How the NC ABC bourbon lottery actually works.
There's no single statewide lottery. Every NC ABC board runs its own, on its own schedule, with its own rules. Some hand out raffle tickets in person; others run an online form. Here's what we actually know about specific boards, and how to find out about the rest before they close.
Rules vary by board. Timing doesn't wait for you to find out.
How specific boards run their lottery
We're building this out board by board as we confirm the details directly. Five are documented below. If you know how another board runs theirs, let us know and we'll add it.
Concord ABC
Concord ABC runs a raffle-style lottery. Tickets are handed out at an in-person event, and patrons are let into the store 10 at a time rather than all at once. The event is announced on the board's own website, and NC Bourbon Insider Pro members get an alert the moment we detect the announcement.
Wake County ABC
Wake County ABC runs its lottery as an annual event, historically around the holiday season, through an online entry form. Entrants rank the available allocated products in order of preference rather than picking just one. A few rules worth knowing before you enter:
- You must be 21 or older, and a Wake County resident or live in an immediately adjoining community. If your own local board already runs a lottery, you're not eligible for Wake County's.
- One entry per person. Duplicate entries are discarded.
- After entries close, a computerized draw places everyone in random order, with no manual selection involved.
- Winners are notified by email or phone once their highest-ranked available product is ready, and must personally come in to purchase it. A valid NC driver's license may be required at purchase, and no one else, not a friend, relative, or spouse, can buy on a winner's behalf.
Exact dates and product lists change year to year. Check Wake County ABC's own lottery page for the current entry window.
Asheville ABC
Asheville ABC runs its lottery in the winter. Entry starts in person: you have to pick up a physical ticket from the board's main office. The actual drawing then happens online, so getting the ticket in hand is the part you can't do remotely, even though the draw itself is.
Weaverville ABC
Weaverville ABC hands out tickets the morning of the drawing, in person, no advance sign-up. Once you have a ticket, you wait on site to see whether yours gets drawn. There's no separate application window to watch for here, just the morning-of event itself.
Mecklenburg County ABC
Mecklenburg County ABC runs its lottery as part of Barrelpalooza, an in-person event held about twice a year. Everyone in attendance gets a ticket, and the first 100 tickets drawn are granted priority entry to buy. Showing up to the event is the entry itself, there's no separate application to submit ahead of time. See all 31 Mecklenburg store locations and hours.
Why lotteries cluster in winter
Most of the bottles worth entering a lottery for, the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, Pappy Van Winkle, and similar annual releases, come from distilleries that ship their allocated batches once a year, typically in the fall and winter. NC ABC boards time their lotteries to that supply, so if you're watching for a specific bottle, the months around the holidays are when to pay closest attention.
That doesn't mean nothing happens the rest of the year. Individual boards can and do run smaller, one-off lotteries or raffles tied to whatever they receive, on their own schedule.
Never miss a lottery window
Entry windows can close in days. NC Bourbon Insider Pro members get an instant email and text alert the moment a board posts a lottery, drop, or raffle, across 36 NC ABC boards.
Get Lottery AlertsNC ABC bourbon lottery questions
How do I enter the NC ABC bourbon lottery?
It depends on the board. Some run an in-person raffle where tickets are handed out on the day, others run an online form. There's no single statewide process, so check the specific board you're hunting.
Which boards run a lottery?
Individual boards run their own, on their own schedules, including Concord ABC, Wake County ABC, Asheville ABC, Weaverville ABC, and Mecklenburg County ABC. We're adding more as we confirm the details.
How do I find out when one opens?
NC Bourbon Insider Pro members get an instant alert the moment a board posts a lottery, so you don't have to check every board's Facebook page yourself.
Pick the access level for your NC bourbon hunt.
Pro
Everything in Standard, plus instant drop and lottery alerts for 36 boards, Bottle Hunter, and the community sighting network.
- Full distribution dashboard
- Save favorite boards & products
- Board timelines for your watched bottles
- Instant email and text drop and lottery alerts for 36 NC ABC boards
- Bottle Hunter: location-based hunts across any NC ABC board
- Favorites Finder: predictive shelf scores for any board & bottle
- Sighting Alerts: get notified when members spot your bottles
Standard
Live distribution dashboard plus saved boards so you can see when your favorite stores get your favorite bottles.
- Full distribution dashboard
- Save favorite boards & products
- Board timelines for your watched bottles
- Instant email and text drop and lottery alerts for 36 NC ABC boards
- Bottle Hunter: location-based hunts across any NC ABC board
- Favorites Finder: predictive shelf scores for any board & bottle
- Sighting Alerts: get notified when members spot your bottles