Illinois: what DISTRYB enforces

This page describes the rules DISTRYB applies in Illinois and the source each one rests on. It is not legal advice and not a statement of the law — it is a record of how this platform behaves and why, so you can check our reasoning and tell us when we are wrong.

Every claim below carries its citation and the date a person last read that source. If one looks out of date or wrong, that is worth telling us — the rules here decide what the product lets you do.

Samples & tastings — You cannot do this

A distributor may not give a retailer free product. Illinois has no sample exception, and the federal one does not cover you here.

What DISTRYB does:

• A line discount is capped at the product’s cost, so an order can never be written to zero.
• There is no “no-charge” or “sample” line type on an order or invoice.

Why:

• 235 ILCS 5/6-5 makes it unlawful for a distributor to “give or lend money or anything of value” to a retail licensee. The word “sample” does not appear in 6-5 or in 6-6.
• The exceptions 6-5 does carry are 30-day merchandising credit, promotional material for GOVERNMENT-owned venues, and tap handles, kegs and barrels under a written deposit.
• 27 CFR 6.91 permits a federal sample — 3 litres of spirits to a retailer who has not bought the brand from you in 12 months — but it is a safe harbour from FEDERAL inducement liability only. It does not authorise an act Illinois separately prohibits.

Source: [235 ILCS 5/6-5 (cf. 27 CFR 6.91)](https://ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/FullText?DocName=023500050K6-5) — verified 2026-10-21.

Samples & tastings — You can do this

You may run a tasting at the retailer’s licensed premises — either supplying the product and taking the remainder back, or reimbursing the retailer at their original cost.

What DISTRYB does:

• A tasting is recorded as a non-sale movement, not an order line.
• Where you supplied the product, the return of the remainder is a required step.
• A reimbursement is capped at what the retailer actually paid you for it.

Why:

• 11 IAC 100.285(f): if you SUPPLY the product, “the product remaining after the tasting or sampling must be returned”. Title never passes, which is what keeps it clear of 6-5.
• 11 IAC 100.285(f): if the retailer ALREADY BOUGHT it, you “may pay for the product at the retailer’s original cost” — at their cost, not above it.
• 11 IAC 100.285(b): only products registered with the Commission may be tasted.
• 11 IAC 100.285(c): pours are ¼ oz spirits, 1 oz wine, 2 oz beer, at no charge to the consumer.
• 11 IAC 100.285(d): licensed premises only.
• 11 IAC 100.280(c) exempts tasting and test marketing from the general ban on giving liquor away.

Source: [11 Ill. Adm. Code 100.285(b)–(f), 100.280(c)](https://ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/011/011001000002850R.html) — verified 2026-10-21.

Brokers — It depends

An independent broker needs an Illinois Broker’s licence. A distributor’s own employee does not.

What DISTRYB does:

• A licence-required state cannot be assigned to an unlicensed broker at the partnership gate.
• A licence must carry a NUMBER — an address or a surety bond does not satisfy it.

Why:

• 235 ILCS 5/5-1(l) exempts “distributors, employees of distributors, or employees of a manufacturer who has registered the trademark under § 6-9 and sells only to its registrants”.
• Brokering without a required licence is a Class 4 felony under 235 ILCS 5/10-1.

Source: [235 ILCS 5/5-1(l); penalty 235 ILCS 5/10-1](https://ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/FullText?DocName=023500050K5-1) — verified 2026-10-21.

Brokers — Not settled

Whether a licensed broker may personally run a tasting is not settled by the rules as written.

What DISTRYB does:

• We do not offer “run a tasting” on the broker’s own screens while this is open.

Why:

• 11 IAC 100.285(b) lists who may conduct one: manufacturer, non-resident dealer, foreign importer, importing distributor, distributor or retailer — or a NON-LICENSEE who registers under 100.40. A broker is in neither bucket cleanly.
• 11 IAC 100.40(a): “A registered tasting representative acts as the agent of the licensee” — which is the mechanism, and it is written for non-licensees.
• 100.40(b) registration names the licensee represented, so it is per-principal: a broker registered for one distributor is not thereby registered for another. It costs $100 a year, must be completed at least 14 days before the first tasting, and a filing inside that window is assessed a $25 late fee.
• 100.40(c): the registration identification, or a copy, must be available for inspection during the tasting itself.
• 100.40(d): a registrant must meet the licence eligibility requirements of 235 ILCS 5/6-2 — so registering as a representative is not a way around a disqualification.
• Agency runs both ways. If a broker leaves product behind, that is the DISTRIBUTOR’s 6-5 problem, committed through its agent.

Source: [11 Ill. Adm. Code 100.285(b), 100.40(a)–(d)](https://ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/011/011001000000400R.html) — verified 2026-10-21.

If we have this wrong

Tell us. These rules gate real orders, so a mistake here costs you business or exposes you to a regulator. Point at the section and the source and we will re-check it.