AmerICAN STATe GuILDS

California California Artisanal Distillers Guild

California is still working on compromises on our current legislation. There are two main bills on our agenda: AB #1088 direct-to-consumer shipping and SB #269, a craft distilled spirits manufacturer’s licensee that also holds a beer manufacturer’s license, or a winegrower’s license, to have alcoholic beverages that are authorized under those licenses at the same time anywhere within the premises, and to maintain a designated area where retail sales and consumption authorized under those licenses can occur. This can give relief to multi-license DSP’s in their tasting rooms and retail spaces. There are other bills being tracked, but the focus is on these two. Our name change for the association is happening in 2023. The original name California Artisanal Distillers Guild, is being changed to California Distillers Association (CDA). This name gives a clear definition of what the group represents and it is hoped is more inclusive of all license types. CDA represents all types of licensee’s working in the distilled spirits space. We are looking to all DSP’s in our state to join and become supporting members.

At its core, distilling is agriculture manufacturing. Sustainability has been a part of many distilleries, but in California we are

The National Honey Board will cover expenses for attendees. To express interest in attending this year’s event, go to www. honeysummit.com/alcohol.

Keith Seiz Ingredient Marketing Representative National Honey Board

proactively reaching out to others in the agricultural community to utilize the bounty of grown in the state. Many distillers in California farm their own, or use locally sourced, fruits, nuts, grains etc in our products and it is a part of our story. The CDA board is working on initiatives to bring the California-grown part of our story into focus. Our state is made up of many diverse agricultural areas and incorporating those products into our bottles is a natural partnership. As we forge these partnerships, it is anticipated that greater messaging can be achieved. This is an expansion of what CDA plans to do as an association. We urge all California DSP’s to give input on their efforts and tell us your stories.

Cris Steller Executive Director, California Artisanal Distillers Guild

Illinois Illinois Craft Distillers Association

The Illinois Craft Distillers Association (ICDA) has been pushing hard on the legislative front by working with representatives in the Illinois House and Senate to introduce direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipping bills (HB 3160 and SB 2069). To this end, we’ve teamed up with the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS), the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) and the

American Distilling Institute (ADI) to launch the “Ship My Spirits” Campaign in Illinois to build grassroots support for DTC. The campaign, which draws from digital assets and consumer engagement at local distillery tasting rooms, collected more than 1,100 letters of support to Illinois legislators in just one week, and continues to build momentum as an important proof point as we continue to push to make DTC reality in our state. Whereas Illinois craft distillers have had to choose between multiple distilling licenses, each with their own privileges and limitations, we’ve recently introduced an amendment to create a new class of distiller’s license that would combine the two designations and expand limits on production and retail sales as well as make limited self-distribution available to all license holders.

Members of the ICDA also had a memorable visit with the Kentucky Distillers Association (KDA) in April where we continued building relationships with one another as well as the KDA, visited a variety of