New distillery retail store path for historic contract-distilled spirit brands, plus clarified sales rules for all manufacturer stores

Plain-language summary · AI-assisted

A new eligibility pathway lets a distillery licence holder obtain a distillery retail store endorsement even without owning or controlling the production site where spirits are made, provided: the retail store is on property the licensee substantially controls, that property is within one kilometre of a production site that has operated for at least 100 years and manufactures spirits under contract for the licensee, and the brands sold have been made at that site for at least 100 years. Licensees qualifying under this new route face their own production and sales conditions—at least 50% of spirits sold must be distilled at that historic contract site, all sales must happen in person at the retail property, and tours must be conducted there. They are not eligible for a temporary extension endorsement. Separately, existing rules for brewery, distillery and winery retail store endorsements are reworded to clarify that while spirits, beer or wine may be displayed or held for sale anywhere on the production site, actual sales transactions must take place from within the retail store itself. These changes take effect together at a future date already set in regulation.

Who this affects
distillery licence holders · spirits brands with historic contract-manufacturing arrangements · brewery retail store operators · winery retail store operators · liquor licensing applicants seeking manufacturer retail endorsements