Ohio’s new bill to regulate rare liquor bottles is raising eyebrows. Introduced by State Senator Bill DeMora, it would force liquor stores to open high-demand bottles before selling them. The goal? To tackle the growing problem of resellers, or “flippers,” who buy sought-after bottles and sell them for huge markups online. A bottle of Pappy Van Winkle, for instance, retails for around $165 but can sell for $2,000 on platforms like Craigslist. The bill aims to make reselling less profitable by making opened bottles less appealing.
The bill’s potential impact is mixed. It could help real buyers by making rare bottles easier to get at retail prices. But it also comes with complications, like potential waste from opened bottles that don’t get sold. Then there’s the question of whether it’ll even work—can it really curb the secondary market?
The scale of the secondary market is staggering. Revenue from high-end bourbons alone grew by 274% between 2013 and 2023, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. This surge has made it even harder for regular consumers to find these rare bottles, driving up prices and fueling illegal sales.
Historically, this feels a bit like Prohibition-era alcohol control, though the circumstances are different. The idea is the same: use regulation to fight an illegal market.
Sources:
https://news.yahoo.com/news/ohio-bill-require-high-demand-174731377.html
https://brobible.com/culture/article/ohio-rare-bourbon-open-purchase-law-proposal/