Innovative Legal Guidance For Alcohol, Cannabis And Global Consumer Brands
New York Senator Charles Schumer announced that he is introducing legislation that will cut the excise tax on small breweries in half. Currently, brewers pay a $7 excise tax for the first 60,000 barrels they brew per year. Under the Small BREW (Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce) Act of 2013 , that rate is reduced to $3.50 per barrel, resulting…
The following is from the New York State Liquor Authority Homepage: “On October 10, 2013, the SLA charged Southern Wine and Spirits with three violations for offering limited availability products, without price posting the products as required by statute. While the SLA’s investigation found the wholesaler was not discriminating among retailers, the wholesaler admitted to failing to price post limited…
Two recent studies discuss alcohol advertising. The first, in Reuters, notes that “advertising for alcoholic beverages in magazines is largely in line with rules set by the U.S. government and industry, though in some cases just barely, according to a new study.” Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health determined that about 98 percent of alcohol ads in…
Beginning January 1, 2014, distilleries in California may charge customers for tastings rather than just give away their samples for free. This new law provides distilleries the opportunity to do what California wineries and breweries had previously been able to do. Unfortunately, this new law does not also permit distilleries to sell their bottled product at their distillery though this…
If you have spent any time in a cocktail bar, you likely noticed various rye whiskeys on the backbar and menu. This was not the case several years ago. The rise in popularity of rye in bars has helped rye whiskey grow 41% to 275,000 cases in 2012, up from 195,000 cases in 2011, according to Impact Databank. Rye whiskey…
The largest alcohol brands that accounted for approximately 25% of category volumes at the beginning of 2012 have all lost share since then, according to GuestMetrics. Here are excerpts of a press release released November 3rd. The full release can be viewed at: http://www.guestmetrics.com/2013/11/04/largest-brands-losing-share-three-alcohol-categories-though-holding-better-wine-spirits/ Beer: is the most concentrated category, with just three brands (Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors Light)…
A new announcement was just posted on the TTB website ) regarding submissions prior to the shutdown. The announcement states as follows: The government shutdown may have affected your Formulas Online submissions and COLAs Online applications. Read on to learn how the rules for automatic date-based status changes in both online systems may have affected recent submissions to these TTB…
Due to the government shutdown, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) will temporarily be closed. What does that mean for those in the alcohol beverage industry? Here is a list of what TTB functions will remain accessible during the shutdown and which functions will be suspended. ACCESSIBLE SERVICES: -The TTB website, though it will not be updated…
Every brand waits for it and can’t wait to receive it: approval from the TTB of your label, certificate of label approval (“COLA”). The TTB just updated its current label processing times, noting 41 days for distilled spirits and wine and just 11 days for malt beverages. Here is the chart and a link to the TTB’s page (http://www.ttb.gov/labeling/processing-times.shtml). Current…
The governor of New York signed two bills that amend the current Alcohol Beverage Control law. The first new law involves has more impact on a licensee like Scores versus a cocktail bar like PDT. It adds a new requirement for applicants, both new and renewal, requiring a statement indicating the type of establishment being operated at the location. The…