Off premises alcohol license (Garrison: sales, transporting, crime)

[lepoisson]

Does anyone here have experiences with getting an alcohol license from TABC? I am wanting to start bottling some cocktails and sell them at my local outdoor market, but I don't even know if this is possible. Do you need a storefront to sell alcohol in Texas?

[ChristieP]

You’re allowed to sell home brewed beer or cider, and homemade wine.
It is not legal to own a still to distill hard liquor in Texas.

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

You’re allowed to sell home brewed beer or cider, and homemade wine.
It is not legal to own a still to distill hard liquor in Texas.

I'm not brewing or distilling anything, just mixing some ingredients (liquor, sugar syrup, and some citrus) and wanting to sell them in a bottle. At home you put them on ice and enjoy.

[ChristieP]

Sales are regulated by the % of alcohol in the bottle. That’s a sticky area. Honestly, I’d call the TABC and ask.

[lepoisson]

Unfortunately they told me that this really isn't possible unless you own a bar and sell the cocktails "to go". It's far easier to sell guns in this state than alcohol. I'm not even joking.

[jackalope48]

Most cities of a significant size have someone in the business of helping people apply for liquor licenses, sometimes a lawyer, sometimes not. Might ask some friendly bar owners who if anyone in your locale does that.

I think the bottling part is what gets you. There are three general permit types in Texas. Manufacturing, Distribution, and Retail.

You are basically trying to do all three which as far as I can tell is not allowed. Mixing and Bottling at a site(your house) is a distillers and rectifier's permit, transporting to the market is a distributor permit, and selling them is a retailers permit. I don't think you can even hold all three permits(it's an anti monopoly/organized crime measure).

There may be a way to do it onsite through a mixed beverage sales license but I'm fairly certain you would need a storefront of some type to do the bottling and to keep your alcohol and permit at. Might see how they handle food trucks vis a vis licensing but I think the current rules don't allow it without a storefront that meets the requirements.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

own a bar and sell the cocktails "to go".

That actually might be the easiest way now that to-go alcohol sales are legal. There are several daquiri to-go shops in my area, and they seem to do quite well!

[lepoisson]

I got the idea when I was in Seattle. Some of the bars during COVID were selling pre-made cocktails in nice little glass bottles with a cool looking label. All you had to do was go home and pour it over ice and you have a bar quality cocktail at home. You could even order them curbside through an app.

A lot of bars in TX do "to go" now but they aren't pre-bottled and are served in a plastic cup with lid and need to be drank ASAP otherwise the ice will melt or they will get cold.

Basically what I'm trying to make and sell is this: https://www.ontherockscocktails.com/the-drinks/

You buy them at Total Wine and take it home and throw some ice in a glass and pour it on top. I'm guessing a liquor store in TX can sell these because they aren't the people producing them.

[jackalope48]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

I got the idea when I was in Seattle. Some of the bars during COVID were selling pre-made cocktails in nice little glass bottles with a cool looking label. All you had to do was go home and pour it over ice and you have a bar quality cocktail at home. You could even order them curbside through an app.

A lot of bars in TX do "to go" now but they aren't pre-bottled and are served in a plastic cup with lid and need to be drank ASAP otherwise the ice will melt or they will get cold.

Basically what I'm trying to make and sell is this: https://www.ontherockscocktails.com/the-drinks/

You buy them at Total Wine and take it home and throw some ice in a glass and pour it on top. I'm guessing a liquor store in TX can sell these because they aren't the people producing them.

For that you would need a distillers license which includes ability to mix. The issue is you could not then transport them off site and sell them direct to the public. Distillers are limited to a few thousand gallons of onsite sales a year and can only do a certain small amount to each individual customer per year. So like a fifth a year I believe, and you have to keep records of everyone who buys.

[ChristieP]

Actually it’s a fifth per month, and yes, you do have to keep records. Most distilleries have customers sign a book when they buy on-premise. I personally recall signing the book at Garrison Bros and TX Whiskey.