do not try this at home without obtaining the proper approval from the batf. . failure to do so could get you a prison term or worse. . Moonshine Making 101 - YouTube
Is it illegal to distill alcohol at all, or just to sell it? I thought the issue was the tax stamp on sales.
As I understand it (And I could be wrong) it is allowed a certain amount for personal use only. It may not be sold. I know the stills can be bought and sold.
There are previous posts on this issue. It was never resolved when the law actually changed. I remember clearly it was permitted for the head of household to manufacture 2 gallons annually for personal consumption when I was younger. It appears under current law that is no longer the case. One can obtain a free permit to distill small amounts of spirits for fuel, but there are precise provisions for keeping records (which must be available for batf inspection), and all spirits manufactured must be immediately poluted with one or more of certain chemicals to render them unfit to drink (failure to do so puts you again in serious jeopardy with the feds). Additionally this so called fuel may be used only for equipment or vehicles that do not leave your property powered by that fuel. Obviously all this is very draconian and depressing considering many of our founding fathers, including our first President used a pot still to make spirits for consuption in his kitchen at Mount Vernon. Any distiller found to have produced spirits without a permit can get you thrown in prison. Distillers used to make essential oils or to purify water are perfectly legal without regulation. Yes stills can be legally bought and sold. Manufactures of stills have been required by the batf to provide a list of their purchasers. Do you have the chemical technology to detect prior to purchase whether or not a still has been used to produce spirits? If you don't, that still would probably illegal to purchase, because any still which has been used to produce spirits without a permit is illegal to own. All of the above is what I gleaned from reading the law on the issue. I do not agree with it, but it is the law. It sucks!
The law is confusing and still requires paperwork which leaves you at the mercy of the JBTs. down here it is mostly covered by the DADT law. There also have been occasions in years gone by when the provisions of the SSS rule were adhered to. Just things I've heard from some long ago conversations with strange strangers. The distillation of .............Stove fuel.......... is a time honored activety that has more serious consequences than a little Mustang grape wine to keep granny(and me) quite.
Making moonshine - MariettaTimes.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Ohio, Community Information - The Marietta Times moonshine in Ohio
So alcohol requiring distillation is a no-no, but making alcohol that does not require to be distilled is ok?
Only thing I ever made was hard cider that I just let ferment in its own bottle. It cleared up my bad cold/flu.
I live in the GREAT STATE OF GEORGIA ,, if you distill in Ga WITHOUT a BATF permit you are breaking FEDERAL LAW ,, you may make Wines and Beers and Ales , and Meads , as long as it is comsumed by the household. the amount you can make changes all the time . I work at a Distillery in Richland , Ga ,,, the permit is MORE TROUBLE than it is worth ,,, it takes 15 minutes of paperwork for every hours worth of Distilling ,, you make purchase , make and/or possess distilling equipment for DISPLAYING . Now IF You Distilled a ""SMALL"" amount , kept your mouth shut ,, and didnt make some old friend or nosey relative mad you ""MAY"" be able to do it without reprise. but, Hear me and hear me well ,, YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. Ask your local Wine/Beer making supply store in your area for more and clearer advice. Florida has a great one in Tampa ,,and I am sure there are many in Florida .
Here it is legal to make and keep, but not to sell or drink or something weird like that. My personal stand of the matter is that adults should be allowed to do whatever they want with their bodies and minds as long as the don't harm others, but that's a different discussion. I've made a few batches in my life, but somewhat different although the same principle. I have used a stainless pipe filled halfway with lab-grade carbon and a nylon sock duct-taped to one end to purify the distilled liquid. You can also freeze-distill your "sugarwine" or any wine by freezing it, we call it, sloppy translated "Drunken eskimoe", found a video on Youtube to cover the principle.
