Can I distil my own alcohol?
No, not freely at home. Distilling alcohol is strictly framed by the Customs Code: making alcohol is subject to declaration and customs control, and distilling at home without authorisation is banned. The 'bouilleur de cru' (home distiller) right lets some individuals have the fruit of their own harvest distilled, but only via a public or approved mobile distiller (still), after a declaration, and for their family consumption — the output can't be sold. This privilege is dying out (non-transferable, except to a surviving spouse). In short: owning a small decorative still is one thing; distilling alcohol to drink or sell is another, illegal without a framework.
📋 The rules
- Making alcohol subject to customs control
- Distilling at home without authorisation: banned
- Home distiller: distilling via an approved distiller, on declaration
- Only the fruit of your harvest, for family consumption
- Output not for sale
🔓 Exceptions
- Home-distiller right (old privilege, non-transferable except spouse)
- Mandatory use of an approved workshop/mobile distiller
- Artisanal output for sale: professional status + excise duties
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Distilling alcohol without declaration or authorisation is a fraud (illicit alcohol-making, evading excise duties): customs can seize the still and the output, and impose heavy fines, even prosecution. Selling distilled alcohol without professional status and without paying excise aggravates the penalties. To produce and sell alcohol, you need distiller status and approval.
📎 Official sources
- Service-Public.fr · Home distiller and distillation →
- Douane.gouv.fr · Alcohols and alcoholic beverages →
- Légifrance · General Tax Code (distillation, art. 315 ff.) →
❓ Frequently asked
Can you distil alcohol at home?
No, not freely. Making alcohol is subject to customs control, and distilling at home without authorisation is banned. Only home distillers, via an approved distiller and after a declaration, can distil their harvest for their consumption.
What's a 'bouilleur de cru'?
It's an individual who has the fruit of their own harvest (plums, apples, etc.) distilled to make spirits for family consumption. The privilege is old, non-transferable (except to a surviving spouse) and dying out.
Can you sell the alcohol you distil?
No. A home distiller's output is reserved for family consumption and can't be sold. To produce and market alcohol, you need professional distiller status, approval and to pay excise duties.
What's the risk of distilling without authorisation?
A fraud in customs' eyes: seizure of the still and output, heavy fines, even prosecution for illicit alcohol-making and evading excise duties. Clandestine distilling is severely punished.
Can you own a still?
Owning a still can be regulated (declaration by capacity). But owning one doesn't give the right to freely distil alcohol: it's the distilling operation, without declaration or legal framework, that's banned and punished.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “distil alcohol at home legal”
- “bouilleur de cru right”
- “alcohol distillation customs”
- “still individual law”
- “distil spirits home”
- “make alcohol without authorisation”