I’ve been bothered by this for some time. Other than dry Muslim countries, are their countries which, in the aggregate, have stricter laws on the sales of alcohol than the United States?
For the purposes of discussion, I’ll throw out a general sample of restrictions on sales of liquor, noting that all these restrictions may not apply in the same jurisdiction:
The buyer always must be over 21 years old, and buyers are frequently asked for a government-issued picture identification to verify their age.
Sales of liquor in bars and restaurants generally ends around 2 a.m, depending on the locality, and sales are not permitted again until some hour of the morning.
In a few places I’ve been, a patron may be only served one drink at a time (ie, you’ve got to drink your shot before getting your beer).
Sales of liquor in stores is sometimes cut off earlier in the evening, such as in Connecticut, where sales in stores are cut off at 8 pm (at least when I used to live there).
In a few states, liquor may only sold in government-run stores.
Many localities – espeically in New England – have established that liquor may not be sold from stores on Sundays.
Some counties have outright prohibited sales of liquor.
Having a beer on the street or in a park will, in most places, earn you a ticket with a fairly hefty fine.
A driver is usually considered drunk with a .08 blood/alcohol level. (Actually, this is one area in which the US may be more liberal than many countries, but I thought I should throw this out there anyway.) A first offense often means jail time, suspension of license, or other serious penalties.
Passengers generally may not have an open container in a car.
Preventative strike on hijacks: folks, I know liquor laws vary widely around the the US: I’m not really interested in state-by-state nitpicks of how your mileage varies from these examples. I’m interested in countries that have, overall, more restrictive liquor laws than an overall survey of US laws.
Just adding to Desmo’s post:
Opening hours used to be M-F, 10-6. A couple of years ago, they extended to Saturdays as well. And while the drinking age in bars/restaurants is 18, in practise it isn’t. Bars are allowed to set their own age and do so to at least 20 or 22, so no one under drinking age can slip through. I don’t know of a single place in any of the major cities that cater to people 18-20, that sells alcohol. Of course, some restaurants will serve them, but that’s when they’re eating guests, most often in company of parents. Of course, they need an officially approved ID.
This has created a huge black market for moonshine and smuggled cheapo Polish and Russian vodka.
Norway and Finland has similar l<ws, also being countries in the vodka belt. It’s much more relaxed in Denmark.
Combining the strictest laws from various US localities does not give an overall survey of the US law.
Given that… The International Center for Alcohol Policies has some interesting charts comparing countries. The US does have the highest drinking age, although Japan is 20 to purchase and drink.