Craft distillery with a tasting room

Local visitors and tourists, gift buyers, event guests, plus nearby bars, restaurants and liquor stores.

Bottle sales and tastings or cocktails in the tasting room, tours and private events, plus wholesale sales to bars and shops where your state allows it.

• Production and process care
• Recipe development and tasting
• Hosting and customer service
• Basic bookkeeping and record keeping

• Federal permit: you generally need approval from the TTB as a distilled spirits plant before producing, so check the current application steps
• State and local licensing: rules on tasting rooms, on-site sales and wholesale differ widely, so check with your state alcohol board and city or county
• Zoning, fire code and building requirements: still stalls can bring strict rules, so check before signing a lease
• Excise taxes, bond requirements, label approvals and monthly reporting, so consider an accountant who knows alcohol
• Insurance: general liability, property and possibly liquor liability, so check with a broker
• Home distilling of spirits is not allowed under federal law, so you need a proper licensed site

Estimates suggest startup costs typically around $100,000 to $500,000, depending on your equipment, the size and fit-out of your site and tasting room, and licensing and insurance needs.

Estimates suggest monthly revenue typically around $6,000 to $30,000, depending on your production, tasting room traffic, events and wholesale sales to bars and shops. Revenue is not profit, so factor in taxes and costs.

Check whether you need TTB approval as a distilled spirits plant before producing, plus state and local licensing for tasting rooms and on-site sales. Also check zoning and fire code before signing a lease. Home distilling of spirits isn't allowed under federal law.