Maine Revised Statutes Title 28-A. Liquors § 460. Agency liquor store taste testing of spirits

A. Spirits may not be served to persons who have not yet attained 21 years of age.

B. A person may not be served more than a total of 1 1/2 ounces, in 1/2 ounce servings, of spirits having an alcohol content of 80 proof or less; and, for spirits containing an alcohol content of greater than 80 proof, a person may not be served more than a total of 3/4 of an ounce in 1/4 ounce servings.

C. Spirits must be dispensed using a standard measuring device.

D. Deleted. Laws 2019, c. 79, § 1, eff. May 8, 2019.

E. A person may not be charged a fee for any spirits served as part of a taste-testing event.

F. A person may not be served who is visibly intoxicated.

G. A taste-testing event must be limited to a designated area.

H. A taste-testing event must be conducted within the hours of retail sale established in this Title.

I. Deleted. Laws 2019, c. 79, § 1, eff. May 8, 2019.

J. The agency liquor store may conduct an unlimited number of taste-testing events per month. If the agency liquor store complies with the applicable requirements of sections 1205 and 1207, the agency liquor store may offer wine and malt liquor for tasting at the same time as spirits.

K. A taste-testing event is not allowed in any municipality where on-premises and off-premises sales are not allowed pursuant to chapter 5.

L. Deleted.2019, c. 79, § 1, eff. May 8, 2019.

M. Repealed. Laws 2015, c. 184, § 2.

M-1. Repealed. Laws 2023, c. 349, § 1, eff. Oct. 25, 2023.

M-2. Spirits served at a taste-testing event must be:

N. Prior to a taste-testing event, the agency liquor store shall post prominently at the entrance to the store a sign that announces the date and time of the event.

O. An agency liquor store, with prior approval from the bureau, may conduct an invitation-only taste-testing event at the agency liquor store's premises in place of or to coincide with a taste-testing event that is open to the public. A taste-testing event that is exclusively invitation only is not subject to the posting requirement in paragraph N.

P. Spirits may be poured for the taste-testing event only by the owner or an employee of the agency liquor store, by a sales representative licensed under section 1502 or by the spirits supplier.

A. The agency liquor store shall request authority to conduct a taste-testing event using forms prescribed by the bureau.

B. The agency liquor store may submit a separate form for each taste-testing event or a single form listing some or all of the taste-testing events the agency liquor store requests authority to conduct in a calendar month under this section, section 1205 and section 1207.

C. The request must indicate the date and time for each taste-testing event and the liquor product or products that will be offered at each event.

D. Repealed. Laws 2021, c. 658, § 79, eff. Aug. 8, 2022.