The production of distilled spirits in New Jersey has not been a large industry in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. Strict alcoholic beverage control laws in place during and after

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

(1919–1933) prevented the industry from growing for almost a century. In 2013, the state passed a law creating a craft distillery license.Offredo, Jon
"New Jersey distilled: Gov. Chris Christie signs craft distillery bill into law"
in ''The Times of Trenton'' (9 August 2013). Retrieved 15 October 2013. and issued the first new distillery license since Prohibition to Jersey Artisan Distilling.

History

New Jersey has a long distilling history dating to the colonial era when large landowners converted surplus fruit into brandy, sugar into rum, and grain into whiskey. , the state is home to two licensed distilleries.Young, Elise
"N.J. Closes Book on Prohibition, Gives Distiller License"
in

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

(7 February 2013). Retrieved 8 February 2013.New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. " New Jersey ABC license update" (16 April 2013). Retrieved 10 August 2013. Laird & Company, in the Scobeyville section of Colts Neck, is the oldest licensed distillery in the United States, and received License No. 1 from the

U.S. Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

in 1780.Harrison, Karen Tina
"Jersey Lightning"
in ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey. The magazine was started in 1976. It is based in Morristown. In addition to articles of general interest, the publication fe ...

'' 13 July 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2012. By 1834, New Jersey boasted 388 distilleries.Westrich, Sal.
New Jersey Wine: A Remarkable History
'. (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2012). . In 2013, the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control issued its first distillery license in 94 years (since instituting Prohibition), to Jersey Artisan Distilling, based in Fairfield, in Essex County. That same year Cooper River Distillers in Camden received a state distillery license.Nurin, Tara
"Craft Distillers Ask State to Repeal Prohibition Era Laws"
in ''New Jersey Spotlight'' (15 October 2012). Retrieved 29 January 2013. Then in 2015 Jersey Spirits Distilling Co. received licensing and as of 2017 there are 20 craft distilleries in the state.

Production

Manufacturers and products

New Jersey presently has several licensed distilleries, Laird & Company licensed with a Rectifier and Blender license, Jersey Artisan Distilling which has a Plenary Distillery license, Jersey Spirits Distilling Co, Corgi Spirits at The Jersey City Distillery, and All Points West Distillery which have Craft Distilling licenses. Laird is the nation's only remaining producer of

applejack AppleJack was a command-line interface for Mac OS X that provided a simplified user interface for single user mode system repairs. It allowed for permission repair, disk repair, cache cleaning, validation of preference- and property list files ...

. Presently none of the company's distilling takes place in New Jersey. Laird's obtains all its apples from Virginia's

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

and distills its products in Virginia. Distilling at its New Jersey facilities ceased in 1972 and Laird's blends, ages and bottles its products in Scobeyville.

Industry statistics

Legal issues

Distillery licenses, regulation, and taxation

To operate in the state of New Jersey, distillery owners must first obtain licenses from the federal and state governments. The

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, statutorily named the Tax and Trade Bureau and frequently shortened to TTB, is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, which regulates and collects taxes on trade and imports of alcoho ...

(TTB) of the

issues a permit for the operation of a distilled spirits plant in accordance with federal regulations, and the requirements of both the

Federal Alcohol Administration Act The Federal Alcohol Administration was a United States government agency created in 1935 (as part of the Department of the Treasury) by the Federal Alcohol Administration Act, title 27 chapter 8 of the United States Code. It was created to regulat ...

and the

Internal Revenue Code of 1986 The Internal Revenue Code (IRC), formally the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 ...

. The permit is issued after the approval of a filed application for the permit and a passing of an inspection of the distillery facilities by a federal government inspector. This permit allows the production, bottling, rectifying, processing and storage of distilled spirits and beverages. Examples of distilled spirits include neutral spirits or alcohol (i.e. vodka or grain spirits), whiskey, gin, brandy, blended applejack, rum, tequila, cordials and liqueurs. New Jersey's laws and regulations regarding alcohol are overseen by the Department of Law and Public Safety's Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), which is managed by the state's Attorney-General.New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control
"ABC Frequently Asked Questions."
(Question #1: What is The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control?). Retrieved 26 January 2013. The division issues licenses to distilleries to operate within the state, offering four distinct Class A Manufacturer's Licenses. Federal excise taxes are levied on production of distilled spirits intended for human beverage consumption. Taxes are collected on undenatured distilled spirits, including those used manufacture of medicines, medicinal preparations, food products, flavors, flavoring extracts, and perfume and then drawnback (i.e. refunded) to the producer at the end of the fiscal year. Distilled spirits intended for industrial or research use that are denatured (i.e., treated with substances to make them unsuitable for human beverage consumption), or used by research laboratories, hospitals, universities and government agencies is exempt from federal excise taxes. New Jersey excise taxes on distilled spirits for human beverage consumption are levied at a rate of $5.50 per gallon.

New Jersey Class A manufacturer's licenses for distilleries

Direct shipping

Federal law prohibits alcoholic beverages from being shipped through the mail. New Jersey effectively prohibits the shipment of beer and spirits to customers by requiring a liquor license to transport alcohol, but not having any class of liquor license that grants permission to ship beer or spirits.

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company ...

(UPS) and

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will ship wine to a person's home, but will only deliver beer or hard liquor to a licensed business.Kaiser, Geoff
"UPS and FedEx Favor Wine and Reject Beer When It Comes to Businesses Shipping to Consumers"
on Seattle Beer News website (8 March 2010). Retrieved 7 February 2013.

Public sampling

References

{{New Jersey Wineries, Breweries, and Distilleries * Food and drink in New Jersey Food and drink companies based in New Jersey