MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Lawmakers this year did not approve the sale of ready-to-drink canned cocktails in grocery and convenience stores, but a new task force will study the licensing and distribution issue between now and the next session.
Gov. Kay Ivey last week signed Senate Joint Resolution 95 creating the Mixed Spirit Beverage Task Force. Made up of five members from each legislative chamber, the task force will recommend legislation to allow the sale, distribution and taxation of the drinks that can contain vodka, tequila or other spirits.
The drink makers and distributors have argued the cocktails, currently sold in package and Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board stores, have the same or less alcohol by volume as beer and wine products and should be sold in the same places. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States praised the creation of the task force.
“In Alabama, beer and wine ready-to-drink products can be sold in four times the amount of stores than spirits RTDs despite the fact that these products have the exact same or similar alcohol content,” Amy Whited, a vice president at the council, said in a written statement. “By signing SJR95, Governor Ivey has taken the first step in modernizing Alabama’s marketplace and given legislators an opportunity to learn more about the glaring disparities between how beer, wine and spirits RTDs are treated under the law. Spirits consumers deserve a level playing field for the products they love and equal access to low-ABV beverages regardless of the source of the alcohol. We applaud the governor and legislature for moving this measure forward.”
At least two bills from Sens. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, and Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, would have allowed for grocery and gas station sales of mixed-spirit drinks. They both failed and lawmakers previously said one point of contention among interested parties was about who got to distribute the beverages to retail stores.
According to the distilled spirits council, beer and wine-based ready-to-drink beverages can be sold in more than 4,600 Alabama locations. Meanwhile, the spirit-based drinks are only in 980 locations.