The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider whether Congress had the constitutional authority to impose a ban on distilling spirits in private homes more than 150 years ago.
Plaintiffs challenging the prohibition on home distilling claim the 1868 law is an antiquated relic of Reconstruction-era politics. They argue that Congress overstepped its taxation powers when it enacted the home distilling ban as part of a tax reform measure designed to curb fraud by commercial distillers.
Government attorneys counter that Congress properly restricted where spirits can be distilled to prevent producers from evading federal excise taxes. They warn that lifting the ban would violate Supreme Court precedent and erode congressional powers.
The libertarian in me says fuck yes, if you wanna make booze, go make booze, fuck the monopolized spirits industry. The 2026 realist in me is trying to figure out how this turns into a big juicy bone for the existing entrenched industry players.
The distilled spirits law was from 1868. Other “Reconstruction era” laws passed, that could be targets:
We know modern Republicans don’t like either one of these things and think they should be abolished.
So this is the true reason they are willing to hear this case. If they can use this to overturn a law that we can almost all agree to, then they think they can make these easier too.
Because bullshit on government argument that they don’t want over turn Supreme Court president. They do that shit all the time.
Long time hobbyist home brewer here. Nobody is stopping you from home distilling. The required gear has long been publicly available. With either boozy category, one doesn’t take up this hobby to save money. There’s a large investment in gear and time to get it done.
It’s taken me close to 10 years of home brew experience, and probably over to $20k in supplies and equipment over that time to make beer that’s on par with craft breweries… 5 gallons of beer at a time.
The conversation ratio on mash to beer is mostly beer. The conversation ratio on mash to finished drinkable liquor is a joke in comparison. Multiple distillations if you want something that’s at best bottom shelf. Forget about aging.
Take that ‘libertarian’ and kill it.
I also think about all the folks I know and who would try to distil liquor vs who is smart enough to do it right. Honestly this feels like thing that should be local laws. I feel its a bit like guns. The higher the density the more likely you want to restrict it or at least permit it.
Are any of the people you know who aren’t smart enough to do it safely not doing it because of the law?
I don’t think they don’t do it because its illegal as much as because its not convenient enough. If there was something like head shops for brewing and distillation I could see them giving it a try.
There are definitely those shops near where I live. All the distillation stuff has a “definitely not for alcohol, buddy” warning the same as a “tobacco water pipe.”
You can buy high-quality copper and stainless stills on Amazon directly marketed as “for alcohol.”
yeah if it was commonly legal these would be far more common and accessible. Like I don’t think I even saw a headshop around my area when young but with legalization they are all over the place. You need a special license to sell it but not to sell peripherals.
Maybe, though I don’t see how it gets much more common and accessible than one click purchase and prime shipping to your doorstep.
Honestly, I don’t think that repealing the law will make any notable difference because distillation takes a decent amount of money to get started and a fair amount of effort to do and everything to do it has always been readily available at the brew shop, hardware store, or online.
Like, yeah, weed shops popped up when cannabis was legalized but, in most markets, home grow went down. Distilleries are gonna beat almost every home distiller for cost and quality, and, you know, it was basically already legal and allowed if you weren’t stupid. Plus, existing tax structures are gonna keep individuals from selling it the same way you can’t sell homebrew.
There are supercedent local and state laws afaik, like I know here in Maine it’s like 5 gallons at 200 proof a year.
The accelerationist in me says fuck yes, let these morons methanol themselves to death
The accelerationist in you ought to watch out for the malicious who know better, but do methanol stuff anyway because there’s nobody watching them and they want to increase their profits.
They’re probably against it. Diageo wants you buying from them.
They are indeed against it for that reason.