Not sure what the paranoia about home distilling stems from. Actually, I read most of article wondering when he would get to discussing the absurd home-distilli

Not sure what the paranoia about home distilling stems from. Actually, I read most of article wondering when he would get to discussing the absurd home-distilling laws. Making beer, wine, etc is legal in most jurisdictions (with some out-there upper limit like 200 gallons per person per year max). Nothing wrong with drinking [most of] that stuff; with a little practice you can make it better than the cheap store-bought forms (or maybe even get actually good at it). Distilling is simply removing some of the content of the aforementioned beverage. Usually it involves extracting the [harmless] ethanol from the fermented must/wort via evaporation & condensation, which can be done as simply as a "disappearing still" (arrangements of common kitchen pots, ice, and stove). Legally, "distilling" also includes other forms of concentrating the alcohol by removing something, such as by freezing the liquid and draining the still-fluid components from the ice. Either way, it's pretty stupid that people can make vast amounts of inebriants at home for personal use, but are severely punished for concentrating it (again, for personal use). Yes, some people do get stupid and make harmful solutions. A main factor therein is the fact that it's illegal to make distilled spirits without expensive licenses, which in turns make it hard for people to make it properly & safely (both in manufacturing and product). Sure you could argue that they shouldn't be doing illegal things, but that ignores the easy LEGAL availability (liquor stores flourish), and the fact that it's so easy to make at home it's almost hard not to.