My wife was discussing making jello shots for a party we’re going to this evening, and I jokingly asked if we’d get pulled over for having open containers of alcohol. But then I wondered if this was actually the case. If having jello shots accessible in the car is considered illegal, would such a law also apply to, for example, rum cake? Or does “a container of alcohol” only apply to alcoholic beverages in the condition in which they’re sold for retail?
I’m in California, if the laws vary by state on this.
If you are stopped and the cop is having a bad day, they could make your life difficult. Or if you are an SOB to the cop, same thing. Then again, if you get into an accident, the jello shots could spill inside the car and the cop might have a hard time believing the you.
FWIW, I was raised to remove all doubt. Transport all alcohol in the trunk, all the time.
What’s the recipe for rum cake? Is the rum added as an ingredient before or after the cooking? The reason I ask is because the heat of cooking would probably vaporize most of the alcohol out of the cake. So while alcohol might have been an ingredient in the making of the cake it might not be present in the finished cake.
Jello shots, on the other hand - I think there’s no loophole there.
I must have missed it. But looking around, it appears that cooking doesn’t make a cake alcohol free as I has assumed. According to this site, an hour of baking (as per this rum cake recipe) would only vaporize 75% of the original alcohol.
I’ll second that. I wasn’t raised to do that, but I did teach my parents to do that. And countless other people (including my aunt who didn’t understand why she couldn’t have an open bottle of khalua in her cup holder (with alcohol on her breath) as long as she wasn’t drinking it). Of course I also have a bartenders licensce to worry about on top of everything else that I could get for an open container violation.
Bottom line, if it’s not in a sealed container, put it in the trunk or in the way back of the car.
BTW, FWIW a six pack with a can missing is considered an open container. I can’t provide a cite, it might not even be true, but that’s what I was taught when I took my responsible beverage class.
Since a jello shot would not be an “intoxicating liquor,” you should be safe. This is important in Ohio, because in Ohio, the open container laws apply to “(3) In any other public place.”
That’s right. In Ohio, if you walk outside and down the public streets with an opened beer can, you are subject to citation for violation of the law. :eek:
“Intoxicating liquor” and “liquor” include all liquids and compounds, other than beer, containing one-half of one per cent or more of alcohol by volume which are fit to use for beverage purposes, from whatever source and by whatever process produced, by whatever name called, and whether they are medicated, proprietary, or patented. “Intoxicating liquor” and “liquor” include wine even if it contains less than four per cent of alcohol by volume, mixed beverages even if they contain less than four per cent of alcohol by volume, cider, alcohol, and all solids and confections which contain any alcohol.
So yeah, jello shots ARE an intoxicating liquor according to the state of Ohio (and probably most other states.
I imagine DSYoungEsq is quibbling about the “fit to use for beverage purposes” part. I think it stretches to cover jello shots. Arguably, it might leave soused baked goods off the hook, should they happen to contain more than 1/2 of 1 percent alcohol, which is unlikely in the case of a baked rum cake.
What about rum balls, which are not baked, and retain the alcohol? That recipe appears to be slightly under 1/14 rum by volume (1/14 ignores the volume of the cocoa and corn syrup which are measured in tablespoons). Using 80 proof rum (40% alcohol), I arrive at over 2.8%. I somehow doubt that you are going to get busted for your Christmas cookies, however. If you are, I seriously hope the judge would pitch it out of court in approximately 15 seconds.
I think the “fit to use for beverage purposes” is supposed to define the type of alcohol. If you had an open container of windshield washer fluid in your car you’d be okay because the alcohol it contains is not drinkable alcohol.
Heh-I guess my Auntie’s fruitcake recipe is verboten, too. Not that dry, hockey-puck fruitcake-this is dark and moist, full of fruits and nuts (like SDMB), and she brushes it with whiskey and rum after baking, wraps tightly, and lets age, with periodic reapplications of booze. What you get this Xmas is a year old. Damn good, too.
Um, it is important, when reading statutes, to read all of the statute. Which I obviously didn’t do… :o Not everything with alchohol in it is considered to be controlled by the statute. And it is unreasonable to consider “which” to be referring to “alcohol” because it says "which are, meaning it has to be referring to something plural, and the plural nouns available are “liquids and compounds.”
Which causes us to pause over the clause also referred to by you, namely the inclusion of “solids and confections containing alchohol.” My guess is someone tacked that one on later. So rum balls might well be included, as would jello shots.
I suspect this wasn’t the intent of the legislature here. But mebbe best to keep them in the trunk… :eek:
That’s the law in most parts of Queensland, as well. Not always strictly enforced, but most City Councils have by laws against consuming alcohol in a public place that isn’t a park, reserve, or other place you’re likely to be having a picnic…
