Among businesses that could be affected by the ongoing government shutdown are small liquor distilleries. The federal Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has stopped approving permits and labels for alcoholic beverages. Curtis McMillan is a Boston-based marketing manager for spirits company William Grant. He says most large scale distilleries will likely weather the shutdown, but micro-distilleries may not fair as well. 

“If this shutdown runs in a long-term balance, and micro-distilleries aren’t able to get label approval on new products, it could potentially cripple the micro-distillery movement,” McMillan says.

McMillan says small distilleries need to continue coming up with new products to stay competitive. He says without federal labeling those products can’t go to market.