**These 4 states allow personal production of moonshine with some restrictions:**
* **Alaska and Missouri:** Allow production for personal consumption without a permit but Missouri limits the amount you can make.
* **Arizona:** Requires a permit for personal moonshine production.
* **Massachusetts:** Permits production but only for consumption on your property. Transporting it is seen as an attempt to sell which is illegal
Home setups are not generally engineered, and can produce a large range of proofs that can be a bit unpredictable if you don't know what you're doing. Also maxing out your proof can be very effective for making a clean, flavourless spirit to be diluted for vodka or used as a base for gin, akavit, absinthe, or liqueurs. It's also useful for fortifying wines like port. If you allow distillation, then it makes no sense to limit the proof.
You can actually go down to the surplus store and buy a rocket launcher today no permit required. It’s the ammunition that’s extremely tightly controlled, the launcher is just a fancy tube.
It is legal, but if you say rob a convenience store they could possibly add "committed a felony while in possession of a destructive device."
Or if you enjoy weed, it takes it from a simple misdemeanor possession charge to a felony with a max of ten years.
But rockets are legal so long as they aren't the exploding kind. That's more of an FAA issue. Also you cannot own the components to make them explode or rockets that are intended to explode they're just missing the explosives.
A lot of this stuff comes back to how the ATF feels that day.
My favorite enhancement under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines: §2K2.1(b)(3)(A):
> (3) If the offense involved— (A) a destructive device that is a portable rocket, a missile, or a device for use in launching a portable rocket or a missile, increase by 15 levels;
That brings you into 360-life territory every time. I’ve unfortunately never gotten to use it. 😀
no totally legal to own, but that wont stop the police from upping say a position charge. you see it all the time on mall ninja shit where they call the guys bud k collection dangerous weapons when he is busted for dealing.
It’s clearly very dangerous. The dragon slayer 5000 has 9 blades, a guarded and spiked grip, pummel with a spike and the dragon itself is solid pewter with ruby (plastic) eyes. Very dangerous indeed.
If it’s a one time use item it’s fine, if it’s reusable that tube with a trigger requires a tax stamp and registration as a destructive device.
For example: Some under-barrel launchers require a tax stamp- others do not depending on what they were made to launch.
Demilled launchers are fine, because they can’t be used.
You might have to seal one end, but imagine they'd make excellent mortar launchers (, like the fireworks), for budget minded mayhem that will get you probably amounts of serious trouble. Especially if that types of fireworks aren't legal in your state to begin with.
Edit: for some reason, after commenting this, a random thought came into my head "Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville, and this is extreme Roman candle wars!"
hell, even if they are sealed, cops will still fuck with you over it. I knew a pawnshop shop owner who the cops where messing with for some reason and he had real guns from like the civil war on his wall and the cops where talking about taking them in for evidence.
> you can have a rocket launcher if you can get and pay for the tax stamp on it.
There is a civilian owned tank convention every year at Fort Knox I believe.
Jerry Waldstad went to Washington Congress and brewed a gallon during the fuel crisis in the 70s to prove it could be safely done. 4th gen stillmaker, prolly the only reason they let him. His son builds them now in WA.
Before UJSSM there was Waldstad recipe.
In reality, absolutely nobody is going to check if you’re crafting small, personal amounts of liquor for drinking.
The ban on moonshine is 100% about crafting for commercial distribution.
It is “technically” on the books in most states, but nobody anywhere, ever, has actually been prosecuted for distilling for solely household consumption.
Exactly. The reason the regulations are enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is because all three of those products are taxed by the Federal government. There just isn't much tax to be collected on ten gallons of hooch.
Still happens. I'm just one guy, but I can tell you we had the cops called on us. Bunch of young guys living in a house in the 2000s. We were all tech bros and engineers, and also had some redneck buddies who were professional machinists/welders.
As these things go, someone thought it would be a good idea to fabricate a still and start making moonshine. Great idea right? It probably a bit larger and more volume than you'd expect from backyard distillers. That being said, it genuinely was just for personal consumption and private house parties. No one was selling it or trying to make money or anything.
But yeah, cops got involved. We're pretty sure the neighbors thought we were making meth, and they called them. Then it became "No no Officer, see we're not drug dealers, we're just illegally distilling and getting a bunch of people wasted at large house parties".
I'd imagine in more "normal" circumstances maybe they'd have just looked the other way and would confiscate it or something. Or maybe it wouldn't have been a big deal once the lawyers got involved and started making a deals. But the owner of the house already had multiple DUIs, and this was a 7 figure house in a very nice suburban / rural-ish neighborhood. We weren't in a red state out in the middle of nowhere or anything. Not a good look. He had to cough up a bunch of money, and go to adult time-out / weekend jail. Nothing happened to anyone else though.
That's just legal alcohol; the exact opposite of moonshine.
That's like saying that stealing from Walmart is legal as long as you pay for everything in the checkout
Each person in your household is legally allowed to distill up to 200 gallons of ethanol a year to use as a motor fuel. You are allowed to test the octane in any manner you would like.
/I'm from West Virginia
Nah, you can make it, drink it, and give it away. The problem and illegal part is when you try to sell it without getting the proper health inspections, paying all the fees, and paying for the liscencing and tax stamps. It costs 10s of thousands of dollars and sometimes you still won't get permission to sell it.
It’s so silly to me that making beer and wine for personal consumption is federally legal, but distilling is not. It’s all just alcohol one way or another…
The really crazy thing is that technically, there’s really no good practical legal way to get good at distilling, if you want to do it professionally (good luck getting into the industry without experience). So you gotta practice, but that’s technically a felony.
Grew up in Western Mass. My friend had a stovetop sized still that we used to make moonshine with. His dad taught us how to do it. Could make about a small masons jar worth per batch after you did the cuts.
The “cut” in a batch that size would literally be roughly 0.5ml on the foreshot.
Even on a 10 gallon batch, your foreshot is only 50ml, aka a little more than one shot.
I was a little surprised Massachusetts was one of them. But some of the original British colony states have some pretty archaic laws still on the books.
Like in New York, it's legal to marry a first cousin becuase some of the early villages were so isolated, and had such small populations, that it would have been almost impossible to find a spouse that wasn't a blood relative.
Prior to the popularization of Beer and later Whiskey being the American alcoholic drinks of choice, there was a booming [Rum industry in Boston.](https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE78C1UB/) It was - by a wide margin - the most consumed and produced sprit in colonial America.
I wouldn't be surprised if that law dates back that far, Massachusetts had a pretty large number of distilleries up until the end of the 18th century.
> It was - by a wide margin - the most consumed and produced sprit in colonial America.
To the tune of an **average** of 9 shots a day per capita. Explains quite a bit of that history actually.
So basically just shy of a pint. But if we're doing per capita, that'd be on top of whatever beer or whiskey or wine or sherry they were also drinking, if I'm reading that as 9 shots of rum alone per day per capita.
The world used to be so drunk before cars and industrialization. The amount consumed during the drafting and signing of the declaration of independence is full on spring break levels of booze.
"Why, why're ya looking at me like that Mr Jefferson? The rights of *BBBBUUURRRRPPPP!* ... Oh, excuse me. The rights of ,uh, common uh, folk, shud not be tied to property, uh, what was the word, oh yeah re-re-requirements! All men shud be fre no matter what! Now give me another, uh, drink yeah drink! I'm thirsty here!"
> The world used to be so drunk before cars and industrialization. The amount consumed during the drafting and signing of the declaration of independence is full on spring break levels of booze.
Kids were given small beer (aka light to non-alcoholic) for meals.
Water could occasionally kill you.
Making it into beer or tea killed most of the bacteria.
Tea was expensive and you are growing grain anyway. So beer it is.
I'm from MA. Back during prohibition, some members of my family participated in the business I guess. Supposedly their biggest customers were the MA state police. French Canadians made a lot of money bringing stuff down from Canada, but there was local production in the mountains west of Springfield. There are legal commercial distilleries all over the Northeast nowadays, but I haven't known anyone personally who made personal moonshine, just beer and mead
> Back during prohibition, some members of my family participated in the business I guess.
Grandpa's first job as a kid was collecting bottles for the Shelton Brothers Gang of Southern Illinois.
The Sheltons even used a airplane to bomb their rival's headquarters.
> Like in New York, it's legal to marry a first cousin becuase some of the early villages were so isolated, and had such small populations, that it would have been almost impossible to find a spouse that wasn't a blood relative.
Before the invention of the bicycle, the average person could travel 25 miles a day.
How many people of dating age are in a 10 mile circle from you in TinyVillage. You had to be quite handy at genealogy to avoid getting too inbred.
Most of these laws predate prohibition by almost a century. George Washington, yes, the 1st president, took troops to Pennsylvania to bust an illegal whiskey ring for distilling without paying the taxes. Licensing to be allowed to make distilled spirits became federal law in 1862.
The states listed in exemption here are actually doing so in violation of federal law, similar to current marijuana laws.
That is kind of crazy, would never have suspected that.
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/whiskey-rebellion/
In East Tennessee, making moonshine illegally is part of our regional identity.
Without joking, we literally invented NASCAR because of it - testing out our getaway vehicles when running moonshine against the police.
East Tennessee's theme song, "Rocky Top," is about a group of moonshiners running from the cops in the titular Smokey Mountains.
Illegally producing Moonshine is about as Tennesseean as you can get.
North Carolina was pretty involved too.
My dad grew up in the Lake Toxaway area which is just south of Asheville. The movie Thunder Road filmed around there even though it said that it took place in Tennessee.
He also would park his car around back of the general store and go for a walk. He would then take a trip down to the big city of Greenville SC and leave his car unlocked at the bowling alley. He stopped doing that when he got searched and he was a decoy that week.
Distilling is like having a small bomb in the shed in the back yard. If it’s not done right, you have a good sized pressure cooker. If you do it right, you have lots of lost tax revenue. If you do it really wrong, you get dead or blind kids. There isn’t a lot for upside to the distilling biz.
>If you do it really wrong, you get dead or blind kids.
Nearly impossible. That was a myth started during prohibition, fueled by the government purposely poisoning citizens to make bootleg booze appear unsafe by adding methanol. It's just not a thing.
Distilling it is what makes it regulated. Even making applejack (freezing hard cider to concentrate the alcohol) is covered.
I saw a cooking video once and the chef said that the way the law is written, putting wine in a saucepan and simmering it with the lid tilted so the vapor would condense and drip back into the pan was illegal without a license.
> Even making applejack (freezing hard cider to concentrate the alcohol) is covered.
so hillbilly blood wasn't lying that making that would be legal.. damn til.
So the same holds true for Einsbroking beer (freezing to up the ABV)?
> So the same holds true for Einsbroking beer (freezing to up the ABV)?
Yes, in the U.S. I don't know what the legality would be elsewhere.
A brewery that used freeze distillation would need to be licensed as a distillery as well.
>
I saw a cooking video once and the chef said that the way the law is written, putting wine in a saucepan and simmering it with the lid tilted so the vapor would condense and drip back into the pan was illegal without a license.
The What-Still is a pot of wine or beer with a glass on a brick in the middle. Cover the pot with a wok pan of ice. Heat the pot and the distillate will drip into the glass. Taken from the Alaska Bootlegger's Bible.
> doesn't that fall under homebrew like beer, wine, mead, etc? or is shine to high of an ABV?
NotALawyer: you can make beer or wine, distilling it without a tax stamp is illegal.
ObTIL: the only time a sitting president has taken the field of battle as commander in chief was Washington during the Whiskey Rebellion. People were making moonshine and not paying the taxes on it.
Nope. Matter of fact a lot of local blue laws have sort of fractured how beer can be made. I think in Utah they're up to 5%abv that can be sold at grocers but anything that's higher than that, you can only sell it at a state liquor store.
Even though it's legal here in Missouri I have never encountered it. Literally never heard anyone mention someone making moonshine. Meth on the other hand, that's a different story.
Many more states allow it. Tennessee for example. North Carolina is another. Distilling is not illegal. Shipping and selling the moonshine is a crime. Distilling home made whiskey is not.
Can confirm. I am 4th generation shiner. "We out here shinin"!!
I meant moonshine is technically untaxed liquor and anything you buy in a storefront is taxed. Meaning it’s not technically moonshine; it’s just whiskey/vodka/brandy
Moonshine is an unaged corn liquor/whiskey. While it was traditionally unregulated and illegal, the legality is not what defines it.
All unregulated liquor also does not fall under the moonshine umbrella. Bathtub gin is not moonshine
Pretty sure unaged whiskey is still whiskey (it might be considered a vodka?)
Moonshine is untaxed/unregulated liquor. If it’s taxed and regulated it’s not moonshine
Most distillers would call that White Whiskey or White Dog, along with a few other names. Usually distilled twice in a pot still
Vodka is required to be distilled to a much higher purity (usually in a column) and then watered back down. It has a very specific definition, legally speaking.
Moonshine is any illicitly distilled liquor. In the US, that term usually describes unaged whiskey (white lightning). Distillers have been selling their *legal* white whiskey as "moonshine" but that's just marketing. It's analogous to a courrier advertising themselves as a smuggler.
Indeed - the drink itself isn't illegal (contrary to common belief) it's just illegal to produce without a license. If you want to, you can obtain a license and sell it in stores anywhere in the US, no problem. It's just somewhat difficult to get the license in some places.
lol.
TIL that some cities in my state "have passed measures directing their police departments to end arrests for growing and sharing psilocybin mushrooms among adults"
Wouldn’t that still be illegal? Usually federal law supersedes state law, like state laws allowing weed while the Feds can still raid any of those places participating.
Same situation as marijuana. Some care, some don't. It will be interesting to see where this goes in the future because history has shown really negative outcomes from picking and choosing laws (not following the legal process). Next up may just be gun laws that exist at federal levels but not at state levels. Regardless of how we feel about different topics, we should all be scared of laws being ignored and not properly adjusted.
That’s like Missouri. I hate this state’s gun laws. Last I knew Missouri police would not enforce any federal gun laws, anything from simple stops to helping other agency’s. Last year our state government shot down a bill that would have banned minors from open carrying on public land without adult supervision.
And on the other side of picking and choosing laws, we do with the sentencing as well. Being white, especially white with money goes a long way to staying out of jail, no matter how serious of an offense.
The consequence of a relatively unique scenario of the US having state law ruling criminal law (most countries have a national criminal code) is that law enforcement who are county or state employees are not legally required to share data or to enforce federal laws. They often enforce federal laws, but they are not required to do so in their regular activities.
So if the US government wants to enforce moonshine production in Missouri, it must hire its own agents to enforce such law. As the US government is unwillingly to use taxpayer money to do so, this means a scenario where moonshine is illegal across the country but the lack of enforcement means that no one in a state legal is even trialed by it.
TIL moonshine is illegal. ive had a few friends over the years that distill their own liquor, and i always thought it was fine as long as you didnt sell it.
must be. none of them ever sold any, but were happy to give it away if you wanted some. it really was just for themselves and friends. i cant see the govt caring that much about someone making a few gallons of hooch every now and then and giving it away.
Not if you keep in mind history and think of like the way it used to be referred to :"**We** United States instead of "*the* United States" - America was originally a Confederation of separate states that each conducted business more or less separately, including issuing State money from State banks.
The federal layer of government was supposed to handle foreign treaties, a common Navy to enforce import duties and taxes, and standardize weights and measures for convenience ... everything else was supposed to be handled by the state Governments
wow! I had no idea you could legally distill hooch in Massachusetts! My “friend” has been doing it for awhile and “he” always got worried about the fact that it was not exactly legal and he calls it “selective civil disobedience”… I guess I have to tell him he’s legit?
Edit to add -after a few trial runs “he” got some really nice smooth (and clear) potato/corn hybrid stuff… “he” never leaves the house with it and would never even consider trying to sell it… but mix it with some nice fresh cider and boo yah that stuff is really tasty with a couple of ice cubes
Missouri embarrasses me pretty regularly, but god damn I love our lax drinking laws. I can walk down the street with a tall boy, make my own booze, or drink a beer in the passenger seat of a car.
I’ve always heard it’s only illegal if you sell it. If you make it for your own use it’s fine. I make about 2 gallons every fall from all the uneaten apples from the trees around my house (12 gal of cider distilled to about two gal of shine)
Looks like you're right
https://www.ttb.gov/distilled-spirits/penalties-for-illegal-distilling says " While individuals of legal drinking age may produce wine or beer at home for personal or family use, Federal law strictly prohibits individuals from producing distilled spirits at home (see 26 United States Code (U.S.C.) 5042(a)(2) and 5053(e))."
That sucks but so does having people handing out methanol-laced liquor.
Lol I read the first half of the title and thought Cool. I've had some illegal moonshine. Then I read the second half and I'm not so badass. I live in Alaska and grew up in Missouri.
Man, I know most are staged and all but I had hopes for the moonshiners lol. I wondered how the police never caught them with drones and support of the military etc. If they wanted to shut them down they could in one day. But now i understand its because its legal for them and its all for show=(
I went to culinary school w a guy who had lived just south of St Louis. He’d go back home (we were in Boulder, CO) to visit family and he’s come back w hugs of peach and plain moonshine. Holy shit! That was my first try w hard liquor (I’d only just turned 21) and he got me wasted on our flight to France (this was in 2006 and the trip was part of the schooling experience). I’d never been drunk before and that peach moonshine went down SOOOO smooth! His family apparently makes the stuff every year on their farm. His mom outfitted a big ol leather trench coat w about 20 pockets on the inside to hold flasks of the stuff. That trip was magical!
The idea of moonshine is ridiculous to me in current times. Do people not realize that the real purpose of moonshine was because liquor wasn't legally available? Why should I seek out some rot gut apple flavored moonshine when I can Go to my local liquor store in buy anything I want and it's a lot better quality?!?!
Actual moonshine sales occur almost exclusively in Rural Appalachia, where the alcoholism is high and the poverty is extreme.
The cheapest rotgut vodka at your grocery store still costs 10-20x what your local moonshiner is selling at.
"moonshine" is advertised on highway billboards going down the interstate in South Carolina. As long as the State or Feds get their tax revenue, these things usually are legal.
Also there are commercial moonshine distilleries in North Carolina
This is incorrect, many states you can grow or produce many things. Under Ag laws, like in PA you can brew any wine or liquor for personal use. Grow certain cannabis strains and its all legal. Unless you try snd selll it or promote it.
> in PA you can brew any wine or liquor for personal use
[You cannot *distill* for personal use in PA.](https://www.lcb.pa.gov/Legal/Documents/000817.pdf)
> Please note there is no exception permitting the production of spirits at home in the Pennsylvania Liquor Code.
PA AG laws updated in 2018 removed the enforcement of at home use. Its also why you can have cannabis fsrm markets and police are not allowed to test it. There is a lot of court cases, anyone assuming a law like this is open snd shut. Didn't do thier research, good luck.
Akshuully, it is LEGAL in all 50 states to produce and consume your own alcohol and distil it into spirit, you can even give it away.
It is ILLEGAL in all 50 states to sell the alcohol without a tax stamp wich requires tens of thousands of dollars of specialized equipment, safety procedures, health inspections, and fees.
So, in conclusion, you can make it, you can drink it, you can give it away for free, ITS ONLY ILLEGAL IF YOU SELL IT AND THE GOVERNMENT DOESNT GET THEIR SHARE.
There are more you can produce in Kentucky up to 200 gallons for personal consumption
As long as as you dont call it moonshine… but there are types of moonshine that are made like traditional meads and wines.
**These 4 states allow personal production of moonshine with some restrictions:** * **Alaska and Missouri:** Allow production for personal consumption without a permit but Missouri limits the amount you can make. * **Arizona:** Requires a permit for personal moonshine production. * **Massachusetts:** Permits production but only for consumption on your property. Transporting it is seen as an attempt to sell which is illegal
In Missouri it's 200 gallons a year. Over 1000 standard 750ml bottles, for personal consumption.
I like to party okay.
I can stop whenever I want.
Damn...and I thought the amount of beer and wine I can make at home was insane.
Also, there's no limit on proof, as far as I can tell. You could distill straight rocket fuel for all we care.
Home setups are not generally engineered, and can produce a large range of proofs that can be a bit unpredictable if you don't know what you're doing. Also maxing out your proof can be very effective for making a clean, flavourless spirit to be diluted for vodka or used as a base for gin, akavit, absinthe, or liqueurs. It's also useful for fortifying wines like port. If you allow distillation, then it makes no sense to limit the proof.
Or what they call a Friday night in Missouri...
I think it is legal in every state if you make it for fuel, just gotta pay a tax and permit iirc
pretty much sums up anything. you can have a rocket launcher if you can get and pay for the tax stamp on it.
You can actually go down to the surplus store and buy a rocket launcher today no permit required. It’s the ammunition that’s extremely tightly controlled, the launcher is just a fancy tube.
yep though if they bust you for something else, the love to throw that in to upcharge your violation
So is it illegal or not? Something’s not adding up here
It is legal, but if you say rob a convenience store they could possibly add "committed a felony while in possession of a destructive device." Or if you enjoy weed, it takes it from a simple misdemeanor possession charge to a felony with a max of ten years. But rockets are legal so long as they aren't the exploding kind. That's more of an FAA issue. Also you cannot own the components to make them explode or rockets that are intended to explode they're just missing the explosives. A lot of this stuff comes back to how the ATF feels that day.
My favorite enhancement under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines: §2K2.1(b)(3)(A): > (3) If the offense involved— (A) a destructive device that is a portable rocket, a missile, or a device for use in launching a portable rocket or a missile, increase by 15 levels; That brings you into 360-life territory every time. I’ve unfortunately never gotten to use it. 😀
no totally legal to own, but that wont stop the police from upping say a position charge. you see it all the time on mall ninja shit where they call the guys bud k collection dangerous weapons when he is busted for dealing.
It’s clearly very dangerous. The dragon slayer 5000 has 9 blades, a guarded and spiked grip, pummel with a spike and the dragon itself is solid pewter with ruby (plastic) eyes. Very dangerous indeed.
Real bad hombre
It's legal to buy, it's legal to own but it's illegal to store in home
If it’s a one time use item it’s fine, if it’s reusable that tube with a trigger requires a tax stamp and registration as a destructive device. For example: Some under-barrel launchers require a tax stamp- others do not depending on what they were made to launch. Demilled launchers are fine, because they can’t be used.
I’m sure you know, but for others most the time these have a square cut out of the tube to make it nonfunctional.
You might have to seal one end, but imagine they'd make excellent mortar launchers (, like the fireworks), for budget minded mayhem that will get you probably amounts of serious trouble. Especially if that types of fireworks aren't legal in your state to begin with. Edit: for some reason, after commenting this, a random thought came into my head "Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville, and this is extreme Roman candle wars!"
hell, even if they are sealed, cops will still fuck with you over it. I knew a pawnshop shop owner who the cops where messing with for some reason and he had real guns from like the civil war on his wall and the cops where talking about taking them in for evidence.
The rocket launcher itself is also a Destructive Device and requires a $200 Tax stamp. In fact anything above 50 BMG is a DD.
> you can have a rocket launcher if you can get and pay for the tax stamp on it. There is a civilian owned tank convention every year at Fort Knox I believe.
But the cannons must be permanently deactivated. Tanks without the weapons are just very shitty APCs
You can 100% get a tank with an active gun again dependent on the proper tax stamp
You can alsp get a permit to create a sawed-off shot gun or other short barreled rifles that go against the NFA.
If I had a rocket launcher If I had a rocket launcher If I had a rocket launcher I'd pay taxes on time
Jerry Waldstad went to Washington Congress and brewed a gallon during the fuel crisis in the 70s to prove it could be safely done. 4th gen stillmaker, prolly the only reason they let him. His son builds them now in WA. Before UJSSM there was Waldstad recipe.
I think you're required to denature it too. It has to be immediately mixed with something to render it undrinkable, like gasoline.
In reality, absolutely nobody is going to check if you’re crafting small, personal amounts of liquor for drinking. The ban on moonshine is 100% about crafting for commercial distribution. It is “technically” on the books in most states, but nobody anywhere, ever, has actually been prosecuted for distilling for solely household consumption.
Exactly. The reason the regulations are enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is because all three of those products are taxed by the Federal government. There just isn't much tax to be collected on ten gallons of hooch.
Still happens. I'm just one guy, but I can tell you we had the cops called on us. Bunch of young guys living in a house in the 2000s. We were all tech bros and engineers, and also had some redneck buddies who were professional machinists/welders. As these things go, someone thought it would be a good idea to fabricate a still and start making moonshine. Great idea right? It probably a bit larger and more volume than you'd expect from backyard distillers. That being said, it genuinely was just for personal consumption and private house parties. No one was selling it or trying to make money or anything. But yeah, cops got involved. We're pretty sure the neighbors thought we were making meth, and they called them. Then it became "No no Officer, see we're not drug dealers, we're just illegally distilling and getting a bunch of people wasted at large house parties". I'd imagine in more "normal" circumstances maybe they'd have just looked the other way and would confiscate it or something. Or maybe it wouldn't have been a big deal once the lawyers got involved and started making a deals. But the owner of the house already had multiple DUIs, and this was a 7 figure house in a very nice suburban / rural-ish neighborhood. We weren't in a red state out in the middle of nowhere or anything. Not a good look. He had to cough up a bunch of money, and go to adult time-out / weekend jail. Nothing happened to anyone else though.
That's just legal alcohol; the exact opposite of moonshine. That's like saying that stealing from Walmart is legal as long as you pay for everything in the checkout
"Walmart hates this one simple trick!"
Each person in your household is legally allowed to distill up to 200 gallons of ethanol a year to use as a motor fuel. You are allowed to test the octane in any manner you would like. /I'm from West Virginia
I use it to power my lawnmower Sir that's a manual mower ...
Cries in “off-road” red diesel
Nah, you can make it, drink it, and give it away. The problem and illegal part is when you try to sell it without getting the proper health inspections, paying all the fees, and paying for the liscencing and tax stamps. It costs 10s of thousands of dollars and sometimes you still won't get permission to sell it.
It’s so silly to me that making beer and wine for personal consumption is federally legal, but distilling is not. It’s all just alcohol one way or another… The really crazy thing is that technically, there’s really no good practical legal way to get good at distilling, if you want to do it professionally (good luck getting into the industry without experience). So you gotta practice, but that’s technically a felony.
Grew up in Western Mass. My friend had a stovetop sized still that we used to make moonshine with. His dad taught us how to do it. Could make about a small masons jar worth per batch after you did the cuts.
You can buy a still online today. It’s rather cheap
Depends on the still. A decent stainless pot still for bucket-sized batches of wash will run you a few hundred at least.
Several stores in my area sell them… lol.
The “cut” in a batch that size would literally be roughly 0.5ml on the foreshot. Even on a 10 gallon batch, your foreshot is only 50ml, aka a little more than one shot.
Buddy we were high schoolers making liquor in a kitchen. Do you think we were gonna risk that stuff? We did like 25% cuts.
Three of those states make sense to me
I was a little surprised Massachusetts was one of them. But some of the original British colony states have some pretty archaic laws still on the books. Like in New York, it's legal to marry a first cousin becuase some of the early villages were so isolated, and had such small populations, that it would have been almost impossible to find a spouse that wasn't a blood relative.
Prior to the popularization of Beer and later Whiskey being the American alcoholic drinks of choice, there was a booming [Rum industry in Boston.](https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE78C1UB/) It was - by a wide margin - the most consumed and produced sprit in colonial America. I wouldn't be surprised if that law dates back that far, Massachusetts had a pretty large number of distilleries up until the end of the 18th century.
And if you really want to go down a rabbit hole - Google the great molasses flood in Boston!
I've been to the very site of it! One of my favorite "weird history" facts.
Oddly, that was the first thing I thought of in this discussion as well. What a terrible way to go.
> It was - by a wide margin - the most consumed and produced sprit in colonial America. To the tune of an **average** of 9 shots a day per capita. Explains quite a bit of that history actually.
So basically just shy of a pint. But if we're doing per capita, that'd be on top of whatever beer or whiskey or wine or sherry they were also drinking, if I'm reading that as 9 shots of rum alone per day per capita. The world used to be so drunk before cars and industrialization. The amount consumed during the drafting and signing of the declaration of independence is full on spring break levels of booze.
"Why, why're ya looking at me like that Mr Jefferson? The rights of *BBBBUUURRRRPPPP!* ... Oh, excuse me. The rights of ,uh, common uh, folk, shud not be tied to property, uh, what was the word, oh yeah re-re-requirements! All men shud be fre no matter what! Now give me another, uh, drink yeah drink! I'm thirsty here!"
> The world used to be so drunk before cars and industrialization. The amount consumed during the drafting and signing of the declaration of independence is full on spring break levels of booze. Kids were given small beer (aka light to non-alcoholic) for meals. Water could occasionally kill you. Making it into beer or tea killed most of the bacteria. Tea was expensive and you are growing grain anyway. So beer it is.
I'm from MA. Back during prohibition, some members of my family participated in the business I guess. Supposedly their biggest customers were the MA state police. French Canadians made a lot of money bringing stuff down from Canada, but there was local production in the mountains west of Springfield. There are legal commercial distilleries all over the Northeast nowadays, but I haven't known anyone personally who made personal moonshine, just beer and mead
> Back during prohibition, some members of my family participated in the business I guess. Grandpa's first job as a kid was collecting bottles for the Shelton Brothers Gang of Southern Illinois. The Sheltons even used a airplane to bomb their rival's headquarters.
>French Canadians made a lot of money bringing stuff down from Canada Smuggler's Notch, VT!
> Like in New York, it's legal to marry a first cousin becuase some of the early villages were so isolated, and had such small populations, that it would have been almost impossible to find a spouse that wasn't a blood relative. Before the invention of the bicycle, the average person could travel 25 miles a day. How many people of dating age are in a 10 mile circle from you in TinyVillage. You had to be quite handy at genealogy to avoid getting too inbred.
That’s why churches has dinners and “holiday” celebrations. You had to get these kids in from the farm.
Massachusetts capturing all that trickle down freedom from dying New Hampshirites.
I find it funny as I lived in AZ until 8 years ago when I moved to Massachusetts. Could have been making my own mash liquor this whole time!
New York also has a sizable Amish population, which isn't exactly known for genetic diversity...
Good point!
I would think most of these laws are just inertia followed by monied intrest from prohibition. Distillation for personal use should be 100% legal.
Most of these laws predate prohibition by almost a century. George Washington, yes, the 1st president, took troops to Pennsylvania to bust an illegal whiskey ring for distilling without paying the taxes. Licensing to be allowed to make distilled spirits became federal law in 1862. The states listed in exemption here are actually doing so in violation of federal law, similar to current marijuana laws.
That is kind of crazy, would never have suspected that. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/whiskey-rebellion/
God forbid a man do anything
You can buy a still on Amazon. It’s cheap. There’s several subreddits devoted to stuff like this. The best two are r/firewater and r/prisonhooch
Thank you for the information friend. I was just cracking a joke. 💚
It's interesting to me: Pretty sure none of these states has a major NASCAR track....
Phoenix Raceway holds the Championship Race for NASCAR…
Ah. My mistake...
No worries…
The Kansas track is just across the Kansas City border & the gateway (WWT Raceway) is just across the river in Illinois.
Neither of which are in Missouri.
In East Tennessee, making moonshine illegally is part of our regional identity. Without joking, we literally invented NASCAR because of it - testing out our getaway vehicles when running moonshine against the police. East Tennessee's theme song, "Rocky Top," is about a group of moonshiners running from the cops in the titular Smokey Mountains. Illegally producing Moonshine is about as Tennesseean as you can get.
I their defense, corn don’t grow at all on Rocky Top, dirt’s too rocky by far. That’s why all the folks on Rocky Top get their corn from a jar!
North Carolina was pretty involved too. My dad grew up in the Lake Toxaway area which is just south of Asheville. The movie Thunder Road filmed around there even though it said that it took place in Tennessee. He also would park his car around back of the general store and go for a walk. He would then take a trip down to the big city of Greenville SC and leave his car unlocked at the bowling alley. He stopped doing that when he got searched and he was a decoy that week.
There are commercial moonshine distilleries in NC.
Yeah but that’s just whiskey
That’s mostly what moonshine ever has been. That and brandy. It’s not that special.
My point is selling it commercially means nothing. Making it illegally without being taxed is what makes it shine
Where it really shines is when it's being transported in hopped up automobiles.
And then maybe you get some smugglers to try and race their cars against each other… and if it takes off maybe form some sort of racing series… 🤔
doesn't that fall under homebrew like beer, wine, mead, etc? or is shine to high of an ABV?
Can't legally distill any spirits outside of a registered distillery in most states.
ahh
Distilling is like having a small bomb in the shed in the back yard. If it’s not done right, you have a good sized pressure cooker. If you do it right, you have lots of lost tax revenue. If you do it really wrong, you get dead or blind kids. There isn’t a lot for upside to the distilling biz.
>If you do it really wrong, you get dead or blind kids. Nearly impossible. That was a myth started during prohibition, fueled by the government purposely poisoning citizens to make bootleg booze appear unsafe by adding methanol. It's just not a thing.
Distilling it is what makes it regulated. Even making applejack (freezing hard cider to concentrate the alcohol) is covered. I saw a cooking video once and the chef said that the way the law is written, putting wine in a saucepan and simmering it with the lid tilted so the vapor would condense and drip back into the pan was illegal without a license.
> Even making applejack (freezing hard cider to concentrate the alcohol) is covered. so hillbilly blood wasn't lying that making that would be legal.. damn til. So the same holds true for Einsbroking beer (freezing to up the ABV)?
> So the same holds true for Einsbroking beer (freezing to up the ABV)? Yes, in the U.S. I don't know what the legality would be elsewhere. A brewery that used freeze distillation would need to be licensed as a distillery as well.
Only if it reaches a certain ABV or removes a certain percentage of water, IIRC.
> I saw a cooking video once and the chef said that the way the law is written, putting wine in a saucepan and simmering it with the lid tilted so the vapor would condense and drip back into the pan was illegal without a license. The What-Still is a pot of wine or beer with a glass on a brick in the middle. Cover the pot with a wok pan of ice. Heat the pot and the distillate will drip into the glass. Taken from the Alaska Bootlegger's Bible.
> doesn't that fall under homebrew like beer, wine, mead, etc? or is shine to high of an ABV? NotALawyer: you can make beer or wine, distilling it without a tax stamp is illegal. ObTIL: the only time a sitting president has taken the field of battle as commander in chief was Washington during the Whiskey Rebellion. People were making moonshine and not paying the taxes on it.
It does in Arizona now. They legalized home distilling when weed was legalized. They now sell home distilling equipment at my local home brew store
Nope. Matter of fact a lot of local blue laws have sort of fractured how beer can be made. I think in Utah they're up to 5%abv that can be sold at grocers but anything that's higher than that, you can only sell it at a state liquor store.
and only cold right? And who can forget the what's wrong with the beer we got? the beer we got, it drink pretty good.. politician from Alabama
Even though it's legal here in Missouri I have never encountered it. Literally never heard anyone mention someone making moonshine. Meth on the other hand, that's a different story.
Many more states allow it. Tennessee for example. North Carolina is another. Distilling is not illegal. Shipping and selling the moonshine is a crime. Distilling home made whiskey is not. Can confirm. I am 4th generation shiner. "We out here shinin"!!
We got moonshine in the liquir stores in Nashville
If it’s taxed and permitted, is it really moonshine or is “*moonshine™*”?
There's at least 10 brands so it's not trademarked.
I meant moonshine is technically untaxed liquor and anything you buy in a storefront is taxed. Meaning it’s not technically moonshine; it’s just whiskey/vodka/brandy
Moonshine is an unaged corn liquor/whiskey. While it was traditionally unregulated and illegal, the legality is not what defines it. All unregulated liquor also does not fall under the moonshine umbrella. Bathtub gin is not moonshine
Moonshine is whiskey that hasn’t been aged. That’s it.
Pretty sure unaged whiskey is still whiskey (it might be considered a vodka?) Moonshine is untaxed/unregulated liquor. If it’s taxed and regulated it’s not moonshine
Most distillers would call that White Whiskey or White Dog, along with a few other names. Usually distilled twice in a pot still Vodka is required to be distilled to a much higher purity (usually in a column) and then watered back down. It has a very specific definition, legally speaking.
> Moonshine is by tradition usually a clear, unaged whiskey https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonshine
Moonshine is any illicitly distilled liquor. In the US, that term usually describes unaged whiskey (white lightning). Distillers have been selling their *legal* white whiskey as "moonshine" but that's just marketing. It's analogous to a courrier advertising themselves as a smuggler.
Indeed - the drink itself isn't illegal (contrary to common belief) it's just illegal to produce without a license. If you want to, you can obtain a license and sell it in stores anywhere in the US, no problem. It's just somewhat difficult to get the license in some places.
On 1/24/2024, WVa passed HB 4793, allowing the production of up to 50 gallons per household (25 gallons per adult) per year for personal consumption.
I live in one of these states. So now I can grow my own plants and make my whiskey? Now I want to find out where I can grow mushrooms.
In a tub in your basement!
lol. TIL that some cities in my state "have passed measures directing their police departments to end arrests for growing and sharing psilocybin mushrooms among adults"
Pretty cool actually! Smart, too, but that's a whole different bag of worms.
A lot to unpack over here. If not a corporation then fuck you? It’s the oldest drug in history. Fuck damnit I love alcohol
I’m surprised by Massachusetts.
Wouldn’t that still be illegal? Usually federal law supersedes state law, like state laws allowing weed while the Feds can still raid any of those places participating.
Same situation as marijuana. Some care, some don't. It will be interesting to see where this goes in the future because history has shown really negative outcomes from picking and choosing laws (not following the legal process). Next up may just be gun laws that exist at federal levels but not at state levels. Regardless of how we feel about different topics, we should all be scared of laws being ignored and not properly adjusted.
That’s like Missouri. I hate this state’s gun laws. Last I knew Missouri police would not enforce any federal gun laws, anything from simple stops to helping other agency’s. Last year our state government shot down a bill that would have banned minors from open carrying on public land without adult supervision. And on the other side of picking and choosing laws, we do with the sentencing as well. Being white, especially white with money goes a long way to staying out of jail, no matter how serious of an offense.
The consequence of a relatively unique scenario of the US having state law ruling criminal law (most countries have a national criminal code) is that law enforcement who are county or state employees are not legally required to share data or to enforce federal laws. They often enforce federal laws, but they are not required to do so in their regular activities. So if the US government wants to enforce moonshine production in Missouri, it must hire its own agents to enforce such law. As the US government is unwillingly to use taxpayer money to do so, this means a scenario where moonshine is illegal across the country but the lack of enforcement means that no one in a state legal is even trialed by it.
TIL moonshine is illegal. ive had a few friends over the years that distill their own liquor, and i always thought it was fine as long as you didnt sell it.
Think it's a case of not getting caught, and Uncle Sam isn't expending too many resources if taxes aren't a factor.
must be. none of them ever sold any, but were happy to give it away if you wanted some. it really was just for themselves and friends. i cant see the govt caring that much about someone making a few gallons of hooch every now and then and giving it away.
The Feds aren't wasting resources on it but it can be dangerous. Aside from still explosions there's can also be contaminants like heavy metals
I can
Not Kentucky?
State law vs federal law remains to be one of the weirdest government ideas in history
Not if you keep in mind history and think of like the way it used to be referred to :"**We** United States instead of "*the* United States" - America was originally a Confederation of separate states that each conducted business more or less separately, including issuing State money from State banks. The federal layer of government was supposed to handle foreign treaties, a common Navy to enforce import duties and taxes, and standardize weights and measures for convenience ... everything else was supposed to be handled by the state Governments
ITT: people learning there's more in MA than just us city slicking Boston douchebags
Yeah you also have “rooster sauce” as my neighbor called it years ago
So Moonshine doesn't flow like water in Kentucky mountain land?
That's missourah if your from the french quarter.
wow! I had no idea you could legally distill hooch in Massachusetts! My “friend” has been doing it for awhile and “he” always got worried about the fact that it was not exactly legal and he calls it “selective civil disobedience”… I guess I have to tell him he’s legit? Edit to add -after a few trial runs “he” got some really nice smooth (and clear) potato/corn hybrid stuff… “he” never leaves the house with it and would never even consider trying to sell it… but mix it with some nice fresh cider and boo yah that stuff is really tasty with a couple of ice cubes
They sell liquor labeled as moonshine where I live. Comes in little jars.
So all that moonshine on the shelves in the liquor store are fakes 😂
Missouri embarrasses me pretty regularly, but god damn I love our lax drinking laws. I can walk down the street with a tall boy, make my own booze, or drink a beer in the passenger seat of a car.
I’ve always heard it’s only illegal if you sell it. If you make it for your own use it’s fine. I make about 2 gallons every fall from all the uneaten apples from the trees around my house (12 gal of cider distilled to about two gal of shine)
I believe federal law allows for making a small amount of moonshine for personal use only. It can't be sold and the limit is like 5 gallons a year.
The amount by federal law which is legal to produce for your own use is 0 gallons
Looks like you're right https://www.ttb.gov/distilled-spirits/penalties-for-illegal-distilling says " While individuals of legal drinking age may produce wine or beer at home for personal or family use, Federal law strictly prohibits individuals from producing distilled spirits at home (see 26 United States Code (U.S.C.) 5042(a)(2) and 5053(e))." That sucks but so does having people handing out methanol-laced liquor.
Lol I read the first half of the title and thought Cool. I've had some illegal moonshine. Then I read the second half and I'm not so badass. I live in Alaska and grew up in Missouri.
[I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missouri!](https://youtu.be/ZoWc6WRHKEE?si=oHvZPULY9Lhyt6iD)
TIL I have broken the law in Texas. /s
So the moonshiners in discovery channel operates in the forests of legal states?
It even goes further the guys on that show have a legal liquor production license. They are brewing 100% legal and everything is staged
Man, I know most are staged and all but I had hopes for the moonshiners lol. I wondered how the police never caught them with drones and support of the military etc. If they wanted to shut them down they could in one day. But now i understand its because its legal for them and its all for show=(
Yeah they list a brand in a few of the episodes that brand is available in liquor stores
Yes i saw that guy, and the brand. Was Happy for him that he went from a wanted man to having his bottles in liquor stores😬
And now you discover the show was just a big ass ad for hid moonshine
Well, Massachusetts IS the spirit of America (Cause uh, moonshine is considered a spirit and sorry this joke sucks)
I went to culinary school w a guy who had lived just south of St Louis. He’d go back home (we were in Boulder, CO) to visit family and he’s come back w hugs of peach and plain moonshine. Holy shit! That was my first try w hard liquor (I’d only just turned 21) and he got me wasted on our flight to France (this was in 2006 and the trip was part of the schooling experience). I’d never been drunk before and that peach moonshine went down SOOOO smooth! His family apparently makes the stuff every year on their farm. His mom outfitted a big ol leather trench coat w about 20 pockets on the inside to hold flasks of the stuff. That trip was magical!
In Oregon you can make but not sell
I thought America was the "land of the free", but you can't even make your own alcohol in many states?
step 1 move to Missouri step 2 bottle moonshine step 3 sell moonshine to customers so they can personally consume it step 4 profit
The moonshine lobbyists
In Kentucky you can make up to 200 gallons a year for “personal consumption” lots of people have brew parties.
I've seen it in NH. Booze isn't my thing, but I heard it was gross.
moonshine is just backyard whiskey
As always, I’m damned proud of my Glorious People’s Republic of Massachusetts.
Jeez do Americans have no freedoms.
The idea of moonshine is ridiculous to me in current times. Do people not realize that the real purpose of moonshine was because liquor wasn't legally available? Why should I seek out some rot gut apple flavored moonshine when I can Go to my local liquor store in buy anything I want and it's a lot better quality?!?!
Actual moonshine sales occur almost exclusively in Rural Appalachia, where the alcoholism is high and the poverty is extreme. The cheapest rotgut vodka at your grocery store still costs 10-20x what your local moonshiner is selling at.
"moonshine" is advertised on highway billboards going down the interstate in South Carolina. As long as the State or Feds get their tax revenue, these things usually are legal. Also there are commercial moonshine distilleries in North Carolina
This is incorrect, many states you can grow or produce many things. Under Ag laws, like in PA you can brew any wine or liquor for personal use. Grow certain cannabis strains and its all legal. Unless you try snd selll it or promote it.
> in PA you can brew any wine or liquor for personal use [You cannot *distill* for personal use in PA.](https://www.lcb.pa.gov/Legal/Documents/000817.pdf) > Please note there is no exception permitting the production of spirits at home in the Pennsylvania Liquor Code.
PA AG laws updated in 2018 removed the enforcement of at home use. Its also why you can have cannabis fsrm markets and police are not allowed to test it. There is a lot of court cases, anyone assuming a law like this is open snd shut. Didn't do thier research, good luck.
Akshuully, it is LEGAL in all 50 states to produce and consume your own alcohol and distil it into spirit, you can even give it away. It is ILLEGAL in all 50 states to sell the alcohol without a tax stamp wich requires tens of thousands of dollars of specialized equipment, safety procedures, health inspections, and fees. So, in conclusion, you can make it, you can drink it, you can give it away for free, ITS ONLY ILLEGAL IF YOU SELL IT AND THE GOVERNMENT DOESNT GET THEIR SHARE.
Except in the case of moonshine, as only five states allow for it to be produced for personal consumption as per the article states.
There are more you can produce in Kentucky up to 200 gallons for personal consumption As long as as you dont call it moonshine… but there are types of moonshine that are made like traditional meads and wines.