The Proofing Room

Update, November 3, 2026: We've updated this post. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the McNutt case, the bill's cosponsor count is corrected to four, the description of what the McNutt ruling covers is corrected, and the equipment section now describes the bill's product standard without practical advice. Earlier this month we covered the Fifth Circuit ruling that found the federal home-distilling ban unconstitutional. The courts aren't the only branch moving now. On August 27, Rep. Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee introduced H.R. 10157, the Freedom to Home Distill Act . It would put home distillers in the same category home brewers and winemakers have been in since 1978. It's a bill, not a law. Here's what it says, what the numbers mean in real bottles, and what it leaves alone. Why it exists In 1978, Congress changed the tax code to let adults make beer and wine at home, tax-free, for personal use: up to 200 gallons a year per household. Distilled ...

Update, November 3, 2026: The Supreme Court agreed on October 19, 2026 to hear the government's appeal ( Department of Justice v. McNutt , No. 26-204), so the petition this post describes is no longer pending. We've also corrected this post. An earlier version said the federal ban "has been struck down" in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. That overstated it: the ruling protects the named plaintiffs and the Hobby Distillers Association's members through a court injunction, and binds federal courts in those states as precedent. It did not make home distilling legal there. For where things stand now, see The Supreme Court Will Hear a Challenge to the Federal Home-Distilling Ban . Six months ago, almost to the day, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a ruling that every home distiller should know about — and that almost nobody's explaining correctly. On April 10, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided McNutt v. U.S. Departme...