OAR 845-005-0428: Retail On-Premises Distilled Spirits Sampling Involving Distillery Representative

(1) Full On-Premises Sales licensees may allow a distillery with products approved for sale in Oregon (distillery) and its representatives, employees, contractors, and agents to participate in distilled spirits sample tasting events. These events must be sponsored by the Full On-Premises Sales licensee and be held on the Full On-Premises Sales licensee’s annually (not temporarily) licensed premises. (2) Sample Tasting Events. These are events sponsored by the Full On-Premises Sales licensee where a distillery and its representatives, employees, contractors, and agents visit the Full On-Premises Sales licensee’s annually licensed premises for the purpose of offering free sample tastings of the distillery's product to customers of the Full On-Premises Sales licensee. At any event allowed by this rule, the Full On-Premises Sales licensee is responsible for ensuring that the distillery and its representatives, employees, contractors, and agents: (a) Provide or pay for the person to serve the distilled spirit tasting. The server must be the distillery's representative, employee, contractor, or agent. The server may not be an employee or agent of the Full On-Premises licensee. The server may provide education to patrons and staff. All servers must have valid Oregon Service Permits or Temporary Service Permits; (b) Do not compensate the Full On-Premises Sales licensee or its employees or agents in order to conduct the tasting event; (c) Do not provide any other service normally provided by the Full On-Premises Sales licensee (for example: taking orders for alcohol or food, serving anything other than sample tastings to customers, promoting alcohol beyond service of the sample tasting); (d) Provide the distilled spirits product to be sampled, and remove any remaining product at the end of the tasting; (e) Provide only distilled spirits product approved for sale in Oregon; (f) Do not give anything prohibited by division 13 of chapter 845 of the Commission's administrative rules to a retailer or its customers; (g) Comply with ORS 471.398, and division 13 of chapter 845 of the Commission's administrative rules. (3) Sample tasting sizes, number of samples per customer. At sample tasting events allowed under this rule, a tasting shall be no more than one-half fluid ounce of distilled spirits in a single container. The container may also contain nonalcoholic beverages; however, the total amount of liquid in the container may be no more than two ounces. A distillery and its representatives, employees, contractors, and agents may not provide more than two and one-half fluid ounces total of distilled spirits per customer per day. For purposes of this rule, a day is from 7:00 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. on the succeeding calendar day. (4) Number of sample tasting events allowed. Each Full On-Premises Sales licensee shall sponsor no more than eight sample tasting events per calendar year on its premises. (5) Violations associated with sample tastings. In the case of a liquor law violation associated with a sample tasting allowed under this rule, the Full On-Premises Sales licensee will be held responsible. When the violation also involves a server (for example, service of a sample to a minor or a visibly intoxicated person), both the server and the Full On-Premises Sales licensee will be held responsible. (6) Record keeping. The Full On-Premises Sales licensee must keep a record of each tasting event it sponsors, including the date and location of each event, the products served, and the names of the servers. Records of tasting events must be retained for one year from the date of the tasting. (7) Advertising. The retailer may advertise these events. The distillery may advertise these events as allowed in OAR 845-013-0040. (8) Violation of this rule are Category III violations.