§ 25–118. Tasting permit requirements and qualifications.

(a) A tasting permit shall be issued only to a licensee under a manufacturer's license, class A, B, or C, a retailer's license, class A or B, or a wholesaler's license, class A or B, to utilize a portion of its licensed premises for the tasting of products as listed in subsection (c) of this section.

(b) Containers of alcoholic beverages used for sampling purposes shall be labeled as such and may not be sold.

(c) Except as provided in subsection (g)(2) of this section, a licensee that holds a tasting permit shall not provide to a customer, in one day, samples greater than the following quantities:

(1) 3 ounces of spirits;

(2) 6 ounces of wines; and

(3) 12 ounces of beer.

(d) A tasting permit shall be valid for 3 years.

(e) The holder of a manufacturer's license, class A, may utilize a portion of the licensed premises for the sampling of wine and spirits, the holder of a manufacturer's license, class B, may utilize a portion of the licensed premises for the sampling of beer, and the holder of a manufacturer's license, class C, may utilize a portion of the licensed premises for the sampling of alcohol-infused confectionary food products between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m., 7 days a week.

(f)(1) The holder of a wholesaler's license, class A, may utilize a portion of the licensed premises for the sampling of beer, wine, and spirits, and the holder of a wholesaler's license, class B, may utilize a portion of the licensed premises for the sampling of beerbetween the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m., 7 days a week.

(2) Wholesaler tastings shall:

(A) Not be open to the public;

(B) Be for the purpose of educating staff and introducing products to licensees: and

(i) Retailers;

(ii) Manufacturers;

(iii) Temporary and festival license holders;

(iv) Solicitors; and

(v) Wholesaler staff.

(3) The Board may approve the holder of a wholesaler's license, class A or B, that has obtained a tasting permit for its licensed premises to conduct tastings not open to the public at a designated common area of a storage facility where the wholesaler is a tenant.

(f-1)(1) The holder of an off-premises retailer's license, class AI, may utilize a portion of the licensed premises for the sampling of beer, wine, and spirits during its approved hours of operation; provided, that the tastings are:

(A) Not open to the public; and

(B) Limited to temporary and festival license holders and caterers.

(2) The holder of an off-premises retailer's license, class BI, may utilize a portion of the licensed premises for the sampling of beer and wine during its approved hours; provided, that the tastings are:

(A) Not open to the public; and

(B) Limited to temporary and festival license holders.

(3) The Board may approve the holder of an off-premises retailer's license, class AI or BI, that has obtained a tasting permit for its licensed premises to conduct tastings closed to the public at a designated common area of a storage facility where the licensee is a tenant.

(g)(1) The Board may issue a tasting permit to a private collector to conduct tastings closed to the public between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m., 7 days a week.

(2) A private collector who holds a tasting permit may exceed the 6 ounce sampling limit for wine set forth in subsection (c)(2) of this section; provided, that the private collector does not serve customers more than 2 ounce servings of wine at a time.

(h) For the purposes of this section, the term:

(1) "Storage facility" means a bonded warehouse in the District of Columbia licensed by the Board for the storage of alcoholic beverages.

(2) "Tasting" means a gathering at which an authorized licensee provides samples of spirits, wine, and beer to people to compare and evaluate.

(May 3, 2001, D.C. Law 13-298, § 101, 48 DCR 2959; Sept. 30, 2004, D.C. Law 15-187, § 101(d), 51 DCR 6525; July 18, 2008, D.C. Law 17-201, § 2(e), 55 DCR 6289; Oct. 20, 2011, D.C. Law 19-25, § 2, 58 DCR 6513; Sept. 20, 2012, D.C. Law 19-168, § 2112(b), 59 DCR 8025; Feb. 22, 2014, D.C. Law 20-82, § 2, 61 DCR 175; May 2, 2015, D.C. Law 20-270, § 2(a)(6), 62 DCR 1866; Mar. 9, 2016, D.C. Law 21-84, § 2(a)(6), 63 DCR 781; Apr. 7, 2017, D.C. Law 21-260, § 2(a)(7), 64 DCR 2079; Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-165, § 2(a)(8), 65 DCR 9366; Feb. 21, 2020, D.C. Law 23-51, § 2(a)(5), 67 DCR 13; June 30, 2022, D.C. Law 24-127, § 2(a)(7), 69 DCR 005071; Mar. 22, 2023, D.C. Law 24-332, § 5, 70 DCR 1582.)

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 15-187, in subsec. (a), substituted “class A, or an applicant which is a full service grocery store and meets the requirements of § 25-303(c)(1), (2), and (3)” for “class A”; and added subsec. (d).

D.C. Law 17-201, in subsec. (a), substituted “class A and B” for “class A”; and, in subsec. (d), substituted “3 years” for “2 years”.

D.C. Law 19-25, in subsec. (a), substituted “manufacturer’s license, class B, a retailer’s license, class A and B, or an applicant” for “retailer’s license, class A and B, or an applicant”; and added subsec. (e).

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-168 substituted “class A and B” for “class B” following “manufacturer’s license” in (a); and in (e), added “The holder of a manufacturer’s license, class A, may utilize a portion of the licensed premises for the sampling of spirits, and” and added the comma following “sampling of beer.”

The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-82 substituted “7 days a week” for “Thursday through Saturday” in (e).

The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 20-270 rewrote (a); and substituted “of wine and spirits” for “of spirits” in (e).

The 2016 amendment by D.C. Law 21-84 substituted “8:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m.” for “1:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.” in (e).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Brewery Manufacturer’s Tasting Permit Amendment Emergency Act of 2011 (D.C. Act 19-71, May 19, 2011, 58 DCR 4235).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Brewery Manufacturer’s Tasting Permit Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2011 (D.C. Act 19-148, August 9, 2011, 58 DCR 6830).

Temporary Legislation

Section 2 of D.C. Law 19-17, in subsec. (a), substituted “manufacturer’s license, class B; retailer’s license, class A and B; or an applicant” for “retailer’s license, class A and B, or an applicant”; and added subsec. (e) to read as follows:

“(e) The holder of a manufacturer’s license, class B, may utilize a portion of the licensed premises for the sampling of alcoholic beverages between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., Thursday through Saturday.”.

Section 4(b) of D.C. Law 19-17 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.