Home distillers rejoice as US Supreme Court considers whether to finally legalise moonshine

Many continued their illegal distilling after Prohibition's end, often passing on family recipes in secret (or, at least, in tightly-knit circles) for generations.Then moonshine and home distilling enjoyed a new renaissance in the early 2000s, he said, thanks to reality TV shows like Moonshiners, the internet and popular culture."You start to get this pretty dramatic revival…. in terms of home distilling," Pierce said.Rick Morris, the founder and president of the Hobby Distillers Association, was one of the challengers who sued in Texas to change the law. He first entered the drinks industry working with soda machines and bottled water, then became a hobbyist home brewer of beer and wine with his wife.They made a frustrating discovery when they tried to take the "next step" into distilling."It didn't make sense," he said. "I could make beer, I could make wine, both perfectly legally … and it was frustrating that I couldn't take what I had already legally made and do one more step to it, to start to try to make a bourbon or a brandy."The allure for Morris and many other hobbyists, they say, is the mechanics and innovation behind the process."There is a lot of science and details to ...