SC liquor laws ‘strangle’ Lowcountry distilleries. A new bill may change the game
Those accustomed to brewery hopping in South Carolina might be tempted to sample the Palmetto State’s growing selection of craft distilleries. But making the switch to locally produced spirits brings with it a host of restrictions.
Distilleries can’t serve food or other kinds of alcohol with their liquor. Tastings, limited to 3 ounces a person, have to be accompanied by tours. And none of that sampling can happen after 7 p.m. or on Sundays.
There are a “bunch of old laws that affect what we do, that basically strangle us,” said Brian Fackrell, co-owner of RLB Distillery in Beaufort, which opened during the pandemic.
But bipartisan legislation backed by more than 30 state lawmakers in both chambers of the General Assembly aims to change that. The proposed overhaul would open the door to expansion, creating local jobs while modernizing South Carolina’s Prohibition-era regulations, Lowcountry distillers say.
It’s a lifeline that comes on the heels of a year where COVID-19 restrictions kept customers home.
“What we’re trying to accomplish is just make it more economically feasible, particularly in light of what we’ve been through the last year, for us to be able to stay in business,” said Tony Chase, founder and master distiller at the Dausfuskie Island Rum Company.
The legislation, introduced in January through a pair of similar bills in the House and Senate would:
Increase the tasting limit from 3 ounces to 4.5 ounces
Remove the requirement that tastings be accompanied by tours
Allow distilleries to serve food and other kinds of alcohol
Expand hours, while still following Sunday retail sales rules
Increase the amount of hard liquor that can be sold for off-site consumption from 3 bottles to 9 liters
The lead sponsor of the bill in the Senate, Sen. Sean Bennett, R-Dorchester, says loosening the restrictions would simply apply the same standards to micro-distilleries that are required of other craft alcoholic beverage producers.
“[Distilleries] basically want parity and to be treated just like the breweries are now,” said Bennett, who previously led efforts to loosen limits on the amount of beer micro-brewers could produce and serve. Since then, the number of craft breweries in the Palmetto State has almost tripled, according to statistics from the national Brewers Association, a trade group.
Bennett says “archaic laws” stand in the way of a parallel story of job creation and economic development for distillers.
He’s optimistic his bill will advance but acknowledges it faces obstacles. In 2017, lawmakers allowed distillers to use mixers in their tasting rooms and raised the tasting limit from 1.5 ounces, the equivalent of a healthy shot.
“Anytime you’re making significant changes to alcohol laws in South Carolina, you’re going to have to run the gauntlet,” Bennett said.
Distillers pledge expansion under proposed changes
Owners of some Beaufort County micro-distilleries are ready to pull the trigger on significant additions to their businesses, if the proposed bills pass.
Chase, who opened his rum distillery on Daufuskie Island, south of Hilton Head, in 2014, said he’s already committed to an architect and a builder. “If this goes through, we’ll open a full restaurant and bar,” he said — a minimum $600,000 expansion.
Chase aims to elevate the experience of visiting his distillery on Daufuskie, accessible only by boat. And he’s ready to expand his team. “We would go from four full-time employees to 10 full-time employees literally overnight,” he said.
Chase says distillers, many part of the fledgling South Carolina Craft Distillers Guild, are fighting to be heard.
This spring, top lawmakers aim to fast-track legislation, with the support of S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, that would amend alcohol laws in response to plans by California-based wine giant Gallo Winery to invest $400 million in a new Upstate facility.
The distillers’ bill, however, is still waiting for committee hearings.
Fackrell, whose Beaufort distillery makes hand-crafted moonshine and bourbon, among other spirits, with South Carolina grain, said the legislation would help his bottom line. “We’ve never known business without COVID,” he explained, adding that he would try to partner with food trucks to attract customers if the changes went through.
He’s written letters to lawmakers and shared information on social media, recognizing the stigma hard spirits can carry. “People think liquor is evil. To me, alcohol is alcohol.”
‘Stop holding back the economy’
Other Lowcountry distillers say old-fashioned laws are hampering the economic impact of their business. They’re spreading the word.
Billy Watterson, co-founder of Burnt Church Distillery in Bluffton, had the ear of Gov. McMaster at a grand opening ceremony in early March. “He just could not believe that those are laws that are on the books,” Watterson said.
Customers have been shocked to find out Burnt Church closes at 7 p.m., just when traffic is ramping up, Watterson said. And without Sunday hours, the distillery misses out on tourists beginning their vacation on nearby Hilton Head.
Burnt Church has published social media posts on its website urging patrons to contact lawmakers about the restrictive liquor laws. In Beaufort County, Sen. Tom Davis, Rep. Weston Newton, Rep. Shannon Erickson and Rep. Jeff Bradley have all signed on as sponsors of the legislation in their respective chambers.
“We think that our business would grow by 50% overnight,” Watterson said, adding that the majority of patrons are out-of-state tourists bringing tax dollars to South Carolina.
The new rules for micro-distilleries would bring South Carolina to par with other states, according to Watterson.
“I know these that these laws are antiquated. They’re part of an old system,” Watterson said. “It’s just time to modernize and stop holding back the economy.”
