Leah Howard wears a lot of hats. She is the President of the Distillers Association of North Carolina (DANC), a mutual benefit corporation that strives to promote the common business and regulatory interests of businesses in the North Carolina craft distilling industry. She also serves as the CEO of Cultivated Cocktails, a distillery dedicated to creating joy and bringing people together over quality spirits and craft cocktails—and she does it all while being a mom.

Leah joins me today to discuss how the Distillers Association of North Carolina strives to level the playing field for all businesses in the state’s craft distilling industry. She shares the mission and history of the DANC and how it’s working to create parity between beer and wine. She also describes how the North Carolina ABC Commission functions, how their regulations impact local small businesses, and how consumers can support local craft distilleries and businesses in North Carolina.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

●     DANC’s campaign to call North Carolina the Incubator of Innovation

●     The mission and history of the Distillers Association of North Carolina

●     A great way to tie the hands of a small business owner and how distillery regulations have changed since 2019

●     North Carolina’s condition as a control state for liquor and alcoholic beverages

●     How consumers can help local distilleries and small businesses thrive in Alcoholic Beverage Commission stores

●     Creating a parity between beer and wine

●     Why no one is more concerned about underage drinking, overserving, and responsible drinking than distilleries

●     The state ABC Commission’s point-of-sale system

●     Why it’s illegal for distilleries to educate ABC store employees about their products

●     Booze Clues: creamy, great-by-the-fire winter snow drink from a local ABC store

Connect with Leah Howard:

●     Cultivated Cocktails

●     Distillers Association of North Carolina

●     Cultivated Cocktails on Instagram

●     Cultivated Cocktails on Facebook

●     Distillers Association of North Carolina on Facebook

●     Distillers Association of North Carolina on Twitter

●     Distillers Association of North Carolina on LinkedIn

●     Distillers Association of North Carolina on Instagram

●     Leah Howard on LinkedIn

●     Email: Leah@hhdistillery.com

Consuming the Craft

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

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