mrsd2fan

Can someone tell me what the liquor laws are in SC for Sundays?
Thanks

GoTravel

It depends on which county you are in but generally you can buy beer and wine in the grocery store and at restaurants.

xrae

I didn't think you could buy beer on Sundays in South Carolina? I know you can't in Darlington County near the racetrack ...

starrsville

According to wikipedia, here are the counties that allow Sunday sales in SC -

No alcohol sales after midnight Saturday until 7 a.m. Monday, except in Aiken, Greenville, Spartanburg, Horry County, Colleton County, Charleston County/city and Beaufort County

mrsd2fan

thank yoou starrs! that's what I needed to know!

GeorgeW

It is a North Carolina state law that prohibits the sale of beer and wine before Noon on Sundays. I wonder if South Carolina has a similar law or if the various counties have a lot of lattitude.

NeoPatrick

At least they've moved beyond those little sealed bottles brought to your table like they used to do. I still remember one of us ordering a martini in a Columbia restaurant, and they brought an $8 airline bottle of gin and another $8 airline bottle of dry vermouth. After that, it was gin on the rocks.

GoTravel

Georgetown County and Richmond County also have Sunday liquor sales.

stevebarr

GeorgeW - Each county has the ability to determine whether or not sales of alcoholic beverages will be allowed in their area. A majority of residents has to vote for a change, otherwise there is a ban.

It seems more and more counties are opting to allow the Sunday sales in attempts to lure more tourist dollars to their county and to help the restaurants and stores make a little more cash.

GeorgeW

My native Maryland is pretty much the same way. Counties make the choice. Interestingly, I believe that most counties on the "conservative" Eastern Shore have Sunday sales while "liberal" Montgomery County has a monopoly of hard liquor which they don't sell on Sundays. Growing up in Prince George's County, only liquor stores attached to bars/restaurants could sell on sundays.

Dukey

It's all about "the money" as usual.

Gretchen

Well, they weren't really "airline" bottles and that resto gypped you with the vermouth, of course. But the mixed drinks in SC are still VERY poor. They have a very regulated "pour" apparently. Frank's in Pawley's made a better martini with the mini-bottles than they do now.

NeoPatrick

Gretchen, I'm not sure if you understood me. I'm talking in the early 1970's when South Carolina first started allowing alcohol at all, and the ONLY way restaurants could serve drinks was to bring the little individual bottles fully sealed to your table -- I don't know what to call them except airline bottles. Each serving was its own bottle. And the only way you could get vermouth was in a full little bottle. You say I was gypped, but how else could they bring vermouth to the table except as its own little full bottle?

starrsville

Here's what Neo is talking about.
Bartenders could only serve mixers and unopened mini-bottles or airline bottles of liquor.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...ohol-law_x.htm

NeoPatrick

Thank you, starrsville. Yes, that's what I'm talking about. And the only way you get a martini was a full bottle of gin and a full bottle of vermouth (of course no one forced you to use the whole bottle of vermouth, but you had to pay for it).

xrae

There was a great piece on "The Daily Show" a couple years ago about the S.C. minibottle law. I tried to find the video online but didn't come up with anything.

S.C. has a lot of blue laws still. Most stores can't open before 1pm on Sunday in Lexington County. It's a real PITA if you need something from Wal-mart -- most of the store is roped off so you can only access groceries and pharmacy-like products.

Gretchen

Yes, I am VERY familiar with the mini-bottles that SC served. They were special sized "mini-bottles" but a little larger than "airline" bottles. And yes, we have ordered martinis using them, but were never charged for the "vermouth". And what I said still stands. Whatever the current mixed drink regs in SC are (without the mini bottles), we had better martinis before. When we dine out, we just do not order mixed drinks and order wine--at least until they get it figured out.

xrae

Gretchen, here's my theory: with the minibottles, you know you're getting the full pour of alcohol (ounce, whatever). With free pour, the bartender decides on the strength of your drink.

Gretchen

I don't disagree with that, but as is being discussed about the vermouth (which never happened to us and is a wine), you couldn't order a margarita, for example. But there is something in the new law for free pour that has made for a poor drink--and this was at Frank's, which has every reason to make them very well. And according to another resto proprietor I spoke with--it is in the actual law/regulation.

redhead68

The drinks in SC are weaker now. With mini-bottles you knew that you would get a full 1.7 ounces of liquor in your drink. Now you can't really tell how much you're getting. People from other regions, unmderstandably, thought this was very strange but usually felt better when they realized they were getting a better deal. Part of the push for the change in the mini-bottle law was that SC had the strongest drinks in the nation.