“Individual Liberty” Championed As U.S. Court Lifts 158-Year Ban On Home Distilling

on Apr 13, 2026

A 158-year federal ban on distilling liquor from one's home has been lifted, with supporters of the ruling saying it's a "victory for individual liberty." Here, a row of jars — akin to the ones used for moonshine — can be seen collecting dust. (Photo credit: Bryan Welborn / Unsplash)

The Ban Was Found To Be Unconstitutional

Back in 1970, Gregory Peck starred in a lurid neo-noir film about illegal moonshining in Gainesboro, Tennessee, titled I Walk The Line (1970).

Directed by John Frankenheimer, who famously directed The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the film boasted a soundtrack by Johnny Cash, who re-recorded the 1956 title track just for the film.

Cash also wrote the No. 1 country hit “Flesh and Blood” for the film’s soundtrack, composing and performing the rest of the film’s score.

Now, 56 years later, the crime at the center of that film — distilling liquor at home — is no longer punishable.

That is thanks to a ruling on Friday, April 10, by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Louisiana, which determined that Congress had improperly and unnecessarily exercised its power to tax on liquor.

The U.S. appeals court ruled in favor of the Hobby Distillers Association, which has 1,300 members, upholding a 2024 ruling in Fort Worth, Texas, which had been appealed by the government.

One of the participants of the three-judge panel was Circuit Judge Edith Hollan Jones, who wrote in her opinion, “Without any limiting principle, the government’s theory would violate this court’s obligation to read the Constitution carefully to avoid creating a general federal authority akin to the police power.”

She went on to state that the ban on home distilling, as it was framed in the law, potentially allowed for the government to criminalize remote work and other in-home activities.

Representing the Hobby Distillers Association, Andrew ⁠Grossman, a senior legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute, said the U.S. appeals court’s decision was “an important victory for individual liberty,” allowing home distillers to “pursue their passion to distill fine beverages in their homes.”

The ban on home distilling in the United States was established in 1868, with Reuters noting that this was done during the Reconstruction period to, in part, “thwart liquor tax evasion,” subjecting violators to “up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.”

Watch the trailer for the 1970 film I Walk The Line, featuring an original soundtrack by Johnny Cash, here: