Ohio this week became the second state in the U.S. to permanently grant distilleries, bars, restaurants and more the right to sell cocktails to go. The shift comes after Gov. Mike DeWine signed Ohio House Bill 669, which had previously been approved by both of Ohio’s General Assembly chambers.
This summer, Iowa was the first state to permanently allow the sale of cocktails to go, which until that point had been a temporary measure in the states that permit it in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new law allows services like DoorDash and Grubhub to deliver cocktails, so long as they have the proper permits. An earlier version of the Ohio bill included the allowance of direct-to-consumer shipping of finished products, but that allowance was removed.
“We were really pushing for home delivery of finished goods and we got cocktails, which is nice,” says Ryan Lang, co-owner of Middle West Spirits in Columbus and former president of the Ohio Distillers Guild. “It certainly helps distilleries like ourselves and others that have those platforms. Anything is positive and we all need it right now. Anything we can do to help the industry in the state of Ohio is wonderful.”