No Cocktails And No Dreams To Be Allowed For Alaskan Distillery Owners

Monday, ABC Board voted unanimously to put the proposal of forbidding distillery employees from mixing cocktails in their tasting rooms out for public comment.

The measure will force distilleries to serve alcohol separately from mixers, asking the customer to shake up their martinis on their own.

The suggestion has caught the attention of those in Juneau.

Senator Peter Micciche

Senator Peter Micciche: “It’s a relatively new industry in Alaska, and we are doing our best to provide reasonable sideboards to what can occur in a tasting room.”

The proposal adds new subsections to the law, suggesting tasting room staff may not combine the distillery’s product with any other manufactured product but may serve separately non-alcoholic ingredients, including fruit juices, spiced and flavored mixers, garnishes, and carbonated beverages.

It further defines distillery’s product as a distilled spirit made or distilled on the premises of the licensed facility, which may bring into question the industry’s ability to create blended whiskeys.

The board will also give further contemplation to Director Erika McConnell’s question about what activities should be restricted in tasting rooms.

The current law states that live entertainment, televisions, pool tables, dart games, dancing,  game tables, and other recreational or gaming opportunities on the premises where the consumption occurs are forbidden.

McConnell put the kibosh on activities such as First Friday art shows, yoga classes, and fundraisers.

The board is accepting public comment on the measure and may review it at their January meeting in Juneau.

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Should Fun Be Excluded At Distillery Tasting Rooms?

Ursa Major Distillery Owner Rob Borland: “She even goes to say that she wants to outlaw fun in a tasting room, which is kind of ridiculous.”

The “she” that Ursa Major Distillery Owner Rob Borland is referring to is the new Alcohol Control Office Director Erika McConnell, who some in the industry feel is taking Alaska’s fledgling distillery industry to task.

It is confusing to the public because beer tastings with food, entertainment, and all sorts of fun activities take place at brewpubs all over the state, even a few brave local wineries are allowed to offer customers the opportunity to sample their wares in a warm inviting environment.

Testifying before the ABC Board today, Jeff Landfield says…

Jeff Landfield: “I’m not even sure why this is a thing. Very supportive. We all like having a drink. No big deal.”

It is a big deal to those who interpret “entertainment” – an activity strictly excluded in the current law, as fun.

Ursa Major Distillery Owner Rob Borland: “She just wants people to come in, take a sample if they like the product, then they take a bottle and leave. She doesn’t want anybody lingering here or enjoying themselves in any way.”

The ABC Board listened to testimony from all around the state, before considering what direction to give.  Board members kept referring back to the Alaska Statute that allows for tasting rooms.

ABC Board Member: “It says there shouldn’t be entertainment and the amount that can be served, and that it’s specific to a tasting of that product for the public, and they can also make sales.  To me, that seems to be getting lost here.”

Senator Peter Micciche was vice-chair of the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing committee in 2014, when the law that allowed tasting rooms in distilleries was passed as a means to help a new industry gain a competitive advantage over outside companies that sold their spirits in Alaska.

Micciche says they may be overthinking what the legislative intent was of the bill.

Senator Peter Micciche R D-O: “I certainly hope that the board doesn’t make an unrealistic interpretation, and go so far as to say that fun shouldn’t occur in a tasting room.”

The Board wasn’t complete when it considered the issue early Monday evening, Wasilla’s Rex Leath wasn’t able to discuss the public safety impacts, which could potentially be considerable when the possible addition of nearly 300 tasting rooms in Anchorage is added together.

The Board elected to table making a decision until its next meeting in January.