States with the most TTB distillery permits
U.S. states ranked by active Distilled Spirits Plant (DSP) Basic Permits in the TTB List of Permittees.
Research period: · data vintage
Class ranking in one line
California leads with 572 of 5,670 active distilled spirits plants in the TTB registry (10.1% of the national class); New York is second at 347.
- 572
- distilled spirits plants in California
- 5,670
- U.S. distilled spirits plants total
- 15
- states shown
- August 2026
- TTB extract vintage
Source: TTB List of Permittees, August 2026. Registry counts only, not production volume or consumption.
How this ranking is built
Live query on states ordered by distillery_count (top 15). Source: TTB List of Permittees, August 2026 extract - distilled spirits plants only.
DSP permits cover spirits production, bottling, and bonded warehousing. Full methodology.
Top states by distillery permit count
Bar length = active TTB Basic Permits in this class
The ranked top 15
Figures refresh when the TTB extract is rebuilt. Click a state for its full permit mix.
| # | State | distilled spirits plants | All permits | Share of class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 572 | 21,002 | 10.1% |
| 2 | New York | 347 | 5,887 | 6.1% |
| 3 | Texas | 332 | 5,153 | 5.9% |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | 327 | 2,450 | 5.8% |
| 5 | Michigan | 318 | 1,881 | 5.6% |
| 6 | Washington | 239 | 4,139 | 4.2% |
| 7 | Kentucky | 206 | 946 | 3.6% |
| 8 | Florida | 203 | 5,936 | 3.6% |
| 9 | North Carolina | 186 | 1,913 | 3.3% |
| 10 | Ohio | 179 | 1,680 | 3.2% |
| 11 | Colorado | 175 | 1,710 | 3.1% |
| 12 | Virginia | 158 | 2,025 | 2.8% |
| 13 | Oregon | 156 | 2,963 | 2.8% |
| 14 | Georgia | 148 | 1,503 | 2.6% |
| 15 | Tennessee | 144 | 862 | 2.5% |
Reading a DSP state concentration map
California holds 572 Distilled Spirits Plant permits (10.1% of 5,670 nationally), with New York at 347. DSP permits cover production, bottling, and bonded warehousing of spirits.
Distilleries are the smallest of the four published classes (5,670 permits vs 84,273 total), so a few states can dominate the class share even when they are mid-pack on all-class totals.
These counts reflect active FAA Basic Permits in the TTB List of Permittees for the distillery class only. A permit means the holder has met federal eligibility for that class; it does not indicate production volume, revenue, market share, or whether the business is currently operating. Breweries are out of scope (Brewer's Notice under IRC §6103 is not in this public registry). This ranking is by absolute count and is not population-adjusted. Registry voice only, not consumption, retail, or opening-advice guidance.
Same states, total federal alcohol permits
Bar length = winery + distillery + importer + wholesaler permits
Sources
- Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) - List of Permittees, August 2026 extract - https://www.ttb.gov/foia/frl
- PlainAlcohol TTB permit database rebuild methodology - plainalcohol.com/methodology