Cape Coral rum distillery fights state law

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – A local rum distillery is fighting a state law its owner says is hurting business.

Right now state law strictly limits how many bottles craft distilleries are allowed to sell on-site.

“We have, maybe somebody who loves the rum and would maybe like to bring a case back home, and we tell them ‘No, we can’t,'” said JoAnn Elardo, owner of Wicked Dolphin Rum Distillery in Cape Coral.

Elardo says because of the law, they often have to disappoint customers finishing up a tour who want to buy a few bottles.

“It’s difficult to produce and to tell people ‘Sir, we can’t sell it to you.'”

The current law says craft distillers can only sell two bottles a year to the same person directly at the distillery, after pressure came from liquor distributors and retailers.

“I think it limits commerce and it’s kind of crazy for Florida ’cause they’re cutting out revenue and not promoting small business,” said Wicked Dolphin customer Mike Mellon.

“We have a range of probably 6-8 different products, so if somebody comes in and they’re only allowed two bottles per year, they’re never able to pick up some of the new products that we have,” said Elardo.

So, Elardo and the rest of the Florida Distillers Guild lobbied lawmakers in Tallahassee, and got them to draft a new bill that would allow distilleries to sell up to two bottles of each type of liquor per year to an individual. It’s a small improvement, but one with which Elardo is happy.

The bill has already passed the House and Senate, it’s just waiting on Governor Rick Scott’s signature.