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...
US Treasury Building

Congress Punts on FET Legislation for One Week

The US Congress today voted to extend by one week their deadline to approve a 2021 spending bill, avoiding in the short term a government shut down, but prolonging further the years-long anxiety felt by craft distillers facing a...
Last Call Day of Action

Last Call Day of Action a Big Success

Thanks to the tremendous support from ADI members and the distilling community as a whole, the LAST CALL Day of Action, hosted by the Distilled Spirits Council of the US (DISCUS) on Tuesday, December 1st, resulted in more than...

FET and a Call to Action

American distillers are bracing for an uncertain future as the expiration of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) fast approaches. Unless the US congress grants another one-year extension, as they did at the end of 2019,...

The Low Down on Shipping Hand Sanitizer

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, supplies of hand sanitizer have been running low at health care facilities for weeks, and the demand is only getting higher. In response, most distillers of alcoholic beverages have switched over some of...

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...

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...

Amid Economic Turmoil Congress Should Act to Make FET Reductions Permanent

Most distilleries, wineries and breweries have benefited from the last few years’ of lower Federal Excise Rates (“FET)” thanks to passage of the Craft Beverage Modernization Act by Congress. That Act temporarily reduced excise taxes for producers, especially craft producers....

Who’s Working for Whom?

Why did you get into the craft-spirits business? Most people have an answer similar to Mike Selberg, founder of Cannon Beach Distillery in Oregon: “I had no real experience in the industry, I just knew I wanted to make...