Last week, the The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) handed down its blockbuster ruling on retail category management and tied-house laws. Our basic assessment of the ruling is that providing retailers with a recommended shelf plan is the only exception to the tied house rule that states suppliers and distributors cannot legally provide things of value to a retailer. However, in reviewing the current marketplace, the TTB determined that there are an unspecified number of industry members abusing that exception [see WSD 02-11-2016].