"Liquor by the glass" - When was that enacted?

I know there are some historians here with much better research chops than mine, and would appreciate their help.

Some friends and I were having a discussion on unusual laws, and it brought up a childhood memory - in the early 1960s I remember hearing/reading all over the news the "liquor by the glass" issue. Apparently back then you couldn't just order a mixed drink or shot at a bar; you had to buy the whole bottle, and at some establishments they'd "keep" your bottle for when you later came in and dispense from that.

I looked all over the Wikis for ballot issues in 1960-64 as well as other searches but came up dry {bad pun intended}. Seem to remember it being a ballot issue but must have been just a legislative thing.

I vaguely remember hearing some history about that. From what I remember, it was a way for bars to get around *very* early prohibition rules trying to shut them down. Laws were passed making it illegal to sell liquor in any amount less than a bottle. So bars would sell you an entire bottle and "keep" it for you.

Of course, the accounting would be fairly lax on the bar's part, and they wouldn't actually hold a bottle for one person. You'd pay up front for bottle's worth of drinks and it would go on your tab. Then you'd get x number of drinks until you used up your tab. If they were visited by the police for an audit, the police would get free drinks until they went away.

I don't remember where I read about it. There's a good history book of liquor in the US somewhere...

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Originally Posted by JBMcB

...If they were visited by the police for an audit, the police would get free drinks until they went away.

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So, there were no donut shops in those days?

I'm only guessing, but that must have been under a limited number of license types. Bars in restaurants would not have been able to do this when serving mixed drinks to diners, for example. People would not be guaranteed to return to that type of establishment to "finish the bottle".
I'm not sure these days, but back in the 60s-90s there were different levels of licenses for selling alcohol in Mich. The ranged from beer and wine only, beer, wine and dancing; beer, wine, alcohol; b,w,a and dancing; various ones to add pinball machines; special licenses for card playing, etc, so I'm pretty sure there would have been ones for beer, wine, whiskey by the bottle, etc.

I believe this started when Prohibition was repealed in 1933. Michigan had been dry with regards to hard liquor - at least officially - long before Prohibition was enacted, perhaps as early as 1900. There was a flourishing trade in booze from Canada and surrounding states. I recall the major change in alcoholic beverage control in Michigan was in the late 1960's when that bars and restaurants were allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays during limited hours, I believe between Noon and 9 p.m. If you are interested in the history of Prohibition the best book out there is Last Call by Daniel Okrent - Excellent. I have another story about "bottle on the table" drinking, but this post is already too long.

Those were known as "Blue Laws" and when they first allowed drinking on Sunday, it usually had to be in a restaurant and you had to order food. Was that way in Ontario up until at least the 1970s

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Originally Posted by 13606Cedargrove

I believe this started when Prohibition was repealed in 1933. Michigan had been dry with regards to hard liquor - at least officially - long before Prohibition was enacted, perhaps as early as 1900. There was a flourishing trade in booze from Canada and surrounding states. I recall the major change in alcoholic beverage control in Michigan was in the late 1960's when that bars and restaurants were allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays during limited hours, I believe between Noon and 9 p.m. If you are interested in the history of Prohibition the best book out there is Last Call by Daniel Okrent - Excellent. I have another story about "bottle on the table" drinking, but this post is already too long.

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My dad was in charge of entertainment licensing in the city of Detroit back in the 60's/70's for the DPD. He had to enforce a lot of the half ass rules the State of Michigan had on the books and he used to tell me a lot of what those entailed. Movies, carnivals, bars, jukeboxes, book stores, topless joints, etc. I don't remember a lot of it, but bits and pieces have stuck.

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Originally Posted by 5939DT

..."liquor by the glass" issue.

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It changed a few days after I threw my glass away. Just my luck, I had to purchase a new one at an inflated price.

This discussion got me looking and I found this very interest booklet on Michigan.gov. It's a downloadable pdf.

Attachment 42782

Attachment 42783

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Originally Posted by 5939DT

I know there are some historians here with much better research chops than mine, and would appreciate their help.

Some friends and I were having a discussion on unusual laws, and it brought up a childhood memory - in the early 1960s I remember hearing/reading all over the news the "liquor by the glass" issue. Apparently back then you couldn't just order a mixed drink or shot at a bar; you had to buy the whole bottle, and at some establishments they'd "keep" your bottle for when you later came in and dispense from that.

I looked all over the Wikis for ballot issues in 1960-64 as well as other searches but came up dry {bad pun intended}. Seem to remember it being a ballot issue but must have been just a legislative thing.

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It was a local ballot issue through the 1950s to 1970s. Looking at old newspapers, I see a smattering of election results approving liquor by the glass, from Roseville to Oakland Twp to Trenton.

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Originally Posted by MikeM

It was a local ballot issue through the 1950s to 1970s. Looking at old newspapers, I see a smattering of election results approving liquor by the glass, from Roseville to Oakland Twp to Trenton.

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Aha, a local issue, that explains why I didn't see any mention in state elections. May have been just in Highland Park where I grew up, remember my father explaining the "whole bottle" thing to others.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Ray1936, was this restriction in effect in City of Detroit?

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Originally Posted by 5939DT

Aha, a local issue, that explains why I didn't see any mention in state elections. May have been just in Highland Park where I grew up, remember my father explaining the "whole bottle" thing to others.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Ray1936, was this restriction in effect in City of Detroit?

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Nov 7, 1962:
Attachment 42784

Many municipalities in Michigan banned selling alcohol by the glass or were dry altogether for many years after the end of prohibition. A lot of places in Oakland County were like this, hence the infamous Last Chance Bar on Woodward just south of 8 Mile. In fact, Oak Park banned the sale of all alcohol by the glass until they finally allowed restaurants to start serving beer and wine - but still not hard liquor - in 2013. The city's voters passed liquor by the glass sales in a 2015 referendum.

Highland Park was like that because Henry Ford was a teetotaler and prohibitionist, and definitely didn't want his workers hanging around in bars before work. Kind of ironic given Highland Park's later reputation, or for that matter the reputations of various members of later generations of the Ford family.