Hospitality Law Blog

New KY Laws Bring Codified Private Barrel Selections, Satellite Tasting Rooms, and Lower Age for Alcohol-Related Jobs

As the 2022 Kentucky legislative session has come to a close, it’s time to review the new laws that emerged in Frankfort. For those in the alcoholic beverage industry, the most significant of these is HB 500, which contains several significant advances for distillers. Among these are the standardization and legalization of private barrel selection events and the opportunity for distilleries to establish satellite tasting rooms, two steps to promote bourbon tourism in the commonwealth. More >

Kentucky General Assembly Makes Cocktails-To-Go Privileges Permanent

One of the many pandemic-inspired ad hoc measures enacted last year to support restaurants and provide much needed merriment for beleaguered patrons has now become a permanent feature of Kentucky law – the cocktail-to-go. SB 67 was signed into law by Kentucky Gov. Beshear on March 15^th featuring an emergency clause thereby rendering it immediately effective. More >

Alcohol Producers, Take Note: Direct To Consumer Sales and Shipping Privileges Enhanced

On February 26^th, the Kentucky House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation that significantly enhances and expands in-state and out-of-state manufacturers’ ability to directly ship their products in and out of Kentucky. The legislation quickly passed the Kentucky Senate and was signed into law by Governor Andy Beshear on March 11^th.  Because the bill contains an emergency clause, nearly all its provisions became effective immediately upon the Governor’s signing. More >

Developments in Federal Law – Alcoholic Beverage Regulation: Congress Makes the CBMTRA Permanent and TTB Expands Allowable Standards of Fill

CBMTRA

To many, Washington D.C. has been consumed by COVID-19 and turbulence over the election, but to the alcoholic beverage industry there has been one goal dominating policy discussions: to make permanent the 2017 Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA), which was slated for expiration on December 31, 2020. More >

Relief for Wholesalers and Distributors

After a flurry of executive orders and legislative action by Kentucky’s Governor and General Assembly to provide relief for hard hit alcohol retailers, at the request of our firm on behalf of distributor and wholesaler clients, the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet and Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control issued a new Order, effective April 8th, extending the hours that malt beverage distributors and wine and spirits wholesalers may deliver product to the retailers to “any time of the day that the retailer is ready, able and voluntarily willing to accept deliveries of product.” This Order will allow distributors and wholesalers to deliver product to retailers outside the existing restricted hours mandated by state statute and local ordinances, which will hopefully minimize the spread of Coronavirus and allow these middle tier industry members to more efficiently and safely manage their workforce.

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Provisions of New Kentucky Law, SB 150, Allow for Sales by the Drink Deliveries and Take-Out

On Thursday, March 26, 2020, Kentucky’s response to the coronavirus crisis took an odd turn in the Kentucky legislature with the passage of a bill that will now allow patrons to purchase, for carryout or delivery, alcohol by the drink. UPDATE - Gov. Beshear signed the bill on March 30th. More >

ALERT: Supreme Court Strikes Down Tennessee Residency Requirements in Alcohol Licensing

In a move sure to have a profound effect on state regulation of alcohol sales and distribution, the United States Supreme Court has issued an opinion in Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Assn. v. Thomas that strikes down Tennessee’s two-year in-state residency requirement for initial applicants for state liquor licenses. More >

HB 256: BYOB in Dry and Moist Territory

Unlike the past several years, 2019’s legislative session did not produce major legislation regarding alcohol regulation. What it did produce, HB 256, is a very significant law change but it’s not a dramatic change for the alcohol industry (like 2018’s HB 400, allowing direct shipping of distilled spirits to the homes of distillery visitors), nor is it a large modernization or streamlining of regulations (such as 2017’s HB 100 and HB 133). Instead, the impact of HB 256 is a significant policy change to dry territories. The bill allows for the private possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages in dry or moist territories without a vote of vote of its residents, a protection provided by the Kentucky Constitution. More >

Three BIG Legal Issues for Restaurateurs to Keep from Boiling Over

You have been perfecting your recipes for years, laboriously working over a hot stove and making sure every bit is seasoned, simmered, sautéed, and served to utmost perfection. Your passion is now your business, and your business…well, let’s just say that the chicken isn’t the only thing in your restaurant that can be dangerous when not fully cooked. You’ve trained to be a chef, but you never knew just how complicated running a business could be. Licenses and inspections to set up were tough, but keeping a restaurant running comes with its own buffet of issues.

Relax…let us set before you a three-course meal of legal issues that are specific to the restaurant industry. Think of these as a recipe for making something savory. Let’s dig in! More >

The Intersection of Tourism and Dram Shop Liability

It’s not a stretch to link dram shop liability and Kentucky tourism these days. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the newfound ability of distilleries and craft producers to serve alcohol themselves have brought this issue into sharper focus. With the boom in alcohol tourism and on-site sampling, alcohol retailers old and new who rely on a steady stream of tourists should understand that with these new powers come new responsibilities, and dram shop liability is law in Kentucky. More >