Booze-infused frozen treats may soon be sold in NJ
By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... An Assembly committee advanced legislation Monday [06/15/2026] that would make it possible to buy frozen desserts infused with alcohol in New Jersey.
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The bill, sponsored by Assembly members Roy Freiman and Heather Simmons, cleared the Assembly Oversight, Reform and federal Relations Committee after a hearing on Monday, June 15,[2026] with a vote 4-1.
..... This legislation would slow for frozen desserts with distilled alcohol, beer, wine, cider or mead with alcohol content of up to 5% to be made, sold and distributed in New Jersey.
..... Amendments announced during the hearing prohibit deceptive marketing of alcoholic frozen desserts and packaging that would in any way appeal to children. Language dictates that the products must be displayed separately from nonalcoholic frozen desserts.
.... The New Jersey Licensed Beverage Association was opposed to the bill, and the New Jersey Wine & spirits wholesalers Association support the amendments.
..... Jeff Warsh spoke on behalf of both organization, explaining that the Licensed Beverage Association represents bar owners across the Garden sate.
..... "A5013 allows the sale of ice cream and other frozen desserts infused with certain alcoholic beverages. We've allowed that in New Jersey by stature for a long time," Warsh said. "What this bill does is hat you can now do this without all license, so this would be the one way you can have alcohol, store alcohol, sell alcohol, market it, et cetera, without any liquor license whatsoever."
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Under the bill, "frozen desserts" would be ice cream, frozen custard, French ice cream, French custard ice cream, sherbet, fruit sherbet, ice milk, ice water ice, quiescently frozen confection, quiescently frozen dairy confection, whipped cream confection, bisque tortoni, artificially sweetened ice cream, artificially sweetened ice milk, special frozen dietary foods or mellorine froze desserts.
..... Desserts with between 0.5% and 5% alcohol content would be sold in a sealed package received from the manufacturer or distributor. That packaging would have to include traditional warning statements about the sale of alcoholic beverages.
..... Customers would have to be at least 21 to buy the desserts, and violations would be a disorderly persons offense, which is punishable by a team of imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
..... The bill was first introduced last month, [05/2026] Comparable legislation was introduced by state Santor Andrew Zwicker in the upper chamber. it hasn't been heard in committee yet.
..... Zwicker said the bill was not scheduled in committee in the state Senate yet because he wanted to "review concerns hat came out of committee" in the Assembly.
.... Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com