Minibottles are a menace

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Bartenders in South Carolina serve the strongest mixed drinks in the country. South Carolina also has the highest rate of drunk-driving fatalities in the nation. It's not hard to see the connection between those two facts.

The reason for our strong booze is simple: By law, bartenders must pour liquor for mixed drinks from minibottles rather than from larger bottles.

Drinks from minibottles pack a stronger wallop because bartenders pour the entire contents of the minibottle into the drink. The drinks contain 1.7 ounces of liquor. In every other state in the nation, however, bartenders most often pour from larger bottles. Those drinks are watered down, usually containing 1 ounce to 1.25 ounces of alcohol.

That means that a mixed drink here sometimes can be almost twice as strong as a drink in Georgia or North Carolina. No other state in the nation requires minibottles except South Carolina.

It's not much of a stretch to argue that strong drinks contribute substantially to our state's tragic rate of alcohol-related highway deaths.

Proposals to do away with minibottles repeatedly have failed in the Legislature. Reports suggest strong lobbying by liquor wholesalers who would lose money if minibottles were discontinued. Meanwhile, the state probably would see a drop in tax revenues if bartenders were allowed to use larger bottles.

But as a matter of public health and safety, the issue is clear: Minibottles are a menace.

In the current legislative session, principled state lawmakers are sponsoring a variety of bills calling for a public referendum on minibottles. A referendum will be needed to allow bars to use larger bottles in place of minibottles.

The minibottle law was passed more than 25 years ago as a way of ensuring uniformity in mixed drinks and to make sure drinks were well-taxed. Some people may have believed that minibottles would encourage less alcohol consumption, but that has not been the case.

Public health and safety organizations — including Mothers Against Drunk Driving — have long advocated a change in the law. In light of South Carolina's tragic alcohol-related death toll, the law requiring minibottle use is insupportable. Legislators should not fail this session to approve a referendum on minibottles.