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Homegrown Liquor Could Get Boost From Proposed Law

By Keri Brown
Published March 19, 2015 at 5:41 PM EDT
Julie Knight/The Triad Business Journal
Scot Sanburn, owner of Sutler's Spirits Co. in Winston-Salem, monitors the temperature of his brew. It will take 18 months — at least — for those barrels and that rum to bond and age into something Sanborn can proudly put on the shelves North Carolina’s ABC stores.

Liquor ages slowly but the craft distilling industry is growing quickly. Just like the wine and then craft beer industries before it, distilling is preparing to boom in North Carolina.

And if a proposed bill passes, it would help these business owners sell their products directly to customers. Right now, state law prohibits that and customers have to buy the spirits from a neighborhood ABC store or bar.

Owen Covington, a reporter with the Triad Business Journal, has been following this story. He says the law could really promote the growth of the industry in the Piedmont.

“This is really about giving them more control over branding themselves and developing that relationship with consumers,” says Covington. “In the same way that you go to a winery and take a tour and you buy a bottle of wine, distilleries want to be able to offer that same sort of experience where you take a tour and buy a bottle of their liquor, you enjoy it and the next time you are in the ABC store, you buy another.”

There are currently 19 producing distilleries in the state.

The proposal is filed by Sen. Rick Gunn, a Burlington Republican. It's within Senate Bill 24 waiting for a hearing.

The Business Report on 88.5 WFDD is a partnership with the Triad Business Journal. You'll find Owen Covington's story and more breaking business news at Triad.Bizjournals.com.
Tags
Economy The Triad Business Journalcraft distilling industrySutler's Spirits Co.
Keri Brown
Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.
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