Craft Distillers Want Florida to Relax Liquor Rules

By Julie Gargotta

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WINTER PARK, Fla. — An unprecedented meeting brought distillers from all over the state — from Jacksonville down to the Keys — to Winter Park on Wednesday, hoping to craft a unified message to bring to Tallahassee.

• Orlando-area businessmen say distilled spirits too tightly regulated
• Distillers across state came together to create Florida Craft Spirits Guild
• This is in response to state's restrictions on spirts, beer, the group says
• "This is the biggest meeting of craft distillers in the history of Florida," said Paul Twyford, Winter Park Distilling Company's co-founder. "We want to have an environment where we have the ability to grow our businesses, to hire more people and create more consumer choice."
  In 2010, Twyford and Andrew Asher began making distilled spirits, vodka, and whiskey. A year later, the pair got into the distilled spirits market. 
  It was the first "legitimate" whiskey distillery in Orange County, Twyford said with a chuckle. "This is a labor of love."
  Asher recalled how it all came about.
  "We were sitting around over lunch thinking about how much we like to drink distilled spirits. 'Wouldn't it be cool to make them as well?'" remembered Asher. "It's something we could put our hands on. It's tangible and (we could) say, 'We made this.'"
  Asher, an attorney by trade, said that his background has come in handy in navigating the "maze of regulations" when it comes to the industry.
  Liquor in Florida is tightly regulated. You have to have a license to make it and a license to sell it. If you own a bar, restaurant, or liquor store, you have to have a vendor's license.
  And in between the manufacturing and selling — to those licensed to sell to the general public — is a layer called "distribution," which is also licensed, Asher said.
  He said that although businesses can procure a full liquor license, which in Orange County can run upwards of $250,000 to $300,000, those are not available to those who manufacture spirits at the same time. 
  In 2016, the pair branched out and founded their Bear and Peacock brewery, making and serving craft beer alongside the distilling company, where they created whiskey, bourbon whiskey, vodka, and rum.
  Their two businesses were brought under one roof and one name: the Brewstillery.
  But the rules that govern the brewery and distillery are very different. While customers can saddle up to the long, wooden bar and order a pint, they cannot order a cocktail made with their house rum or vodka. Instead, they can only ask for free samples of the spirits at a small gift shop window; a glass wall and doors separate the transactions.