Does Alcoholic Ice Cream Need Liquor Liability Insurance?

Alcohol and ice cream lovers rejoice!

Now you can have two of your favorite things blended in one tipsy treat.

Although every state has it’s different laws around the sale and consumption of alcohol, alcoholic ice cream seems to be a growing trend and specifically in New York where  Tipsy Scoop, Ice Cream Cellars, and Mercer’s Wine Ice Cream, some of the largest alcoholic ice cream brands on the market are based.

We’ve also seen products like Frosé Prosecco Wine Popsicles in the UK and Australia, and Gin & Tonic Ice Lollies available at Aldi, one the largest retailers in the UK with as much alcohol as a pint.

As a liquor liability insurance company based in Massachusetts, we pose the questions such as, “Should these businesses have a liquor liability insurance policy? What is the risk involved with serving a liquor-infused ice cream for the business owner? How much alcohol is actually in the ice cream? What effect does alcoholic ice cream have on the consumer?”

As temperatures heat up here in New England, we’ll start to see ice cream sales increase. And, as various studies suggest, when ice cream sales rise, the crime rate also will rise.  Coupling that statistic with alcoholic ice cream, is that a potential disaster now that boozy ice cream is on the market?

Although alcoholic ice cream was regulated in 2008 in the state of New York, the concept is still fairly new to the market in Massachusetts.

In September of 2016, officials from the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC)  stepped in to set regulations for ice cream parlors and restaurants looking to serve this tipsy treat where a written classification from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) must be produced in order to make and/or sell alcohol-infused ice cream.

However, as reported by the Boston Globe, one exception to this requirement states that “Restaurants that have liquor licenses will not be subject to the new regulations.”

In the state of Massachusetts, liquor liability insurance is required by law. Chapter 116 of the Acts of 2010 states that businesses have the minimum limits of $250,000 per person, $500,000 per occurrence and $500,000 aggregate.

What’s the harm involved?

Well as you may agree, businesses can be liable for pretty much anything these days.

To date, we haven’t seen many claims against alcoholic ice cream out there as of now. However, some of the claims we’ve come across already include this post on InjuryClaimCoach.com claiming her child was served alcoholic ice cream. We’ve also seen claims against a Brazilian brewer over an ad for beer-flavored ice cream that some claim could encourage children and adolescents to drink as reported by Fox News. But as this is concept is so new, who is to say more claims won’t come up down the road?

What do you think? Should businesses serving or producing alcoholic ice cream have liquor liability insurance?