Distillers see ‘streamline’ bill as last chance
For the past couple of years, Robert Schulten has spent roughly three days a week outside of area package stores.
He spends three hours handing out samples of gins and vodkas —among other products — to hopefully drum up extra business for his company, Asylum Distillery.
“If I was a brewery, I could open my doors and have people come to me,” he said. Distillers such as himself are trying to gain parity with the brewing industry, in which taprooms can drive on-site business.
As it stands, there is a bill to streamline the state’s craft alcohol market that lawmakers have said would include a piece that would allow distillers to sell cocktails from their businesses. That bill is still alive and moving through committees, but Schulten said he is worried that the final draft may leave distillers out once again.
Sen. Kevin Witkos, R-Canton, who originally proposed the legislation, said in a March interview with Hearst Connecticut Media that he was drafting a new “craft café permit” that would allow distillers — along with brewers and wineries — to sell their products and other Connecticut-made brands.
Witkos hasn’t responded to multiple calls from Hearst Connecticut Media on the status of the proposal, but industry experts say the final draft will open the door for distilleries to serve drinks on premises.
“From my conversations with Witkos and everybody (involved) in the working draft ... the distillers are going to be able
“It seems as though parity amongst these offerings is appropriate, and anything that we can do to bolster a homegrown industry, to attract visitors and to further foster amenities in our communities — that’s a great thing.” David Kooris, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development
to serve cocktails,” said Phil Pappas, executive director of the CT Brewers Guild.
Pappas said he expects that the updated bill language will be available in the coming weeks.
The fight continues
It’s been three years since the state opened the market up for distilleries to manufacture, store, bottle and sell their liquor for off-site consumption.
While that was a start, Schulten said, he had hoped to open a tasting room in downtown Bridgeport last year. Long-standing state laws barred him from selling alcohol for on-site consumption, killing his plans in the process, he said.
Schulten’s stymied efforts led to an unsuccessful push last year by Bridgeport’s legislative delegation to have the law changed.
The Bridgeport distiller said he worries if the bill isn’t finalized by this session, distillers may simply move operations to more welcoming states.
“The model that is being executed in Connecticut is not viable for distilleries,” Schulten said.
Schulten and others around the state have maintained that they are at a disadvantage to brewers and some of the wineries who are able to serve drinks by the glass in taprooms. Experts say having the option to sell a glass or bottle directly to consumers onsite is connected to the industry’s growth.
Since the state law granted the brewery industry that right seven years ago, the industry has grown from a dozen to more than 90 businesses, making Connecticut a destination for the growing cadre of craft beer drinkers.
Not only has it been a tourist attraction, but the state’s craft beer market has also exploded into a $718 million industry in a state that has suffered from longstanding economic woes.
“As we’ve seen with the brewing industry, having that full taproom experience provides the consumer a much better experience and full circle experience,” Pappas said, adding that facility tours coupled with samples of the drinks after has developed the
appeal of local breweries.
“You really get a unique experience when you go in,” he said. “That’s heightened by learning directly from the people who make it . ... It’s a win-win for everybody.”
Bringing in tourists
Distillers have argued that craft spirits could experience a similar surge if they were able to have taprooms.
The national distillery industry has seen an uptick in activity in recent years, with 1,835 operations nationwide and states like California and New York leading the pack, according to a study by the American Craft Spirits Association. The craft spirits market reached $3.7 billion in sales last year.
State officials said they see the expansion of the local craft spirits market as a potential boon for the tourism industry.
“In Connecticut and across the globe, the demand for local and authentic experiences — including food and beverage experiences — is growing,” said Randall Fiveash, director of the state Office of Tourism, which released recent a tourism economic impact study on Monday showing that spending by the state’s visitors on food and beverages jumped more than $110 million in 2017, reaching $2.3 billion.
Tourism produced $15.5 billion in total business sales in 2017, according to the study — which was produced by Tourism Economics, an Oxford-based research firm. Officials said the numbers represent a 5.5 percent increase in total business sales from 2015.
“Connecticut wineries, breweries and, now, distilleries are part of that growth and we expect they will continue to be a big tourism draw for the state,” Fiveash said.
David Kooris, deputy commissioner of the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development, said the craft sprits and beer industry’s impact on tourism has also proven its worth to economic development.
“It seems as though parity amongst these offerings is appropriate, and anything that we can do to bolster a homegrown industry, to attract visitors and to further foster amenities in our communities — that’s a great thing,” he said.