Federal · Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code

26 U.S.C. § 5222: Production, receipt, removal, and use of distilling materials

Felony

What this law says, in plain English

Federal law prohibits making fermented materials for distillation outside authorized distilleries and prohibits unauthorized production of distilled spirits. Violations carry criminal penalties and forfeiture.

Read the full statutory text
No mash, wort, or wash fit for distillation or for the production of distilled spirits shall be made or fermented in any building or on any premises other than on the bonded premises of a distilled spirits plant duly authorized to produce distilled spirits according to law; and no mash, wort, or wash so made or fermented shall be removed from any such premises before being distilled, except as authorized by the Secretary; and no person other than an authorized distiller shall, by distillation or any other process, produce distilled spirits from any mash, wort, wash, or other material. authorized operations performed on the premises of vinegar plants established under part I of subchapter H; authorized production and removal of fermented materials produced on authorized brewery or bonded wine cellar premises as provided by law; products exempt from tax under the provisions of section 5042 or 5053(e); or fermented materials used in the manufacture of vinegar by fermentation. from the premises of a bonded wine cellar authorized to remove such material by section 5362(c)(6); beer conveyed without payment of tax from brewery premises, beer which has been lawfully removed from brewery premises upon determination of tax, or cider exempt from tax under the provisions of section 5042(a)(1). The Secretary may by regulations provide for the removal from the distilling system, and the addition to the fermented or unfermented distilling material, of distilled spirits containing substantial quantities of fusel oil or aldehydes, or other extraneous substances. For penalty and forfeiture for unlawful production, removal, or use of material fit for distillation or for the production of distilled spirits, and for penalty and forfeiture for unlawful production of distilled spirits, see sections 5601(a)(7), 5601(a)(8), and 5615(4).

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.