Thank you, fortbuilder, for allowing the HDA to use your letter as an option for our members to copy and send to their representatives. In order to offer some options, we have posted three other letters on the HDA downloads page at
http://www.hobbydistillersassociation.o ... /downloads" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow. One option is a rather strong letter, written by our lobbyist. A copy of that letter is also below.
Your Name
Your Address
Date
Dear _________,
I am a constituent with a sincere interest in home-based, hobbyist distillation of spirits. I’m not talking “moonshining,” or making spirits illegally for resale. I wish to distill small amounts of spirits strictly for my own personal consumption and enjoyment. Unfortunately, I am not currently able to do this because of Prohibition-era laws.
Americans are free to brew their own beer, make their own wine, and in many jurisdictions, grow their own marijuana(!). Distill your own whiskey or vodka? No way! It’s against the Internal Revenue Code.
This situation is a ludicrous as it is fundamentally unfair.
In the last Congress, the Craft Beverage Excise Tax Modernization Act (S. 1562 [Wyden, Or] and H.R. 2903 [Paulsen, Mn]) included provisions legalizing very small batch production of spirits for personal use and consumption. Unfortunately, the 114th Congress timed out before passage.
This year, this legislation has been reintroduced (S.236/H.R.747 – same sponsors), with the hobby distilling provisions stripped out.
From conversations with individuals knowledgeable about this process, I understand that this was done at the behest of established distilling interests, ostensibly due to concerns over “safety”. One should not be fooled, however. Commercial distillers oppose this purely to maintain their competitive advantage. The same thing happened when at-home beer and wine production were legalized. Industry fought it tooth and nail, only to find in retrospect that opening the market to new participants grew the whole pie, benefitting established producers handsomely.
Here, they seem to have forgotten this simple lesson.
And if safety were such a concern, then New Zealand – which legalized hobby distilling decades ago – would have suffered the consequences. In fact, there have not been fires, explosions, deaths or other accidents since legalization. The Emperor has no clothes.
I suppose it’s heartening that the distilling industry has my best interests at heart, saving me from myself, exercising their disinterested, kind altruism. What would I do without their protection? And if that just happens to maintain their relative monopoly, well, who could have predicted that?
This issue is plain and simple. At-home, hobbyist distillers seek parity under the law – the same treatment as everyone else in our sector. I am asking that you please support amending the current legislation to include the relevant provisions from last year’s bill.
As always, I greatly appreciate your time and consideration, and I ask the favor of a reply addressing my request.
Sincerely,
Your name
Kidding.
It's violates Rule #6 of The Rules We Live By... 
It's still illegal at the federal level and in most states... 
