Springfield man wins ‘Master Distiller’ title
Shawn Rigsby wins on competition show with his berry vodka recipe.
Shawn Rigsby’s beats out the competition on the Discovery Channel show and his vodka recipe will now get a limited run.
A Springfield resident walked away as a “Master Distiller” after winning an episode of the competition show.
Shawn Rigsby was on the show Master Distiller, which runs on the Discovery Channel and streams on Discovery+, and won after competing against two other competitors.
“It felt great. I went on the show with some confidence, my family had more confidence than I did ... but I couldn’t believe it,” Rigsby said. “It was a once-in-alifetime experience.”
Rigsby said he was chosen to go on an episode for season two and compete making vodka, which he had never made before. He said he had two weeks to show up and had to come up with something he felt would win.
“Basically created my own vodka recipe,” he said. “I’ve not made vodka before. So, that’s why I was kind of interested when they told me it was vodka.”
Since he won his episode, Rigsby said Sugarlands Distilling Company will make an unlimited run of his recipe, which was a berry-infused vodka. He’s not sure when it will be released, but thinks either sometime at the end of this year or beginning of next year.
Along with the show being a good opportunity, Rigsby said distilling is something he use to do outside of the show and is working towards opening his own distillery.
“I feel like that’s the best opportunity I can have to just get on and put myself out there that way people can know my name and who I am,” he said. “I do have plans of opening a distiller somewhere between Springfield and Indian Lake. I’ve been here all my life basically so why not keep it with where you’re from.”
Contact this reporter at 937-6107310 or email brooke.spurlock@ coxinc.com.