Utah is known for many things—beautiful mountains, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mitt Romney—but it really stands out when it comes to its notoriously ridiculous alcohol laws. While the state’s so-called “Zion Curtain” has widely considered This is one of the dumbest drinking laws in America, and it turns out the Beehive State has no limits on useless drinks. In fact, state regulators have recently upped the bureaucratic stakes crack down hard Bartenders use the “straw test” to taste cocktails before serving them.
As one might notice when visiting a cocktail bar, the straw test is a Common techniques Bartenders use it to determine whether their drinks are satisfactory before serving them to customers. The straw test is done by dipping one end of the straw into the drink, placing your thumb or index finger on the other end, and tasting the trace amounts of liquid remaining in the straw. The test is highly effective and provides a hygienic method of quality control checking of libations.
The straw test is great for venues that frequently invent and serve newly created cocktail recipes. It’s also the go-to for “bartender roulette” – often popular in high-end mixology bars – where patrons describe what types of flavors they like, and the bartenders improvise on that inspiration, whipping up a new one on the spot. cocktail. If a bartender has just made a new drink, he or she obviously wants to make sure it tastes delicious before pushing it across the bar to customers.
But Utah liquor regulators have questioned the long-standing practice. according to Axiosbar owners across the state have noticed a significant increase in the number of Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) agents warning them against straw testing.
As one bar owner in Utah put it: “Recently for some reason they decided to let us know that this is absolutely not okay, even though they know it’s true [bars have] Have been doing this for many years.
Digital ABS notes The law has been on the books for decades – oddly enough, it was shoehorned into one section of the law state code Ban minors from serving alcohol to restaurant patrons — and not sure about the recent “confusion” surrounding the straw-testing ban. Department spokesman did so admitHowever, the agency has reportedly been seeking “improved communication” with liquor licensees regarding state liquor rules Axios.
This bureaucratic rhetoric obscures the underlying impact. Clash with straw trial ban constitute A “serious violation” could result in a fine of up to $3,000 and a 30-day suspension of the bar’s liquor license, which is almost a death sentence in the highly competitive restaurant industry.
To be fair, Utah isn’t the only state to ban straw testing—Oregon Taste testing of alcohol is also banned and confusing bartenders allowed Beer and wine are available, but it seems to be particularly enthusiastic when it comes to enforcing and upholding the law. Other states with similar rules, e.g. Oklahomathey moved to abolish their version once it became clear that it was unnecessarily hindering bartenders.
The apparent rationale behind this ban is the need to prevent bartenders from getting drunk during their shifts, given their responsibility to serve patrons safely. But it’s basically impossible to get drunk by passing the straw test. Axios actually implement Its own experiments (who says journalism can’t be fun?) found that it took 70 consecutive straw tests (from a 4-ounce martini) to fill a 1-ounce martini. Use a liquid jig. For context, most bartenders do no more than 30 straw tests an entire evening, and usually much shorter.
This ban is complete nonsense and Utah should repeal it.
