Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverages is fielding hundreds of calls each week concerning local alcohol laws as as more cities and counties put the sale of alcohol to a vote.
Kentuckians participated in 11 local wet-dry elections in 2015. Last year that number jumped to 43. It’s attributed in large part to legislative action last year, giving localities greater autonomy to take the choice to voters.
Kentucky Distillers Association President Eric Gregory says this interest is not confined to the Commonwealth.
“Quite frankly, some states are doing it better than us right now. Kentucky, for the past few years, we’ve ranked eighth in the country in the number of operating distilleries,” he said. “ We’ve actually dropped to 11th in the country in the number of operating distilleries.”
Gregory says the Commonwealth is home to 40 distilleries with another 16 to 20 under in the works.
ABC Commissioner Christine Trout says the department’s website has been updated and a system is being launched to allow people to submit their initial applications online. She said her enforcement division has sufficient staff, training, and resources to enforce the state’s alcohol laws and make sure licensees understand those laws.
The department currently reviews and renews licenses for up to 1,400 sites each month.
