James Niekamp

Hi Alex, I see that you have not heard a response on this matter so I thought I would offer my experience in case you are still looking for a resolution. In general, TTB is very strict about the arrangements they allow. They typically do not like granting permits to distilleries within multi-unit buildings. However, there are ways around this if you can show that the distillery and other building units are adequately separated. This usually means they need separate entrances and are completely blocked off from each other. I would think there are ways to make this work in your case, it would just be very fact-specific and would likely involve a few measures required by TTB to ensure that the premises are adequately separated. Let me know if you would like for me to connect you to some consultants in the industry that specialize in these sorts of projects and I would be happy to help. Thanks, James Niekamp Niekamp & Associates, LLC

Interesting to hear your guys' experiences. Unfortunately I have found that what is required by TTB can depend heavily on the TTB specialist assigned to your permit application. Nowadays they generally focus on three main different types of descriptions; 1) legal description of the lot (usually found on the deed), 2) Bonded Premises, and 3) General Premises. For the Bonded and General premises TTB can be very particular. I typically write the description to cover the perimeter of the Bonded and General areas matching the diagram and they usually are ok with that. Hope that helps. James Niekamp Niekamp & Associates, LLC

Hi Alex, Great question - I hope that you have a resolution on this by now, but if not I will try to offer my experience on the matter. In general, what KRS said above is fairly accurate; TTB's requirements can be surprisingly strict. I suggest getting a copy of the blueprints of the property - this should show the exact distances from wall to wall to aid you in the description. I usually begin at a corner of the building and lead the reader around the perimeter (e.g. "Starting at SW corner of building, proceed West 150 feet"). The legal description of the property can be complicated as well as TTB has gotten very strict about this lately. I usually obtain this information from the County Recorder's office, as the deed should have the legal description in it. Hope that helps. If interested, I can connect you to some great consultants that I work with in the industry. Best of luck in your new endeavor! Thanks, James Niekamp Niekamp & Associates, LLC

Richard, I would also recommend Don at Whiskey Resources - he's a great, knowledgable guy with a lot of experience. Also, if you need any assistance with Federal Permit application/compliance issues, Jim McCoy is the top guy out there that I know of. He worked for TTB for 30+ years before becoming a consultant. I work for a law firm that handles various federal permit issues for industry members who run into legal issues/TTB administrative actions along the way (which hopefully you never have to deal with!). Best of luck with your new business venture! -James Niekamp & Associates, LLC

Hi, Not sure if you got an answer on this yet so I figured I would chime in. In my experience, TTB can be seemingly unpredictable in what they approve. The rule of thumb is that they scrutinize advertising that contains "Statements, designs, or the use of subliminal representations that are obscene or indecent." Obviously this can be pretty subjective. Whether or not using "bare ass" would be viewed as "obscene" seems unlikely to me, but then again I have heard crazy stories of what they have rejected in the past. For example, I once heard a label was rejected for profanity that contained the phrase "good beer no sh*t", due to the state ABC rejecting the label as profane. They eventually got approval, but it was a long, difficult process involving court intervention. On the other hand, there's a beer out there called "arrogant bastard" which got label approval. Also, not sure how much NJ scrutinizes labels, but there may be an issue there too worth looking into as well. Hope that helps. Feel free to message me on here if you have any follow-up questions, I'd be happy to discuss. James Niekamp Niekamp & Associates, LLC