For those of you that have been inquiring about Utah's liquor laws.
This is an excerpt from Lonely Planet's Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks Guide:
It's a misconception that you can't get a drink in Utah. You can get just as drunk here as anywhere in the US.
Understanding Utah's arcane liquor laws - now that's hard. After a while, you feel like you're listening to John Travolta in Pulp Fiction explaining hash in Amsterdam.
Grocery stores can sell only beer, and only beer that's no more than 3.2% alcohol. If it's over 3.2% it's called 'stout' or 'hard' beer and can be sold only in a state-approved liquor store, which is the only place to buy packaged wine and spirits to carry out. Most towns only have one such liquor store, if any, and they're usually in nondescript, unadvertised locations. You must be 21 to buy alcohol, and it's never sold on Sundays.
Depending on their liquor license, restaurants can sell wine, beer and spirits with their food, but you must ask to see the drink list; they're not supposed to offer it. A place with a 'tavern' license can sell only 3.2% beer, but you must order food to go with it; you can't have just a drink.
A 'private club' serves a full range of liquor, and you don't need to order food to enjoy it. But you must be a member to enter. Temporary, two week memberships are usually $5 and allow five guests; if you ask at the door, someone inside will often sponsor you as their guest to avoid the cover charge.
At any establishment, you can have only one drink in front of you at a time. Sometimes called 'Utah's slammin rule,' this means you must finish a drink before ordering another; in the case of pitchers of, say, margaritas, there must be three people present to order one.
And so on. And no, we're not makin this up...
I can't possibly make that shit up either...
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6 comments:
I have to argue that you can get just as drunk here as anywhere else. Perhaps that is technically true, but it takes a lot more drinking to get drunk.
Recently in Sale Lake one night. I had 2 beers at the hotel happy hour, then 2 with dinner. Then we went to one of the private clubs and I had 5 Jack and Cokes + 1 straight shot of Jack (and last call was 12:30). Now normally i would be pretty well drunk by this time.. But that was not the case, I didnt even feel a buzz.... Well the good think was no hang over in the morning either.
People should read this.
Utah DUI Related Fatalities Lowest In Nation
Report shows Utah has dramatically lower percentage of fatalities from drunk driving.
A report to be presented to state legislators indicates that Utah has the lowest percentage of fatalities attributable to driving under the influence. With the most recent figures show the United States average is 41%, Utah DUI accounts for 22% of road fatalities.
The report is the sixth such accounting. It indicates a slight drop in drunk-driving related fatalities from 2006 to 2007. It also shows an increase in the number of arrests for driving under the influence in Utah; up 639 arrests to a total of 15,300. The fiscal accounting period ended June 30.
If you have been arrested for DUI in Utah you need a UT DUI Lawyer.Posted Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Wow, I didn't know that about the DUI lawyer. Thank you for that additional information.
Your blog is filled with errors and myths. It's unfortunate that you choose to post a list of "laws" that perpetuate myths. Here are a few corrections.
The state liquor stores are closed on Sunday, but grocery stores, restaurants and bars sell liquor on Sunday's. Cache County does prohibit Sunday grocery/gas station store sales.
3.2% beer in Utah is the same as 4.0% beer in the rest of the country. Utah measures alcohol by weight instead of volume, making the number appear lower. Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas all have the same grocery store law as Utah.
You don't have to ask for a liquor menu, it can be provided, that law was changed several years ago.
A "tavern" license actually allows the establishment to sell beer WITHOUT selling you food. They just can't sell hard alcohol or wine.
You can have more than one drink in front of you, and have been for several years.
Temporary memberships are usually 3 weeks in length, and there is no set charge, although $5 is common. The ability to sponsor people was rescinded years ago.
A pitcher cannot be sold to a single person, but can be sold to two people or more.
Here's an interesting article about the myth of Utah beer
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,335007968,00.html
That's why theyr'e in quotations. I'm not the one that came up with this information, Lonely Plante was. I just mearly quoted the guidebook for Zion. But thank you for the more accurate information though...
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