Moonshiners: Master Distiller

Legal and outlaw distillers face off with different raw ingredients to craft pot-still vodka. But when Tim, Tickle, and Digger spring a final-round twist, distilling skill alone separates the best from the rest and earns one the title of Master Distiller.

In the Season 5 premiere, backwoods legends Mark, Digger, and Josh judge as three Moonshiners stars pay homage to the late Jim Tom Hedrick, battling to recreate the best-tasting rendition of the outlaw legend's notoriously high-proof rye whiskey.

Mark, Digger, and Tim judge as three former champions turn unlabeled canned goods into high-proof liquor. In a final-round twist, the judges take it full circle by challenging the finalists to transform their finished spirit back into a canned cocktail.

Three distillers go head-to-head to craft sour mash whiskey, one of America's greatest contributions to the liquor world. With Tim and Digger judging, finalists must rapid-age their spirits for a high-stakes showdown with a renowned guest expert.

Legal and outlaw distillers take on a centuries-old challenge, turning leftover bottles of wine into shine built to stand the test of time. Judged by Mark, Digger, Tim, and guest expert Emily Whalen, only one will be crowned Master Distiller.

Three distillers compete to resurrect a Civil War-era shine made from Jimmy Red Corn, a rare variety once nearly extinct. Judged by Tim, Tickle, and guest expert Tim Jones, only one will master its flavor and earn a coveted spot on the shelf.

Tickle, Tim, and Henry serve as judge and jury while two outlaws and one legal distiller take on the ultimate hard-time challenge -- turning prison commissary ingredients into high-proof contraband -- all for a chance to be named Master Distiller.

Nobody knows more about flavor than professional chefs. Guest judge Robert Irvine presides over a pressure cooker of competition as three experienced chefs battle to turn raw ingredients into high-proof, culinary-class spirits.

Moonshiners stars Richard Landry, Killer Beaz and Howard Thompson compete to turn spicy peppers into tasty, high-proof moonshine. But it takes a master moonshiner to run a balanced hot liquor, and every misstep comes at the price of sweat and tears.

Ever since Josh Owens' footage went viral showing a moonshiner in Brazil making liquor from sugar cane juice in just two days, Josh couldn't wait to judge a competition in which three top distillers competed to make cachaça, Brazil's national spirit.

Mark, Digger and Tim judge as three top distillers go head-to-head to distill off-the-shelf beers into high-proof liquor. Only the distiller who can produce the best-tasting beer-shine will be crowned Master Distiller.

Tickle's mom brings the cake as three top distillers compete to turn a bakery's worth of cookies and confections into scrumptious, high-proof liquor. Judged by Mark, Digger, Tim and guest judge Millie Peartree, only one will be named Master Distiller.

Three expert distillers blind-taste a mystery liquor, then compete to recreate it from raw ingredients. Using only their senses, they must reverse-engineer the flavors, texture and proof in a challenge that puts even the judges to the test.

Mark, Digger and Tim judge as three expert distillers compete to run zero-proof spirits that taste as good as their high-proof benchmarks. Zero-proof is the fastest-growing segment in the adult beverage market. Naturally, Tickle has his doubts.

Three expert distillers forage free raw ingredients from nature and compete to turn them into tasty, high-proof spirits. But with backwoods legends Mark, Digger and Tim at the judging table, the price of failure far exceeds the low cost of entry.

A base recipe invented centuries ago spawned the American moonshines and bourbons we know today. Now, three distillers will start with the same heritage corn and battle for their own corn liquor legacy and a chance to be named Master Distiller.

Before there was bourbon or rye, rum ruled the American colonies. Now, three experts compete for a place in the six-billion-dollar spiced rum market, but only one will become Master Distiller and earn a run of their winning spirit at a major distillery.

Tea and liquor -- they're two beverages Americans will fight a rebellion for. Mark, Digger, and Tim judge as three distillers compete to turn America's duo of hard-won drinks into one top-selling spirit for a chance to win the title of Master Distiller.

Rare and illegal, wild ginseng can command thousands of dollars per pound. But for three aspiring distillers, a run of ginseng liquor can mean hitting the high-dollar jackpot and a chance to be named Master Distiller.

Flavored whisky is a billion-dollar market on the legal side, but when Tickle hears the challenge, he crashes the party as an outlaw contender. Facing two skilled distillers, each must craft a recipe from scratch for a chance to be named Master Distiller.

Moonshine has an Irish forefather, a high-proof spirit called Poitin, still outlawed in Northern Ireland. For this challenge, three skilled distillers bring their own ingredients and rebel spirit, but only one will be crowned Master Distiller.

On a special Master Distiller Tournament, five champion outlaw distillers battle it out in a backwoods battle royale. Amanda, Richard, Kelly, Tater and Mike pit their ingenuity against each other in a series of sudden-elimination challenges.

Four outlaw distillers, Amanda, Richard, Kelly and Tater, battle for their place in shiner history. Facing real-world outlaw challenges and two eliminations, only one will emerge as Master of the Backwoods.

After defeating four expert moonshiners, only two champions remain to compete in the final distillation, running an apple brandy direct from a mountain stream. After a blind tasting, only one moonshiner will emerge as Master of the Backwoods.

Tickle joins the judging panel as three self-taught distillers compete to make whiskey from ancient forms of grains that go back thousands of years; the winner gets a run of their liquor at a major distillery.

Two moonshiners and a pro distiller face off in a big box store challenge. With just three minutes to shop the discount aisles, each must turn bulk buys into a working mash then distill it into high-proof liquor. Only one will emerge as Master Distiller.

When backwoods shiners and a professional distiller bring groundbreaking savory flavors to the competition, judges Mark, Digger and Tim are blown away by their original recipes for chocolate malt, loaded baked potato and Nashville hot chicken moonshine.

When Tim announces the first Thanksgiving actually took place in Virginia, Tickle smokes a Virginia ham in honor of the occasion, while champions Amanda, Richard and Daniel face off to run the best holiday liquor to complete the Thanksgiving feast.

By law, tequila and mezcal can only be made in Mexico, but outlaw distillers follow their own set of rules. Three of the best bring American ingenuity to a 500-year-old recipe, but only one will be named Master Distiller.

Three firefighters famous for their shine compete to run their best off-duty recipes. Veteran firemen Tim and Mark taste the results and, along with Digger, pay tribute to the longstanding history between the brotherhoods of firefighting and moonshining.

Mark, Digger and Tim taste the results as two outlaw shiners and a legal distiller take on record high prices in a competition to see who can make the best run of shine on a $30 budget. Only one will take home the title of Master Distiller.

It's a holiday extravaganza with guest judge Danielle Parton along with Mark Rogers and Tickle as a sneaky St. Nick. Presented with frugal Secret Santa gifts, Richard, Mike and Howard bring their backwoods skills to distill the cheeriest Christmas spirit.

For the first time ever, families bring their inherited moonshine recipes to the Master Distiller arena. But when couples, siblings and a father-son team fire up stills together under the pressure of a ticking clock, sparks can fly in more ways than one.

Digger coaches three outlaw shiners as they face off against Tim's three legal distillers in a three-round ultimate elimination tournament designed to determine once and for all which side of the law makes the best high-proof spirits.

Mark, Digger and Tim devise a diabolical challenge as a pair of outlaw shiners face two legal distillers in battle for corn liquor supremacy. Facing double elimination, only one distiller from each side of the law will survive to face the final showdown.

Mark, Digger and Tim have saved one of the hardest distilling challenges for last in an epic tournament finale. Just one outlaw and one legal distiller remain to battle for liquor supremacy and no spirit raises the bar for a Master Distiller like grappa.

Tim, Mark and Digger judge the results as three US military veterans, who served their country overseas, battle to become the next Master Distiller. To nobody's surprise, Tickle takes on his duty as honorary drill sergeant a little too seriously.

To earn the title of Master Distiller and a stake in a booming billion-dollar ready-to-drink cocktail market, three legal and outlaw shiners compete to craft the best high-proof canned cocktail from scratch ingredients.

In honor of all the past presidents who dabbled in distilling, moonshiners Josh, Howard and Kelly compete to make the best jar of a recently discovered presidential liquor recipe that was so tasty it may have led to the repeal of Prohibition.

"The King" Richard Petty and racing champions Thad Moffitt and Brendan Gaughan team up with moonshine legends Mark, Digger and Tim in a backroads reunion 90 years in the making. Only one team will earn the honorary title of Master Distiller.

With the title on the line, Team Petty and Team Gaughan summon their bootlegging heritage to run championship liquor. But as the competition heats up on the stills, Mark and Tim face off on the track, leaving one shiner crashing into the wall.

In the first-ever combo competition, three craftsmen-distillers compete to build working stills from raw sheet copper while mashing in a run of liquor from scratch ingredients. With catastrophic failure at stake, winning comes down to the final jar.

Digger takes three distillers to a local farm to select ingredients for their mash from containers of expired produce. With Mark and Tim joining at the judges table, competitors fire up their stills to turn culled crops into top shelf spirits.

When Spring comes, everything is at stake for backwoods shiners. Outlaw champions Amanda, Richard and Tater compete to make the top spirit with this Spring's best ingredients as judged by Mark, Digger and guest judge Mike.

Three skilled shiners compete using both freeze and heat distillation in a battle to make America's first liquor. Lisa Laird Dunn from America's oldest distillery joins Mark, Digger and Tim to judge whose applejack deserves the title of Master Distiller.

Mark, Digger and Tim judge as a female distiller challenges an outlaw shiner and a pro distiller from Hawaii to make the best nut liquor. When one shiner deploys a never-before-seen process, Mark and Digger admit the results rival their own hazelnut rum.

Mark, Digger and Tim judge as notorious still hands Howard, Huck and Kelly face off in a battle of skill and hilarity to determine which aspiring moonshiner makes the best corn liquor to win a thousand dollars' worth of sheet copper and earn the title of Master Distiller.

It's Bourbon vs Scotch vs Japanese whiskey. Mark, Digger and Tim judge as three specialized distillers compete in a global whiskey showdown. Spirits expert Tim Jones joins to help determine which regional distiller will earn the title of Master Distiller.

Josh, Mike and Mark Rogers compete in the ultimate liquor-making rematch. Judged by moonshine legends Mark, Digger and Tim, only one outlaw shiner will emerge with grudge match bragging rights and a backwoods trophy any true moonshiner would love.

Three outlaw shiners representing Alabama, Ohio and West Virginia compete to determine whose regional Appalachian recipe and style make the best corn liquor. Mark, Digger and Tim call in corn liquor master Mark Rogers to help make the final call.

Special guest judge Danielle Parton joins Mark, Digger and Tim as Josh, Daniel and Mike put their family recipes on the line to see whose multi-generational moonshine heritage will weather the test of time.

Tim introduces Mark and Digger to high-proof Slivovitz as three top distillers compete to make the legendary plum-powered liquor of Eastern Europe, with recipes kept alive by outlaw moonshiners for decades behind the iron curtain.

Mark, Digger and Tim team up with three underdog contestants for a fresh shot at redemption. Two backwoods shiners and a professional distiller bring their best recipes to the table for a second chance at winning Master Distiller.

Tickle digs up the history and Mark, Digger and Tim judge as three highly skilled distillers battle to make Pastis, a high-octane liquor created in 1930s France to trick the law after the government banned its notorious sister spirit, Absinthe.

Guest Judge Pam Sutton joins Mark, Digger and Tim as three Master Distiller champions face real backwoods elements as they compete to make Popcorn Sutton's legendary outlaw corn whiskey recipe using tools and techniques from the past.

For centuries, moonshiners moonlighted as medicine-makers. In that backwoods tradition, three distillers compete to make moonshine that packs a medicinal punch, as Mark, Digger and Tim judge whose jar ultimately tastes the best.

Mark, Digger and Tim judge and Tickle brings the history and hilarity as two legal distillers compete with a backwoods outlaw moonshiner to determine who can turn the scraps from winemaking into the best jar of grappa, Italy's original moonshine.

With ingredients in short supply, Mark, Digger and Tim judge the ultimate hard times challenge. Notorious shiners Tickle, Mike and Daniel each bring their own brand of backwoods ingenuity to see who makes the best liquor with unconventional ingredients.

Tim, Mark and Digger judge as two outlaw shiners compete to make top-notch moonshine from raw honey, one of the trickiest and most expensive ingredients ever attempted by shiners in the backwoods.

Rising shiners Richard, Howard and Mike compete to make Apple Pie Moonshine. Judged by Mark, Digger and Tim, who each have their own take on what makes Apple Pie America's most popular flavor of shine.

Josh Owens guest judges as three accomplished distillers compete using backwoods methods and forced pressurization to turn raw ingredients into winning cans of hard seltzer. The results surprise even veteran liquor men, Mark, Digger and Tim.

Richard, Josh and Daniel compete to run high-proof spirits for sippin' cream. But when Tickle reveals the cream source is an actual dairy cow, all three shiners must dig deep into their country roots to put a winning jar on the table.

Tim, Mark and Digger judge as three skilled distillers integrate coffee into their mash recipes to see who can run the most stimulating jar of shine to earn the title of Master Distiller and a run of their winning recipe in a major distillery.

Loyal still hands for Tim, Richard and Mark and Digger steal the spotlight, putting their moonshining skills on the line as the judges conduct a blind tasting to determine whose number two will emerge as the new number one.

In a judge-favorite challenge, three experienced distillers attempt to turn classic American breakfast foods, from donuts to blueberry pancakes, into eye-opening spirits. Mark, Digger and Tim taste the results to determine who will rise to the occasion.

Legal and outlaw distillers compete to make a 300-year-old spirit called Cherry Bounce, a favorite drink of George Washington, nearly lost to time. Josh Owens, whose family kept the recipe alive for generations in the backwoods, joins as guest judge.

Mark, Digger and Tim judge as three amateur distillers compete to make the world's most notorious spirit - absinthe. Building stills of their own design and mashing in from raw ingredients, only one will earn the title of Master Distiller.

Outlaw shiners and legal distillers compete to distill true Navy Strength Rum, but the bar for entry is 114-proof. With Tickle as honorary pirate and judged by shiners Mark, Digger and Tim, only one distiller can earn the title of Master Distiller.

Judged by legends Mark, Digger and Tim, three of America's favorite moonshiners, Josh Owens, Mark Rogers and up-and-comer Daniel Maner compete to see who makes Appalachia's most authentic backwoods shine and win a rare jar of Popcorn Sutton's liquor.

Legal and outlaw distillers compete to make gin, a notorious spirit with medieval roots that is still prized in the backwoods today. Judged by legendary shiners Mark, Digger and Tim, only one can earn the title of Master Distiller.

Distillers compete to make peach brandy; a spirit so prized in the Old South it was once more popular than whiskey; judged by Mark, Digger and Tim.

Distillers compete to make a Prohibition-era classic; moonshine up to an ultra-high 180 proof; building their own stills and mash; judging are Mark, Digger, Tim and guest Mark Rogers.

Three distillers compete to make a recipe created by George Washington himself. Judged by legends Mark, Digger and Tim, only one competitor can earn the prestigious title of Master Distiller for producing the first president's own signature liquor.

Outlaw and legal distillers compete to make Vodka, once the secret to surviving a Russian winter, and now America's most-consumed spirit. Mark, Digger and Tim judge as distillers design their own stills and mash in their own raw ingredients.

Tim Smith challenges Mark and Digger to a moonshine-making rematch. Hot stills and hotter heads clash as all three legends face off to see who can bring the best jar of moonshine to the table and win the ultimate bragging rights.

Mark, Digger and Tim judge as legal and outlaw distillers compete to make the best rum. Constructing stills of their own design and mashing in their own raw ingredients, only one will survive elimination to earn the title of Master Distiller.

Heritage grains meet charred oak as three amateur distillers compete to make the best American Whiskey. Judged by Mark, Digger, and Tim, they'll go head to head in a series of challenges to determine who has what it takes to be Master Distiller.

Mark, Digger and Tim judge as top amateur distillers from both sides of the law compete to make mezcal, the moonshine of Mexico. Using agave mash, regional recipes and even meat, only one competitor will earn the title of Master Distiller.

Legal and outlaw distillers compete head-to-head to see who makes a classic Appalachian tradition called Mountain Brandy. Judged by moonshine legends Mark, Digger and Tim, only the best will have what it takes to be named Master Distiller.

Tickle hosts as Appalachia's most notorious moonshiners go head-to-head in a moonshine distilling competition. Mark, Digger and Tim run their own secret recipes to be judged by the public to determine once and for all who makes the best shine.