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!
Digger gets Daniel to attempt the first large-scale run of his innovative milk-based liquor recipe. Richard combines Digger's sea aging with his own award-winning recipe to attempt his best liquor yet. Mike and Jerry upgrade their backwoods column still.
The episode was rated 7.84 from 55 votes.
JB leads Mark and Digger to the secret site of Popcorn Sutton's infamous last run; Mike and Jerry's attempt to make a still from a used whiskey barrel blows up in their faces; Tickle, Josh and the Laws get ambushed, forcing them to run for the hills.
The episode was rated 7.85 from 67 votes.
When Josh moves into a remote farmhouse, Tickle and the Laws help devise an underground transport operation.
The episode was rated 7.85 from 54 votes.
Amanda helps Mark and Huck use science to infuse fresh-picked pears into their traditional corn shine. Richard teams up with Mark and Digger to make cherry cognac. Jerry returns from his close call to help Mike build a waterfall still site in Tennessee.
The episode was rated 7.87 from 45 votes.
Mark and Digger get raided by cops forcing them to flee across state lines. Tickle and the Laws assemble a new mega operation as Josh heads their way with a truckload of fruit. Mike and Jerry build the courage to return to the scene of their own crime.
The episode was rated 7.90 from 70 votes.
Mark and Digger retrieve their sea-aged whiskey only to discover how easily it slips through their fingers. Richard and Craig run into trouble upsizing absinthe production. Tickle and the Laws look to moonshine history to get their season on track.
The episode was rated 7.92 from 52 votes.
Tim treks to the town of Tequila in search of the moonshine of Mexico; Tickle, Josh and the Laws build an assembly line of submarine stills for a large-scale run of pricey cherry shine; Mark and Digger take backwoods rye to a whole new level.
The episode was rated 7.95 from 55 votes.
When Mark and Digger ask to run on commercial property, the answer is as shocking as the results. Mike and Jerry turn blueberries into top-shelf brandy, but it's the mash that's worth celebrating. Richard chases the green fairy to make backwoods absinthe.
The episode was rated 7.96 from 55 votes.
When Josh devises a formula for a profitable hard seltzer, he must convince Tickle and the Laws to contribute their valuable peach brandy to a risky enterprise; Mark and Digger attempt to turn a windfall of scuppernong grapes into Appalachian cognac.
The episode was rated 7.97 from 58 votes.
Mark and Digger whip up a high-gravity southern dessert while Tim puts a backwoods ritual onto store shelves; Amanda helps Mark and Huck...
The episode was rated 7.98 from 58 votes.
Mark and Digger team up with Danielle Parton to run the first moonshine in decades on her legendary family property. Tim heads to the highlands of Jalisco to harvest blue agave to run Tequila. Richard invents a flammable recipe for a New Orleans chef.
The episode was rated 8.04 from 51 votes.
In the season finale, just as Mark and Digger undertake their large-scale bootleg to Nashville, the law makes an unwelcome return.
The episode was rated 8.04 from 67 votes.
When Digger scores a tank of fresh milk, he and Mark attempt to solve the mystery of turning milk into moonshine; Tickle and Josh ramp up underground operations at the Law's rental house; hunting dogs invade Mike and Jerry's mountain still site.
The episode was rated 8.09 from 47 votes.
Amanda joins Mark and Huck in an attempt to make shine from a rare corn.
The episode was rated 8.14 from 51 votes.
Mark and Digger search in an unlikely location for the ideal spot to sea-age their Tennessee Whiskey. A wrong turn earns Josh his next broken bone. When Jerry gets rushed to the ER, his partner is forced to figure out a complex recipe without him.
The episode was rated 8.19 from 54 votes.
