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Many Americans make their own wine and beer as a hobby, but anyone who decides to distill hard liquor does so in violation of a federal law that was passed close to 160 years ago. However, it may not be on the books for much longer thanks to a ruling that opened the door for in-home operations.
Archeologists have come across evidence that suggests people have been brewing beer and making wine for more than 10,000 years. It took a bit longer for humans to figure out the art of distilling, as it’s believed that second type of booze was at the center of the process that was first harnessed in the Middle East in the 9th century.
The alcohol that was produced back then was primarily reserved for the production of perfumes and experiments in alchemy, but people eventually realized it had the potential to get you drunk much quicker than lower-proof spirits en route to spawning the massive industry that is still alive and well today.
Distilling serves as the basis for hard liquor including vodka, gin, whiskey, and rum. Those end products may be markedly different, but they can all trace their roots back to a process that involves the condensation of alcohol into a concentrated spirit.
It’s a fairly straightforward procedure that anyone can do if they have access to the right equipment. However, it’s also been outlawed across the United States since the end of the Civil War thanks to a law that was recently struck down by a panel of three judges in Louisiana.
A law that banned Americans from distilling their own alcohol at home has been deemed unconstitutional
Most people probably associate home distilling with the so-called “moonshiners” who are inextricably linked with the American South and have a reputation for dodging the law while moving an amount of illicit hooch that no reasonable person could argue has been produced for personal consumption.
However, any American who has simply wanted to make some booze they can treat themselves to has been banned from doing so due to a law that was passed in 1868 during Reconstruction, which threatened anyone who distilled alcohol without approval from the federal government with a $10,000 fine and up to five years in prison.
Similar legislation banned the private production of beer and wine until Jimmy Carter signed H.R. 1337 in 1979, which allowed people to make up to 100 gallons (or 200 gallons if they share a home with another adult) per year without running into any issues.
However, liquor has not gotten a similar treatment, and according to Reuters, the aforementioned 158-year-old law was at the center of a legal challenge that was filed by the Hobby Distillers Association and four of its members.
The lawsuit argued that Americans should be free to distill their own alcohol for hobby purposes without running afoul of the government, and last week, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans agreed while ruling the law violated the Constitution.
Circuit Judge Edith Hollan Jones penned a ruling that asserted Congress overstepped its bounds with legislation that relied on “unnecessary and improper means” of taxation, arguing that an outright ban made it impossible to collect taxes in the first place and set a precedent that had the potential to “criminalize virtually any in-home activity.”
It is worth noting that the government could appeal the ruling, and most states also have laws in place that prevent people from distilling within their borders that would have to be struck down if people want to take advantage. However, it’s certainly a step in the right direction.