: State Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) agents have conducted undercover operations, ordering bottles of rum and bourbon to their own offices to build cases and issue cease-and-desist letters to online retailers.

Because North Carolina law strictly prohibits the shipment of spirits from out-of-state directly to consumers, a thriving "underground" market exists. Shoppers frustrated by empty shelves or a lack of rare bottles often turn to out-of-state websites like or Caskers .

: While the state primarily targets retailers rather than individual buyers, residents who receive these illegal shipments are technically violating state law. Modernizing the System: "ABC To Go"