracts
your fancy settin'
beside the road, you know,

it's got curb appeal, so now
liquor's got curb appeal.

I never heard that.

I guess that's the same
as sayin' it'd look nice
on a shelf.

- okay.
-Yeah.

I like that.

That's about like I learned
the word called stoked.

I'd never heard of that
I call stokin' a fire

and they said no
"I'm stoked",
I'm like what, you hot?

Or what? And he's stoked.

Yeah, stoked to me means
you stoke your stove with a...

-Yeah, you're tryin'
to get it hot.
-Yeah.

New language. A new generation
man, they come out
with all kinds of things.

How you feelin'?

I don't believe
it's worth a damn.

I's thinkin' 'bout pourin'
it plum out.

ah,
don't pour it out.

If I done good on this one,
I done good, if I didn't,
oh well.

-It's a learning experience.
-You's workin'
with what you had.

I was.

bring
it in here, daniel!

Well, I don't like it
but maybe you'uns will.

Always remember, son,
one man's ceilin's
another man's floor.

-All right, I'm gone!
- good luck!

Let's get with it!

We ain't gonna get no drinkin'
done if we don't get started
we gotta catch up with tickle.

yeah, let's see
what tickle's workin' with.

It must have plenty
of stuff in it.

it's got him
feelin' good.

It's gotta a little cream
on top there look like.

that'll give
you somethin' to chew on.

-Don't smell a lot of it.
-No.

I'm smellin' honey.

-I taste just a little bit
of the coffee.
- yeah.

It don't overpower it,
he's scared about puttin'
too much coffee in it.

I don't think he did.

It's real, real sweet.

It's so sweet
it'll hurt your teeth.

just one thing
woulda helped him out.

If he'd asked daniel
for just a little bit
of that salt.

-Salted caramel?
- yup.

-That would have
balanced it out.
-Oh yeah!

-You know that's a big seller,
salted caramel.
-That's a big thing.

I'd almost want
to put more alcohol in it.

-I was afraid
I'd overpower my liquor.
- yup!

And then I'd a had stuff that

so high proof. Tasted
great, but you're too
high proof to drink.

Well, daniel's got some
chunks in the bottom of his.

Look like he got slices
of onion, peppers.

That's what a bloody mary
is, a salad in a glass.

I got a can of tomatoes,
tomato juice. I pretty well
knew what I had to do.

Well, it's tomato juice.

Smell a little bit of spice.

Got black pepper in it.
It's pretty good.

Daniel's initial run was
a hundred proof.

Yeah, I think he's afraid
to put much of it in that.

You taste that,
a lot of that pineapple in it.

Yeah.

That may have
smoothed it down.

But there's really
nothing pulling all them
flavors together.

He didn't have no
worcestershire sauce,

he didn't have no horseradish.

No. No hot sauce.

No hot sauce.

It's a decent bloody mary
for what he had to put in it.

All right, let's
move onto mikey.

nice cold jaw.

It looks like syrup, but
it looks like fruit punch.

Fruity nose.

I don't taste no
pineapple, but it's good.

Yeah, it's balanced.
It's got honey, cherry.

I get a little spicy
something in there
that I ain't identifying.

And I believe it got
some proof in there.

-It's got some. Yeah.
- yeah.

It's got plenty
of proof in it.

well, you look at
them legs running down
that glass there,

but, that fruit, it's
still holding up.

Oh I call mike's "wild berry."

I don't know what
I'd call it, but I call it
"baby, baby" all night long.

That's the main thing
about hard times,

being thankful for what you
got and working with it.

Exactly right, well said.

You know, they all three
done a hell of a job with
what they had to do with.

One just did
a little better job.

All right, boys. We're solid
with where we're at,
I'm gonna go fetch 'em.

Go get 'em.

all right, boys.

Time to reach a verdict.

Daniel.

Said you'd never made
a bloody mary in your life.

Never.

I believe you.

there's a few more ingredients
you probably coulda used.

Celery would have been nice.

just everything that
pulls a bloody mary together,
you really lacked.

But you got close.

Liquor was good, alcohol
content was good. Good job.

Well, that's what I was
worried about, didn't have
enough alcohol.

no, it had plenty.

For a man that never made
a bloody in his life,

you did a fine job.

Appreciate it.

Tickle, you was worried
about your coffee.

I never did find nothing
to even hint at coffee in it.

It was instant coffee. But it
was a very minute amount.

Uh, you know, that caramel...

I mean, there's caramel
all the way through.

Myself, I think it's
a little bit low of proof.

But it could trick me now.

It may have more than you
think. It tastes real sweet.

it needed just
a little bit of salt.

-That would've balanced
that sweet out...
-Salted caramel.

Maybe I should've done that.

Mikey,

I don't know what all
you put in there.

you know, you got
a lot of berry in there.

Kinda tricked me 'cause it
looks like fruit punch.
But it ain't fruit punch.

Right.

But, your fruit
didn't overpower,

you got plenty of octane
in it. You still see legs on
your shipping jar.

You had a ton of
liquor in there.

Yes, sir.

Damn fine job on your part.

I appreciate it.

This was hard times.

You made the very best
of a bad situation.

That's why you guys
are true shiners.

And I'm proud of all of ya.

-Thank you very much.
-Thank you.

Appreciate it.

All right, boys, I wanna
remind you what you got
at stake over here.

Two dozen brand new
shiny mason jars.

Them goes a long way.

You're darn right about that.

Six gallons right there.

that being said...

Cut to the chase...

Mikey,

you won the jars.

-Thank y'all.
- congratulations.

Appreciate it.

Everybody did a fine job,
somebody just did
a little bit better.

I'm very honored to
win this competition

against two people that knew
exactly what they were doing.

But I just kept rewinding my
mind back to the hard times
that I grew up in

and said, "this is what I'm
gonna do, this is what
they're gonna like."

here's a case for
you guys to split.

Might let ol' daniel
carry 'em.

-Appreciate it.
-I appreciate that, boss.

Thank y'all. It was a pleasure
competing against y'all two.

Thank y'all so much.

We're not only a brotherhood
as moonshiners,

we're a family when it
comes to these hard times.

All right, guys.

- thank y'all so much.
- see you guys later.

- appreciate it.
- great job.

Good job on all of ya.

Let's leave out, tickle.

All right, jim.

hard times. Good times.