Can I produce and export Absinthe to other countries If I LIVE in the United States?
My brother and I want to make absinthe "IN" the United States but sell exclusively to "OTHER" countries….
Tagged with: Absinthe • brother • quot • united states
Filed under: Absinthe
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Don’t think so.
Absinthe is not illegal… Although making and selling your own alcohol can be if you have no license.
HERE YOU GO!
In the U.S., traditional Absinthe is illegal to sell for human consumption because it contains the chemical thujone which is banned by the FDA for use in foods but allowed in some herbs known to contain thujone (Title 21, Chapter 1, Part 172.510). Some types of absinthe are sold in the U.S. which contain no thujone and other absinthes are imported into the U.S. despite FDA regulations.
A second legal issue with absinthe is that it is illegal in the United States to distill alcohol (even for personal consumption) without paying special taxes, filing paperwork & requesting a license from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. We haven’t researched exactly what is involved in this process, but it seems quite complex and impractical. Some absinthe recipes call for distilling the product and some do not. So, technically a distilled absinthe could be illegal if made without a license. It is also illegal to sell any alcohol for human consumption without a license.
It is likely legal in the US to produce absinthe for one’s personal use using commercially available distilled liquor and infusing one’s own herbs into the alcohol, although any thujone-containing drinks are illegal to sell or distribute.
Absinthe is illegal in the USA.
You’d never get a license to make it, let alone export it.
Richard