I used to live in Oregon and there you have to buy the hard stuff in government controlled liquor stores, but wine and beer can be had just about anywhere. But in California the only restriction is that you can't buy booze between 2am and 6am. So you can buy industrial sized bottles of JD at Costco, which some non Californians find odd.

State the liquor laws of your state (or province or country).

Virginia is the same as Oregon, and when I lived in Illinois, it was the same as California.

RI

Beer, wine, liquor are all sold in one type of store called a "liquor store" or "Package store" (packy for short). If you bring your kids, they get a lolipop.

The stores are open from 10am-10pm mon-sat. 12pm-6pm on Sun. Until about 5 years ago they were closed all day Sun.

DC there is a liquor store on every corner. They all close at different times, but I think they have to be closed on Sundays and after 1 am or so. Not sure exactly the latest they can go. Bars have to be empty by 2:00 am.

You can buy beer and wine at grocery stores all the time.

Ummmm I think you cant buy alcohol after 11:30 and before 7:00 here.(or something like that but it varies by county) No buying it on Sunday unless at a place of business that holds a liquor license. You can buy beer and wine in the grocery store but everything else has to come from the "package" store.

Oh, I live in GA.

I think the ABC stores (for liquor) are open from 10 to 10 here (in VA), closed Sundays and federal holidays.

In Maryland, you cannot buy any alcohol of any form in a grocery store or convenience store. Alcohol of any form can be purchased at private retail stores, and this includes the Royal Farms store within a block from my house. I always assumed Royal Farms was a convenience store chain, but the one by us is the ONLY one I've ever seen beer and wine in. Beer and wine is also sold at an Eddie's in Mount Vernon; Eddie's is an upscale grocery store...and it is a chain. So that's confusing.

As far as days and hours, it varies by county. It's 2 AM for bars, and the liquor stores are closed on Sunday. I have purchased beer on a Sunday from Royal Farms and there's a small seedy place about two miles from here that will sell you any form of alcohol on a Sunday.

This is a messed up state.

In Harris county (where I live) hard alcohol has to be bought at liquor stores which are privatly owned, and closed on Sundays. Beer and wine can be bought at any grocery or Kwik-E-Mart. Fridays and Saturdays you can buy Beer and wine until 1am otherwise it's midnight, most days you can't buy any of that until 7am, but Sundays they make you wait 'till noon.

I believe most of TX is like this, but I know of a number of "dry" counties. Usually if you want beer or wine at a restaurant in "dry" county you have to buy a membership to the retaurants club. "Dry" aslo seems to have various meanings. Some "Dry" counties are places where you really can't get any alcohol at all.

Outside of "dry" counties on major highways at the county lines are small communities of drive-through liquor stores.

I am surprised Texans put up with restrictions on their alcohol availability.

I am

They put up with it out of respect for the President Of Texas, God.

Oh, I forgot -- the ABC stores are open in the city of Richmond (10-15 minutes away) on Sundays. Don't know about holidays.

Time was that the drinking age in CO was 18, but only for beverages with a 3.2% alcohol content. You had to be 21 for everything else.

So, liquor stores sold the good stuff, and grovery stores and convenience stores sold everything else. But interestingly enough, liquor stores were not allowed to be open on Sunday either.

Unless you wanted some watered down beer, you had to plan ahead.

Last summer, they repealed the law against liquor sales on Sunday and most the liquor stores are open 7 days a week now.






Enjoy the Kool-Aide (made from real crap)

Arizona:

We have stores that simultaneously sell liquor, beer, wine, guns, and ammunition. Alcohol cannot be sold between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Handguns cannot be sold between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.

You can buy rifles and shotguns until midnight.

No ammunition can be sold after 10:30 p.m.

These types of stores really give new meaning to "shotgunning a beer."

Mev posted the general rule, but some cities or counties have slightly tougher ones. I know when I lived in Isla Vista (Santa Barbara) the times were a little tighter, being a college town.

But basically you can buy whatever you want, wherever and whenever. Except Everclear. Do they still not sell that stuff? My dad used to bring it back when he went on business trips. That shit is nasty.

Here you can buy alcohol everywhere, anytime except Sundays from 4 pm till Midnight (weird). Alcohol is sold freely at supermarkets, convenience stores (are these the same as Mom&Pop stores?), Liquor Stores, Gas Stations, everywhere. The only difference with Gas Stations is that they can't sell liquor on weekends from 10 pm on (also weird).

Drinking age is from 18 years old on.

You can buy Everclear at both Walgreens and CVS in Arizona.

Edit: Sadly - I have never seen Everclear for sale in a gun store.

OMG! I never ever ever want to see a bottle of Everclear again.

You knew I would do that

I had no idea that Everclear was an actual brand? I always thought it was a nickname for strong as fuck, home made grain alcohol.

I have bad memories of Bacardi 151. I just don't have any use for booze that doubles as racing fuel.

Yeah, I think most other states have it. I know you can get it in Nevada (and Arizona, apparently).

I never realized there were so many different variations of these laws.
In NY only liquor stores can sell wine and liquor, and supermarkets, convenience stores, and drug stores can only sell beer. Up until a couple of years ago you couldn't buy alcohol of any kind Sunday mornings until noon. That one always seemed crazy to me and fortunately now they did away with that law.

Everclear used to make a product sold in liquor stores here (in plastic 2 liter bottles) called "Purple Passion". The irony of that was that there was a porn star with the same name at the time.

I am

Minnesota has some quirks.

We're another state that has 3.2% beer.

In the metro area, and depending on the county, Liquor stores are open from 8 AM to 8 PM Mon. thru Thurs. and 8 AM to 10 PM on Friday and Sat.
Outside the metro/counties they all stay open until 10 PM Mon. thru Sat. Makes for the fun run of 5 to 10 miles to buy strong beer/liquor after 8 PM depending where you are.
Liquor stores, private owned and municipals(city owned), are closed on Sundays.
Liquor stores have booze, wine and "strong" beer which is anything over 3.2%. Special Ex, Heinie, and "ice" brewed beers will hit the 5 to 6% range.

Grocery and convienience stores ONLY can sell 3.2% and they also have to stop selling it between 11 PM and 7 AM and can't sell before noon on Sunday. Though I haven't checked of late what with the 24 hour "super center" stores.
And the odd thing is some have wine now, some don't.
And they will also sell the wine-cooler and mix drinks in a bottle which is stated on the bottles as being 4% alcohol which pushes it into the "strong" realm.
Though I can't recall if I've seen them sell Mikes Hard Lemonade drinks but know they don't sell the Smirnhoff drinks.
But some of the big chains that have the liquor and strong beer also have a seperated store for them. Right next door.

And speaking of next door, is Wisconsin.
They ONLY have ONE level of beer. BEER.
And it used to be in the grocery store, and most others too, right next to the milk.
Open until midnight, and later if you get a twelvie to go at the bar. And Sunday, same hours as the rest of the week. Wisc. is 35 miles from the west suburbs.





From time to time, the usual moment seems terribly beautiful.

BC

We have province run liquore stores that have everything. Most are closed on sunday and they all close by 10pm.

"Beer and Wine" stores, which also sell some hard alcohol which are much more expensive, open 7 days a week.

You can also buy cases/bottles of alcohol from bars to take home.



Kingston, Ontario...

They have province wide stores, .. one, the LCBO, has everything. Then they also have "The Beer Store" which carries Lots and lots and lots of different beers.

I guess they aren't allowed to have private liquore stores, although they do sell wine at one of the larger grocery store chains.

I live in Washington State.

And it's exactly like Oregon...where you hafta go to a state operated "Liquor Control Board" to buy hard liquor.

I'm originally from Illinois...n' you can get whatever you wanted at the local corner liquor store...as well as your run-of-the-mill bar.

I think it's insane for government to be the distributors!

Man...they don't make it simple to understand the liquor laws...
It's not designed for someone to do a simple review.
http://liq.wa.gov/current_laws/rcw_wac.aspx


I found out:
"In the U.S., 18 states directly regulate alcohol sales by controlling its retail and/or wholesale distribution. These states are called control states. The other 32 states, called licensure states, issue licenses to private sellers. Conditions can be placed on these licenses, which help the states more indirectly control the sale of alcohol."


Alabama
Idaho
Iowa
Maine
Maryland (Is considered a licensure state, but Montgomery County is a controlled jurisdiction, member of the NABCA)
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wyoming


So...What's up with these "controlled" states?
Do those states get additional funding if they keep control of it?

Here's more information than you ever asked for:
http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/WakeConfer2.pdf

"Following the passage of the 21st Amendment in December 1933, states were assigned control over liquor regulation."



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Here in PEI any type of alcohol is only sold in liquor stores. Legal drinking age is 19.

North Carolina has state run ABC stores which are unbelievable neat and tidy. 9am to 9pm for liquor. Closed Sunday and holidays. On the bags they use there is a chart of where the money from liquor sales go.

Beer and wine are sold pretty much anywhere you can get a bag of potato chips. B&W are sold after noon on Sunday.

PA

Liquor and wine are sold only at state controlled liquor stores, which until a few years ago were closed on Sundays. Beer and coolers are sold only at beer distributors.

You can buy any kind of alcohol at any store here in Hawaii. I think they stop selling at midnight and start again at 6am every day.