Spirits industry law, including distilling, labeling, advertising, taxation, distribution, and consumer litigation.
How far can Congress go to collect the whiskey tax? The Supreme Court’s home distilling case brings together nineteenth-century moonshining, modern tax rates, and the limits of federal power.
A “100% agave” label makes a claim about what went into the bottle. Costco’s tequila dismissal raises a harder question: how much weight should Mexican certification carry when consumers challenge that composition with testing? We examine the ruling and the records beverage businesses should retain.
“100% agave,” “handcrafted,” and “small batch” carry different risks when consumers challenge a tequila’s ingredients or production. The 818 litigation offers suppliers and wholesalers lessons about substantiation, testing, website disclosures, and the limits of label approval.
Washington’s distillery shipping restrictions raised a familiar question about unequal access for out-of-state producers. This April 2025 article critiques the district court’s reliance on retailer-shipping precedent.
Broken bottles exposed a dispute over which supply terms governed. MacH Flynt v. Veritiv offers lessons about signed agreements, purchase orders, website terms, warranties, and forum-selection clauses.
Competing claims to Kentucky bourbon history produced a dispute over literal falsity, consumer perception, and materiality. This article examines the district court’s 2025 ruling and its lessons for spirits branding.
TTB’s December 2024 rule established a defined American single malt whiskey category. This article examines production criteria, labeling, barrel requirements, and the transition provisions.
Both bourbon brands claimed a Kentucky first. Their dispute raised a question for every producer that relies on TTB label approval when defending an advertising claim.
Who funds the discount at the register? Illinois’s 2022 proposal distinguished several kinds of beverage promotions and addressed retailer reimbursement for scan backs.
Minnesota treated local distillers differently from out-of-state suppliers on exclusive distribution. The Southern Glazer’s case and a 2022 bill brought that distinction into focus.
The ILCC forms give eligible producers a way to request approval before moving beer or spirits between wholly owned operations.
The first installment on Public Act 102-0442 covers changes affecting mead, taprooms, Class 3 brewers, self-distribution, and alternating premises.
