I love a good whiskey, both bourbon and scotch. I think it would be enjoyable to distill some for fun and profit, but it is illegal. How would I go about becoming a legal licensed distiller? A quick google search gave me nothing.
You might start with the BATF. Not much right up front, but they’re the guys you’ll have to deal with eventually.
Sorry, it’s Treasury not ATF :smack:
www.ttb.gov
http://www.ttb.gov/forms/f510024.pdf - one of the applications
http://www.atf.gov/alcohol/info/faq/subpages/27cfrpart019.htm Federal Regulations
http://www.distilling.com/PDF/AD0101.pdf article from distilling.com
What if Two Trouts set himself up as a non-profit research foundation to study small batch distilling, and gave product to evaluators, who could then contribute to further his research? 
Ooooh, Cats!, that’s a great idea!! Unfortunately, you (or other evaluators) would have to wait four years for the product!
Thank you! Some excellent info there!
Just a side note,there is a process of freeze distilling which may or may not be regulated. It is to take a fermented product and partly freeze it (to make it slushy). Remove the frozen parts and the remaining liquid is a higher proof drink. Now your not going to make a 100 or even 80 proof spirt but it may be a way to try some experimenting w/o violating the laws - that is unless that is illegal too, which I don’t know.
It is - Them revenueers don’t distinguish. The process of concentrating the alcohol, however it’s done, is bad.
Crap. <ahem> I am not a laywer, revenooer, BATF agent, woman, congressperson, skydiver, doctor, marsupial, nor professional booze-making-guy. Anything I say can and will be used against me. Fnord I’ve just done some looking into this in the past and will not admit to having violated the law at any point.
Allrightey! I’ll put you down in my advance planner for 2010, Sir. 
We wait 4 years for the GOOD stuff… other “younger” products must be sampled as well, along the way… just to “understand the process” of course…
TwoTrouts, if you do this, please keep us informed of the process! Someone detailing the steps to become a licensed distiller (even if only the “experimental license”) would fascinate me.
Wow, I’m kind of a loser - “Golly gee, I’d sure be keen to hear your stories of government bureaucracy, mister!”
Many years ago, not knowing that it’s actually illegal to do in the US I was searching on line to see what the price of a good still would be. Of course that’s when I realized that the site I was looking at was in NZ, where it’s totally legal to do. Lucky New Zelanders.
A functioning still is really quite easy to make with lab equipment available at any supply store. We make them all the time in our Science core lab. (Think MASH). The other reason they make you apply for a license and all that is so they can also check on the safety of your equipment. It is quite easy to produce poisonous compounds if you aren’t careful.
Small-scale distilling really isn’t cost-effective unless you have a ready source of cheap grains for your mash bill.
One of the Foxfire books shows you how to make a still.
I’m not giving anything away here. The damn thing’s in the Library of Congress and all.
Anyway, it’s possible to make wine and beer like it’s going out of style, but not spirits. It’s an anachronism, really. I think the damn revenuers are just holding a grudge. They’d better stay away from Copperhead Road…
Yup, a still is actually quite easy to make; something I remember from my Organic Chem labs. That’s what got me interested in the whole concept. But before I go tinkering with this hobby, I want to get all the paperwork in order for when the Government comes a-knocking on my door! (And you know they will!)
Sadly from the looks of the application form you’ll have to incorporate first and then have the IRS supply you with an Employer Identification Number, as it explicitly states that a SSN is not acceptable.
How about making wine? You can whip up a few dozen gallons for not much moolah; fruit starters (pulp/juice) are available or you can grow or stomp your own. The equipment isn’t elaborate, it doesn’t take up much space, and it makes your basement smell like wine yeast, a good thing. And it should be drinkable in a year or so if you don’t use up the samples first.
While you’re waiting, you can create a personal label on your computer.
IANAL, and the laws may have changed, but at one time I believe you could make up to 100 gals/yr with no hassle with the feds, but only if you were married!
Bachelors are unstable, y’know.
Reading through the ATF regulations, I got a kick out of this…
Analysis and testing, yeah right! Free hooch for the agent and his buddies!
I don’t know about other states but that’s not much of a threshold. In California you fill out a form, write up articles of incorporation, write a check for about $100 and drop it all off at the local California Secretary of State office. Bam, a week later you have a corporation. You go to the IRS website, fill out an online form, pay like $30 and bam you instantly get an EIN. Of course you’re going to have to file taxes for that year and there’s a minimum, but it’s not too terrible.
I don’t know what the particular situation in Pellucidar is but I would imagine the empire has something similar
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, you are not my client, taking legal advice from me is not prudent but does not constitute proof of diminished mental status in a court of law.
I recently saw a TV show that mentioned a restaurant that wanted to get into the distilling business. These folks were looking at all of the successful restaurants associated with wineries and microbreweries, and thought they could do the same with rum and other spirits.
In brief, it took them a ton of legal research and effort to convince the local authorities that it was legal for them to do it in the particular method they set out to do. The screwball twist is that they had to produce and bottle the liquor, then take it to the local state-run liquor shop. The liquor shop then sold the booze back to the restaurant.