Moonshiners Season 2 Begins

Time to rise and shine… again.  The Discovery channel’s popular show Moonshiners, started their second season last wednesday night.The show is set in southwestern Virginia, and South Carolina up in the backwoods of the Appalachian mountains, known as Appalachia.  This is the prime location for any moonshiner, since they require a secluded area where their operation will not be detected.  Only a crazy man would go roaming through the wild looking for a moonshine still.If you are not familiar with last season, moonshining is the illegal act of making your own alcohol, and selling it tax free.  The act of moonshining dates back all the way to the prohibition era in 1920 when it was illegal to even purchase alcohol.  The major alcohol companies at the time were forced to shut down their plants, which outraged the citizens and eventually pushed them to start producing their own.  This was the birth of modern day Moonshining.This show depicts real people producing moonshine, and the struggles they have to go through for it.  Not only is making the moonshine highly dangerous health wise, but it is also very dangerous due to the fact that ABC (alcoholic beverage control) agents are always on the lookout to catch the moonshiners.

Something the show does to gain more viewers and make things a little more interesting is they not only focus on the moonshiners’ experience, but also the point of view from the ABC agents. The show does a good job at giving both sides of the story to eliminate bias.

If you watched any of last season, you will recognize the two main moonshiners: Tim and Tickle.  Tim is one of today’s most wanted moonshiners by the ABC agents, and they have paid him visits and tried to catch him, but they have yet to actually catch him in the act.

Due to the pressure that the agents were putting on him and Tickle at the end of last season, Tim decides he only has one option: to go legal.  Going legal refers to producing moonshine legally, under the supervision of the government–it is very strictly regulated, it is taxed, and it is very expensive to do.  For this season, Tim and Tickle are going to be preparing to go legal.

But, with a new season, comes new shiners and new agents.  One of the new shiners this year is Moonshiner X.  This is his first go at moonshining, and he wants to be very secretive about it.  He chooses to have his face blurred throughout the season, and to remain nameless.  He is worried about the dangers and consequences he could possibly face.  He seems to be a rather mysterious character.

One of the other new group of shiners is Bill and Josh, a couple of country men with a love for music and moonshine.  They are trying to build an underground moonshine still where they can be more secretive and have less chance of getting caught.  But, the catch is that they are building it under their music stage where their annual music festival is held, and the site needs to be finished before the festival is said to start and time is running out.

The last group of shiners is a trio of good old country boys who like to make their moonshine the old fashioned way, using real wood for their fires and taking the time to ensure the highest quality.  The group consists of Mark (A true countryman who lived solely in the woods and lives off the land), Jeff (Has seven generations of moonshiners in his family, and recently got into the trade), and Jim Tom (A legend in the Moonshining world, and has over sixty years of personal experience).  They are team prepared for definite success.

There is also a new lawman in town, Deputy Sheriff Chuck.  He is familiar with Appalachia, and dedicated to tracking and finding illegal moonshining operations.

You can watch this action-adventure on the Discovery Channel Wednesday nights at 10pm.  Or, if you need to catch up on last season or episodes you’ve missed, you can watch them on discovery.com.