HB 7072 - Farm Distillery Manufacturer Permit

• Establishes a new farm distillery manufacturer permit allowing production of up to 10,000 gallons per calendar year of distilled spirits including whiskey, gin, vodka, and rum on farm premises.

• Permits farm distilleries to conduct bulk sales, sell sealed containers (up to 15 gallons per container) to retailers, offer free tastings (up to 2 ounces per person per day), and sell retail bottles (up to 4.5 liters per customer per day) for off-premises consumption.

• Requires farm distillery permittees to grow on-site or on controlled/leased property an average crop equal to at least 25% of the fruit or crops used in manufacturing, with a minimum of 5 aggregate acres if multi-property operations.

• Prohibits farm distilleries from selling any distilled alcohol or spirits not manufactured by the distillery itself.

• Sets annual permit fee at $300 and applies existing sales hour restrictions (no sales before 8 a.m. or after 10 p.m. on weekdays, before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. on Sundays, and prohibited on Thanksgiving, New Year's Day, and Christmas); allows towns to further restrict hours by ordinance.