Alcohol laws of Tennessee


The alcohol laws of Tennessee are distinct in that they vary considerably by county.
Local government jurisdictions in Tennessee by default are dry and do not allow the sales of liquor or wine. These governments must amend the laws to allow for liquor-by-the-drink sales and retail package stores. In many cases, the county may be dry, but a municipality is wet. The sale of beer is not affected by a dry or wet designation. This list may not reflect recent changes.

Dry counties

In a dry county, the sale of alcohol and alcoholic beverages is prohibited or restricted - 1 of Tennessee's 95 counties is completely dry and another is almost entirely dry with very specific exceptions.

Moist counties

In a moist county, the sale of alcohol and alcoholic beverages in certain jurisdictions is permitted. This designation applies to 83 out of Tennessee's 95 counties.

Wet counties

The designation of a wet county applies to jurisdictions where the sale of alcohol and alcoholic beverages is permitted - 10 out of Tennessee's 95 counties are wet. The state's four largest cities, Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, are located in wet counties.

Distilleries

By 1810, registered distilleries numbered 14,191 and were producing 25.5 million gallons of whiskey. In 2009, the Tennessee General Assembly amended the statute that had for many years limited the distillation of drinkable spirits to just three counties. The revised law allows distilleries to be established in 41 additional counties. This change was expected to lead to the establishment of small distilleries, thus increasing the number of producers of Tennessee whiskey. As of March 2013, there are five brands with at least one Tennessee whiskey on the market, and several with whiskey in the barrel awaiting release.