We always encourage anyone interested in trying to make moonshine to check out the laws in their area first.įor a little perspective it is interesting to note that making beer and wine at home also used to be illegal. Many would-be shiners choose to apply for a federal fuel alcohol permit in order to use their still.Īre you Allowed to Make your Moonshine as Long as you Don’t Sell it?Īgain, the answer depends on where you live. In addition, moonshine stills can also be used to make fuel for your gas lawn mower or other small engine. It is important to protect yourself by checking out the laws in your state or country. This is because stills can also be used for distilling water as well as making essential oils. In most areas it is not illegal to own a moonshine still. However, in most areas of the United States, It is illegal to use your still to distill alcohol without first having a ‘distilled spirits permit’ or a ‘federal fuel alcohol permit.’ It does not matter if the spirits you are making are only for personal use and not for sale. In fact, the legality of making your own spirits not only varies from country to country, but also state to state. Moonshine is linked with illicit activity so it makes sense to assume that it is illegal to make moonshine. This is the reason why so-called supermarket moonshine is not really moonshine. Moonshine literally refers to making spirits ‘by the light of the moon’. These actions set the stage for moonshining. While the government was eventually able to calm down the protestors (after much violence and the threat of military involvement) the tax remained difficult to collect. After all, they were used to being able to freely distill their excess grain. Many farmers used violence and intimidation to resist the tax. To say this tax didn’t go over well is an understatement. This was actually the first first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. And so the ‘whiskey tax’ came into law in 1791. With this change came an opportunity for the government to make some much needed revenue to pay for the debts from the war. The revolutionary war disrupted the production of rum and so more and more people started drinking whiskey. Beer was easily spoiled and proved difficult to transport. This revolutionary war had a big impact on the popularity in the spirits being consumed at the time. Just to set the scene, George Washington was President and the country was in the middle of a revolutionary war. Of course, soon the government stepped in as they saw an opportunity to make money from this practice. It didn’t take the early pioneers long to realize that their corn was not nearly as valuable as the whiskey made from it.Īt this time many even used their moonshine as a form of currency. ![]() ![]() This is because distilling excess grain was a way for a farmer to both use up their entire harvest as well as make a little extra money. In fact, distilling grain became commonplace in many grain-producing states even before the United States of America was even a country. While this can be true in some cases, it is also far from the origins of making your own spirits in North America. When most people think of moonshine, they generally tend to think of illicit spirits being made in the backwoods.
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