2025 Legislative Priorities
A standard can of beer, glass of wine and pour of spirits all contain the same amount of alcohol. Yet, distillers face an unlevel playing field versus beer and wine on:
– Tax Parity
– Direct-to-Consumer Sales to Enthusiasts
– Ready-to-Drink Cocktail Tax Parity & Market Access
Tax Parity
With no difference in alcohol content between standard servings of beer, wine and spirits, lawmakers should create equal taxation and privilege levels between these categories, thus boosting the growing craft-spirits industry nationwide.
Direct-to-Consumer Shipping
Kentucky passed and paved the way for the responsible shipping of spirits directly to Bourbon enthusiasts in any reciprocal state. Following consumer enthusiasm and demand, lawmakers in all states are encouraged to follow suit and pass reciprocal shipping for distilleries of all sizes, just like wine has responsibly enjoyed for 50 years and can now ship to consumers in 47 states.
RTD Parity & Market Access
Policymakers should support similar tax rates on Ready-to-Drink Cocktails based on ABV, not the alcohol ingredient. Likewise, ABV should be the driving point behind market access – it makes no sense to discriminate against beer, wine or spirits when the products have the same ABV range.
Responsibility
The distilling industry has long played a vital and active role in educational efforts against impaired driving, binge drinking and underage access. These responsible practices also extend into shipping policies that mandate ID checks and adult-signature-required labeling for alcohol deliveries.
KDA’s Recent Legislative Successes
