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If you want to buy a bottle of liquor in our state, the only place you can get it is at an ABC store. A new bill signed by Governor Pat McCrory changes that.
Places such as Mother Earth Brewery in Kinston look forward to directly selling customers whiskey and gin made at their distillery.
Gov. McCrory on Friday signed H.B. 909, saying distilleries in our state will be able to sell their liquor right where they make it. There are provisions though. Distilleries will only be able to sell one bottle of their alcohol to an individual customer once per year.
It’s a change that Mother Earth Brewing owners Stephen Hill and Trent Mooring say will give distilleries a marketing and revenue boost.
“They say they want to buy a bottle. Well you have to go down the street,” says Hill. “They never make it down the street. Now they can buy it right on the spot take it home with them. It means a lot for us, for tourism for us, and tourism in the state.”
The new law requires that distilleries keep electronic records of customers’ names, birthdates, and driver’s license numbers to ensure the once-per-year limit isn’t violated.
Some church groups we spoke to felt the bill is a bad move, saying liquor doesn’t need to be any more accessible. Regardless, the new law goes into effect October 1.
Mother Earth Brewery is one of 25 distilleries in our state that’s able to take advantage of the new law.
House Bill 909 also bans the sale of powdered alcohol in North Carolina.
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