Republican lawmaker proposes bill to lift federal ban on home spirit distilling
Rep. Diana Harshbarger introduced the Freedom to Home Distill Act, aiming to repeal the 15-year-old prohibition on personal spirit production.
Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) unveiled the Freedom to Home Distill Act, seeking to overturn a post-Reconstruction ban that criminalizes home spirit distillation. The bill would revise Section 5001 of the 1986 Internal Revenue Code, removing excise tax obligations for hobbyists and limiting annual output to ten proof gallons for households with one adult and twenty for those with two or more. Commercial sale of home-produced spirits would remain prohibited, and the changes would affect only federal statutes.
The initiative comes after a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals declared the ban unconstitutional, while the Sixth Circuit upheld it as a necessary tax measure, prompting the National Taxpayers Union Foundation and the Goldwater Institute to request Supreme Court intervention. Moonshining TV personality Eric "Digger" Manes praised the effort, noting his involvement in drafting the bill. Harshbarger argues the law is outdated and inconsistent with the legality of home brewing beer and wine.
Why it matters
The bill could legalize hobbyist spirit making, affecting tax policy and personal freedoms for millions of adults.
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