§241. Definitions
The following terms have the respective meanings ascribed to them except in those
instances where the context indicates a different meaning:
(1) "Alcoholic beverages" means any fluid or any solid capable of being converted
into fluid, suitable for human consumption, and containing more than one-half of one percent
alcohol by volume, including malt, vinous, spirituous, alcoholic or intoxicating liquors, beer,
porter, ale, stout fruit juices, cider, or wine.
(2) "Beer outlet" means a place where any person draws or removes any malt
beverages from containers for sale or consumption on the premises.
(3) "Beverages of high alcoholic content" means alcoholic beverages containing more
than six percent alcohol by volume.
(4) "Beverages of low alcoholic content" means alcoholic beverages containing not
more than six percent alcohol by volume.
(5) "Brewing facility" means an establishment that brews beer and other malt
beverages for the primary purpose of selling the brewed product for resale and that is
authorized to sell or serve to the public beer or other malt beverages brewed at the facility
for consumption on or off the licensed premises pursuant to and subject to the limitations in
Paragraph (18) of this Section.
(6) "Case of wine" means nine liters of wine by volume which may be packaged in
any of the following ways:
(a) Twelve seven-hundred-fifty-milliliter bottles.
(b) Six one-and-one-half-liter bottles.
(c) Three three-liter bottles.
(7) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of alcohol and tobacco control who
shall be the assistant secretary of the office of alcohol and tobacco control in the Department
of Revenue, or his duly authorized agents.
(8) "Dealer" means every person who manufactures alcoholic beverages within
Louisiana for handling in Louisiana or who imports alcoholic beverages from any state,
territory, possession, or foreign country for handling in Louisiana or who, not being able to
prove that the tax levied by this Chapter has been previously paid, sells, offers for sale, or has
in possession for sale or other handling beverages of high alcoholic content.
(9) "Delivery" for purposes of R.S. 26:307 means a delivery of an alcoholic beverage
in a container sealed by the manufacturer of the alcoholic beverage by a liquor retailer
permitted pursuant to R.S. 26:271(A)(3) or by a retailer permitted to sell alcoholic beverages
for off-premise consumption and their employees. Delivery shall be permitted only in those
areas where the sale of alcoholic beverages is permitted. Delivery by a retailer shall not
extend past the boundaries of the parish where the retailer's permitted establishment is
located. Prior to delivering alcoholic beverages, a retailer shall give notice to and receive
permission from the office of alcohol and tobacco control subject to rules promulgated by
the commissioner as authorized by this Section.
(10) "Dinner theater" means an establishment that is a "restaurant establishment",
as defined by R.S. 26:73(C)(1), where food orders are taken and food service is provided in
both a restaurant dining area and where patrons are seated to view live theatrical productions
or the showing of film, still pictures, electronic or digital reproductions, or other visual
reproductions.
(11) "Electronic means" means internet-enabled technology and digital media,
including but not limited to websites and consumer applications accessible through smart
phones and other mobile devices.
(12) "Employee" for purposes of R.S. 26:307 means a W-2 employee of a liquor
retailer permitted pursuant to R.S. 26:271(A)(3) or a W-2 employee of a retailer permitted
to sell alcoholic beverages for off-premise consumption. It shall not include 1099
contractors or independent contractors hired by a liquor retailer.
(13) "Handle" means sell, use, distribute, store, consume, or otherwise handle.
(14) "Liquor retailer" means any dealer, other than a manufacturer or wholesaler,
who sells, offers for sale, exposes for sale, or has in his possession for sale or distribution any
alcoholic beverages in any quantity.
(15) "Liquors" means all distilled or rectified alcoholic spirits, brandy, whiskey, rum,
gin, and all similar distilled alcoholic beverages, including all dilutions and mixtures of one
or more of the foregoing, such as liquors, cordials, and similar compounds.
(16) "Liter" means a metric unit of capacity equal to one thousand cubic centimeters
at four degrees celsius, and it is equivalent to 33.814 United States fluid ounces. For the
purposes of this Part, a liter is subdivided into one thousand equal milliliters.
(17)(a) "Malt beverages" for purposes of R.S. 26:287(A)(9) and (10) and 741 only
means all beverages, regardless of alcoholic content, as defined in this Paragraph and all
beverages of low alcoholic content as defined in this Section.
(b) "Malt beverages containing more than six percent alcohol by volume" means
beverages obtained by alcoholic fermentation of an infusion or by a brewing process or
concoction of barley or other grain, malt, sugars, and hops in water, including among other
things, ale, beer, stout, porter, and the like. Malt beverages are exclusive of all "liquors"
whether they be defined as intoxicating or spirituous liquors, or as alcoholic, vinous, or malt
liquors, or however otherwise defined as liquors, which are produced by distillation.
(c) "Malt beverages containing not more than six percent alcohol by volume" means
beverages obtained by alcoholic fermentation of an infusion or by a brewing process or
concoction of barley or other grain, malt, sugars, and hops in water, including among other
things, ale, beer, stout, porter, and the like. Malt beverages are exclusive of all "liquors"
whether they be defined as intoxicating or spirituous liquors, or as alcoholic, vinous, or malt
liquors, or however otherwise defined as liquors, which are produced by distillation.
(18) "Manufacturer or brewer" means any person who, directly or indirectly,
personally or through any agency, person, or establishment, engages in the making, blending,
rectifying, brewing, or other processing of alcoholic beverages in Louisiana or outside the
state for shipments to licensed wholesale dealers within the state subject to the provisions
of R.S. 26:364. A manufacturer or brewer who operates a brewing facility entirely located
in the state of Louisiana may sell or serve:
(a) Only those products brewed at that facility to the public only at that facility for
consumption on or off the premises but not for resale. The total amount of such sales to the
public for any given month shall not exceed ten percent of the total amount of product
brewed at that facility monthly or two hundred fifty barrels, whichever is greater. Any
manufacturer or brewer who sells its products to the public pursuant to this Subparagraph
shall remit all state and parish or municipal sales and excise taxes to the proper tax collecting
authority for all products sold to the public. A manufacturer or brewer who sells or serves
its products to the public pursuant to this Subparagraph shall comply with all local zoning
laws and regulations.
(b) Notwithstanding the restrictions in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph and
provided that a manufacturer or brewer does not violate the provisions of R.S. 26:286,
manufacturers or brewers who own and operate a brewing facility entirely located in the state
of Louisiana may sell or serve their finished products at retail directly to consumers at a
farmer's market and similar venues defined by the commissioner pursuant to rules and
regulations promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. The
manufacturer or brewer shall give notice of its intent to sell its product to the commissioner
at least five days in advance of the initial date of the farmer's market and any product sold
at the market shall be offered at a price consistent with the current price in that geographical
area.
(19) "Microbrewer" means any person who, directly or indirectly, personally or
through any agency, engages in the making, blending, rectifying, or other processing of beer
or other malt beverages for retail sale in an amount not to exceed twelve thousand five
hundred barrels per year.
(20) "Microbrewery" means a retail establishment wherein beer and other malt
beverages are brewed in small quantities, not to exceed twelve thousand five hundred barrels
per year, and where such beverages are sold at retail for consumption on or off the licensed
premises.
(21) "Package house-Class B" means a place consisting of no less than five hundred
square feet of public habitable area which sells alcoholic beverages in factory sealed
containers for transportation and consumption off the premises and where no person is
allowed to tamper with or otherwise disrupt the manufacturer's seal on or about the licensed
premises.
(22) "Premises", or "premises to be licensed", means the building or that part of the
building as defined in the application for the permit in which beverages of low alcoholic
content are sold, except in cases where such beverages are regularly sold or served outside
the building, the terms shall also include such outside area.
(23) "Ready-to-drink beverage" means an alcoholic beverage containing low or high
alcohol content, as defined in this Section and R.S. 26:2, that is prepackaged, premeasured,
and premixed to be sold in a manufacturer-sealed container ready for immediate
consumption.
(24) "Retail dealer" means every person who offers for sale, exposes for sale, has in
his possession for sale or distribution, or sells alcoholic beverages in any quantity to persons
other than licensed wholesale or retail dealers.
(25) "Secondary location" means a permitted brewing facility that is owned wholly
by a brewer who operates two brewing facilities entirely located in the state of Louisiana.
(26) "Secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Revenue, or his duly
authorized agents.
(27) "Self-distribution" means distribution by a brewer who operates a brewing
facility entirely located in the state of Louisiana to a retailer holding a Class A permit issued
pursuant to R.S. 26:71.1 or 271.2, a Class B permit issued pursuant to R.S. 26:71 or 271, a
Class C permit issued pursuant to R.S. 26:71.2 or 271.3, or a Type A, B, or C temporary
alcoholic beverage permit issued pursuant to R.S. 26:793.
(28) "Sparkling wine" means champagne and any other effervescent wine charged
with carbon dioxide, whether artificially or as the result of secondary fermentation of the
wine within the container.
(29) "Still wine" means any noneffervescent wine, including any fortified wine,
vermouth, any artificial imitation wine, any compound sold as "still wine", and any fruit
juice.
(30) "Third party" means an independent technology company that operates a
website or consumer application on which independent liquor retailers market their products.
Such third-party company shall not deal, handle, sell, offer for sale, or possess for sale
alcoholic beverages or process payments for the sale of alcoholic beverages.
(31) "Third-party platform" means a third-party service that is licensed to do business
in the state of Louisiana that performs work with its own employees or agents for which the
platform is required to file an Internal Revenue Service Form W-2 or 1099.
(32) "Wholesale dealer of malt beverages containing more than six percent alcohol
by volume" means those persons who sell malt beverages containing more than six percent
alcohol by volume and alcoholic beverages of low alcoholic content to licensed wholesale
dealers or licensed retail dealers exclusively, within the state or to any person for delivery
beyond the borders of the state to a licensed dealer in that state and who conduct a bona fide
wholesale business and maintain a warehouse or warehouses for the storage and warehousing
of malt beverages and alcoholic beverages of low alcoholic content in the area where
domiciled and licensed by the state, and conduct and maintain systematic and regular
solicitations, distribution, deliveries, and sales of said beverages to licensed retail dealers
located within the boundary of each parish, municipality, or geographic area, as contractually
defined between the wholesaler and his supplier, in which the wholesale dealer makes any
sale or delivery.
(33) "Wholesale dealer of malt beverages containing not more than six percent
alcohol by volume" means those persons who sell malt beverages containing not more than
six percent alcohol by volume and alcoholic beverages of low alcoholic content to licensed
wholesale dealers or licensed retail dealers exclusively, within the state or to any person for
delivery beyond the borders of the state to a licensed dealer in that state and who conduct a
bona fide wholesale business and maintain a warehouse or warehouses for the storage and
warehousing of malt beverages and alcoholic beverages of low alcoholic content in the area
where domiciled and licensed by the state, and conduct and maintain systematic and regular
solicitations, distribution, deliveries, and sales of said beverages to licensed retail dealers
located within the boundary of each parish, municipality, or geographic area, as contractually
defined between the wholesaler and his supplier, in which the wholesale dealer makes any
sale or delivery.