Six months after voters decided to abolish the 1.75-ounce liquor containers, they still are alive and could be for another year because of a legislative deadlock on the bill to implement a free-pour system.

The legislation that would allow South Carolina bars and restaurants to pour liquor from large bottles is stuck in a conference committee of House and Senate members who are unwilling to compromise on how alcohol is to be delivered.

If the lawmakers don't reach a compromise, the bill would die, meaning minibottles would remain the status quo.

The House and Senate passed different versions of the legislation earlier this session. The six lawmakers, three from each chamber, have compromised on much of the bill, including charging patrons a 5 percent tax on drinks to cover taxes that had been on each minibottle.

But the distribution issue is a sticking point that could doom the bill.

"Everybody knows that's the crux of the debate," said Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens. "It's what the bill will ultimately rise or fall on."

In the House version, distillers and distributors would be able to sell and deliver directly to local watering holes, cutting out the "middlemen" operating under current law.

As it stands now, every establishment that serves liquor must pick up its supply from a wholesaler or liquor store.

The Senate version would preserve the wholesalers' role because senators fear putting those middlemen out of business.

"I'd just as soon go home without a law than knock out the (wholesalers)," said Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia.

A few members on the conference committee noted that the question voters approved in November's constitutional referendum didn't touch on the distribution system.

Changing those provisions largely was prompted by lobbyists for the distillers and distributors who saw the bill as an opportunity to open up the system "to more competition."

Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Daniel Island, urged the panel to address the delivery issue and reach a conclusion on the legislation.

Not passing a bill "would in effect put us back right where we started," he said. "I think this committee needs to be resolved to a free-pour option and a delivery option."

Patrons at AC's Bar & Grill on King Street didn't understand why the Legislature is dragging its feet because an overwhelming majority of residents voted for the change at the ballot box.

"People voted for it, and it passed," said Marten Bolchoz, who works as a bartender on Folly Beach. "They asked the people their opinion. We gave it to them, and now they are not following through with it."

Jen Dennis, a bartender at the Kickin' Chicken, said the impasse is good news for a large number of bar patrons who prefer the stiffer drinks fashioned from the minibottles.

"Most of the locals and college kids are totally fine with the minibottles because they know what they are getting," she said. "It's an advantage."