Del. Code tit. 4, § 101 Definitions [Effective until Oct. 21, 2026].
As used in this title, in addition to their usual meaning:
(1) “Alcohol” means ethyl alcohol produced by the distillation of any fermented liquid, whether rectified or diluted with water or not, whatever may be the origin thereof, and includes synthetic ethyl alcohol, but it does not mean ethyl alcohol, diluted or not, that has been denatured or otherwise rendered unfit for beverage purposes.
(2) “Alcoholic liquor” or “alcoholic liquors” include the 5 varieties of liquor defined in this section (alcohol, spirits, wine, beer and alcoholic cider) as well as every liquid or solid, patented or not, containing alcohol, spirits, wine, beer or alcoholic cider and capable of being consumed by a human being, and any liquid or solid containing more than 1 of the 5 varieties defined in this section is considered as belonging to that variety which usually has the higher percentage of alcohol. “Alcoholic liquor” or “alcoholic liquors” does not include a powdered alcoholic beverage. Notwithstanding any other definition in this chapter, “alcoholic liquor” does not include solids and confections that contain 2% or less alcohol by weight, so long as the package which contains the product or any menu or other medium noticing the product for sale, if the product contains between ½ of 1% alcohol by volume and 2% alcohol by weight, is labeled with the word “alcoholic,” the phrase “contains alcohol,” or some other indication that the product contains alcohol.
(3) “Appeals Commission” shall mean 3 persons, 1 from each County, appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of a majority of the Senate.
(4) “Barrel”, when used as a container for beer, means such container having a capacity of 31 United States standard gallons of 231 cubic inches.
(5) “Beer” means any beverage containing more than 1 / 2 of 1% of ethyl alcohol by volume, obtained by the alcoholic fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley malt and hops in water and includes, among other things, ale, porter, stout and other malt or brewed liquors.
(6) “Beer garden” means a defined, outdoor establishment not less than 10,000 contiguous square feet, which is open to the public for at least 5 consecutive months. A beer garden may sell beer, wine, and spirits by the glass or beer by the bottle, for consumption on any portion of the licensed premises. The sale of food is not required forlicensure. The boundaries of a beer garden must be enclosed with a barrier no less than 42 inches high from the floor elevation, constructed of wood, concrete, plastic, rope, or wrought iron fencing, or other approved material. A beer garden must have a physical structure, which may be permanent or removable, and must be substantial. A “substantial physical structure” shall mean equipment and structures costing no less than $250,000 at the time of acquisition. A beer garden license may not be used by an existing liquor license holder to expand the size or nature of the licensed establishment.
(7) “Bottle” means any vessel that is corked, capped or stopped or arranged so to be and intended to contain or to convey liquids.
(8) “Bottle club” means an establishment operated for profit or pecuniary gain where customers of the establishment enter on the premises for the purpose of consuming alcoholic liquors that are brought onto the premises by the customers, consumed on the premises by the customers, and removed by the customers when the customers depart.
(9) “Cabaret” means an establishment where patrons are entertained by performers who dance, sing, play instruments, or perform other legal acts for entertainment, where such entertainment may be performed during or after service or dinner, and where a minor, as defined in § 708 of this title, is to be denied admission to or permission to remain on premises after 11:00 p.m. (official eastern time) unless accompanied by a parent or by a legal guardian. “Cabaret” includes a dinner theater.
(10) “Caterer” means any proprietorship, partnership or corporation engaged in the business of providing food and beverages at social gatherings such as weddings, dinners, benefits, banquets or other similar events for consideration on a regular basis and duly licensed by the State as caterers with at least 60% of its gross receipts resulting from the sale of food.
(11) Without regard to its usual meaning, and by way of limitation, “alcoholic cider” means any fermented beverage made from apples, containing more than 1 / 2 of 1% but not more than 7% of ethyl alcohol by volume. For purposes of this title, alcoholic cider shall be treated as within the definition of “wine” unless the specific language of a particular section indicates a contrary intent.
(12) “Club” means a corporation or association created by competent authority, which is the owner, lessee or occupant of premises operated solely for objects of national, social, patriotic, political or athletic nature, or the like, whether or not for pecuniary gain, and the property as well as the advantages of which belong to or are enjoyed by the stockholders or by the members of such corporation or association. A public golf course, open to all members of the public, whether privately or publicly owned, whose primary purpose is the operation of a golf course shall be included within meanings of this definition. Members of the public, utilizing the golf facility, shall be considered guests of the club.
(13) “Commissioner” means the person appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate who serves as the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner for the State.
(14) “Concert hall” means an indoor facility used to host live entertainment that is owned, leased, under easement, and/or operated by any person and that has capacity for at least 500 patrons for any single event. In order for a facility to be licensed as a concert hall, the facility must, host a minimum of 200 live music events in any biennial licensing period. A facility meeting this definition may license the entire building, including patio, with the concert hall license.
(15) “Cooking wine” means a wine that is no more than 20% alcohol by volume and includes no less than 1.5% salt that is intended for cooking and not for beverage consumption.
(16) “Denatured alcohol” means ethyl alcohol or liquors containing ethyl alcohol to which substances or ingredients have been added to render the ethyl alcohol or liquors unfit for beverage purposes.
(17) “Distillery”, “winery” and “brewery” mean not only the premises whereon alcohol or spirits is distilled or rectified, wine is fermented or beer is brewed, but, in addition, the person owning, representing or in charge of such premises and the operations conducted thereon, including the blending and bottling or other handling and preparation of alcoholic liquor in any form.
(18) “Division” means “Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement.”
(19) “Establishment” means any place located physically in this State where alcoholic liquor of 1 or more varieties is stored, sold or used by authority of any law of this State, including a hotel, restaurant, tavern, beer garden, or club as defined in this section, or where alcoholic liquor of 1 or more varieties is manufactured by virtue of any law of this State.
(20) “Fermented beverage” means any product similar to beer, including sake and seltzer, containing ½ of 1% or more of alcohol by volume, brewed from substitutes for malt, including rice, grain, bran, glucose, sugar and molasses.
(21) “Gathering of persons” or “gathering” means a banquet, picnic, bazaar, fair, or similar private gathering or similar public gathering that is all of the following:
a. Organized and hosted by an Internal Revenue Service-recognized 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or a similar organization serving the public good, such as churches, colleges and universities, volunteer fire companies, political parties, or other similar nonprofit groups having a common civic, social, educational, or religious purpose.
b. Where food or drink are sold, served, or dispensed or where entrance tickets are sold or entrance fees are required by the nonprofit organization.
(22) “Hotel” means any establishment, provided with special space and accommodation, where, in consideration of payment, food and lodging are habitually furnished to travelers.
(23) “Import” means the transporting or ordering or arranging for the transportation or shipment of alcoholic liquor into the State whether by a resident of the State or otherwise.
(24) a. “Importer,” “distributor,” or “wholesaler” means a person, whether the person is a resident of this State or not, transporting alcoholic liquors, or ordering, authorizing, or arranging the transportation or shipment of alcoholic liquors, into this State, the person being permitted to sell the alcoholic liquors only to those persons licensed to resell alcoholic liquors.
b. Nothing contained in this definition may be construed as prohibiting an importer from selling the alcoholic liquors to an active owner of that importer for that owner’s use and not for resale or to a full-time, bona fide employee of that importer for that employee’s use and not for resale.
c. Nothing contained in this definition may be construed as prohibiting an importer from selling beer in “half-barrel,” “quarter barrel,” or “sixtel” containers to the holders of a license to resell alcoholic liquors.
d. The Commissioner may enact rules regulating the sale of alcoholic liquor to active owners and employees of licensed importers as the Commissioner deems necessary.
(25) “License” means any license or permit to manufacture, to sell, to purchase, to transport, to import or to possess alcoholic liquor authorized or issued by the Commissioner under the provisions of Chapter 5 of this title.
(26) “Manufacture” means distill, rectify, ferment, brew, make, mix, concoct or process any substance or substances capable of producing a beverage containing more than 1 / 2 of 1% of alcohol by volume and includes blending, bottling or other preparation for sale.
(27) “Manufacturer” means any person engaged in the manufacture of any alcoholic liquor and among others includes a distiller, a rectifier, a wine maker, a brewer, and includes a bottler or one who prepares alcoholic liquor for sale.
(28) “Mead” means an alcoholic beverage that is naturally fermented (not distilled or frozen) wherein the major source of fermentable sugars comes from honey.
(29) “Member of a club” means an individual who, whether as a charter member or admitted in accordance with the rules or the bylaws of the club, has become a member thereof, who maintains membership by the payment of dues in the manner established by the rules or bylaws, and whose name and address is entered on the list of members supplied to the Commissioner at the time of the application for a license under Chapter 5 of this title, or, if admitted thereafter, within 8 days after admission and payment of dues, if such dues are required. The Commissioner is authorized to extend the meaning of the words “member of a club” to include those who are granted temporary membership or membership of less than 1 year in accordance with a rule or bylaw of the club approved by the Commissioner. “Member of a club” which is a multiple activity club means a person who, pursuant to the charter, bylaws or rules of the club, is a member in good standing of such club, and whose name and address is supplied in writing to the Commissioner by the club within 8 days after admission to membership, or who holds a temporary membership in such club, pursuant to a charter provision, or bylaw or rule approved by the Commissioner.
(30) “Motorsports speedway” shall mean a motorsports speedway (including any contiguous land when being used in connection with its events) that is owned, leased, under easement, and/or operated by any person and having a seating capacity of at least 5,000 seats. A motorsports speedway may operate under its own license while using the premises of a license holder at a horse racetrack, but only to the extent that neither license holder uses the same portion of the premises at the same time and no commingling of inventory occurs. The converse of this shall also apply to a license holder at a horse racetrack using the premises of a motorsports speedway.
(31) “Movie theater” shall mean an indoor facility used to host showings of motion pictures and that has a capacity of at least 500 patrons for any single movie showing or for showing of multiple movies in separate theaters at the same time. In order for a facility to be licensed as a movie theater, the facility shall host a minimum of 250 movie showings in any calendar year and shall be open at least 5 days a week.
(32) “Multiple activity club” is a club as to which, in the determination of the Commissioner, the service of spirits, wine or beer is not the principal activity in the premises of the club as established by the following:
a. Gross revenue of the club from the sale of spirits, wine and beer does not exceed 40% of its total annual revenue including dues, fees and assessments, and either
b. Meals are served by the club at regular hours on at least 6 days of the week,
c. The club has a physical facility, regularly used by members of the club, which is devoted primarily to activities other than the sale or consumption of spirits, wine or beer, or
d. A public golf course, as defined in paragraph (12) of this section, may be licensed as a multiple activity club, however, is not subject to the requirements as set forth in paragraph (33)c. of this section.
(33) “Multi-purpose sports facility” shall mean a stadium, featuring sporting events where admission fees are charged to the public and having a seating capacity of at least 2,500 seats, and excludes stadia which are operated and maintained by educational institutions, including, but not limited to, high schools, colleges or universities.
(34) “Off-site caterer” means any proprietorship, partnership or corporation engaged in the business of providing food and beverages at social gatherings, such as weddings, dinners, benefits, banquets or other similar events, that are held off the site of the caterer’s business for consideration and on a regular basis. An off-site caterer must be duly licensed by the State under Title 30 as a caterer, with at least 60% of its gross receipts resulting from the sale of food.
(35) “Package store” or “store” means an establishment whose principal business is the sale of alcoholic liquors for consumption off the establishment’s premises. “Package store” or “store” does not include a grocery store, convenience store, drug store, hotel, restaurant, club, delicatessen, tobacco retailer, or cigar store.
(36) “Person” includes an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a club or any other association of individuals.
(37) “Powdered alcoholic beverage” means any powders or crystals that, after being mixed with sugar, water, or any other nonalcoholic materials, ferments or otherwise becomes a wine, beer, or other alcoholic beverage.
(38) “Preparation” means any medicine (patented or proprietary); any mixture containing drugs or mineral substances; any perfume, lotion, tincture, varnish, dressing, fluid extract or essence, vinegar, cream, ointment or salve; any distillate or decoction, whether or not containing other substances in solution or suspension, that contains ethyl alcohol or any alcoholic liquor to any amount exceeding 1 / 2 of 1% by volume.
(39) “Residence” means the place occupied by a person as a domicile or otherwise, either permanently or temporarily, and includes not only the premises occupied, but also every annex or dependency thereof held under the same title as the premises occupied.
(40) “Restaurant” means any establishment that is regularly used and kept open principally for the purpose of serving complete meals to persons for consideration, which has seating for 12 or more persons at tables and suitable kitchen facilities connected to the establishment for cooking an assortment of foods for complete meals under the charge of a chef or cook.
(41) “Sale” means every act of selling as defined in this section.
(42) “Sell” means: solicit or receive an order for; keep or expose for sale; deliver for value or in any other way than purely gratuitously; keep with intent to sell; keep or transport in contravention of this title; traffic in; or for any valuable consideration, promised or obtained, directly or indirectly, or under any pretext or by any means whatsoever, procure or allow to be procured for any other person, to carry alcoholic liquors on one’s person or to transport with one and with intent to sell the same, but not in any establishment where the sale thereof is allowed.
(43) “Special event venue” means an establishment that holds public or private gatherings of more than 250 persons, including festival, convention, rally, art festival, music event, or other similar open-air event, where food or drink are sold, served, or dispensed and which requires an entrance ticket or fee to attend.
(44) “Spirits” means any beverage containing more than 1 / 2 of 1% of ethyl alcohol by volume mixed with water and other substances in solution, and includes, among other things, brandy, rum, whiskey and gin.
(45) “Spirits, wine and beer tasting” means the consumption of spirits, wine and beer for the purpose of sampling for prospective purchase only. The quantity of any individual spirit, wine and beer sampled is not to exceed 1 ounce for wine and beer and 1 / 2 ounce for spirits.
(46) “Supplier” means an out-of-state manufacturer licensed by the federal government, or an entity licensed by the federal government as an importer, that acts as an agent of a manufacturer by facilitating sales between the manufacturer and a Delaware-licensed importer.
(47) “Taproom” means an establishment provided with special space and accommodations and operated primarily for the sale by the glass and for consumption on the premises of alcoholic liquors with the sale of food as a secondary object as distinguished from a restaurant where the sale of food is the primary object.
(48) “Tavern” means any establishment with special space and accommodation for sale of beer and wine as defined in this section to be sold to each customer in single servings.
(49) “Temporary large event” means a public or private gathering of more than 1,000 people where food or drink are sold, served or dispensed and which requires an entrance ticket or entrance fee to attend, including but not limited to a: music festival; car show; auction; convention or rally.
(50) “Temporary large event promoter” means the person arranging or promoting the temporary large event.
(51) “Third-party delivery service” means a company, organization, or entity that is outside of the operation of an establishment’s business and acts as an intermediary to provide food-delivery services to customers.
(52) “Traveler” means an individual guest or customer of a hotel, restaurant or tavern.
(53) “Vehicle” means any means of transportation by land, by water or by air, and includes everything made use of in any way whatsoever for such transportation.
(54) “Whoever”, when used in reference to any offender under this title, includes every person who acts individually or by permission or agreement for any other person, and includes also such other person.
(55) “Wine” means any beverage containing more than 1 / 2 of 1% ethyl alcohol by volume obtained by the fermentation of the natural contents of fruits, vegetables or other products and other vinous liquors, and also includes such beverages when fortified by the addition of alcohol or spirits as defined in this section.