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Diageo in second Tennessee whiskey feud
By Amy HopkinsDiageo has engaged in another legislative battle over Tennessee spirits regulations, this time against an 80-year-old law requiring distillers to store alcohol within or nearby the state’s borders.
Diageo, owner of George Dickle whiskey, has launched legal action over an 80-year-old law regulating spirits storage in TennesseeAccording to the Associated Press, UK company Diageo, owner of Tennessee-based George Dickel whiskey, filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), claiming that one of its regulations violates interstate commerce laws under the US Constitution.
The regulation in question dates back to 1937 and states that spirits must be store in the county where they have been distilled. It was amended in 2013 to allow Tennessee spirits to be stored in adjacent counties.
Diageo claimed that although its George Dickel whiskey adheres to the regulation since it is stored in Nashville, 60 miles south of its distillery in Tullahoma, other spirits produced at the vicinity are kept at a different location in Louiseville, Kentucky.
The group added that if the law were not overturned, it would consider reducing the production of spirits other than George Dickel at the distillery.
The lawsuit was filed by Diageo Americas Supply against Keith Bell, director of the TABC, at a federal court in Nashville on Friday (28 March).
A spokesperson for Diageo said: “Based on discussions between both parties late Friday we are hopeful that we can come to a mutually agreeable solution on this matter in short order.”
Second feud
This is the second grievance Diageo has expressed with Tennessee spirits regulations this month.
Just two weeks ago, Diageo proposed legislation to allow the reuse barrels in the production of Tennessee whiskey, claiming the current law that requires all barrels to be new unfairly penalises craft producers.
Rival Tennessee whiskey brand Jack Daniel’s hit out at the legislation. Jeff Arnett, master distiller at Jack Daniel’s, claimed the proposal was less about freedom and more about “undermining the process we’ve worked for nearly 150 years to protect”.
It was announced the following week that the proposed legislation had been postponed so that it may be reviewed by a study committee this summer.