If you search for "home still" on Amazon, you will see a bunch of products that are explicitly advertised as tools for producing liquor. But while it is legal to make beer, cider, or wine at home for your own consumption or to share with friends, unlicensed production of distilled spirits remains a federal felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.
That law is unconstitutional, a federal judge in Texas ruled last week. In addition to potentially protecting at least some DIY distillers from a daunting threat, the decision offers hope of constraining a federal government that has expanded far beyond the limited and enumerated powers granted by the Constitution.
