Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
(1) Per
RCW
66.24.632, a combination spirits, beer, and
wine license is a retail license that allows a licensee to sell beer and wine,
including strong beer, at retail in bottles, cans, and original containers for
off-premises consumption, and to:
(a) Sell
spirits in original containers to consumers for off-premises consumption and to
permit holders;
(b) Sell spirits in
original containers to retailers licensed to sell spirits for consumption on
the premises, for resale at their licensed premises according to the terms of
their licenses. No single sale may exceed twenty-four liters; and
(c) Export spirits.
(2) A combination spirits, beer, and wine
licensee that intends to sell to an on-premises retailer must possess a basic
permit under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act. This permit must provide
for purchasing distilled spirits for resale at wholesale. A copy of the federal
basic permit must be submitted to the board. A federal basic permit is required
for each location from which the combination spirits, beer, and wine licensee
plans to sell to an on-premises retailer.
(3) A sale by a combination spirits, beer,
and wine licensee is a retail sale only if not for resale to an on-premises
spirits retailer. On-premises retail licensees that purchase spirits from a
combination spirits, beer, and wine licensee must abide by
RCW
66.24.630.
(4) A combination spirits, beer, and wine
licensee must pay to the board seventeen percent of all spirits sales. (see WAC
314-02-109
for quarterly reporting requirements).
Reporting of spirits sales and payment of fees must be
submitted on forms provided by the board.
(5) The board may issue a combination
spirits, beer, and wine license:
(a)
(i) For premises comprising at least ten
thousand square feet of fully enclosed retail space within a single structure,
including store rooms and other interior areas. This does not include any area
encumbered by a lease or rental agreement; and
(ii) To applicants that the board determines
will maintain appropriate systems for inventory management, employee training,
employee supervision, and physical security of the product.
(b) For premises of a former
contract liquor store; or
(c) To a
holder of former state liquor store operating rights sold at auction.
(6) A spirits retail licensee may
apply for a sampling endorsement to conduct spirits, beer, and wine sampling if
they meet the following criteria:
(a) Be a
participant in the responsible vendor program;
(b) Advertising:
(i) For combination spirits, beer, and wine
retail licensees that are grocery stores, advertising samplings may not be
placed in the windows or outside of the premises that can be viewed from the
public right of way;
(ii) For
combination spirits, beer, and wine retail licensees that are specialty stores,
advertising of sampling may be advertised but not state that sampling is free
of charge.
(c) Samplings
are to be conducted in the following manner:
(i) Samplings service area and facilities
must be located within the licensee's fully enclosed retail area and must be of
a size and design that the licensee can observe and control persons in the
area;
(ii) The licensee must
provide a sketch of the sampling area. For combination spirits, beer, and wine
licensees that are grocery stores, fixed or movable barriers are required
around the sampling area to ensure that persons under twenty-one years of age
and apparently intoxicated persons cannot possess or consume alcohol. For
combination spirits, beer, and wine licensees that are specialty stores,
barriers are not required. The sketch is to be included with the application
for the spirits sampling endorsement;
(iii) Each sample may be no more than
one-half ounce of spirits, and no more than a total of one and one-half ounces
of spirits samples per person during any one visit to the premises. Spirits
samples may be altered with mixers, water, and/or ice. For combination spirits,
beer, and wine licensees that are grocery stores, beer and wine samples must be
two ounces or less, up to a total of four ounces per person during any one
visit to the premises. For combination spirits, beer, and wine licensees that
are specialty stores, each beer and wine sample must be two ounces or less and
no more than ten ounces of beer and/or wine may be provided to a customer
during any one visit to the premises;
(iv) For combination spirits, beer, and wine
licensees that are grocery stores, the licensee must have food available for
the sampling participants;
(v)
Customers must remain in the service area while consuming samples;
(vi) All employees serving spirits, beer, or
wine during sampling events must hold a class 12 server permit;
(vii) For combination spirits, beer, and wine
licensees that are grocery stores, there must be at least two employees on duty
when conducting sampling events;
(viii) Sampling activities are subject to
RCW
66.28.305 and
66.28.040.
(d) Licensees are required to send
a list of scheduled sampling events to their regional enforcement office at the
beginning of each month. The date and time for each sampling must be
included;
(e) The cost for a beer
and wine sampling endorsement is two hundred dollars. There is no charge for a
spirits sampling endorsement.
(7) A combination spirits, beer, and wine
licensee may sell beer in kegs or other containers holding at least four
gallons and less than five and one-half gallons of beer. See WAC
314-02-115
regarding keg registration requirements.
(8) A combination spirits, beer, and wine
licensee may sell spirits, beer, and wine over the internet. See WAC
314-03-020
and
314-03-030
regarding internet sales and delivery.
(9) A combination spirits, beer, and wine
applicant or licensee that is a grocery store may apply for an international
exporter endorsement for five hundred dollars a year, which allows the sale of
beer and wine for export to locations outside the United States.
(10) A combination spirits, beer, and wine
licensee may apply for an endorsement to sell beer and cider growlers.
(a) Beer and cider must be sold in sanitary
containers provided by the purchaser, licensee or the manufacturer and filled
by the employee at the time of purchase.
(b) The taps must be located behind a counter
where only employees have access or the taps must have locks preventing use
unless unlocked and operated by an employee.
(c) Only employees of the licensee are
permitted to operate the taps.
(d)
All employees operating a tap must hold a class 12 alcohol server
permit.
(e) The cost for the
endorsement is one hundred twenty dollars.