Regulation & Compliance

US Congress Approves Major FET Reduction for Craft Distillers

After years of uncertainty, the US Congress today voted to finally pass into law the long-awaited Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CMBTRA), making permanent the reduction in the federal excise tax (FET) rate paid by distillers. The...

Craft Distilleries Around the US Step Up to Help Fill Hand-Sanitizer Shortages

by Brad Plummer, Editor, Distiller Magazine As urgency around the global coronavirus pandemic has intensified, consumers across the country shopping for one of the most basic personal hygiene products — hand sanitizer — have been met with empty shelves. In response...

Frequently Asked Questions: TTB Reporting

Q: What can we expect during a TTB audit? A: Audit scopes, conducted by the TTB Audit Division, vary depending on the auditor, DSP, and many other factors. Common types of audits include on-site reviews of records and reports, on-site product...

Legal Considerations for Leasing or Purchasing Real Estate for Distilleries

With the growth of the distilling business, landlords are paying more attention to potential tenants in this industry, which present a viable solution for spaces left vacant by traditional retailers. The number of active craft distilleries in the United...

The Rise of the B Corporation

One of the greatest consumer shifts in America over the last thirty years has been back toward buying from local producers, away from larger corporations. We like to know who grew our food, distilled our spirits and brewed our...

Facing the COVID-19 Crisis with Action

It’s been an unusually busy few weeks during an unprecedented historical period for US craft distillers. Here is a roundup of how some state guilds and distillers have taken action. California The leadership of California Artisanal Distillers Guild (CADG, https://www.cadistillers.org) are...
US Treasury Building

TTB Releases Final Document on Labeling Modernization

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) today released the final document outlining changes to alcoholic beverage labeling regulations. The labeling modernization ruling, called "Notice 176: Modernization of the Labeling and Advertising Regulations" comes after a year...

CORE

The conversation usually starts like this: “I’m a little behind on my monthly TTB reporting and I’m not sure how to get caught up.” Or “Our compliance manager has left the company and I’m not sure where we are...

Exorcising Prohibition in North Carolina

For 200 years, the “wet” and “dry” struggles of Statesville, North Carolina, have been a microcosm for the greater contest between Temperance tee-teetotalers and whiskey’s grand traditionalists. The clash brought an epoch of disruption in the early 19th century,...

How Modernized Laws Transformed Craft Distilling in North Carolina

Making it through the pandemic was rough for every business. But for North Carolina distilleries, what’s been waiting on the other side is a new world, thanks to changes that people in the industry never thought would happen. “It’s night...