Many continued their illegal distilling after Prohibition's end, often passing on family recipes in secret (or, at least, in tightly-knit circles) for generations.
Then moonshine and home distilling enjoyed a new renaissance in the early 2000s, he said, thanks to reality TV shows like Moonshiners, the internet and popular culture.
"You start to get this pretty dramatic revival…. in terms of home distilling," Pierce said.
Rick Morris, the founder and president of the Hobby Distillers Association, was one of the challengers who sued in Texas to change the law. He first entered the drinks industry working with soda machines and bottled water, then became a hobbyist home brewer of beer and wine with his wife.
They made a frustrating discovery when they tried to take the "next step" into distilling.
"It didn't make sense," he said. "I could make beer, I could make wine, both perfectly legally … and it was frustrating that I couldn't take what I had already legally made and do one more step to it, to start to try to make a bourbon or a brandy."
The allure for Morris and many other hobbyists, they say, is the mechanics and innovation behind the process.
"There is a lot of science and details to get straightened out, but there is still a big vein of creativity in the art that goes into it - blending flavours and aromas and all that," said Ohio challenger John Bream, an aerospace engineer by trade.
He first took up the hobby when his wife gave him a home-brewing kit around 17 years ago. He set up his operations in their kitchen but "made too many messes and got kicked out into the garage".
"Through homebrewing, I became aware that going to the next level of distilling was illegal … so I stayed away from it," he said.
But he realised he could be "part of the force for good" by joining legal challenges to the archaic law.
Not everyone is on board with the move, Courtney Armour, chief legal officer at The Distilled Spirits Council of the US, told the BBC. She worries about the challenges and dangers that come with home producing.
"The distillation process can be quite dangerous, including risk of explosion, burns, fires, and more," Armour said. "The spirits industry has a clear focus on safety and process management to mitigate these risks, but even in that careful environment there are still accidents, injuries and even fatalities."
And then there are health concerns that can arise when alcohol has not been produced properly.
"In a home-distilling setting, these dangers would not just be limited to the individuals engaging in the production but also their neighbors in the surrounding area," Armour said.
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