Ten years ago, New Iberia native Richard Landry saw an episode of the Discovery Channel’s “Moonshiners: Master Distiller” and decided to take up the hobby himself.

If you told him a year ago that he would not only get the chance to be on the show himself, but beat out professional moonshiners to take the number one spot, he would have said you were crazy.

“I still don’t believe it,” the 49-year-old said. “When I drove home on the final night I thought they were going to call me and tell me there was a mix up.”

Although Landry has always been proud of his product, putting his moonshine out for competition was never something on his mind. The New Iberia Senior High graduate said that making moonshine was always something he wanted to do for his nieces, nephews and cousins when they graduated or got married.

“It was something I would do for my family on special occasions,” he said. “It was something to show that ‘I made this just for you.’”

But word eventually got out about Landry’s skills, and friends would often ask him for a taste. Meanwhile, Landry would talk to other moonshiners online through social media groups.

After posting a picture that went viral among one group, Landry was contacted by the Discovery Channel about possibly competing on the national television show “Moonshiners.” After several months of auditions, interviews and calls Landry was eventually chosen to compete on the show.

It was a nervous time for Landry, to say the least. The moonshine he made for friends and family was suddenly up against professionals who owned their own distilleries. Landry only expected to last a round or two, but cherished the opportunity to connect with people who were established in the industry.

“I was nervous going up against these people who had their own distilleries, but they were everyday people and said they were nervous their first time too. I really felt like I had friends around,” he said.

Landry made the 10-day trip to Tennessee to compete on the television show, and only told immediate family about the opportunity. On the final day of the show, Landry competed against a legacy distiller and a biochemist working in a distillery to create the winning cherry bounce recipe, a type of drink favored by the nation’s first president George Washington.

After working through an early setback due to a slow fermentation process, Landry came back strong to create a batch of cherry bounce highlighted by a flavor profile featuring cherries, Louisiana molasses and cane sugar, winning the contest in the process.

“I was really floored, I didn’t believe it,” he said.

The show wrapped up in November, and recently aired on the Discovery Channel. During that time period, Landry said he had friends who didn’t fully believe he not only computed but won as well.

As a reward for winning the show, Landry’s moonshine will be getting a limited release of his winning cherry bounce recipe at Sugarlands Distilling Company in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

“All these years, I’ve had some hits and misses with my creations, but I was determined to keep at it,” Landry said. “I’m proud of the work I’ve done and excited that it’s led to this moment.”

“Moonshiners: Master Distiller” can be streamed on Discovery.com.