New Mexico Entrepreneurs Find Ways Around State's Tough Liquor Laws
It can be a challenge to get a cocktail in New Mexico. Liquor licenses are scare and for many businesses, prohibitively expensive.
But one way to get around the state's tough liquor laws is to make your own booze. More and more New Mexicans are taking this route as an alternate entrance into a fast growing industry.
In Silver City, a combination brewery and distillery recently opened up in the heart of its historic downtown. The Little Toad Creek brews its own beer and distills its own spirits including rum, vodka and whiskey. One of its specialities, the Toad House Bloody Mary, is made with New Mexico's famous green chile.
On a recent Monday night at Little Toad Creek, customers were lively. Owner Dave Crosely celebrated his grand opening four days earlier.
"The popularity of craft brewing and craft distilling is really coming into its own now," he said. "So we are really proud of ourselves to be on the cusp of that new trend."
Places like this are popping up across the state. They qualify for a manufacture's liquor license, which is easier to get in New Mexico compared to a full service license. Because of their limited availability, a bar license that includes hard liquor can cost up to half a million dollars.
"It was never really an option to get a liquor license, the price is completely cost prohibitive," Crosley said.
But it's not all about the license.
"What comes with a small craft brewery is a lot of pride," said Chris Goblet, executive director with the New Mexico Brewer's Guild.
Goblet said the state's microbrewing industry is growing at an annual rate of 12 percent. That's just shy of the industry's growth nationally, which was at 15 percent in 2012. New Mexico's oldest brewery, Santa Fe Brewing Company, expanded from eight employees 10 years ago to 40 employees this year.
Across the country, microbreweries are also experiencing tremendous growth. The Huffington Post reports there are 2,751 breweries serving thirsty patrons from coast to coast — the most since Prohibition.
According to the New Mexico Brewer's Guild there are more than two dozen established craft breweries throughout the state, with six more in the works.
Updated 12/24/2013 at 4:35 p.m.
