Why do Boston Call liquor stores package stores?

If you ever asked where our slang term came from, you were probably told it’s because the Boston Brahmins wanted drinking to be discreet. So, the story goes, they used their clout to get laws passed requiring liquor to be packaged discreetly in nondescript, brown paper after it was sold.

What does packaged liquor mean?

A regional liquor or package store is an alcoholic beverage establishment with a gross floor area of at least 7,500 square feet and licensed by the state exclusively for the retail sale of liquor or spirits in sealed containers for consumption off the premises where sold.

What does bar and package mean?

A Consumption Bar is when you are charged a price per drink consumed at your event. Each drink has a price and you pay for what you and your guests actually drink. A Package Bar is when you are charged a per person price no matter how much or how little that person drinks.

Why are liquor stores called Wine and spirits?

Liquor is the spirit of alcohol Alchemists in the Middle East were the first to master distillation. Then the alcohol is condensed down. In other words, the spirit of the liquor is leaving the lower alcohol base liquid, then coming back down in a purer form to drink. So we’re drinking the spirit of fermented liquid.

What is a Packie British slang?

Packie. A popular piece of Boston slang, “packie” — short for “package store” — describes a no-frills liquor store. And it’s almost always used in the context of a “quick run.”

What is a Packie in slang?

Noun. packie (plural packies) (slang, US) A package store.

Why are package stores called package stores?

One common explanation you hear is that various states, not wanting their citizens to be seen carrying disreputable liquor bottles on the street, mandated that liquor stores sell all their goods in brown paper bags—that is, in packages. The term “package store” has its roots back during that period.

What is the difference between a liquor store and a package store?

“Package store” is just a colloquialism for a state liquor store . Where I come from, in California, a “liquor store” is just another name for a convenience store that sells alcoholic beverages for off-site consumption.

Why do they call them package stores?

What is the difference between a package store and a liquor store?

Why is alcohol called liquor?

The origin of “liquor” and its close relative “liquid” was the Latin verb liquere, meaning “to be fluid”. The first use the OED mentions of its meaning “a liquid for drinking” occurred in the 14th century. Its use as a term for “an intoxicating alcoholic drink” appeared in the 16th century.