There are indeed some countries where distilling alcohol at home is illegal. In these cases distilling water and etheric oils might be allowed, but it is unclear how ordering equipment for these purposes would be treated.
Countries we’ve found where the legality of distilling alcohol might be dubious:
Sweden and Finland disallow personal brewing, but allows licensed commercial brewing, Norway requires a license, the US requires a license, the UK requires a license, Australia requires a license, South Africa requires a license, in Germany producing Schnaps is allowed, but may require licensing. Belgium requires licensing, as does France (unless you are a bouilleur), Greece requires licensing, Ireland, most of Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal all require licensing.
How difficult it is to acquire these licenses we have yet to find out.
If, however, you live in Austria (as long as you register), Italy (the region of Friuli), Romania, Bulgaria, (all three in something called public stills, and subject to taxation), Russia or the Ukraine, you’re supposedly good to go, but verifying this is up to you. New Zeeland, apparently, does not give a shit.
Even though this is the info we’ve found on the net, we can’t guarantee that it’s absolutely accurate and we’ll have to recommend you refrain from ordering distilling equipment unless you can make sure that it’s legal where you live.
To soothe this inequity, may we suggest the Wines & Spirits section instead?
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The Food and Booze Logs 