(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania grocery stores, gas stations and beer distributors began stocking canned cocktails on Monday.
The development comes two months after the Legislature repealed a provision that limited sales to state-owned liquor stores. Critics said the rule made little sense, given that ready-to-drink cocktails, or RTDs, have an alcohol content similar to beer and wine.
Pennsylvania is one of a handful of states where the state government controls liquor sales entirely, and has since the prohibition era. In recent years, a steady effort to deregulate the industry has included beer and wine spreading to the shelves of privately-owned stores and restaurants.
Andy Deloney, senior vice president of state government relations at the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said Monday it’s “an exciting time” for Pennsylvanians.
“Allowing these low-alcohol spirits products to be sold alongside beer and wine just makes sense,” he said. “We are grateful for the support of the General Assembly as well as the governor in our efforts to make this a reality in the commonwealth.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro and state Sen. Mike Regan, R-Dillsburg, visited a Rutters gas station in Duncannon on Tuesday to celebrate the new law. The expanded sales are anticipated to generate $145 million for the state over the next five years.
Regan, who sponsored the bill, said in July that although the change was “monumental,” it was not without compromise.
“This is in no way the most cost-effective or efficient way of getting RTDs on the shelves of retailers,” he said. “That part has been left out because the unbreakable union entanglement in liquor issues has once again unnecessarily put self-interest above all else.”
