2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 44 - REVENUE - REGULATION OF ACTIVITIES (§§ 44-1-101 — 44-50-1001) › ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO REGULATION (§§ 44-3-101 — 44-7-107) › Article 3 - ALCOHOL BEVERAGES (§§ 44-3-101 — 44-3-1002) › Part 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 44-3-101 — 44-3-108) › Section 44-3-103 - [Effective 8/7/2024] Definitions

As used in this article 3 and article
4
of this title 44, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1)
"Adult" means a person lawfully permitted to purchase alcohol beverages.
(2)
"Alcohol beverage" means fermented malt beverage or malt, vinous, or spirituous liquors; except that "alcohol beverage" shall not include confectionery containing alcohol within the limits prescribed by section
25-5-410 (1)(i)(II)
.
(2.5)
"Alcohol beverage shipper licensee" means a person that ships to consumers vinous liquors that it received from a winery direct shipper's permittee pursuant to section 44-3-104.
(3)
"Alternating proprietor licensed premises" means a distinct and definite area, as specified in an alternating use of premises application, that is owned by or in possession of a person licensed pursuant to section
44-3-402
,
44-3-403
,
44-3-417
, or
44-3-422
and within which the licensee and other persons licensed pursuant to section
44-3-402
,
44-3-403
,
44-3-417
, or
44-3-422
are authorized to manufacture and store vinous liquors or malt liquors in accordance with this article 3.
(4)
"Bed and breakfast" means an overnight lodging establishment that provides at least one meal per day at no charge other than a charge for overnight lodging and does not sell alcohol beverages by the drink.
(5)
"Brew pub" means a retail establishment that manufactures not more than one million eight hundred sixty thousand gallons of malt liquor on its licensed premises or licensed alternating proprietor licensed premises, combined, each calendar year.
(6)
"Brewery" means any establishment where malt liquors are manufactured, except brew pubs licensed under this article 3.
(7)
"Campus" means property owned or used by an institution of higher education to regularly provide students with education, housing, or college activities.
(8)
"Campus liquor complex" means an area within a campus that is licensed to serve alcohol under section
44-3-413 (3)
.
(8.5)
"Catering company" means a person, not including persons in the mobile food services industry or food service industries, that:
(a)
Is primarily engaged in providing event-based alcohol beverage services for events:
(I)
At a venue that does not possess a liquor license or permit; and
(II)
That have snacks and sandwiches available at the event; and
(b)
Has equipment and vehicles to transport meals, alcohol beverages, and snacks to events or to prepare food at an off-premises site.
(9)
"Club" means:
(a)
A corporation that:
(I)
Has been incorporated for not less than three years; and
(II)
Has a membership that has paid dues for a period of at least three years; and
(III)
Has a membership that for three years has been the owner, lessee, or occupant of an establishment operated solely for objects of a national, social, fraternal, patriotic, political, or athletic nature, but not for pecuniary gain, and the property as well as the advantages of which belong to the members;
(b)
A corporation that is a regularly chartered branch, or lodge, or chapter of a national organization that is operated solely for the objects of a patriotic or fraternal organization or society, but not for pecuniary gain.
(10)
"Colorado grown" means wine produced from one hundred percent Colorado-grown grapes, other fruits, or other agricultural products containing natural sugar, including honey, manufactured by a winery that is located in Colorado and licensed pursuant to part 3 of this article 3.
(11)
"Common consumption area" means an area designed as a common area in an entertainment district approved by the local licensing authority that uses physical barriers to close the area to motor vehicle traffic and limit pedestrian access.
(11.5)
"Communal outdoor dining area" means an outdoor space that is used for food and alcohol beverage service by two or more licensees licensed under this article 3 or article
4
of this title 44 as a:
(a)
Tavern;
(b)
Hotel and restaurant;
(c)
Brew pub;
(d)
Distillery pub;
(e)
Vintner's restaurant;
(f)
Beer and wine licensee;
(g)
Manufacturer that operates a sales room authorized under section
44-3-402 (2) or (7)
;
(h)
Beer wholesaler that operates a sales room under section
44-3-407 (1)(b)(I)
;
(i)
Limited winery;
(j)
Entertainment facility;
(k)
Optional premises;
(l)
Fermented malt beverage and wine retailer licensed for consumption on the premises; or
(m)
Lodging facility.
(12)
"Distill" or "distillation" means the process by which alcohol that is created by fermentation is separated from the portion of the liquid that has no alcohol content.
(13)
"Distillery" means any establishment where spirituous liquors are manufactured.
(14)
"Distillery pub" means a retail establishment:
(a)
Whose primary purpose is selling and serving food and alcohol beverages for on-premises consumption; and
(b)
That ferments and distills not more than eight hundred seventy-five thousand liters of spirituous liquor on its licensed premises each calendar year.
(14.5)
"Educational class" means a closed event on the premises of a retail liquor store, during which consumers who are twenty-one years of age or older are taught about alcohol beverages that are sold by the retail liquor store, including, but not limited to, the history of the alcohol beverage, food pairings, and serving suggestions.
(15)
"Entertainment district" means an area that:
(a)
Is located within a municipality, a city and county, or the unincorporated area of a county and is designated in accordance with section
44-3-301 (11)(b)
as an entertainment district;
(b)
Comprises no more than one hundred acres; and
(c)
Contains at least twenty thousand square feet of premises that, at the time the district is created, is licensed pursuant to this article 3 as a:
(I)
Tavern;
(II)
Hotel and restaurant;
(III)
Brew pub;
(IV)
Distillery pub;
(V)
Retail gaming tavern;
(VI)
Vintner's restaurant;
(VII)
Beer and wine licensee;
(VIII)
Manufacturer that operates a sales room pursuant to section
44-3-402 (2) or (7)
;
(IX)
Beer wholesaler that operates a sales room pursuant to section
44-3-407 (1)(b)(I)
;
(X)
Limited winery;
(XI)
Entertainment facility licensee;
(XII)
Optional premises; or
(XIII)
Lodging facility licensee.
(15.5)
"Entertainment facility" means an establishment:
(a)
In which the primary business is to provide the public with sports or entertainment activities within its licensed premises; and
(b)
That, incidental to its primary business, sells and serves alcohol beverages at retail for consumption on the licensed premises and has sandwiches and light snacks available for consumption on the licensed premises.
(16)
"Expert taster" means an individual, other than a qualified student or qualified employee, who is at least twenty-one years of age and who is employed in the brewing industry or has demonstrated expertise or experience in brewing.
(17)
"Ferment" or "fermentation" means the chemical process by which sugar is converted into alcohol.
(18)
"Fermented malt beverage" has the same meaning as provided in section
44-4-103 (1)
.
(18.5)
"Fermented malt beverage and wine retailer" means a retailer licensed under article
4
of this title 44 to sell fermented malt beverages and wine, but not spirituous liquors, in original sealed containers for consumption off the licensed premises.
(19)
"Good cause", for the purpose of refusing or denying a license renewal or initial license issuance, means:
(a)
The licensee or applicant has violated, does not meet, or has failed to comply with any of the terms, conditions, or provisions of this article 3 or any rules promulgated pursuant to this article 3;
(b)
The licensee or applicant has failed to comply with any special terms or conditions that were placed on its license in prior disciplinary proceedings or arose in the context of potential disciplinary proceedings;
(c)
In the case of a new license, the applicant has not established the reasonable requirements of the neighborhood or the desires of its adult inhabitants as provided in section
44-3-301 (2)
; or
(d)
Evidence that the licensed premises have been operated in a manner that adversely affects the public health, welfare, or safety of the immediate neighborhood in which the establishment is located, which evidence must include a continuing pattern of fights, violent activity, or disorderly conduct. For purposes of this subsection (19)(d), "disorderly conduct" has the meaning as provided for in section
18-9-106
.
(20)
"Hard cider" means an alcohol beverage containing at least one-half of one percent and less than seven percent alcohol by volume that is made by fermentation of the natural juice of apples or pears, including but not limited to flavored hard cider and hard cider containing not more than 0.392 grams of carbon dioxide per hundred milliliters. For the purpose of simplicity of administration of this article 3, hard cider shall in all respects be treated as a vinous liquor except where expressly provided otherwise.
(21)
"Hotel" means any establishment with sleeping rooms for the accommodation of guests and having restaurant facilities.
(21.5)
"Inflation" mean the annual percentage change in the United States department of labor's bureau of labor statistics consumer price index, or a successor index, for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood for all items paid by urban consumers.
(22)
"Inhabitant", with respect to cities or towns having less than forty thousand population, means an individual who resides in a given neighborhood or community for more than six months each year.
(23)
"License" means a grant to a licensee to manufacture or sell alcohol beverages as provided by this article 3.
(24)
"Licensed premises" means the premises specified in an application for a license under this article 3 that are owned or in possession of the licensee within which the licensee is authorized to sell, dispense, or serve alcohol beverages in accordance with this article 3.
(25)
"Limited winery" means any establishment manufacturing not more than one hundred thousand gallons, or the metric equivalent thereof, of vinous liquors annually within Colorado.
(26)
"Liquor-licensed drugstore" means any drugstore licensed by the state board of pharmacy that has also applied for and has been granted a license by the state licensing authority to sell malt, vinous, and spirituous liquors in original sealed containers for consumption off the premises.
(27)
"Local licensing authority" means the governing body of a municipality or city and county, the board of county commissioners of a county, or any authority designated by municipal or county charter, municipal ordinance, or county resolution.
(28)
"Location" means a particular parcel of land that may be identified by an address or by other descriptive means.
(29)
"Lodging facility" means an establishment:
(a)
In which the primary business is to provide the public with sleeping rooms and meeting facilities; and
(b)
That sells and serves alcohol beverages at retail for consumption on the licensed premises and has sandwiches and light snacks available for consumption on the licensed premises.
(30)
(a)
"Malt liquors" includes beer and means any beverage obtained by the alcoholic fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops, or any other similar product, or any combination thereof, in water containing not less than one-half of one percent alcohol by volume.
(b)
For purposes of licenses described in section
44-3-401 (1)(j) to (1)(p), (1)(s), (1)(t), (1)(v), and (1)(w)
, "malt liquors" includes fermented malt beverages when purchased from a retailer licensed pursuant to section
44-4-104 (1)(c)
.
(31)
"Meal" means a quantity of food of such nature as is ordinarily consumed by an individual at regular intervals for the purpose of sustenance.
(32)
"Medicinal spirituous liquors" means any alcohol beverage, excepting beer and wine, that has been aged in wood for four years and bonded by the United States government and is at least one hundred proof.
(32.5)
"Off-premises retailer" means any retailer licensed under this article 3 or article
4
of this title 44 that is allowed to sell alcohol beverages at retail for consumption off the licensed premises.
(33)
(a)
"Optional premises" means:
(I)
The premises specified in an application for a hotel and restaurant license under this article 3 with related outdoor sports and recreational facilities for the convenience of its guests or the general public located on or adjacent to the hotel or restaurant within which the licensee is authorized to sell or serve alcohol beverages in accordance with this article 3 and at the discretion of the state and local licensing authorities; or
(II)
The premises specified in an application for an optional premises license located on an applicant's outdoor sports and recreational facility.
(b)
For purposes of this subsection (33), "outdoor sports and recreational facility" means a facility that charges a fee for the use of such facility.
(34)
"Package", "packaged", or "packaging" means the process by which wine is bottled, canned, kegged, or otherwise packed into a sealed container.
(35)
"Person" means a natural person, partnership, association, company, corporation, or organization or a manager, agent, servant, officer, or employee thereof.
(36)
"Personal consumer" means an individual who is at least twenty-one years of age, does not hold an alcohol beverage license issued in this state, and intends to use wine purchased under section
44-3-104
for personal consumption only and not for resale or other commercial purposes.
(37)
"Powdered alcohol" means alcohol that is prepared or sold in a powder or crystalline form for either direct use or reconstitution.
(38)
(a)
"Premises" means a distinct and definite location, which may include a building, a part of a building, a room, or any other definite contiguous area.
(b)
Notwithstanding subsection (38)(a) of this section, for a winery, limited winery, distillery, or brewery authorized to manufacture alcohol beverages pursuant to section
44-3-402
or
44-3-403
, the licensed premises may include up to two noncontiguous locations, both of which are used for manufacturing purposes, within a radius of ten miles.
(39)
"Promotional association" means an association that is incorporated within Colorado, organizes and promotes entertainment activities within a common consumption area, and is organized or authorized by two or more people who own or lease property within an entertainment district.
(40)
"Qualified employee" means an individual who:
(a)
Is employed by a state institution of higher education;
(b)
Is engaged in manufacturing and tasting malt liquors for teaching or research purposes; and
(c)
Is at least twenty-one years of age.
(41)
"Qualified student" means a student who:
(a)
Is enrolled in a brewing class or program offered at or by a state institution of higher education; and
(b)
Is at least twenty-one years of age.
(42)
"Racetrack" means any premises where race meets or simulcast races with pari-mutuel wagering are held in accordance with the provisions of article
32
of this title 44.
(43)
"Rectify" means to blend spirituous liquor with neutral spirits or other spirituous liquors of different age.
(44)
"Rectifying plant" means any establishment where spirituous liquors are blended with neutral spirits or other spirituous liquors of different age.
(45)
"Resort complex" means a hotel with at least fifty sleeping rooms and that has related sports and recreational facilities for the convenience of its guests or the general public located contiguous or adjacent to the hotel. For purposes of a resort complex only, "contiguous or adjacent" means within the overall boundaries or scheme of development or regularly accessible from the hotel by its members and guests.
(46)
"Resort hotel" means a hotel, as defined in subsection (21) of this section, with well-defined occupancy seasons.
(47)
"Restaurant" means an establishment, which is not a hotel as defined in subsection (21) of this section, provided with special space, sanitary kitchen and dining room equipment, and persons to prepare, cook, and serve meals, where, in consideration of payment, meals, drinks, tobaccos, and candies are furnished to guests and in which nothing is sold excepting food, drinks, tobaccos, candies, and items of souvenir merchandise depicting the theme of the restaurant or the geographical or historic subjects of the nearby area. Any establishment connected with any business wherein any business is conducted, excepting hotel business, limited gaming conducted pursuant to article
30
of this title 44, or the sale of food, drinks, tobaccos, candies, or such items of souvenir merchandise, is declared not to be a restaurant. Nothing in this subsection (47) shall be construed to prohibit the use in a restaurant of orchestras, singers, floor shows, coin-operated music machines, amusement devices that pay nothing of value and cannot by adjustment be made to pay anything of value, or other forms of entertainment commonly provided in restaurants.
(48)
"Retail liquor store" means an establishment engaged only in the sale of malt, vinous, and spirituous liquors in sealed containers for consumption off the premises and nonalcohol products, but only if the annual gross revenues from the sale of nonalcohol products do not exceed twenty percent of the retail liquor store establishment's total annual gross sales revenues, as determined in accordance with section
44-3-409 (1)(b)
.
(49)
"Sales room" means an area in which a licensed winery, pursuant to section
44-3-402 (2)
; limited winery, pursuant to section
44-3-403 (2)(e)
; distillery, pursuant to section
44-3-402 (7)
; or beer wholesaler, pursuant to section
44-3-407 (1)(b)
, sells and serves alcohol beverages for consumption on the licensed premises, sells alcohol beverages in sealed containers for consumption off the licensed premises, or both.
(50)
"School" means a public, parochial, or nonpublic school that provides a basic academic education in compliance with school attendance laws for students in grades one through twelve. "Basic academic education" has the same meaning as set forth in section
22-33-104 (2)(b)
.
(51)
"Sealed containers" means any container or receptacle used for holding an alcohol beverage, which container or receptacle is corked or sealed with any stub, stopper, or cap.
(52)
"Sell" or "sale" means any of the following: To exchange, barter, or traffic in; to solicit or receive an order for except through a licensee licensed under this article 3 or article 4 or 5 of this title 44; to keep or expose for sale; to serve with meals; to deliver for value or in any way other than gratuitously; to peddle or to possess with intent to sell; to possess or transport in contravention of this article 3; to traffic in for any consideration promised or obtained, directly or indirectly.
(53)
"Sell at wholesale" means selling to any other than the intended consumer of malt, vinous, or spirituous liquors. "Sell at wholesale" shall not be construed to prevent a brewer or wholesale beer dealer from selling malt liquors to the intended consumer, thereof, or to prevent a licensed manufacturer or importer from selling malt, vinous, or spirituous liquors to a licensed wholesaler.
(54)
"Spirituous liquors" means any alcohol beverage obtained by distillation, mixed with water and other substances in solution, and includes among other things brandy, rum, whiskey, gin, powdered alcohol, and every liquid or solid, patented or not, containing at least one-half of one percent alcohol by volume and which is fit for use for beverage purposes. Any liquid or solid containing beer or wine in combination with any other liquor, except as provided in subsections (30) and (59) of this section, shall not be construed to be fermented malt or malt or vinous liquor but shall be construed to be spirituous liquor.
(55)
"State licensing authority" means the executive director or the deputy director of the department if the executive director so designates.
(56)
"Tastings" means the sampling of malt, vinous, or spiritous liquors that may occur on the premises of a retail liquor store licensee or liquor-licensed drugstore licensee by adult patrons of the licensee pursuant to the provisions of section
44-3-301 (10)
.
(57)
"Tavern" means an establishment serving alcohol beverages in which the principal business is the sale of alcohol beverages at retail for consumption on the premises and where sandwiches and light snacks are available for consumption on the premises.
(58)
"Tax-paid wine" means vinous liquors on which federal excise taxes have been paid.
(59)
(a)
"Vinous liquors" means wine and fortified wines that:
(I)
Contain not less than one-half of one percent and not more than twenty-one percent alcohol by volume; and
(II)
Are produced by the fermentation of the natural sugar contents of fruits or other agricultural products containing sugar.
(b)
For the purpose of simplifying the administration of this article 3, sake is deemed a vinous liquor.
(60)
"Vintner's restaurant" means a retail establishment that sells food for consumption on the premises and that manufactures not more than nine hundred twenty-five thousand gallons of wine on its premises or licensed alternating proprietor licensed premises, combined, each calendar year.
(60.5)
"Wine" means vinous liquors.
(61)
"Winery" means any establishment where vinous liquors are manufactured; except that the term does not include a vintner's restaurant licensed pursuant to section
44-3-422
.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 205,§ 1, eff. 8/7/2024.
Amended by 2022 Ballot Proposition 125, passed by voters in 11/8/2020 election, effective 3/1/2023.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 479, § 1, eff. 9/7/2021.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 165, § 1, eff. 9/7/2021.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 290, § 2, eff. 6/22/2021.
Amended by 2020 Ch. 15, § 1, eff. 9/14/2020.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 207, § 1, eff. 8/2/2019.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 1, § 4, eff. 1/31/2019.
Renumbered from C.R.S. § 12-47-103 and amended by 2018 Ch. 152, § 2, eff. 10/1/2018.
Amended by 2018 Ch. 26, § 6, eff. 10/1/2018.
Amended by 2018 Ch. 120, § 1, eff. 8/8/2018.
Amended by 2017 Ch. 333, § 1, eff. 8/9/2017.
Amended by 2017 Ch. 152, § 1, eff. 8/9/2017.
Amended by 2016 Ch. 312, § 1, eff. 8/10/2016.
Amended by 2016 Ch. 30, § 2, eff. 8/10/2016.
Amended by 2016 Ch. 365, § 6, eff. 7/1/2016 for subsection (31) and 1/1/2019 for subsection (19).
Amended by 2015 Ch. 194, § 1, eff. 8/5/2015.
Amended by 2015 Ch. 51, § 1, eff. 8/5/2015.
Amended by 2015 Ch. 121, § 2, eff. 4/24/2015.
Amended by 2015 Ch. 62, § 1, eff. 3/30/2015.
Amended by 2014 Ch. 148, § 1, eff. 5/9/2014.
Amended by 2013 Ch. 175, § 2, eff. 5/10/2013.
L. 2018: (59) amended, (SB 18-079), ch. 822, p. 822, § 1, effective August 8; (42) amended, (HB 18 -1024), ch. 321, p. 321, § 6, effective October 1; entire article added with relocations, (HB 18-1025), ch. 951, p. 951, § 2, effective October 1. L. 2019: (3), (5), (6), (30), and (40)(b) amended, (SB 19 -011), ch. 5, p. 5, § 4, effective January 31; (15)(a), (15)(c)(X), and (15)(c)(XI) amended and (15)(x)(XII) added, (SB 19-141), ch. 2204, p. 2204, § 1, effective August 2. L. 2020: (3) and (60) amended, (HB 20 -1055), ch. 67, p. 67, § 1, effective September 14. L. 2021: (11.5) added, (HB 21-1027), ch. 1714, p. 1714, § 2, effective June 22; (14)(b) and (60) amended, (SB 21-270), ch. 3422, p. 3422, § 1, effective September 7; (38) amended, (HB 21-1044), ch. 925, p. 925, § 1, effective September 7.
(1) This section is similar to former § 12-47-103 as it existed prior to 2018.
(2) (a) Subsection (42) of this section was numbered as § 12-47-103(25) in HB 18-1024. That provision was harmonized with and relocated to this section as this section appears in HB 18-1025.
(b) Subsection (59) of this section was numbered as § 12-47-103(39) in SB 18-079. That provision was harmonized with and relocated to this section as this section appears in HB 18-1025.
2024 Ch. 205, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.