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It's time to raise your glass for a toast in appreciation to Governor Jerry Brown, who today signed into law SB 32, the bill that ends a decades-old ban on infused spirits in the state.
Alcoholic beverages made with spirits infused at bars and restaurants have been illegal to date, with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control using the law to target and bust a number of establishment in recent years.
Now, that vodka infused in-house with basil and watermelon and used in a cocktail will be totally legit.
A group of bartenders rallied together recently to create a petition in support of Brown signing the bill into law. SB 32 was authored by Senator Mark Leno of San Francisco, and creates a legal definition of what it means to be a "rectifier" of alcohol for the purpose of selling mixed beverages.