Home Distiller

Well I guys I bit the bullet and called my state attorney generals office in Jefferson City Mo. I asked if home distillation of spirits was legal or illegal and they would not say yes or no. They referred me to the statutes as written as the law. Telling me however I interpret the states ruling that it is comparable to the legalization of marijuana in some states. Regardless of the states ruling, it is illegal on the federal level. That implies to me as the statutes are written I can (legally) produce spirits up to and including 200gal for my wife and I for our own consumption. It is illegal to transport, barter, or dispense said spirit any where but my home. Am I going to stick my name and neck on the line? Not yet ain't happening, but I will continue to produce a fine spirit and keep it under wraps. My 0.02$ Melloman. Let me know what you think.

Don't tell...don't sell...enjoy!

just so you know that call you just made most official offices such as your states attourney have caller id and record all incoming calls. you might want to think about it

Lucky SOB

halfbaked wrote:Lucky SOB

Yep, law's a tight assed bunch here in VA.

Just sayin',
S-C

+1 tight ass. When I put the still parts in the back of the truck and pass the police my butt takes a bite out of the seat every time.

another +1 to the tight asses in VA.

Hell from what I read you can't even own a distilling apparatus in this state. Good thing I just read about it on HD and don't actually distill.

That's it, I'm moving. It's too dern cold here anyway. Been -25 F here the last few days, my dawg won't even take a dump when its this cold.

Yes,they gather info I used the pay phone on the corner 800 number a little smarter than that. But seriously it's one of those catch 22s in life that as neat as it is you obviously have to keep things under every radar out there and follow the rules we live by. That's my intention to be good enjoy life and some good spirits, liquid and human. Got a 80 year old oak tree to steal the heart wood from it should age some good stuff. Visit our Ozarks you might not want to leave. Melloman

Yes it's legal here...

you cant make over 200 gallons and you def cant sell it.

Wish we had better water though.

You turn on a faucet and get hit with rocks. and a piece of lead......

SoMo wrote: Regardless of the states ruling, it is illegal on the federal level. That implies to me as the statutes are written I can (legally) produce spirits up to and including 200gal for my wife and I for our own consumption. It is illegal to transport, barter, or dispense said spirit any where but my home.

raptor402 wrote:Yes it's legal here...

you cant make over 200 gallons and you def cant sell it.

Wish we had better water though.

You turn on a faucet and get hit with rocks. and a piece of lead......

last time I checked Missouri was still part of the united states of America

so if you are caught instead of a skanky Missouri jail, you get a skanky federal jail.

Only depends who catches you. Local LEO ain't likely to press federal only charges.
Heck, other than drug busts, my local Sheriff doesnt like enforcing anything other than local stuff. Even took radar guns out of the cruisers and stopped pulling people for expired tags and the like. Novel idea but he seems to think the sheriff's office is for coming when YOU call THEM, not the other way around!

zapata wrote:Only depends who catches you. Local LEO ain't likely to press federal only charges.
Heck, other than drug busts, my local Sheriff doesnt like enforcing anything other than local stuff. Even took radar guns out of the cruisers and stopped pulling people for expired tags and the like. Novel idea but he seems to think the sheriff's office is for coming when YOU call THEM, not the other way around!

There's a lot of Sheriff officers out there who have the right attitude,they are there to serve.
I was standing next to one in the checkout line today at the local grocer.
Nice guy, kidding around and having a good time.
Sure he has a glock strapped to his side and a badge on his chest, that doesn't make him non-human.

cob wrote:

SoMo wrote: Regardless of the states ruling, it is illegal on the federal level. That implies to me as the statutes are written I can (legally) produce spirits up to and including 200gal for my wife and I for our own consumption. It is illegal to transport, barter, or dispense said spirit any where but my home.

raptor402 wrote:Yes it's legal here.you cant make over 200 gallons and you def cant sell it.

Wish we had better water though.

You turn on a faucet and get hit with rocks. and a piece of lead......

last time I checked Missouri was still part of the united states of America

so if you are caught instead of a skanky Missouri jail, you get a skanky federal jail.

I started a thread about Missouri law several years ago because I looked up the statutes too. It's true federal law trumps state but when is the last time you have seen that enforced? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to push my luck but a decent attorney will have you walking. That said, I'm of the don't tell don't sell crowd.

I admit not knowing the MO state statutes when I first started, my whole rig was painted camouflage and every precaution was taken to keep it hidden.

Then, I read about the 100 gallons per household or 200 per couple statute... it made me feel a little bit better. Still no reason to advertise, but I'm not as stressed now. Sam don't even blink an eye at 100 lbs of sugar and 100 lbs popcorn being purchased at his store anyway.

I live in Central MO, in a small town, right across the street from city hall and the Police Station, where a County Deputy is assigned to the office. I cook right in my shop. It is known and have had both the mayor and the deputy there while running. Having worked 3 Counties in LE in this state, I've only seen one incident of someone being arrested for moonshine and he was bootlegging, a shit ton. Like 250 gallons worth. He served his time and no longer bootlegs, but still cooks shine, on a hobby level now. We definitely need a Federal Law allowing craft distilling though. Craft distilling is done wide scale in MO and yet does not hurt liquor sales in MO, so taxes earned from such are not in danger. MO is a good example of "Craft Distilling Laws" working. More Show-Me'rs need to grow a pair and speak out. The other 49 states should have it like us. If enough states do this, the likely hood of a Fed law being passed becomes more likely. Without??? Forget it. It's got to start on the state level. The pot industry is a good example of this. Feds wouldn't even talk of it until now that a majority of states have either medical, recreational or both uses of marijuana legal. Now there is much talk at the Fed level of legalizing or at least decriminalizing the use of pot. Using the same model, it can be achieved with Craft Distilling. I'd happily put my name out there to advance the cause. I'm a leader in a MO Patriot Organization, let me know where I can help?

Damned well said Flatlands. Winning at the federal level would go a long way to getting sensible state laws... And vice versa. In the meanwhile states like Va and Tx make it illegal to possess any apparatus that could be used to distill alcohol. That actually makes it illegal to distill water but they won't see common sense.

It has to start at State level. I've worked in grassroots politics within the marijuana movement, that finally is seeing light at the end of the tunnel that isn't a train. I'm very active in III%ers. I just stepped down from VP of Show_Me Patriots, back to Zone Leader. I've spent hours sitting and talking with politicians in my own state on various subjects and have seen instant change and have had to work long and hard to achieve an inch of leeway. This would fall into the latter. But there ought to be people from each of our 50 states here. If we can get just one from each state to commit to working on putting together a legal petition, within their state, for each zone and district, collect signatures and present it personally to the Senator and Representative in each district of their state legislature. That, is the starting ground. Almost everyone of you here have more experience in making shine than I, and I do appreciate the knowledge I have recieved, but manipulating politics to get a desired result is a talent of mine and I'm seriously willing to help any that want to begin a grass roots movement in their own state. Stay away from the Feds at this point. All you will do is stir the silt in the creek and muddy the water. If you make too much of a fuss at the federal level at this point, some game cock politician will use what you've done as a launching point as a crusade to rid the world of evil moonshiners, even though we are just hobbyists. Get the simple majority of the states to approve of hobby distilling, and doors will begin to open on the federal level all on their own. At that point, just a gentle nudge, is all that's needed.