New series features MOONSHINERS favorite, TICKLE, as he searches for the next King or Queen of the Smoke Ring

Deep in the backroads of the South exists an underground world of barbeque where pitmasters carry on the tradition of making the best barbecue in the country. Using just smoke, heat and lessons passed down through the generations, these masters of the pit rely only on their heritage, secret recipes and regional ingredients to make the most mouth-watering meat the country has to offer.

In an all new discovery+ series, MOONSHINERS: SMOKE RING, legendary Moonshiner, Stephen Ray Tickle along with "Hogfather" Tank Jackson, venture into the deep South in search of the best, often undiscovered, pit masters from around the country to compete in a high stakes battle to determine whose heritage and skills produce the best tasting meat. It's man, meat and fire in its truest form -- who will walk away King or Queen of the Smoke Ring?

Viewers can stream the all-new series MOONSHINERS: SMOKE RING beginning Tuesday, March 9 on discovery+, the definitive non-fiction, real-life subscription streaming service. In addition to watching the series on discovery+, viewers can join the conversation on social media with #Moonshiners, and follow Discovery on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok for more updates. You can also follow discovery+ on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

On his road trip across the South, Tickle is joined by other local experts to seek out and reveal the best pit masters in the country. From the Carolina backroads where moonshine and barbeque share a common heritage, to the Appalachian mountains where tradition and family ties run deep, MOONSHINERS: SMOKE RING spotlights the underground world of barbeque and the tough, gritty pitmasters who are eager to prove they've got the best tasting smoked meat in the country.

With backgrounds that vary from multi-generational Carolina cooks and barbeque enthusiasts from Brooklyn, to the red dirt roads of Georgia, the SMOKE RING pit masters each bring a unique story to the to the world of barbeque as they use their special skill-set to compete for the title of SMOKE RING champion. Joined each week by guest judges who are legends in the barbecue world - including Sam Jones, Ed and Ryan Mitchell, Chris Lilly, Emily Han, and Carey Bringle aka Peg Leg Porker - Tickle is ready for this off-the-grill gourmet competition that puts the best barbeque on display and will leave mouths watering all across the country.

MOONSHINERS: SMOKE RING is produced for Discovery and discovery+ by Magilla Entertainment. Executive producers for Magilla Entertainment are Matthew Ostrom, Laura Palumbo Johnson, Jason Fox, Kevin Allgood and Ron Cornwall. For Discovery, executive producer is Bill Howard and associate producer is Paola Espinosa.