On Site Tastings

[GaDistCo]

Greetings fellow distillers,

We are looking to change Georgia's laws to allow on-site tastings of product. Similar laws have been passed here for micro-breweries and wineries, however we are a new oddity here in Georgia and the South. Anyone out there who has sample legislation or wording which may make it as easy as possible for our legislators, please share it. Thanks to the economy our state is receptive to ideas on how to increase revenues, and this type legislation would be great for our business, as well as other and future distilleries which may want to operate here in Georgia. Right now all we are pushing for is tastings. Georgia is a three-tier state and not yet ripe for on-site sales. If we can get the tastings, then maybe we can eventually get on-site sales as well. One step at a time.

Bill Mauldin

Georgia Distilling Company

404-281-5484

bill.mauldin@georgiadistilling.com

www.gadistilling.com

[Brian]

http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$ABC61$$@TXABC061+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=BROWSER+&TOKEN=10286700+&TARGET=VIEW

Bill,

Pasting the above into your browser should lead you to New york States liquor law verbiage.

One overarching idea is that farming is a "right" in the state of New York. NYS has a distillery class that is a "farm" distillery required to use NYS based substrates.

If Ga. allows breweries to sell that may be the camel's nose in the tent. I think the winery in Lakemont sells wine?

At any rate the cards to play are the farming aspect and the tourism dollar multiplier effect from "outside" dollars being spent in your community.

There are often inconsitencies in laws written over time to resolve the needs of constituents over time. For example, Minnesota has a "small" winery class that allows your to distill fruit from Minnesota but not grains...that bias might be easily resolved without going for an entirely "new" law that might raise the hackles of constituents opposed to larger alcohol availabilty, but in this case it could be argued that it is "unfair" to exclude grains when fruit is already permitted. Find a lever and use it if you can....

Brian

[JImbob]

Bill, I read your posting on this ADI website. My name is Jim Harris, and I live in north GA, and have been working on getting the GA law changed to offer a tasting room for a micro distillery myself for over a year now. I have already had dealings with several of our legislators, and several state lobbyist as recently as fall 2010. I was working with Terry Hobbs (lobbyist) hoping to get the law changed before the session ended last fall but was advised to wait until 2011 as our Governor (Mr Purdue) would not be in favor of such legislation. I currently have a tentative meeting scheduled in the next 30 days with our new Speaker of the House to present this new legislation. This was arranged by Bubba McDonald, the GA Public Service Commissioner, my neighbor. I am using the same language that South Carolina used to pass this in 2009. My desire is to also build a new micro distillery in north GA, provided the state pass this new legislation. Please call me any time and I will be glad to update you on my progress, or if you are in the Tallulah Falls area, please give me a call as you are welcome to visit at my home. Let me know if you want copies of my paperwork, or would like to attend the meeting at the capitol with me. Jim

Jim Harris

404.697.8800

jimharris@windstream.net

[Junas]

Good Day Bill,

Sounds like Jim Harris is on the right track. A friend of mine and I worked behind the scenes to lobby through the recent changes to Tennessee's distilling laws. Fortunately we both had experience in the legislative process. You will need someone that has that experience to help any Bill make it through. It is also good to have the State's Departments of Tourism, Agriculture and Revenue as well as the ABC aware and supportive (though State agencies are typically prohibited from lobbying activity, they can issue a letter of endorsement). It is effective and proper to call any changes in distillery laws "Agricultural" and of course the "Holy Grail" for many of us is to establish a "sustainable local economy" around the whole process. However, wider latitude in your language will broaden the fabric for the industry as whole. In other words, try to keep out any production limits and supply limitations. It would be a shame to handicap future distillers who may want to blend local and imported grains to achieve unique products. I found that Legislators will tune into the jobs and revenue aspects as much as the agricultural aspects. I believe the "Small Farmer/ Small Businessman" aspect was hard to ignore for most on both sides of the aisle. We also had the benefit of the Lynchburg, TN example (which you could use as well) where a dry county has seen little drop in employment, low crime, extra revenue and allows on premises sales.

You fellas are free to call me if you want further insight.

Jim Massey

Fugitives Spirits

615-830-0043

Greetings fellow distillers,

We are looking to change Georgia's laws to allow on-site tastings of product. Similar laws have been passed here for micro-breweries and wineries, however we are a new oddity here in Georgia and the South. Anyone out there who has sample legislation or wording which may make it as easy as possible for our legislators, please share it. Thanks to the economy our state is receptive to ideas on how to increase revenues, and this type legislation would be great for our business, as well as other and future distilleries which may want to operate here in Georgia. Right now all we are pushing for is tastings. Georgia is a three-tier state and not yet ripe for on-site sales. If we can get the tastings, then maybe we can eventually get on-site sales as well. One step at a time.

Bill Mauldin

Georgia Distilling Company

404-281-5484

bill.mauldin@georgiadistilling.com

www.gadistilling.com

[cowdery]

You might also want to contact Eric Gregory, who is president of the Kentucky Distillers Association. Obviously, in Kentucky's case the law covers all distilleries, not just small or farm-based ones, as it was put forth by the big bourbon distillers who are the members of KDA. I know there is at least one participant here who operates a micro-distillery in Kentucky, who could tell you how Kentucky's law works. At present, distilleries may provide free samples at the distillery as well as sell bottled product directly, although they have to do paper transactions with a distributor, as the distillery and its retail shop are separate entities, legally. That's just for the bottles they sell, not for the samples they give away.

I know one peculiar aspect of the law is that they may sample only on days and during hours when the jurisdiction in which they are located permits off-premise liquor sales. Kentucky has local option and if, for example, the local jurisdiction doesn't permit liquor sales on Sunday, then the distilleries in that jurisdiction may not sample or sell on Sunday either. I don't know if Georgia has local option but you might have a local restriction to deal with as well as the state one.