Prohibition may have been repealed in 1933, but you'd barely know it from some of the alcohol laws still on the books in various states. The legacy of the 18th Amendment lives on in state restrictions on when and where alcohol can be sold, and the production of distilled spirits for personal consumption remains illegal by federal law (though you can make your own beer and wine, as long as you're mindful of certain bylaws). Also, the U.S. is one of the few countries that makes you wait until you're 21 to legally drink. Without a doubt, one of the most confusing and frustrating aspects of these long-standing alcohol restrictions is trying to figure out what kind of booze you can buy in a given state's grocery stores. And then figuring out whether you can do it on Sundays. So we decided to help you with just that. Consider this a definitive guide to buying booze at your local shop. Blue laws, a holdover from colonial-era rules that mandated church attendance on Sundays, are laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol or other items on that day.

As long as states can prove that such laws serve a secular purpose (since they can't force you to go to church anymore), courts have held that blue laws are perfectly OK. Some states also prohibit the sale of alcohol on election days. Correction: Washington state changed its liquor laws in 2012. Grocery stores measuring at least 10,000 square feet may sell liquor. grocery stores with established restaurant operations with separate entrances may sell alcohol by the glass for on-premises consumption and two six packs of beer to go with a restaurant liquor license. best boxed red wine 2015In Colorado, grocery stores may sell 3.2% ABV beer. best wine shop bathFull strength alcohol may be sold in a grocery store only if it is licensed as a drug store, and chains must elect a single location that will be licensed to sell full strength alcohol.best wine restaurants nyc 2015

< 12 3 45 > 38,691 posts, read 79,688,646 times Originally Posted by Chicago60614 Only a very small minority of bars are allowed to stay open until 4am (5am saturdays). The vast majority have 2am/3am licenses. Retail sales are allowed until 2am but I only know of one store that actually stays open that late. The Jewel near me sells until 1am. Other than that most seem to close at midnight. 4,230 posts, read 8,126,616 times 3,754 posts, read 7,179,923 timescheap wine bar central london Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayerwine for mac latest I was shocked at the social drinking differences between MN and San Diego. best wine brands at targetI've been there a lot as I have family there, and just could not believe how different the drinking culture is. can you buy wine in india

Seems like nobody in SoCal drank, and if they did it was like 1 bud light or 1 cocktail. I guess Minnesotans are heavy drinkers or something, must be that Germany. Or, SoCal was just high. 659 posts, read 1,463,010 times To add to this, bars can open as early as 7am. Bars have to close by 2am Sun-Friday(3am Sat.), unless the bar has a late-night alcohol license. Bar outdoor patios have to close by 11pm, but can stay open till midnight on Friday and Saturday. A few suburbs allow bars to stay open till 4am, but the majority go by similar rules to Chicago(close by 2am, and sometimes later on Saturday).best wine of the month clubs 2015 Originally Posted by tijloverbest food and wine in france Pretty sure I remember reading Nevada allows 24/7 liquor sales, am I right? Ha, I definitely could imagine the very stark difference between Nevada and Utah alcohol laws!

10,424 posts, read 19,314,254 times Originally Posted by Drover Right, it's a small percentage - but from the latest data I could find, there are currently 107 bars open between downtown and the north side that are open with late night licenses. I'm sure there are many more on the South/Southwest sides of the city. Late-Night Bars: Chicago Bar Project Retail sales are allowed until the last call of bars, depending on their license (just like bars). I don't know the hours of other stores, but I know for instance that the Gold Crown place on Clark is open until 3am, and 1000 Liquors down on Belmont is open until 4am/5am. Like you said though, lots of grocery stores, etc. will cut off liquor sales around midnight just so they don't have to deal with the people. I mean - if you're roaming around trying to guy booze at 2am, you're more than likely already drunk and not just starting your evening. There are those liquor stores though that will stick it out until 2am-3am, etc. just since that's when they can rake in a lot of cash since so many other places are closed.

Originally Posted by WIHS2006 From online, it looks like there are laws though - although from what you said they must not be enforced well. In stores for liquor/wine, no sales of alcohol between midnight and 9am, and before noon and after 9pm on sundays. Also no sales on Christmas day. In stores for beer, 24 hours a day. In bars, no sales of alcohol between 4am and 8am. Liquor is to be sold at liquor stores only, while beer is sold in supermarkets and gas stations. 216 posts, read 554,114 timesFrom what I'm seeing on this thread, it seems that we have some of the most liberal alcohol laws around. We can't have open liquor in a car EXCEPT for in the trunk. For instance, you purchase a bottle of wine at a restaurant and don't consume all of it. You can cork it and store in your trunk to take home with you. We also can't consume liquor in public parks EXCEPT when the liquor is bought my licensed vendors at the park. So you can't sit in a city park drinking your 6 pack, but if the city is hosting one of it's hundreds of festivals, you can purchase liquor there and drink it.