Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week.
Belle Vernon native Jason Bartolozzi never made moonshine until he started watching Discovery Channel’s “Moonshiners: Master Distiller” when it premiered in 2011. Now Bartolozzi, 45, competes in an upcoming episode (9 p.m. Feb. 18, Discovery Channel, Max, discovery ).
Bartolozzi, who currently lives north of Pittsburgh, said the TV show inspired him to make his own still out of a 32-quart stainless steel stockpot. (Note: It is illegal to make moonshine in Pennsylvania without a limited distillery license from the commonwealth.)
“Then I bought a stainless-steel salad bowl and clamped it to the top,” Bartolozzi said. “Honestly, it looked like R2D2. I’m surprised I didn’t blow anything up with that.”
Bartolozzi said he’s not even “a big drinker” but he was inspired to create moonshine for himself because he hadn’t tasted it many times and when he had, it wasn’t very good. He ultimately found his signature creation, an orange creamsicle-flavored moonshine that he makes in his “Master Distiller” episode where he faces off against two other contestants. The winner will receive bragging rights and a limited run of their winning spirits at Two Trees Distilling Company near Asheville, N.C., where the show filmed Bartolozzi’s episode.
Bartolozzi had no plans to apply to be on “Moonshiners” until a few years ago when he was looking for opportunities to be an extra in a film or TV show filming in Pittsburgh.
“Sometimes they’re looking for bearded men and I have a sweet beard,” Bartolozzi said, although despite applying, he’s yet to receive a call to play a background extra.
That’s when he saw a “Moonshiners” call for contestants. Two years after he applied, Bartolozzi received an email from a “Moonshiners” casting producer on his late father’s birthday. After Googling to make sure the contact was legit, Bartolozzi responded and began the audition process, including a Zoom call with producers.
“I’m a big dude with a mohawk and a beard,” Bartolozzi said. “As soon as (the producer) saw my mohawk, he said, ‘That’s what sets you apart: Your look.’ ”
The first challenge in Bartolozzi’s episode gives contestants one hour to “make mash” followed by five days for that moonshine to ferment. After five days, each contestant’s creation is tested to see whose has the highest alcohol by volume. The winner gets their pick of stills for the next stage of the competition.
In the episode, Bartolozzi shows his enthusiasm early, declaring, “If I win ‘Master Distiller,’ I’m probably gonna fall on the floor and cry like a baby. I worked really hard to get here.”
He also gets emotional talking about the inspiration for his orange creamsicle-flavored moonshine: the orange cinnamon rolls his late mother used to make at Christmas.
“It brings back that nostalgic feeling — like she’s still there,” he says in the episode.
A stay-at-home dad and tattoo artist, Bartolozzi traveled in June 2024 to North Carolina, where he spent several weeks filming due to the fermentation time required for the spirits created on “Moonshiners.” (Bartolozzi took his golf clubs to keep busy while waiting.)
“This is about just getting my foot in that door,” Bartolozzi said. “If I win, they’ll sell up to 30 cases (of my creation) and I’ll get a brand deal.”