FLORIDA — It was a very disappointing start to the week for many Florida distillers, as House Bill 1219, the "Beverage Law," never got a vote in the Senate and was withdrawn this weekend.
- Bill would have eased restrictions on distillers selling to the public
- Distillers want same allowances as craft brewers, wineries
- Bill will be re-introduced during next session
- More Volusia County stories
Some distillers say this would have changed their business for the better, allowing them to sell bottles of liquor to their customers without the strict rules in place under current law.
“If one person comes in, I can sell them six bottles of each, per year, and that is it," said Jeremy Craig, Head Distiller and Co-Owner of Copper Bottom Craft Distillery in Holly Hill.
Craig and his family make all of their rum and vodka themselves, but are frustrated they cannot expand.
“It is very much restricting our business," said Craig. "Not being able to sell the amount of bottles that anybody would like makes it very difficult. Not being able to sell a cocktail makes it very, very difficult. Not being able to ship our products makes it difficult because these are what customers are telling us they want. We are not able to do it"
Opposition from distributors?
Representative Anthony Sabatini of Clermont understands this frustration, which is why he introduced the bill back in January.
"It went up against a lot of opposition, because the status quo in liquor and alcohol laws in Florida is the three-tier system, and people who want to protect the system felt threatened by the law," said Sabatini.
Craig believes that it's the distributors that are mostly opposed to it, as distillers have to go through distributors to sell more than six bottles per person. However, Craig claims this bill would not have hurt their business.
“We are trying to find distributors to help us sell our products down in Miami, in Tampa, in Jacksonville, and in places outside of this area and we are having a hard time finding those people,” said Craig.
According to Craig, distillers across the state just want the same allowances that are made for breweries and wineries in the state.
“We're not trying to get anything special here," he explained. "You can go to any brewery in the state, sit down and buy a pint of beer."
Now, distillers are banding together to make sure they can stay afloat.
“It has gotten us all together and we are having consistent meetings now on what it is we are looking for, how we are all going to get on the same page and how we can really get this through next year,” said Craig.
Representative Sabatini said he was disappointed to see the bill fail. He plans on introducing it again during the next session, where he is confident it will pass.