On July 10, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Pittman in the Northern District of Texas ruled in the case of Hobby Distillers Association v. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau that the longstanding federal ban on home distillation of alcohol for drinking is unconstitutional. The ruling raises nuanced legal questions that will almost certainly be scrutinized on appeal. It also provides an occasion to ask a more fundamental question: Why is distilling spirits in one's own home for personal use any of the government's business?
The plaintiffs, which included aspiring home distiller Scott McNutt as well as the association, challenged two provisions of federal law. The first forbids locating a licensed spirits plant "in any dwelling house, in any shed, yard, or inclosure connected with any dwelling house." The second makes it a criminal offense for anyone to use, or possess with intent to use, distilling equipment for the production of spirits, punishable by fines of up to $10,000 or up to five years in prison. Together, these provisions make any sort of home distilling illegal.
