Santa Fe liquor store owners say outlawing mini bottles has little impact

Aug. 13—Raymond Ortiz might have been speaking for every liquor store owner in Santa Fe when he pointed to the "quarter-pint" bottles of alcohol on the wall behind him.

There, on one of the shelves, was a row of clear or brightly colored liquids housed in quarter-pint bottles — in essence, the new minis, small containers of about 3.4 ounces of whatever it is you want to drink.

"People used to come by and buy one shot," said Ortiz, owner of Rodeo Plaza Liquors, referring to the old mini bottles of about 1.7 ounces of liquor that are now outlawed in the state.

"Now they come by and buy two shots."

That's because last year the Legislature prohibited the sale of minis as part of a sweeping liquor license regulation act that, among other measures, allows for home delivery for alcohol with food orders and provides for less expensive fees for liquor licenses for restauranteurs.

Lawmakers who supported the legislation said the provision prohibiting minis would help curb drunken driving and cut down on discarded mini bottles littering the roads.

Based on a visit to local liquor stores, the ban provision — House Bill 255 from the 2021 regular legislative session — is likely having little, if any impact, Ortiz and other store owners said.

"They move to the next smallest size, which is the quarter-pint," said James Jo, manager of the Kelly Liquors Solana store on West Alameda Street.

Or, if customers are dead set on buying minis, they can now buy them in 10-packs, commonly known as sleeves. Richard Anaya, owner of the Liquid Company Package Liquors store on St. Michael's Drive, had a 10-mini-pack of Yukon Jack available for $6.99.

Anaya was asked whether those who buy sleeves drink them as quickly as they might individual minis.

"You tell me," he said.

He said his store used to do a "pretty good turnaround" on the minis when they were available. And now, like other liquor store owners, he said customers are simply moving to the quarter-pint size.

Some local liquor store owners said customers from other states who come in to buy minis are surprised to learn they no longer are for sale. And, they said, sometimes people used to buy minis not for drinking — or so the customers say — but because they need a small amount of alcohol for cooking.

Anaya, like Ortiz and Jo, did not know if liquor sales are really affected by the ban. A manager at Kokoman Fine Wines and Spirits in Pojoaque said he sees no appreciable difference in business.

"It hasn't cut back on drinking," said the manager, who asked not to be identified. "There's a reason we are ranked so high for DWIs."

Indeed, New Mexico usually ranks among the top states for drunken-driving incidents. A recent New Mexico In Depth report said New Mexicans die of alcohol-related causes at nearly three times the national average, with alcohol killing nearly 1,900 residents in 2020 alone.

And a lot of that alcohol is cheap.

Earlier this week, lawmakers on the interim Economic Development and Policy Committee met — just days after a man accused of driving drunk plowed into a crowd during a ceremonial parade in Gallup, injuring at least 15 — to hear an update on the economic impact of HB 255.

While part of that session focused on how many struggling restaurants are applying for the new, more affordable license, the debate among lawmakers often turned to what Rep. Moe Maestas called the "social price" the state pays for its dependence on alcohol.

Speaking by phone Thursday, Maestas, one of the sponsors of HB 255, said it "opened the door" for discussions on alcohol use and policy. He said he would like to see a bill that would set up a system for inventorying liquor stores on how much alcohol they sell and what type and size.

Maestas and Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, both said they foresee legislative efforts to initiate new alcohol tax policies in next year's 60-day legislative session, scheduled to begin in mid-January.

Maestas said he would not be surprised if there are legislative efforts to repeal the ban on minis within a few years if there is little or no evidence to prove eradicating them helped with the state's alcohol problem.

The Legislature, he said, will watch to see if the provision produced the "intended effects, if people are cutting down on spontaneous drinking."

Ortiz said he thinks the provision is a mistake. He said he thinks it now causes people "to drink more and not have the choice [to limit it] that they had before."

As for the litter problem, he and other liquor store owners say it has not been resolved one bit. Now, instead of finding small plastic minis on the ground in their parking lots and along the street, you'll encounter the larger quarter-pint bottles, both plastic and glass.

Ortiz y Pino warned lawmakers last year the prohibition on selling minis individually would not work when it comes to curbing drinking or littering.

"That was a shot in the dark," he said this week. "There was no reason to believe it would work.

"Now I pick up liquor bottles on the road in front of my house in Dixon and now they're just the next size up," he added.