NC bill would allow distilleries to sell liquor for off-site consumption

Posted on — Jeff Fobes

Distilleries would be able to sell their spirits to visitors for consumption off-site, if the state legislature passes N.C. Senate Bill 24. The bill also expands the definition of where distillers may hold free tastings, to include trade shows, holiday festivals, balloon races and local fundraisers.

The key provision for on-site sales is:

Sell spirituous liquor distilled at the distillery in closed containers to visitors of the distillery for consumption off the premises. Sales pursuant to this subdivision are allowed only in an area where the establishment of an ABC store has been approved pursuant to G.S. 18B-602(g). Spirituous liquor sold at a distillery pursuant to this subdivision shall be sold at the price set by the Commission for the corresponding North Carolina code item, including all applicable excise taxes, bottles charges, and sales taxes. All excise taxes, bottle charges, and sales taxes shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue. In addition to any other labeling requirements set by law, spirituous liquor sold pursuant to this subdivision shall have affixed to its bottle a sticker that shall bear the words “North Carolina Distillery Tour Commemorative Spirit.” Consumers purchasing spirituous liquor under this subdivision shall be limited to purchasing, per calendar year, no more than one of any North Carolina code item listed for sale in the State. Retail sales of spirituous liquor pursuant to this subdivision shall be subject to the hours and days of sales provision in G.S. 18B-802. The authorization of this subdivision applies to a distillery that manufactures less than 100,000 proof gallons per year. The Commission shall adopt rules regulating the retail sale of spirituous liquor under this subdivision.”

Asheville attorney Derek Allen, who works with breweries and distillers, called this legislation a potential “game changer.”

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About Jeff Fobes
As a long-time proponent of media for social change, my early activities included coordinating the creation of a small community FM radio station to serve a poor section of St. Louis, Mo. In the 1980s I served as the editor of the "futurist" newsletter of the U.S. Association for the Club of Rome, a professional/academic group with a global focus and a mandate to act locally. During that time, I was impressed by a journalism experiment in Mississippi, in which a newspaper reporter spent a year in a small town covering how global activities impacted local events (e.g., literacy programs in Asia drove up the price of pulpwood; soybean demand in China impacted local soybean prices). Taking a cue from the Mississippi journalism experiment, I offered to help the local Green Party in western North Carolina start its own newspaper, which published under the name Green Line. Eventually the local party turned Green Line over to me, giving Asheville-area readers an independent, locally focused news source that was driven by global concerns. Over the years the monthly grew, until it morphed into the weekly Mountain Xpress in 1994. I've been its publisher since the beginning. Mountain Xpress' mission is to promote grassroots democracy (of any political persuasion) by serving the area's most active, thoughtful readers. Consider Xpress as an experiment to see if such a media operation can promote a healthy, democratic and wise community. In addition to print, today's rapidly evolving Web technosphere offers a grand opportunity to see how an interactive global information network impacts a local community when the network includes a locally focused media outlet whose aim is promote thoughtful citizen activism. Follow me @fobes
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