Season 1
Episode: 1x01 | Airdate: Mar 3, 2020
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.
Episode: 1x02 | Airdate: Mar 10, 2020
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.
Episode: 1x03 | Airdate: Mar 17, 2020
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.
Episode: 1x04 | Airdate: Mar 24, 2020
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.
Episode: 1x05 | Airdate: Mar 31, 2020
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.
Season 2
Episode: 2x01 | Airdate: Dec 29, 2020
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.
Episode: 2x02 | Airdate: Jan 5, 2021
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.
Episode: 2x03 | Airdate: Jan 12, 2021
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.
Episode: 2x04 | Airdate: Jan 19, 2021
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.
Episode: 2x05 | Airdate: Jan 26, 2021
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.
Episode: 2x06 | Airdate: Feb 2, 2021
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.
Episode: 2x07 | Airdate: Feb 9, 2021
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.
Episode: 2x08 | Airdate: Feb 16, 2021
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.
Episode: 2x09 | Airdate: Feb 23, 2021
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.
Episode: 2x10 | Airdate: Mar 2, 2021
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.
Season 3
Episode: 3x01 | Airdate: Nov 3, 2021 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 3x02 | Airdate: Nov 10, 2021 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x03 | Airdate: Nov 17, 2021 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x04 | Airdate: Nov 24, 2021 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 3x05 | Airdate: Dec 1, 2021 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x06 | Airdate: Dec 8, 2021 (62 min)
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.
Episode: S03 Special | Airdate: Dec 15, 2021 (62 min)
Outlaw shiners Josh, Richard and Mike think they can turn almost any ingredient into top notch liquor. Now they'll have to prove it by making spirits from everyday groceries found in a country store. Mark, Digger, Tim and Tickle judge the unusual results.
Episode: S03 Special | Airdate: Dec 22, 2021 (63 min)
In the spirit of Christmas, Tickle competes in Master Distiller for the first time. Facing Josh and Mike in a holiday showdown, all three shiners must run their own mash and a gift basket of secret ingredients as Mark, Digger and Tim savor the results.
Episode: 3x07 | Airdate: Jan 5, 2022 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 3x08 | Airdate: Jan 12, 2022 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 3x09 | Airdate: Jan 19, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x10 | Airdate: Jan 26, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x11 | Airdate: Feb 2, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x12 | Airdate: Feb 16, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x13 | Airdate: Feb 23, 2022 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 3x14 | Airdate: Mar 2, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x15 | Airdate: Mar 9, 2022 (67 min)
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.
Episode: 3x16 | Airdate: Mar 16, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x17 | Airdate: Mar 23, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x18 | Airdate: Mar 30, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x19 | Airdate: Apr 6, 2022 (63 min)
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.
Episode: 3x20 | Airdate: Apr 13, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 3x21 | Airdate: Apr 20, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Season 4
Episode: 4x01 | Airdate: Nov 2, 2022 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 4x02 | Airdate: Nov 9, 2022 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 4x03 | Airdate: Nov 16, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 4x04 | Airdate: Nov 23, 2022 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 4x05 | Airdate: Nov 30, 2022 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 4x06 | Airdate: Dec 7, 2022 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 4x07 | Airdate: Dec 14, 2022
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.
Episode: 4x08 | Airdate: Dec 21, 2022
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.
Episode: 4x09 | Airdate: Dec 28, 2022
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.
Episode: 4x10 | Airdate: Jan 4, 2023
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.
Episode: 4x11 | Airdate: Jan 11, 2023
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.
Episode: 4x12 | Airdate: Jan 18, 2023
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.
Episode: 4x13 | Airdate: Jan 25, 2023 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 4x14 | Airdate: Feb 1, 2023 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 4x15 | Airdate: Feb 8, 2023 (61 min)
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.
Episode: 4x16 | Airdate: Feb 15, 2023
"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.
Episode: 4x17 | Airdate: Feb 22, 2023 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 4x18 | Airdate: Mar 1, 2023 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 4x19 | Airdate: Mar 8, 2023 (62 min)
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.
Episode: 4x20 | Airdate: Mar 15, 2023 (61 min)
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.
Season 5
Episode: 5x01 | Airdate: Jan 16, 2024
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.
Episode: 5x02 | Airdate: Jan 23, 2024
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.
Episode: 5x03 | Airdate: Jan 30, 2024
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.
Episode: 5x04 | Airdate: Feb 6, 2024
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.
Episode: 5x05 | Airdate: Apr 2, 2024
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.
Episode: 5x06 | Airdate: Apr 9, 2024
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.
Episode: 5x07 | Airdate: Apr 16, 2024
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.
Episode: 5x08 | Airdate: Apr 23, 2024
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.
Episode: 5x09 | Airdate: Apr 30, 2024
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.
Episode: 5x10 | Airdate: May 7, 2024
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.
Episode: 5x11 | Airdate: May 14, 2024
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.
Specials
Episode: S02 Special | Airdate: Dec 22, 2020
In the spirit of Christmas and a new season of Master Distiller, Tickle challenges fellow moonshiners Josh, Mike and Daniel to compete to make the tastiest Christmas spirits. Mark, Digger, and Tim judge who wins a special backwoods prize.
Episode: S03 Special | Airdate: Oct 27, 2021 (63 min)
Mark, Mike and Jerry compete to distill the best Prohibition-era moonshine.
Episode: S03 Special | Airdate: Dec 15, 2021
Josh, Richard and Mike make top-notch liquor from everyday groceries.
Episode: S03 Special | Airdate: Dec 22, 2021
Tickle, Josh and Mike compete with secret ingredients for the holidays.
Episode: S04 Special | Airdate: May 3, 2023 (61 min)
Josh, Tim and Mark devise a challenge to find the ultimate bootlegger. With guest judge Rusty Wallace, three backwoods builders customize tricked-out cars to hide a thousand bucks worth of shine and deliver it undamaged without getting caught by the law.