June 2024 Group Watch: Ready to Drink Spirits Stalled Again in AL
An ongoing effort to expand the availability of ready-to-drink mixed spirits in Alabama continues to face obstacles over industry disagreements on franchise laws, disputes that some say may be irreconcilable. The first significant effort to expand the availability of RTD spirits came in 2023 in a bill by Senator Steve Livington, which would have permitted RTD spirits with an alcohol volume of up to 12.5% to be sold anywhere that beer and wine are sold. After its failure, a bill in 2024 by Senator Bobby Singleton prosed to reduce the content cap to 8%, but it too failed. The franchise language or “territorial” designations are the biggest hurdle. The head of the Alabama Beverage Association said that her industry could support the availability of RTD spirits, but franchise language represents a non-starter for them. The Head of the Alabama Wholesale Beer Association, which represents beer distributors in the state, said that franchise language is important to wine and beer distributors due to the regulatory oversight they provide. Whether lawmakers are willing to strip any proposal of franchise language remains to be seen.
