Cocktails To-Go And Holiday Spirits Sales Signed Into North Carolina Law

RALEIGH – North Carolinians can now get their favorite margarita delivered right to their door and walk around an airport with a drink after Gov. Roy Cooper signed the permanent legalization of to-go and delivery cocktails into law.

Gov. Cooper signed SB 527 into law on July 8, lowering the tax rate for spirits ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs), allowing cocktails to-go and delivering mixed beverages, and permitting alcohol sales on some holidays.

North Carolina is the 29th state to make .to-go and delivery cocktails permanently legal.

“The signing of SB 527 is a win for North Carolina’s spirits consumers,” said Andy Deloney, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States senior vice president and head of state public policy. “With Governor Cooper’s signature, North Carolinians can take a delicious cocktail to-go from their favorite restaurant and pick up a special spirits bottle even on some big holidays. Additionally, restaurants will see lower taxes on highly popular ready-to-drink cocktails. We are grateful to see both the legislature and the governor support these market modernizations. Cheers to increased convenience and consumer choice in North Carolina!”

Spirits-based RTDs

Despite many spirits RTDs having the same or lower alcohol-by-volume (ABV) than their beer- and wine-based counterparts, they are currently taxed at a much higher rate. SB 527 defines a “pre-mixed cocktail” and sets a maximum ABV of 13%. It exempts these low-ABV products from the state’s mixed beverage tax of $20 per four liters paid by the on-premise “mixed beverage permit” holders.

Cocktails To-Go

SB 527 authorizes cocktails to-go and delivery by mixed beverage permittees or delivery service permittees. Cocktails to-go orders must be made with a food purchase and placed in tamper-evident containers. Current law did not authorize cocktails to-go as a previous, temporary cocktails to-go measure sunset in June 2021.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 29 states, including North Carolina and the District of Columbia, have enacted laws permanently allowing cocktails to go.

DoorDash, the delivery service, praised the measure. According to the company, staffers who deliver orders via DoorDash (called Dashers) make nearly 20% more on deliveries with alcohol than on deliveries without.

Chad Horrell, DoorDash’s senior manager of government relations in North Carolina, said in a statement that the bill expands “economic opportunities for merchants and Dashers alike while providing greater choice for consumers across the state.”

Holiday Sales

SB 527 authorizes local ABC stores to sell gift cards and open on New Year’s Day, July 4, and Labor Day.