What is required to legally distill?

[yellowking]

Searching the forums answered a lot of questions I had, but I didn't see this one (which is just curiousity). What does it take to legally distill your own bourbon?

I poked around inside the Internal Revenue Code (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/26/usc_sup_01_26_10_E_20_51.html), and it looked to me like you need a $10,000 ATF bond for distillation and storage. You must not distill at a residence. You have to register your stills (and I assume get get them inspected). I assume there are probably local laws regulating it that would vary based on your residence. Am I looking in the right place? Anything big I'm missing here?

[FlashPuppy]

OH MY GOD. What is required? MONEY. Lots and lots of it. I have been actively persuing this subject, and all that I get is roadblock after raodblock.

You want to see something amazing? Check THIS (http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/spirits_regs.shtml) out.

[TnSquire]

Jeremy is right. Money to start up and money to stay in compliance. I am afraid the days of micro-distilleries are far far away.

If you want to mess around with distilling, I would suggest getting an ethanol permit. My understanding is that the regs have been loosened as to this type of product.

[FlashPuppy]

The other thing is that you pretty much have to have the cash in hand. Look at it like this. If you are a bank, or a potential investor, would you want to put money into someplace where there is no potential of profit for years? I mean while the whiskey is aging, you still have to pay taxes on it every year without getting anything from it. You are also going to need to payroll a tax lawyer or two. Red tape? Try building a place to meet ATF, FDA, EPA and OSHA requirements all at the same time!!:rolleyes:

Please don't take what I am saying as discouragement, but I have been putting a lot of hours into research on this...