Posted on 04/10/2026 4:29:13 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
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.
Writing for a three-judge panel, Circuit Judge Edith Hollan Jones said the ban actually reduced tax revenue by preventing distilling in the first place, unlike laws that regulated the manufacture and labeling of distilled spirits on which the government could collect taxes.
She also said that under the government's logic, Congress could criminalize virtually any in-home activity that might escape notice from tax collectors, including remote work and home-based businesses.
"Without any limiting principle, the government’s theory would violate this court’s obligation to read the Constitution carefully to avoid creating a general federal authority akin to the police power," Jones wrote.
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Don’t drink Mags apple pie.Ask Raylan why that’s Justified.
Bob Dylan - Copper Kettle (Official Audio)
Lyrics: Get you a copper kettle Get you a copper coil Fill it with new made corn mash And never more you'll toil
You'll just lay there by the juniper While the moon is bright Watch them jugs a-filling In the pale moonlight
Build you a fire with hickory Hickory, ash, and oak Don't use no green or rotten wood It'll get you by the smoke
We'll just lay there by the juniper While the moon is bright Watch them jugs a-filling In the pale moonlight
My daddy, he made whiskey My granddaddy, he did too We ain't paid no whiskey tax Since 1792
We'll just lay there by the juniper While the moon is bright Watch them jugs a-filling In the pale moonlight
Another version
It's kind of like that dolphin-free tuna problem.
"Mom! The moonshine just doesn't taste the same without some ethylene-glycol residue in it."
Learned a thing or two from Charlie don’t you know
You better stay away from Copperhead Road
If you want to make lemon cello, who’s effin problem is is it?
Chris Stapelton should do a new version
Thought it was George Jones but looked it up and you are correct
There’s minor differences, but they’re basically the same. Ouzo is the Greek version; Raki is Turkish.
“Are there that many private homeowners still making their own liquor?
In the south? Hoo yeah!”
When Nashville had the big floods in 2010 we were part of a group getting food and water to stranded people in some outlying counties. One of our volunteers was stopped looking at a flooded road when a guy asked him what he was doing. He explained there was an older couple who needed supplies and he couldn’t get to them. The guy said “I’ll get you there” and they took off..... through bean fields and up and down dirt and gravel roads until the got to the desired address. My friend asked how he knew the roads so well and the guy replied “I’m an ILD.”
?
Independent liquor distributor.
By the way.... when we moved onto our property in ‘86 we found the remains of 2 stills.
Well it should be “duh,” but the 1942 case of Wickard v. Filburn says otherwise. Perhaps this case is one of those that will lead to the overturning of that Constitutional abomination, something that I have been hoping and praying for since I learned about it in the mid-80s. Wickard is the basis for allowing ANYTHING to be regulated by the feds, something clearly never intended by the Founders.
What about flow restrictors and toilet capacities or incandescent light bulbs?
Hehehe. Looks like a guy I worked with in Texas who had “kin” in Arkansas who would take orders for moonshine made from fruit on his family farm.
Actually its the lead that is the problem
Make bathtub Gin Great Again ! /s
It doesn’t have much taste.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.