Most of those laws ended up in Utah.
And does Washington still have the law that some places don’t have off-sale booze? I damn near started a riot in Spokane walking out of a bar with a bottle of champagne I’d bought, but not opened or drank. They didn’t tell me about the law, just told me I couldn’t leave with the bottle.
Whistlepig
Ahh, those wacky Mormons and their liquor laws.
Yup, still does. The only legitimate outlet for take-home sauce is the state store (or, in smaller communities, a store that is so licensed by a paternalistic gummint). There are perennial moves to privatize the liquor board, but they have always been defeated by fear of Armageddon (or Sunday sales, which seems to be a greater threat to civilization).
But the culture shock works both ways. I was quite surprised (and bemused) the first time I went into a bar (O’Toole’s, IIRC) and saw packaged goods for sale behind the counter.
Upon (re-)reading my last, I find that a couple of “pre-emptive clarifications” are in order:
First, the “legitimate outlet” statement refers to ordinary, garden-variety citizens. Fer instance, I’m reasonably, though not absolutely, certain that military personnel can buy packaged goods on base/post.
Second, the prohibition against removing the goods (champagne, in your case), is not so much a matter of law as of license. Establishments that sell alcohol are normally licensed for “on-premises” or “off-premises” consumption. My understanding is that the two are somewhat mutually exclusive; but it may be that you would have been perfectly fine at the gin mill on the next block. As it was, the place you bought it would have been in big trouble from the LCB inspectors (a notoriously humorless lot) if they’d let you remove the bottle (and were caught).
You can get wine and beer in NH grocery stores, but hard liquor is a state monopoly.
Johnny, are prices better at the duty-free shops? Perhaps it would pay off to drive to Canada, turn around, stop at the border, and stock up.
Oh yes, and the law that no one under 21 is allowed in a “space” selling liquor. Not even a parent escorting their kids through. No kids allowed at all.
This led to the interesting sight one night of a karaoke host in a bar in Bellingham, and a 16 year old that REALLY wanted to sing.
The host moved the monitor over slightly, and handed her the mic so she stood just off the line dividing the restaurant and the lounge.
She was a wonderful singer and got a great round of applause.