TTB's January 23, 2017 temporary rule did not make every drink called hard cider eligible for the hard-cider tax rate. The historical contrast is explicit: ATF's November 2001 final decision permitted that name on products above 7 percent alcohol by volume. A permitted product description and a federal excise category were different things. [2017-00333][01-29361]
Under the revised test, eligible wine contained no more than 0.64 gram of carbon dioxide per 100 milliliters. It had to derive primarily from apples or pears, including the specified concentrate-and-water route, and contain at least 0.5 percent but less than 8.5 percent alcohol by volume. Exactly 8.5 percent was outside that alcohol limit. [2017-00333][01-29361]
Restrictions on other fruit products and fruit flavorings also applied, but section 24.332 preserved specified nonflavoring uses of authorized wine-treating materials. It also said spices, honey, hops or pumpkins used as flavoring would not themselves make the wine ineligible. A shorthand ban on every ingredient other than apple or pear would misdescribe those provisions. [2017-00333][01-29361]
The amended definition applied to removals beginning January 1, 2017; the temporary rule became effective January 23. The listed rate remained $0.226 per wine gallon, a tax unit distinct from the carbonation measurement. Covered removals beginning January 1, 2018 required Tax class 5041(b)(6) labeling. These same-chain documents explain eligibility and identification, not an observed change in prices or sales. [2017-00333][01-29361]
Source documents
- Implementation of Statutory Amendments Requiring the Modification of the Definition of Hard Ciderhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-01-23/html/2017-00333.htm
- Hard Cider, Semi-Generic Wine Designations, and Wholesale Liquor Dealers’ Signs (97-2523)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2001-11-26/html/01-29361.htm