Best Episodes
Think the days of bootleggers, backwoods stills and "white lightning" are over? Not a chance! It's a multi-million dollar industry. But perhaps more importantly to the moonshiners, it's a tradition dating back hundreds of years, passed down to them from their forefathers. It's part of their history and culture. While this practice is surprisingly alive and well, it's not always legal. Discovery Channel's all-new series MOONSHINERS tells the story of those who brew their shine - often in the woods near their homes using camouflaged equipment - and the local authorities who try to keep them honest. Viewers will witness practices rarely, if ever, seen on television including the sacred rite of passage for a moonshiner - firing up the still for the first time. They will also meet legends, including notorious moonshiner Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton.
Written by Sophie and last updated on feb 10, 2023.
PS: The following content contains spoilers!
PPS: I will admit that parts of this page was written with the help of AI - it makes my work so much easier to not start from a blank page!
Mark and Digger deploy an old-world innovation to bring their barrel-aged reserves to market, while Tim attempts to make Tickle's CBD moonshine on a commercial scale. Josh puts himself at the mercy of the mountains' greatest peril -- a rookie shiner.
The episode was rated 7.81 from 64 votes.
Mark and Digger find a solution to the jar shortage but the juice may not be worth the squeeze. Tim enlists Tickle's friend Howard to help recreate the first whiskey made in America. Mike and Jerry distill vodka from surplus restaurant supplies.
The episode was rated 7.82 from 55 votes.
Josh drives a tractor trailer full of stills across state lines to help Tickle and the Laws run two tons of malted corn; Mark and Digger christen their own secret Tennessee Whiskey distillery; Richard builds a copper Virginia-style submarine still.
The episode was rated 7.82 from 57 votes.
A Mason jar shortage puts a lid on Mark and Digger's distribution plans. Mike and Jerry must return to land they've been warned off. Tim's scheme to repurpose a massive tank as an oversized pot still pushes his steam boiler to the breaking point.
The episode was rated 7.87 from 54 votes.
With his partner in quarantine, Digger has much more on the line than shine. Mike and Jerry's moonshine Frankenstein turns on its creators. After decades in the backwoods, mountain man Mark Rogers enlists his dad to run with him for the first time.
The episode was rated 7.87 from 63 votes.
In the season finale, with eight stills running full tilt, Tickle enlists Mrs. Tickle to stash too much shine. Mark and Digger devise a way to age their Tennessee whiskey at sea. Tim gets drawn into an epic bootleg, while Mike and Jerry face the law.
The episode was rated 7.88 from 66 votes.
Mark and Digger's plan to employ an out of work friend backfires on payday. Tim invents a low-cost way to make his first single-malt moonshine. With their backwoods column still cranking out liquor, Mike discovers Jerry isn't carrying his own weight.
The episode was rated 7.88 from 51 votes.
Facing more rye and apples than the Laws can run, Josh moves his steamer still to Virginia and Tickle adds smoke to the fire. Mark and Huck help Jim Tom turn cherries into shine. Mike and Jerry risk a huge run in the barn of an unsuspecting farmer.
The episode was rated 7.90 from 60 votes.
When Josh lands a windfall of peaches, he and Tickle forge a peach brandy-making alliance. Mark and Digger's plans dry up when their surplus corn supply mysteriously disappears, and Mike and Jerry's column still spews ethanol vapour, causing a panic.
The episode was rated 7.91 from 65 votes.
Tickle and the Laws unleash a 700-gallon run on a whisper-quiet steamer still. Mark and Huck traverse Appalachia's roughest terrain to run liquor with moonshine legend Jim Tom. Mike and Jerry engineer a high-tech solution to a backwoods problem.
The episode was rated 7.93 from 67 votes.
Mark and Digger invent a new recipe turning hundreds of jars of expired mandarin oranges into marketable liquor. Tickle and the Laws face headaches in their attempt to produce freeze-distilled apple liquor. Mike and Jerry make birch bark moonshine.
The episode was rated 7.93 from 57 votes.
After Mike asks the wrong shiner for help, Mark and Digger land a skilled new partner. On a mountain run, Mark and Huck nearly meet the barrel of a gun. Jerry attempts a comeback as a land sale forces him and Mike to abandon their column still site.
The episode was rated 8.02 from 59 votes.
Tickle and the Laws invent a new recipe with master distiller Richard Landry. Mark and Digger crack their thousand jar problem while mashing in their most profitable run in years. Tim and Howard make a ceramic still to rediscover a colonial whiskey.
The episode was rated 8.08 from 61 votes.
With national supply chains disrupted, Mark and Digger unearth a ton of free ingredients; Tickle helps Josh build a submarine still farm; and Mike designs a first-ever backwoods column still, perfect for endless runs of high-quality low-cost liquor.
The episode was rated 8.11 from 65 votes.
As Tickle and the Laws start a massive rye run, a mysterious tip results in too much of a good thing. Jerry gets rushed to the hospital and Mike finds himself shorthanded. Tim innovates a backwoods process for his single-malt shine.
The episode was rated 8.15 from 60 votes.
