Supreme Court to Decide Whether Making Whiskey at Home Is a Federal Crime
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to review a federal law that has prohibited distilling spirits in private homes for 158 years. Americans may legally brew beer and make wine at home, but producing even a small amount of whiskey could land them in federal prison. The justices will weigh whether Congress had the constitutional authority to impose the ban in 1868.
Justice Department attorneys emphasized that Congress restricted home distilling 160 years ago in response to an extensive history of evasion of the distilled-spirits tax. They argued the government has a substantial interest in safeguarding a significant source of tax revenue. The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ban under the Necessary and Proper Clause, finding it was needed to collect taxes when enacted and that there is no reason to conclude otherwise now.
John Ream, a brewpub owner and former aerospace engineer from Newark, Ohio, began brewing beer at home years ago. His plan to distill whiskey at home ran into the 1868 prohibition. Ream could have faced jail time and the loss of his home. Instead of proceeding, he sued, joined by Scott McNutt of Texas and the Hobby Distillers Association. Plaintiffs argue the law is an antiquated relic and that Congress overstepped its taxation powers.
Challengers warn that under the government's reading, Congress could criminalize a broad array of activities inside private homes, including cooking, gardening, and working on cars. The Hobby Distillers Association, a Texas-based nonprofit, first sued in a Texas federal court in 2023. In April, two appeals courts issued contradictory rulings 11 days apart — the Fifth Circuit struck the ban down, the Sixth Circuit upheld it — prompting Supreme Court review. The justices took the Fifth Circuit case, Department of Justice v. McNutt, at the Justice Department's own preference.
Robert Alt, president of the Buckeye Institute, expects written arguments over the winter, with oral arguments likely in late February or early March and a decision possible by the end of June. Alt called the grant of review "a real opportunity for both whiskey and freedom." The Supreme Court has not yet scheduled oral arguments. The outcome will determine whether home distilling remains a federal crime.