(1) A microdistillery may have one sample room to provide consumers with samples of liquor products that the microdistillery produced at its licensed premises.

(2) The sample room must be located on the licensed premises and cannot be used for providing samples until approved by the department.

(3) All liquor products provided to a consumer for on- or off-premises consumption in the sample room must have been produced at the microdistillery. For a product to be considered as having been produced at the microdistillery, the following criteria must be met:

(a) as measured by proof gallons on a quarterly basis, at least 90 percent of the aggregate amount of liquor provided for on- and off-premises consumption in the sample room must have been distilled at the microdistillery; and

(b) all liquor transferred into the sample room for on- or off-premises consumption must contain alcohol that was distilled at the microdistillery.

(4) Any microdistillery that is licensed and has a department-approved sample room as of May 9, 2014, has until October 1, 2015, to come into compliance with (3)(a). Any such microdistillery that does not meet (3)(a) shall, at a minimum, maintain the percentage it has as of May 9, 2014, until October 1, 2015.

(5) Prior to providing any liquor product to consumers in its sample room, a microdistillery shall notify the department of the percentage of alcohol in each proof gallon of the product that is distilled at the microdistillery. The microdistillery shall also notify the department of any changes to these percentages prior to providing the changed product to consumers. For example, if half the alcohol in a product (as measured by proof gallons) was distilled at the microdistillery, while the other half was produced elsewhere, the microdistillery would report that the product contains liquor that is 50 percent distilled at the microdistillery.

(6) To provide a liquor product in a microdistillery sample room, the licensee must obtain either a certificate of label approval or an exemption from label approval from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

(7) Regardless of the liquor's alcohol content, a licensee is only permitted to provide not more than 2 ounces of the liquor product approved in (6) for on-premises consumption per individual during a business day.

(8) A microdistillery is not a retail licensee.

(9) A sample room may include a patio/deck, if it has the required perimeter barrier, as defined in ARM 42.13.111, and is in compliance with fire safety regulations.