Unintended consequences of mini bottle repeal

As most of you know, last year South Carolina repealed its constitutional provision requiring use of mini bottles in bars. (Kinda scary that such a provision would be a part of fundamental law, but they don't call us backward for nothing......). As the state's bars begin the switch to free pour, it appears there are many more issues than just buying the big bottles. Many establishments are facing costs of remodeling, retraining, refiguring costs.

For instance, many bars will have to retrain their bartenders, folks who never have used a jigger. There never was a need to when all recipes required that bartenders open minibottles and dump them into glasses. Until now, liquor has been the most closely regulated substance in this state: one bottle, one drink. It was practically impossible for bartenders to vary the strength of a drink, or give their buddies a stiff one. And don't expect those prices to go down, even if the amount of booze in your drink goes down. (Hmmmm.... maybe the old constitutional provision wasn't so backward).

The Post and Courier has this article on the switch to free pour.