Thread: Question about booze

I just moved to WA recently and discovered that any "hard" alcohol has to be purchased at a state store - WHY? is it so they can continue to impose the insane tax rate that they have on alcohol? Is Oregon the same? I remember hearing that the store with the highest amount of alcohol sales on the west coast is Costco in Crescent City, CA - I was kinda shocked when I heard that but the article said that it was due to all of the people from SW Oregon traveling there to buy liquor in bulk for friends and family because the prices were that much cheaper than in OR.

I thought it was strange that you couldn't buy package hard liquor or real property / cars on Sunday in Colorado but at least there was competitive prices and private liquor stores that regularly ran sales.

That said - is it cheaper to buy booze in OR than WA?

state store? dunno what that is..

here in oregun we just have liquor stores. i'm not up on prices... what's a bottle of 1800 anejo or basil hayden's cost up there?

Originally Posted by Swedish K

I just moved to WA recently and discovered that any "hard" alcohol has to be purchased at a state store - WHY? is it so they can continue to impose the insane tax rate that they have on alcohol? Is Oregon the same? I remember hearing that the store with the highest amount of alcohol sales on the west coast is Costco in Crescent City, CA - I was kinda shocked when I heard that but the article said that it was due to all of the people from SW Oregon traveling there to buy liquor in bulk for friends and family because the prices were that much cheaper than in OR.

I thought it was strange that you couldn't buy package hard liquor or real property / cars on Sunday in Colorado but at least there was competitive prices and private liquor stores that regularly ran sales.

That said - is it cheaper to buy booze in OR than WA?

Definitely cheaper to buy in OR. More selection too, since WA has some stupid restriction on alcohols over 151 proof. And yeah, the state controls liquor sales because of the asinine tax rate.

Originally Posted by bkb0000

state store? dunno what that is..

here in oregun we just have liquor stores. i'm not up on prices... what's a bottle of 1800 anejo or basil hayden's cost up there?

not sure what those run as I've only been into one of the WA stores but the WA liquor prices are fixed - same price at all stores. The website says price is based on "shipped cost" + %51.9 + 16.7 cents per liter profit markup + %20.5 state tax + $3.7708 per liter.

So lets say you are going to buy a liter of vodka and wholesale shipped price is $1. that would make the buyer's cost $5.81 figuring the state probably rounds up for any part of a penny. Talk about organized crime. And to think that a cheap 1.75 of vodka would regularly be on sale for $10 in CA or CO. I'm guessing that it would cost $25 - $30 here.

Oregon has Liquor stores also.. i usually go to visit friends in CA to buy mine .. 1/2 gal jack is 32 down there a fifth is around 30 here .

Voters just turned down an initiative to approve selling hard alcohol at stores other than liquor stores which yes, in Washington are state run. Folks didn't like the idea of underage drinkers being able to "straw purchase" liquor (I guess beer is okay?) at convenience stores at 2AM which is admittedly probably easier than at an actual liquor store. Personally I'm kinda indifferent on the matter.

Most people dont realize it, but all of Oregons liquor stores are state regulated.
All liquor is bought from the state and priced by the state.

The OLCC holds a monopoly over the sale of all distilled beverages in the state of Oregon.

Here is a list of every liquor store in Oregon.
http://www.olcc.state.or.us/pdfs/liquor_store_list.pdf

a little reading material:
Alcoholic beverages in Oregon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Everyone goes south to get their booze. People from Washington come to Oregon. Those of us in Oregon go to California...

OK so next trip back to CA or back to CO is a stock up run.

Originally Posted by MrNiceGuy

Most people dont realize it, but all of Oregons liquor stores are state regulated.
All liquor is bought from the state and priced by the state.

The OLCC holds a monopoly over the sale of all distilled beverages in the state of Oregon.

Here is a list of every liquor store in Oregon.
http://www.olcc.state.or.us/pdfs/liquor_store_list.pdf

a little reading material:
Alcoholic beverages in Oregon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I was going to post it up, but here it is.

Oregon is the same way, just not as expensive as WA.

I kinda miss California somedays, like when I was in the grocery store, and could pick up a bottle of whiskey while I was there..

sin taxes, they do the same on tabacco and ammo.

Looks like i'll have to start hitting the liquor stores back in CO or in WY on my next road trip. Last time I was going to stock up on the way back home but forgot about the blue laws that keep the liquor stores closed on Sundays.

Anybody in Oregon remember when all the state owned liquor stores were painted green?

Ah yes, back in the day we called 'em the "green-front grocery"!!

It boggles my mind why Oregon is in the liquor business. Just another state agency that requires funding.

Originally Posted by glockfan

It boggles my mind why Oregon is in the liquor business. Just another state agency that requires funding.

The revenue they bring is far greater than what it costs to run the OLCC. Consider that nearly half of the price of a bottle of booze directly to the olcc.

The distributorships are the ones that essentially defeated the bill in WA and probably the main reason why OR is the same. They're in bed with the state to keep and control their monopoly. Privatization of this industry would make it more efficient and less expensive--but tell me what bureaucrat wants efficiencies and cost effectiveness?

What's even more amazing than the depression-era state booze stores is that the fool voters here were swayed by a fear mongering political mailer campaign with "blood in the streets and dead children" BS and subsequently voted down two initiatives that would have ended state monopoly on hard booze sales and increased our personal liberty here

There's a genuine incentive here to build a still and hide it out in the woods away from them revenuers

Originally Posted by Blitzkrieg

What's even more amazing than the depression-era state booze stores is that the fool voters here were swayed by a fear mongering political mailer campaign with "blood in the streets and dead children" BS and subsequently voted down two initiatives that would have ended state monopoly on hard booze sales and increased our personal liberty here

There's a genuine incentive here to build a still and hide it out in the woods away from them revenuers

Welcome to the Lewis County way of life.

Originally Posted by Redcap

Welcome to the Lewis County way of life.

I'm in Thurston, soon to be Mason Cty.. I'm acclimating fast

There's a safeway in Yreka that gets my business whenever I'm close enough.