Whiskey distillery bill passes, on way to Tennessee governor

photo Chattanooga Whiskey
Arkansas-Tennessee Live Blog

NASHVILLE - A whiskey distillery bill is on its way to the governor after the Senate agreed to a House amendment.

Senators voted 23-6 on the House provision, which they rejected Wednesday.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, apologized for confusion he caused by not adequately explaining the House changes, which put back distance requirements inadvertently taken out by the Senate previously in an amendment.

He also assured colleagues that while distilleries will be able to sell their product on Sundays to visitors who watch operations and want a souvenir, it would not allow regular package stores to open.

The bill expands the original 2009 law and includes Hamilton County, where Chattanooga Whiskey Co. hopes to open a distillery to manufacture its own product locally.

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