Imagine if America’s bars had nothing but Bud on tap, and restaurants only poured Gallo. Or if you had to ignore your hankering for carne asada and onions on a fresh tortilla because the only taco allowed this side of the border was Taco Bell.
Scary and un-American, right? But that’s pretty much been this country’s liquor situation for decades.
The U.S. booze industry is dominated almost entirely by corporate behemoths—Diageo, Brown-Forman and a handful of others account for 99% of domestic liquor sales. When the American Distilling Institute started counting craft distilleries in 2003, there were only 65 in the entire nation.
Why so few? For starters, budding booze makers can’t practice their craft at home. Unless you live in a few enlightened states, it’s illegal to make even small amounts of moonshine in the comfort of your own kitchen.1
Also, most states don’t allow direct sales of craft liquor to the public2, and they require outrageously expensive bonds to operate a commercial still.
For all of those reasons, it warmed my cockles to see this Made By Hand documentary about Breuckelen Distilling Company3, Brooklyn’s first gin distiller since Prohibition.
“Now is the easiest time since Prohibition, basically, to start a small distillery,” Breuckelen owner Brad Eastabrooke says in the film. He opened the gin distillery in July after a year and a half of planning, building and convincing people to take him seriously.
That Breuckelen exists is a sign of progress for craft distillers. New York recently introduced small distiller licenses that cost just a few hundred dollars a year (standard licenses cost more than $20K). Other states have also lowered their fees in recent years, and the federal government has reduced paperwork to speed up permit processing times.
In its latest count, the American Distilling Institute logged 340 craft distilleries, with 3 or 4 more opening each month.4
ADI’s Bill Owens, who teaches whiskey distilling workshops in Petaluma, Calif., says the recent boom is an offshoot of the agritourism movement. “We’re just part of that renaissance that’s happening. There’s a growing awareness that you can have a viable business on a farm using value-added products like cherries, wheat and rye.”5
Breweries and wineries are also getting into the game, distilling their fermented grains and grapes to make whiskeys and brandies.
Predictably, plenty of impostors have entered the marketplace as well, bottling and relabeling someone else’s cheap, commercial booze and selling it at a markup. But the phonies are easy to spot, says Owens: “Go to their website and if you don’t see a still immediately, don’t buy their product.”
If you’re thinking of giving distilling a try, don’t be discouraged by the legal hurdles. ADI is one of many groups that now offer courses for beginners (Google “distilling workshops”). Also, the rumors about danger are overblown. Spend a few minutes on the Safety page at homedistiller.org to learn how to keep your eyesight and your eyebrows intact.
I am living proof that any idiot can distill with some success. This past year, I spent 7 months in New Zealand, one of the few places in the world where it’s legal to home distill. I bought a tiny still made a few batches of “cheater gin” (more on that later). It tasted great, and it blinded no one.
If you’d rather leave the distilling to the pros but you’d like to buy and drink more boutique booze, now is a good time to get political. ADI and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States would love to tell you how.
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That said, you don’t hear much about hooch busts these days. Law enforcement shifted its priorities to drugs a few decades ago—cops are looking for meth labs, not pot stills. ↩
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Massachusetts, Missouri, Virginia are the exceptions. If SB 1068 passes in California, one more will join the list. ↩
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You can buy the gin and other handmade goods at http://thisismadebyhand.com/shoppe/ ↩
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For comparison: the Brewers Association says there are 1,753 U.S. craft breweries, 603 of which opened in 2010. ↩
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Much of this is still under the radar, so if you see something that looks like a still at your local apple farm, it can’t hurt to ask. ↩
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