Stacy Cowley's article "A Liquor License Workaround: Fermented, Not Distilled" was published by the New York Times on February 3 2016. In her article, Cowley discusses the inability of entrepreneurs to acquire full liquor licenses and the ways they are working around these restrictive laws. Due to a upturn in the restaurant business, licenses that used to be inexpensive now cost upwards of $150,000, and in some cities, they can only be bought secondhand. Because partial licenses are more common and less expensive, many business owners are replacing distilled, hard liquors with fermented, wine-derived substitutes which were invented for this very purpose. Additionally, many are establishing their own distilleries to make their own alcohol, which is also permitted.
This phenomenon can be compared to prohibition, a time during which the production, transportation, and sale of alcohol was made illegal by the 18th amendment. This prompted an increase in organized crime in order to provide consumers with alcohol. Speakeasies were created as a place were people could consume alcohol despite the law. Although alcohol is not illegal now thanks to the 21st amendment, it is illegal for many of these business owners to sell certain types, and they too are looking for ways around it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/04/business/smallbusiness/restaurants-work-around-liquor-laws-with-wine-based-drinks.html?contentCollection=weekendreads&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=c-column-middle-span-region®ion=c-column-middle-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-middle-span-region&_r=0
This is a great synthesis, very informative and relevant to both time periods.
ReplyDeleteMichaela Molden, 5th Period