A U.S. appeals court on Friday declared unconstitutional a nearly 158-year-old federal ban on home distilling, calling it an unnecessary and improper means for Congress to exercise its power to tax.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled in favor of the nonprofit Hobby Distillers Association and four of its 1,300 members.
They argued that people should be free to distill spirits at home, whether as a hobby or for personal consumption including, in one instance, to create an apple-pie-vodka recipe.
The ban was part of a law passed during Reconstruction in July 1868, in part to thwart liquor tax evasion, and subjected violators to up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
My dad makes what I would describe as moonshine or vodka or something like that every year at home. We’re in the EU though. I always found it odd it’s illegal in the US
It’s illegal in the UK too.
That said, so long as you’re not selling it no one really cares
Which is odd because you can make as much beer and wine as you like.
If you do it wrong, or drink the wrong part of the finished product, you can go blind. So I get why regulation may be needed.
Except that was never the reason it was illegal, really. The government just wanted their tax money.
If we’re banning it for safety reasons, we need to ban a lot more activities. have you seen what happens if people use a table saw or pool improperly? Even stairs are probably more dangerous than home distilling