Is there any way for me to legally distill my own alcohol?

[WarmNPrickly]

I already brew my own beer. I could certainly ferment my own mash. I am a chemist, so I have all the confidence in the world that I could design and safely operate my own still. I don’t want to sell the product any more than I would want to sell my beer. I just like to experiment with these sorts of things. What sort of legal hoops would I have to jump through to make this happen?

[WarmNPrickly]

Oops wrong forum. I thought I was in GQ. Moderator help!

[hlanelee]

@Christopher

I already brew my own beer. I could certainly ferment my own mash. I am a chemist, so I have all the confidence in the world that I could design and safely operate my own still. I don’t want to sell the product any more than I would want to sell my beer. I just like to experiment with these sorts of things. What sort of legal hoops would I have to jump through to make this happen?

You will never ever be allowed to distill your own alcohol legally. You might as well ask, “Can I grow my own grass, it’s cheap and easy.” If I bothered, I could find a cite.

[Fear_Itself]

Never say never. If you jump through all the necessary hoops, obtain the necessary licenses and pay the necessary fees and taxes, you can distill your own hooch:

You cannot produce spirits for beverage purposes without paying taxes and without prior approval of paperwork to operate a distilled spirits plant. [See 26 U.S.C. 5601 & 5602 for some of the criminal penalties.] There are numerous requirements that must be met that make it impractical to produce spirits for personal or beverage use. Some of these requirements are paying special tax, filing an extensive application, filing a bond, providing adequate equipment to measure spirits, providing suitable tanks and pipelines, providing a separate building (other than a dwelling) and maintaining detailed records, and filing reports. All of these requirements are listed in 27 CFR Part 19.

Spirits may be produced for nonbeverage purposes for fuel use only without payment of tax, but you also must file an application, receive ATF’s approval, and follow requirements, such as construction, use, records and reports.

http://www.atf.gov/alcohol/info/faq/genalcohol.htm#g1

[WarmNPrickly]

Jack Daniels does it legally somehow. Are you saying the only way to do it is to set up my own business and sell it? Do I have to sell it?

[Fear_Itself]

@Christopher

Jack Daniels does it legally somehow. Are you saying the only way to do it is to set up my own business and sell it? Do I have to sell it?

I don’t see any regulation that says you have to sell it, it is just going to be very expensive to do it otherwise.