Ohio Senate Bill to Force Liquor Stores to Open-Reseal Allocated Bottles of Distilled Spirits. Will this Stop Flippers?

In what is often a love-hate relationship with trying to land that hard-to-find bottle of booze an Ohio senator has proposed a solution. First-term Ohio State Senator Bill DeMora (Columbus) has introduced Senate Bill No.320 – A Bill to “Require an Agency Store to Open and Reseal Spirituous Liquor”.

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DeMora describes himself on his Twitter/X account as “Die hard fanatic Buckeye, Italian, lover of good wine and bourbon!” With that Bourbon line in there let’s assume DeMora has stood in line a time or two to attempt to get an allocated bottle of Pappy Van Winkle or some similar hard to find bottle only to go home empty handed. Then the next day he sees the guy that was standing in line two spots in front of him on social media trying to flip that bottle of 23-year-old Pappy for a hefty profit. Well, Bill has had enough of that and has an idea to solve the problem. His solution is a new law that would require Ohio liquor stores to open that hard-to-find/allocated bottle then reseal it before the buyer leaves the store. What could possibly go wrong?

Here is the short description of SB 320 with the full text listed further down in the article and the full bill. The analysis of the bill is also included below.

Now, we agree that it is frustrating to try to score that unicorn bottle that you know sold for $149.99 at the control state liquor store on Saturday, only to see it quietly advertised online for $2,500 on Monday. Or perhaps you see a humble brag photo from ‘that guy’ you know with a collection of not just one, but five bottles of every Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon 23-Year-Old ever sold over the last 10 years.

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What Do You Think?
Great Idea or Dumbest Idea Since Prohibition?

Although the idea is well intentioned, it does not seem practical.

1. Brand owners would not be too happy with this. Just think about the Chain of Custody (CoC) logistics for a moment and you can quickly see this falling apart. Let’s say you have a 23 or even a 25-year-old bottle of allocated whiskey on the shelf. That bottle is sold to a happy fan. The bottle is opened by someone at the liquor store and resealed according to the as yet defined process using as yet to be defined equipment that is now required at hundreds of stores. Now the owner of that bottle gets sick from the liquid in that bottle. Who’s at fault here? If the seal has been broken, then the maker of that bottle should not be responsible for what is in that bottle anymore. Is the liquor store now responsible? Is the clerk at the local grocery store now responsible?
2. No disrespect to the hard-working people at the local liquor store but many of these folks could often care less about what is in the bottle. They just happen to work at the local grocery store and normally work in the deli department, but Chris called in sick today and now Finley has to work in the liquor store all alone for the first time. Finley barely knows what bourbon is and now Finley is responsible for opening and resealing a 23-year-old allocated bottle of bourbon? And don’t even think about taking a sip out of that bottle for a job well done, that could end you up with a court date. What could possibly go wrong?

You could go on and on with scenarios here but this idea seems to be about as good an idea as Prohibition. What do you think good or bad idea? Will this stop flippers?

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To amend section 4301.62 and to enact section 4301.173 of the Revised Code to require an agency store to open and reseal an allocated bottle of spirituous liquor prior to the bottle's retail sale.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That section 4301.62 be amended and section 4301.173 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 4301.173. (A) As used in this section, "bottle of allocated spirituous liquor" means a bottle of spirituous liquor to which both of the following apply:

     (1) It is sold by the manufacturer to the division of liquor control for retail sale at agency stores.

     (2) The brand and type of the bottle of spirituous liquor is sold to the division only in limited quantities such that there is a high demand for the bottle as determined by the division.

     (B) At the time of the retail sale of a bottle of allocated spirituous liquor, an owner or employee of an agency store shall do both of the following:

     (1) Open the bottle of spirituous liquor that is sold;

     (2) Reseal the opened bottle in accordance with rules adopted under this section.

     (C) No person shall consume spirituous liquor that is from a bottle opened under this section until the bottle is opened after its resealing under this section.

     (D)(1) The liquor control commission shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing both of the following:

     (a) An appropriate and effective method of resealing a bottle of spirituous liquor for purposes of this section;

     (b) Civil penalties for violating division (C) of this section. The amount of the civil penalties shall not exceed two thousand dollars per violation.

     (2) Notwithstanding any provision of section 121.95 of the Revised Code to the contrary, a regulatory restriction contained in a rule adopted under this section is not subject to sections 121.95 to 121.953 of the Revised Code.

Here is the full bill and analysis as provided by the state of Ohio.

Ohio Senate Bill No. 320 – Require an agency store to open and reseal spirituous liquor

Ohio Senate Bill No. 320 – Bill Analysis

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