Bill to allow craft liquor and cider to NY Customers

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)–Unlike wine and beer, craft liquor and cider cannot be shipped directly to customers in New York State. During the pandemic, distillers were allowed to do so. Now they’re pushing for a law to make it permanent.

“When the emergency benefit of that was taken away, it really hurt a lot of distillers,” said Derek Grout, owner of Harvest Spirits. “I’ve seen a lot of my fellow distillers struggle. Some have even gone out of business, and I think it’s something I really think would help not only the distillers, but all of the ancillary businesses that count on distilleries.”

The bill has gotten support from organizations such as the NY Farm Bureau.

However, there’s been some concern the alcohol could be shipped to children. Assemblymember Donna Lupardo said the same safety measures would be in place as other alcoholic beverages.

“We want to make sure these small distilleries and cideries– that are tourism anchors that are important to communities, are able to thrive by being able to ship safely through a common carrier like UPS with signature proof the person is 21,” explained Lupardo.

According to Lupardo, liquor stores have been pushing back out of concerns it could hurt their business. She disagrees.

“It also had almost no impact on our liquor stores who seem to be the most upset about this,” said Lupardo. “It had very little impact because most of these products aren’t carried in our liquor stores.”

We reached out New York State Liquor Store Association but have not yet gotten a response.

The legislation is currently waiting to be taken up on the floor by the Senate. In the Assembly, it’s moving through the committee process.

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