The Best Episodes of Moonshiners
Last Updated: Nov 14, 2018
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.
#1 - Bootleg Hustle
Season 1 - Episode 7
It's the dead of winter in Appalachia, and moonshine season is months away. Moonshiner Tim and his partner Tickle are planning a daring 100-mile bootleg run capped with a risky midday moonshine transfer - something Tim rarely does.
8.00
#2 - Moonshine Takedown
Season 4 - Episode 6
Tickle nails down a stash spot. Josh and Bill butt heads in the backwoods. Jim Tom and Roy are back in action. Mark and Digger's still goes from old school to state-of-the-art. And Mark and Jeff put the bells and whistles on their new shine spot.
7.86
#3 - Foraging for a Long Winter Ahead
Season 7 - Episode 17
In Tennessee, Mike sets himself up for a career high with a run of specialty liquor but faces a devastating setback. In the last run of the season, Sondra takes the reigns and Rodgers tampers with his final run in an attempt to cash out.
7.81
#4 - Liquid Courage
Season 3 - Episode 13
Jeff and Mark reach a roadblock; Deputy Chuck is in hot pursuit; Mike travels to finish off his biggest sale of the season; Tickle attracts unwanted attention.
7.80
#5 - Adios, Mr. Still
Season 2 - Episode 9
Gunfire erupts in the bamboo patch just as Josh & Bill fire up their still for the first time this season. Meanwhile, Jeff, Mark & Jim Tom run a batch of President George Washington's rye whiskey. Then, Tickle hits the skids when his still is sabotaged.
7.79
#6 - Skins in the Game
Season 7 - Episode 10
More setbacks confront Chico and Sondra; Mark and Digger secure ingredients for an experimental liquor; Mark and Mike reunite; Tim's centuries old method for finding water is met with opposition.
7.78
#7 - Outlaw Brotherhood
Season 1 - Episode 4
Moonshiner Tim and his partner Tickle soup up Tim's hot rod when they are forced into a daring, daytime bootlegging run. Meanwhile, a hurricane threatens the still site. Then, a new bootlegging biker legend sets out on an 800 mile run.
7.75
#8 - Moonshine Treasure Hunt
Season 2 - Episode 10
Tim searches for 200 gallons of moonshine in a lake; Tickle finds his former helper; Jeff protects his still from an intruder; Mike uses horse manure for something other than gardening.
7.74
#9 - A Price to Pay
Season 1 - Episode 5
With the leaves falling, Moonshiner Tim makes a risky move and adds a second pot to the still site to double his profits. Tickle has a bad accident - and Agent Jesse prepares for the mother lode of all busts.
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#10 - Hat in Hand
Season 2 - Episode 11
Tickle asks Tim for help; Jeff, Mark and Jim Tom battle a swarm of yellow jackets; and Josh rescues Cutie Pie.
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#11 - Arrested Development
Season 7 - Episode 9
Tickle mentors JT at Belmont Farm; Mark and Digger receive an impossible shine order; Patti and David secure their still site after spotting a deadly intruder; Lance and Jeff scramble when their bootlegger goes missing.
7.72
#12 - End of an Era
Season 5 - Episode 16
Tim is thousands of cases off from delivering his order; Mark and Digger are surprised at a sale; and Josh makes amends.
7.71
#13 - Last nail in the Coffin
Season 7 - Episode 18
In this explosive season finale, backwoods rivalries reach the breaking point! Cops stop Mark and Digger during their last big bootleg. Josh risks a $20K sale with an unreliable biker gang, and Mike lights the fuse on an Appalachian turf war.
7.71
#14 - Snake Bitten
Season 7 - Episode 1
Moonshine season is back and the demand for white lightning is higher than ever. Tim Smith has a visitor from his outlaw past, Mark and Digger get a sign from above in Tennessee, and Josh's favorite still hand has a brush with death.
7.70
#15 - Aftershock
Season 3 - Episode 12
Jeff and Mark look to cash in on one final run of the season. Tickle and Chico's still site is compromised. Mike is desperate to complete his New Orleans order, and turns to Darlene. Josh and Bill might get to sell some of their own liquor after all.
7.70
#16 - Stash and Grab
Season 7 - Episode 8
Mark and Digger recruit a retired shiner; Josh and Chuck run an old family recipe; Lance enlists the help of a bootlegger to move his product; Sondra has to think fast.
7.69
#17 - Lighted Up
Season 7 - Episode 15
Mark and Digger confront a shiner who's been edging into their territory; Josh makes a split-second decision as red and blue lights flash; Lance hopes a big sale could rectify past bootlegging blunders; Mike risks his reputation and freedom.
7.69
#18 - Last Shiner Standing
Season 2 - Episode 12
In this season finale, one moonshiner will go down. Tickle devises a bold but risky plan to sell Tim's shine. Then, Josh & Bill's still site is compromised while Jeff, Mark & Jim Tom brazenly run three stills. Finally, Deputy Sheriff Chuck makes his move.
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#19 - Luck of the Irish
Season 6 - Episode 4
A rookie mistake could ruin Josh and Chuck's operation and Tim travels across the Atlantic to teach an old Irish distillery about making moonshine. Mark and Digger's mash test is interrupted by an unwanted visitor.
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#20 - Troubled Waters
Season 2 - Episode 8
Tickle gets busted by an angry landowner, while Tim devises an ingenious new hiding spot for his back-up stash of shine. Then, Josh & Bill get into a bone-breaking fight at their new still site. Also, Mark bootlegs moonshine by canoe in the dead of night.
7.66
#21 - Prophecy Fulfilled
Season 2 - Episode 6
Tickle builds a new still. Josh gets angry when he damages the nearly completed underground still site. Mark and Jeff make a risky move when they sell some of their product in town. Jim Tom teaches Jeff's son Lance how to measure the alcohol by volume concentration of moonshine.
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#22 - Liquid Assets
Season 4 - Episode 8
Tickle has his hands full keeping track of his liquor and Chico and Tyler are becoming suspicious. Bill and Josh build an underground bunker to hide their shine. Tennessee shiners, Mark and Digger, test an invention that could revolutionize moonshining.
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#23 - The Law Comes Knockin
Season 1 - Episode 3
Equipment failure and an intruder threaten Moonshiner Tim and his partner Tickle's first run of moonshine. Law enforcement agent Jesse Tate busts a nip joint. Moonshining legend Popcorn Sutton runs some 'shine the old-fashioned way.
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#24 - Not a Crook
Season 7 - Episode 16
Tim considers a permanent role for Tickle at the Distillery, while Sondra convinces Chico that a unique recipe will seal their season. Lance surprises Jeff with an unorthodox moonshine ingredient, and Patti and David risk a supersized mega run.
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#25 - Making Spirits Bright
Season 6 - Episode 6
It's Christmas time in shine country! Mark & Digger get in the holiday spirit by playing Santa Claus for kids in need. Patti & David prepare special treats for a festive holiday feast. Bill and friends prepare for Christmas caroling the Carolina way.
7.63