AIKEN - When South Carolina voters go to the polls in
November, more than a presidency and a U.S. Senate seat will be at
stake.
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Ballots
in the Palmetto State also will feature a referendum on whether to
abolish the constitutional requirement to pour liquor by the drink
from a minibottle, ending South Carolina's status as the last state
in the nation to use the twist-top glass container common to
airliners and hotel minibars.
But there's a problem with the wording of the referendum aimed at
amending the state constitution: It never mentions the minibottle by
name. Tom Sponseller, a lobbyist for the Hospitality Association of
South Carolina, says that's just one of several factors that could
confuse voters.
"Most of the public doesn't realize the minibottle requirement is
in the constitution," said Mr. Sponseller, whose group represents
hotels, restaurants and bars throughout the state. "And the
referendum question doesn't help, because it never mentions
minibottle."
Voters who do realize South Carolina's alcohol requirement is a
constitutional matter might have the mistaken notion that if the
referendum passes, the minibottle will be dead. Not so, says Mr.
Sponseller, who briefed a group of Aiken restaurant and bar owners
Wednesday and a similar group in Greenville on Thursday.
"If the people say 'Get it out of the constitution,' the General
Assembly might say 'We like minibottles - we're going to stay where
we are,'" he said. "Even with that, we'll be better off than where
we are. If they ever stop making minibottles, we could be a
beer-and-wine-only state, and the governor and legislators couldn't
do anything to change that."
There's another thorny question the referendum won't solve - how
to make up for the 25-cent tax riding on every minibottle. That
results in a considerable premium for state revenue collectors. Last
year, minibottle sales accounted for $18.1 million of the state's
$52.4 million in alcohol tax revenue, said Danny Brazell, a
spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Revenue.
Restaurant owners such as Sam Erb, the owner of the West End
Bowery in Aiken, favor a legislative initiative floated in the state
House this year. If it becomes law, the bill will allow bars and
restaurants to choose whether to pour from a big bottle or continue
using the minibottle.
"It's giving them the choice - that's the whole thing," said Mr.
Erb, who played host to the meeting of Aiken-area bar owners briefed
by Mr. Sponseller.
The drive to end the minibottle mandate has drawn the support of
Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Baptist Convention. Supporters
say the use of minibottles results in far stronger cocktails in
South Carolina.
While most bars and restaurants are now pouring a smaller drink -
1.25 ounces, on average, rather than the customary 1.5 ounces of a
traditional shot glass - South Carolina minibottles contain 1.7
ounces of alcohol. All of it has to be poured or the bartender could
be fined, Mr. Erb said. As a result, the average South Carolina
cocktail contains 36 percent more alcohol than the same drink poured
in Georgia or other free-pour states.
Reach Jim Nesbitt at (803) 648-1395, ext. 111, or
jim.nesbitt@augustachronicle.com.
MINIBOTTLE
Money
South Carolina's constitutional requirement that liquor by the
drink be poured from a minibottle has resulted in a windfall of tax
revenue for state coffers. A liter bottle of liquor sold in a store
nets $1.42 in taxes; the same liter of liquor sold in 20 minibottles
brings in $5.92. Voters will consider a referendum in November that
would eliminate the minibottle requirement from the constitution.
Source: Hospitality Association of South Carolina, South Carolina
Department of Revenue.
Augusta Chronicle 
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