And, Gov. Paul LePage says, if the legislature presses the issue, he just might ban all “nips” sales in Maine.
He told the legislature to either increase penalties for littering or ban sales of the 50ml bottles altogether.
“Absent increased penalties, which this bill failed to impose, an alternative approach is to discontinue the sale of 50ml bottles containing alcohol all together,” LePage wrote. “If this bill passes, I have directed the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverage and Lottery Operations to work with the Liquor and Lottery Commission to delist these products for sale in Maine.”
Maine liquor stores sold 8.4 million nips bottles in fiscal 2016, and are expected to sell 12 million this year thanks to Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, which is finished and bottled in Lewiston, Maine. If LePage follows through on his threat to ban all nips sales, it will have “a drastic impact on our company and our employees,” Sazerac’s ceo, Mark Brown, warned.
“We could have lived with a 5-cent redemption sticker if the state really thought that would solve the littering problem, we can no longer support the legislation while under the threat of having 50 mls delisted,” Brown wrote. “Such a move would be detrimental to the state’s finances as this is one of the fastest growing sectors in Maine.”