The spirit’s industry has mounted an organized lobbying and marketing campaign to take market share from beer by expanding distribution rights and lowering taxes on canned cocktails, according to an article in the Washington Post.
At the core of the issue is an age-old question: Is beer qualitatively different from spirits? Historically, the answer has been yes, resulting in higher federal and state taxes—and stricter distribution rules—on spirits than on beer.
But now, as canned cocktails blur the line, the spirits industry is taking the battle to the state legislatures where they have already won by passing favorable bills in Michigan and Nebraska. The new year will likely see a landslide effort by the spirits industry in multiple states to further their cause.
See the full article here.