At the federal level, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) draws a bright line between marijuana/THC and narrowly defined hemp seed ingredients. The result: spirits with THC (or CBD) are barred from approval, while whiskeys flavored with lawful hemp seed components may be approved—if they meet strict formulation and labeling rules.
Start with the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). TTB will not approve any alcohol-beverage formulas or labels that contain a controlled substance, “including marijuana.” In its official FAQ, TTB explains that substances such as tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) and cannabidiols (CBD) derived from parts of the cannabis plant that are not excluded from the CSA’s definition of marijuana remain controlled, regardless of permissive state law.
The 2018 Farm Bill created a narrow exception by defining “hemp” as cannabis with no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis and by excluding hemp from the CSA definition of marijuana. But that change did not legalize THC or CBD in alcohol; it simply opened the door for specific hemp seed ingredients (e.g., sterilized hemp seeds and hemp seed oil) that are outside the CSA’s marijuana definition.
Even for those hemp seed ingredients, TTB requires formula approval and lab analyses to confirm the ingredient is not a controlled substance. TTB’s Industry Circular 2019-1 states that it will continue to process formulas for alcoholic beverages containing hemp seed ingredients but will return for correction any formula using other hemp-derived ingredients (like CBD) absent a favorable FDA determination. In evaluating legality, TTB consults the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regarding the CSA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
The FDA’s position is central to why THC (and CBD) are not allowed in spirits. The FDA has repeatedly said it is unlawful under section 301(ll) of the FD&C Act to introduce into interstate commerce any food to which THC or CBD has been added. TTB defers to FDA on ingredient safety and compliance; therefore, an alcohol product that adds THC or CBD cannot obtain TTB formula approval. By contrast, the FDA notes that certain hemp seed ingredients (which naturally do not contain THC or CBD) may fall outside section 301(ll) and can be used in foods—subject to all usual safety laws. That alignment enables “hemp seed whiskey” but bars “THC whiskey.”
Labeling and marketing rules reinforce the divide. TTB’s FAQ instructs that labels for alcohol products containing a hemp ingredient must “accurately and specifically identify the ingredient” in a way that makes clear it is not a controlled substance—e.g., “hemp seed oil,” not a vague “hemp oil”—and must not create the misleading impression that the product contains a controlled substance or has marijuana-like effects. Thus, even compliant hemp seed whiskeys cannot imply intoxication from cannabis compounds.
Finally, TTB’s hemp policy—originally issued by its predecessor and still referenced—adds practical guardrails: approved formulas are typically conditioned on documentation that hemp components are lawful (including import qualifications) and free of controlled substances. These requirements sit alongside the standard TTB regime of formula approval and label (COLA) approval for distilled spirits.
In short, spirits with THC (or CBD) cannot be approved because they would violate both the CSA (as interpreted with DEA input) and FDA’s section 301(ll) prohibition on adding THC/CBD to food—constraints TTB is bound to apply. But a whiskey flavored with hemp seed ingredients that contain no THC or CBD, supported by lab verification and compliant labeling, can pass federal muster.