Illinois recently came out with the first draft of legalized cannabis legislation. The bill is loaded with social equity provisions which include a program to provide low-interest loans for “social equity applicants”.
Like any first draft nothing is final and everything is a work in progress. When looking at the bill, I noticed that there are […]
Conventional wisdom tells you it should be so easy! Three states with Democratic Governors want to legalize cannabis and in all three states the governors have Democrat supermajorities in both houses of the legislature. Nevertheless, even with these built in advantages, the cannabis legalization bandwagon has screeched to a grinding halt. In Illinois, New Jersey […]
I previously wrote a post on how Miller has no home run hitter in its craft beer space. I contrasted Miller with Budweiser that has Goose Island, Heineken that has Lagunitas, and Constellation that has Ballast Point. https://irishliquorlawyer.com/millercoors-craft-portfolio-will-its-field-of-dreams-come-true-or-will-it-need-to-find-a-home-run-from-somehwere-else/
Like baseball free agency, sometimes a big spend turns into a flop. In 2015 Constellation paid $1 […]
There is a theory out there, that is actually backed up by statistics, that the presence of craft brewers is hurting bars and taverns. An article on this subject cites Bureau of Labor statistics that the number of “on-premise drinking establishments have decreased by 6.3% since 2010.[1]
Bar/tavern owners are starting to take notice […]
The TTB has finally caught the big fish. The TTB announced that it accepted a $2.5 million offer in compromise from Heineken.
The TTB alleged that Heineken offered BrewLock draft systems at no charge, these systems are developed by Heineken and only work with kegs from Heineken. Because of the nature of the system, retailers were […]
In an unsurprising decision the Eastern District of Missouri ruled that a challenge to Missouri’s ban on out-of-state wine retailers shipping to customers within the state, failed to state a claim on which relief could be granted and dismissed the challenge. Sarasota Wine Market v. Parson, Case No. 4:17CV2792 HEA (Eastern District of Missouri, March […]
A Federal District Court judge granted the state’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s case more to follow! Sarasota Wine Market, LLC et al v. Greitens et al 4:17-cv-02792-HEA
There is a great buzz going around about the U.S. Supreme Court’s Tennessee Wine case and whether this case will decide if Granholm extends to retailer, and hence deems laws banning wine retailer shipping as unconstitutional.
Even if the Supreme Court remains silent on the specific issue, many lower federal courts and even state courts may […]
The Wayfair decision recently changed whether a state could impose sales tax on an out-of-state company that has no physical presence in the state. Many wineries and wine retailers (those that are eligible to ship legally into a state) may need to change their behavior. Depending on whether they meet certain sales thresholds or enter […]
Included are the vast majority of Illinois liquor bills so far introduced this session.
The craft distillers are busy! They are requesting full retail privileges, self-distribution privileges, increases in the amount they can serve in their tasting rooms, and up to 500,000 gallons in storage capacity.
This last number seems […]