Picture: Wellcome Library, London.

It is not illegal to own a still in the UK but it is illegal to make alcohol unless you have a distiller’s licence: I believe penalties for a first offence include a fine of up to £6,500, five years in jail or both. I would submit that this draconian punishment has more to do with the tax man than it does with any temperance movement. There’s nothing to stop us, though, buying booze someone else has made legally and putting our own spin on it. Continue reading →