Oh, regarding Montgomery County’s weird love/hate relationship with liquor: I’m told that this is the result of intense lobbying by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, which is small, but very influential, especially around Takoma Park. The ironic consequence is that liquor stores are now ubiquitous along the PG county line, a few blocks from the Columbia Union College campus (which is sort of their center of power in the area).
Steve
I think Ontario is funny with its “Beer Stores”. You place an order with a guy at the counter, and then your 6-pack comes out from the back room on a conveyor belt of metal rollers. You can ONLY get beer from The Beer Store.
In Montreal, every grocery store has beer. I usually go buy mine at the dep (dépanneur - the Québécois version of a convenience store). Long live the walk-in beer fridge!!!
If I want to buy the hard stuff, though, I have to go to the SAQ (Société des Alcools de Québec). I find it odd that our version of the Department of motor Vehicles is called the SAAQ. The identical pronunciation of the two acronyms (sounds like “sack”) leaves driving and drinking forever connected within the collective subconscious of the province. :eek:
I’ve always called them “Liquor Stores.” (in California here, by the way).
Lately I’ve started calling the Liquor Store on the corner down the block from me the “Corner Store.” That’s not very creative of me…
My stomach
In NJ, they were called “Package stores.” because they sold “Package goods” (NOT "packaged goods). I’ve seen stores with the words “package goods” on the sign, but I always called 'em liquor stores.
Here in CA, I still say liquor store, as does everyone else I know…
hrh
Just a small correction here–the Beer Stores are neither governmentally-owned nor governmentally-operated. According to the Beer Store itself, the chain is privately owned by Molson’s, Labatt’s, and Sleeman’s.
As for nomenclature, Ontario’s beer stores were once officially known as Brewers Retails, and a few old-timers still call them that. The most popular name for them though, was “beer store.” The chain finally wised up and rebranded themselves what everybody had been calling them for years: The Beer Store.
Liquor stores are called just that: liquor stores. Sometimes “LCBO” for Liquor Control Board of Ontario, but “liquor store” mostly does the trick.
Another English one, Off-licence or “offies” is the usual. In hampshire the off-sale part of a pub is called the “bottle and Jug” .
We also have wine merchants - which are for upmarket wine.
“I grew up in Fairfax County where off-premisis liquor could only be sold through state-owned ABC stores, but beer and wine could be sold practically anywhere, including most gas stations (This may no longer be the case; I barely notice since I seldom drink any more, but I notice some privately-owned booze supermarkets called Total Beverage real close to the Fairfax County line).”
Total Beverage sells liquor? I’m pretty sure that the State maintains its liquor sales monopoly here in VA, and ony sells through ABC stores - I’d be interested in finding out how Total Beverage is permitted to do business.
In Sweden they are called Systembolaget or Systemet for short.
They are brilliant. Despite living within walking distance of three supermarkets, I have to get on a train to get to my closest Systemet. If you are lucky it will be open until 7pm during the week, although many close earlier. On a Saturday it will be open to gasp 2pm or 3pm and they don’t open at all on Sundays.
My husband, friends and I refer to ours as the “George” store. Our liquor stores are run by the state of Washington.
That’s just sad amanset, and here I thought Sweden was such an advanced and highly civilized country.
I like systembolaget. Alot more products than you can get in any one store abroad and if they don’t have it at home they order it for no extra charge. Also you can return goods to them and get your money back. It’s not that often I feel the urge to drink on a sunday, if I do I’ve stocked up some beverages already.
I’m with hawthorne. I say “bottlo” as well.
While I’ve heard Liquor Stores and StateLiquor Stores, I’ve never heard just “state stores.” Ever. Seriously.
When I’m visiting relatives in MA, it’s the package store, of course. My aunt has a cute story about a visiting friend thinking they were going to buy luggage when she insisted they go to the package store. 
Taking a queue from fast food, I think they should be called “Licky D’s.”
Mostly, though, I call it “Disneyland.”
I had an actual joke, there, for “Disneyland,” but I hit Submit instead of Preview. And the joke isn’t actually funny enough to bother with writing a followup message. So I won’t.
Uh…
The reason they are called Bottle and Jug is that at one time you could take your own bottle or jug to the pub and have it filled with beer from the hand pump. I remember seeing this done in the Midlands back in the 50’s.
Having grown up in Pennsylvania, I still tend to say state store.
In Norway they are known as Vinmonopolet, which means “wine monopoly” - Polet for short. And I’d like to apologize to the good people across the border for the idiots who think the Swedish word for liquor store is Strömstad. Unfortunately, under current Norwegian law, these people cannot be publicly b****slapped until they can’t breathe no more :rolleyes:
What annoys me is that if I want to have a spontaneous social gathering on a Saturday (crazy idea!) I have to plan in advance whether any drinks are required, even if it is just a civilised bottle of wine with dinner.
“Spontaneous” and “plan in advance” don’t really go hand in hand.