LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) -- It's billed as benefiting Kentucky's signature spirits, the new “Bourbon Without Borders” law.
There's still a lot of work ahead before Kentucky can truly tap into a nationwide market.
The law is supposed to allow visitors to ship home bourbon but not many can.
There were toasts, smiles, and applause--even the head of UPS helped load the first packages on the big brown truck parked at the corner of 9th and Main.
Billed as "Bourbon Without Borders,” House Bill 400 was designed to give an answer to distillery visitors who ask about shipping home bottles they purchased while enjoying the Commonwealth.
This celebration at the Frazier, on June 1, featured Governor Matt Bevin ceremonially signing the bill into law.
But there are major hurdles facing the Kentucky Distillers Association as they look to make bourbon truly "without borders".
You can ship bourbon out of Kentucky, but just seven states and the District of Columbia allow it to be shipped in. Only Arizona, Hawaii, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Rhode Island have reciprocal laws.
The KDA is lobbying to change that.
“We went to the National Association of State Liquor Administrators and met with 37 other state's ABCs to talk about reciprocity,” Eric Gregory, with the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, said. “We have the uniform law commission that was in Louisville at a conference last week, talked with them about a creating a model shipping law based on Kentucky’s that all states could use.”
And they're going to turn to tourists, designing a brochure for distilleries to give to visitors who want to ship spirits home, who will only then learn a select few states allow it.
"Seems like a ridiculous law to me, why couldn't we send it wherever we want it to go,” Jenie Strickland, who is visiting form Houston, Texas, said. “Especially if we're sending it home from a vacation.”
Bourbon lovers we met said they'd take that brochure and try to pressure their lawmakers to add reciprocal bourbon laws back home.
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"We flew in and we have to pack it in our luggage and hope it gets their safety,” Mark Durkin, a tourist from Rochester, N.Y., said. “We can't put it in our carry on because they won't allow it.”
Kentucky Distillers Association President Eric Gregory is hopeful, now that Kentucky has cleared its first hurdle, other states will acquire a taste for how a similar change could help their economy.
The KDA is targeting the bigger markets first like California, New York and Texas, hoping to bottle up some of the excitement from this summer's big announcement.
►Contact reporter Chris Williams at cwilliams@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@chriswnews) and Facebook.