New York Senate Bill S00368

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/8/25
• Refer: 1/8/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Permits the sale of tonic water, bitters, maraschino cherries and dealcoholized wine at liquor stores.

Summary

This bill amends New York’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Law to allow liquor stores and certain liquor wholesalers to sell additional non-alcoholic or low-alcohol items commonly used with alcoholic beverages. Specifically, it permits the sale and transport of tonic water, bitters, maraschino cherries, and dealcoholized wine by liquor wholesalers, and it adds those items to the list of products that may be sold at licensed liquor premises without being treated as a separate business activity. The bill also makes conforming changes to section 63 of the law governing liquor licensees, where it clarifies that the sale of these items does not violate the prohibition on conducting another business on the licensed premises. The measure is framed as a narrow expansion of permissible convenience items for liquor retailers, similar to existing allowances for ice, reusable bags, corkscrews, water, and gift packaging. It would take effect 60 days after becoming law. In practical terms, the bill would expand what liquor stores can stock and sell, potentially increasing consumer convenience and allowing stores to capture more ancillary sales tied to cocktail and beverage preparation.

Impact

The bill would amend sections 104 and 63 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, altering the list of products liquor wholesalers and liquor stores may handle without being deemed to be operating another business. It would specifically authorize tonic water, bitters, maraschino cherries, and dealcoholized wine as permissible items at liquor stores and for liquor wholesalers to transport or sell. The affected parties are licensed liquor wholesalers, liquor stores, and consumers purchasing cocktail mixers or non-alcoholic wine alternatives; the change would likely modestly broaden retail inventory options and could affect how the State Liquor Authority interprets permissible ancillary sales.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or vote data is provided, so there is no recorded debate or roll-call evidence of support or opposition. Based on the bill text and caption, the proposal appears technical and consumer-oriented, with an overall neutral-to-positive policy posture centered on convenience and retail flexibility rather than major regulatory change. The absence of recorded votes or discussion suggests the bill had not yet generated a documented public controversy in the available materials.

Contention

The main policy issue is the scope of what liquor stores should be allowed to sell without crossing into prohibited “other business” activity. Supporters would likely view the bill as a practical modernization that lets stores sell common cocktail ingredients and non-alcoholic alternatives in one place, while any critics might argue that expanding liquor-store inventories blurs the line between alcohol retailing and general grocery-style sales. Another possible point of contention is whether dealcoholized wine should be treated like a permissible accompaniment item or as a product that could complicate existing alcohol retail rules, but no specific opposition is documented in the provided materials.