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“We’ve been recognized by the state for rural innovation,
best
marketing
campaign,
and cool, fun things to do in WV,” tells Losey. “So
they
support
absolutely
us
in
that
regard. But the Alcohol Control
Board
is
making it very difficult for us to thrive.”
O ZIE R RIS L
On February 10, Bloomery
closed
their doors, laying off
17
employees.
The problem was not the business:
they boasted excellent sales, their products were
successful and they were a vibrant tourist destination. The problem, Losey says, is WV’s tax and fee structure, which after three years of strong sales left no profits for the distillery. The story starts in 2000 when WV elected to retain state
THIS IS HOW FAST THINGS CHANGE IN OUR INDUSTRY:
control of distribution but privatize liquor sales. Liquor
This article was written in March. When we reviewed it in April for publication in this issue, a new bill had already been passed to improve the business climate for West Virginia distilleries. Congratulations for writing and passing the bill, Bloomery Plantation Distillery, but could you at least let us get this baby printed before you change any more laws? Jokes aside, here’s a then-and-now look at Bloomery’s battle, leading with the original article and appended with the new lay of the land for West Virginia distillers…until Bloomery changes something else.
store applicants now enter a sealed bid to the West Virginia
B
Alcohol Beverage Control Administration, WVABCA, every 10 years to not only receive their license, but prevent any other liquor stores from operating in their local region, or market zone. Several liquor stores can sell within the same market zone, but the number is limited. Now enter distilleries. “When the first distillery wanted to sell out of their tasting room, the WVABCA allowed them to do that as long as they
loomery Plantation Distillery of Charles Town,
were treated exactly like every other WV retail liquor outlet,”
West Virginia attracted 50,000 visitors in just
explains John Foster, VP and Director of Sales at Smooth
three years. Co-owners Tom Kiefer and Linda Losey
Ambler Spirits in Maxwelton, WV. “That was to ensure that
planted lemon trees, Hawaiian ginger, berry bushes
a distillery couldn’t steal the hustle of their neighborhood
and other ingredients on property which was
liquor store.”
originally developed as an iron foundry, or bloomery,
As any established distiller knows, undercutting liquor
in 1754. A log cabin built in 1840 was renovated
stores is a nearsighted strategy, since they are your partners,
to house the distillery and tasting room, and that’s
not your competitors. With or without state regulation, it
where they transform those ingredients into their
most likely would not have been an issue.
Sweetshine. An economic boon for the area, attracting tourism dollars from the Washington D.C. metro area and beyond, the state of WV congratulated Bloomery for their vision and success.
“We don’t want to undercut our liquor store partners,” tells Losey. “We need them. They don’t need us to succeed but we certainly need them to succeed.” But that argument was not heard, and the state required both retail liquor stores and distillery tasting rooms to enter
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