Virginia Legislators Graciously Consider Lifting 70-Year Ban on Sangria

Radley Balko | January 25, 2008

Fresh off saving the Old Dominion from the scourge of frozen beer on a stick last summer, Virginia's Alcohol Beverage Control is now taking aim at Spanish and Latin restaurants that serve sangria, because the red wine and brandy in the drink violates a 70-year-old, post-Prohibition law forbidding the mix of wine and spirits. A bartender at a tapas restaurant right down the road from me is looking at a year in jail for serving the drink.

Legislators are considering amending the law, but only to allow sangria. Other drinks mixing wine, beer, and/or spirits would still be verboten.

Comments

|1.25.08 @ 1:50PM|#

*slaps forehead*

|1.25.08 @ 1:53PM|#

That sangria makes all them mexicans think they're as good as whites. Wouldn't surprise me if it causes white women to go to bed with negroes as well.

Kolohe|1.25.08 @ 1:53PM|#

You mean all those flaming dr peppers I had during my years in Blacksburg weren't legal? I never knew I was such a rebel.

Episiarch|1.25.08 @ 1:54PM|#

Not to lessen the stupidity of this, but why not just leave out the brandy? The wine is the important part.

|1.25.08 @ 1:56PM|#

Naw, it's no good that way. The fruit juices would leave it with less alcohol than beer.

|1.25.08 @ 1:57PM|#

Radley, are you telling me that fucking IRISH CAR BOMBS and BOILERMAKERS are illegal in Virginia?
Scratch another state off the list of living options.

Fluffy|1.25.08 @ 1:57PM|#

I used to live in Arlington, and loved La Tasca.

Had I been present when they were cited for serving sangria, I would probably be hanging out with Jose Padilla right now.

Any state in which sangria is illegal is a piece of crap.

|1.25.08 @ 1:58PM|#

Kolohe,
I am assuming that a "Flaming Dr. Pepper" is not a gay scientist, nor does it contain anything other than a soft drink and hard liquor. In that case, it would have been legal. A beer bomb or Sake Maritini on the other hand, not legal.

Fluffy|1.25.08 @ 1:59PM|#

Wouldn't this make kir royales illegal too?

Don't look now, but Mrs. Fluffy just grabbed a bazooka and is headed to Virginia.

|1.25.08 @ 2:00PM|#

Hrrm, come to think of it, I would suspect that a traditional vermouth martini is illegal. WTF is wrong with Virginia?

Tym|1.25.08 @ 2:01PM|#

I guess it means no Glögg either.

Episiarch|1.25.08 @ 2:02PM|#

Wouldn't this make kir royales illegal too?

I don't know. Is that one of the girl drinks you like?

Tym|1.25.08 @ 2:02PM|#

Hrrm, come to think of it, I would suspect that a traditional vermouth martini is illegal. WTF is wrong with Virginia?

Ant a WHOLE YEAR in yail for serving it?

Tym|1.25.08 @ 2:03PM|#

Should proof read ->

And a WHOLE YEAR in jail for serving it?

|1.25.08 @ 2:03PM|#

Everyone knows that when you mix alcohol, the devil is summoned.
We'll have no devil-summoning in Virginny.

Fluffy|1.25.08 @ 2:04PM|#

No, Epi, but if I take my wife out I won't order a drink if she doesn't, and therefore I am invested in the continued existence of the handful of drinks she actually likes.

|1.25.08 @ 2:04PM|#

Don't forget the $2500 fine!

jim|1.25.08 @ 2:06PM|#

"graciously" consider? There is nothing gracious or graceful or anything but "idiotically remember prohibition rules may perhaps be out of date!"

friggin idiots.

Episiarch|1.25.08 @ 2:06PM|#

Watch the clip, Fluffy. It's the Kids in the Hall. It's funny.

|1.25.08 @ 2:12PM|#

Kwix- The Flaming Dr. Pepper is a flaming cocktail that originated at the Ptarmigan Club in Bryan, Texas. It is said to taste like the soft drink Dr Pepper, although it does not contain any soda. It is usually made by filling a shot glass 3/4 full with Amaretto, and 1/4 Bacardi 151 (or Everclear) to make it flammable. (The two liquors are not mixed; rather, the high-proof alcohol is layered on top to burn more easily.) The shot is then set on fire and dropped into a glass half-filled with beer. The flaming shot is extinguished by the beer, which foams up and is then quickly consumed. A common variation is to use Amaretto and Kahlua.

You can light about 4-8 of them at the same time by spitting out a wicked fireball. Buddy of mine did it all the time(college town) until the owners said something about insurance and burning bodies.

|1.25.08 @ 2:12PM|#

oh, thats from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_Dr_Pepper

|1.25.08 @ 2:12PM|#

Calling the Wine Commonsewer: Do you approve of Sangria? Might that be the only way to drink Glen Ellen?

|1.25.08 @ 2:17PM|#

Hrrm, come to think of it, I would suspect that a traditional vermouth martini is illegal.

WTF, indeed. I was also thinking, what about sherry? Or is it OK if the drink in made elsewhere as opposed to mixed on the premises?

Vincent Gigante|1.25.08 @ 2:19PM|#

Gregory | January 25, 2008, 1:53pm | #
That sangria makes all them mexicans think they're as good as whites. Wouldn't surprise me if it causes white women to go to bed with negroes as well."
haha!

Best part though
"Legislators are considering amending the law, but only to allow sangria. Other drinks mixing wine, beer, and/or spirits would still be verboten."

If we got back to see who was behind the prohibition movement, it was the puriran (christian) movement of the early 20th century. It does not surprise me to have people who still think that way (plenty of them too)

|1.25.08 @ 2:23PM|#

"I don't mix no red sangria,
I ain't got none in my bar,
If I had some wine and brandy
I would obey the law ..."

|1.25.08 @ 2:25PM|#

The General Assembly, which began a 60-day legislative session this month, is considering whether to tweak the antiquated law to allow restaurants and bars to serve sangria made of more than wine.

A House subcommittee is scheduled to debate the bill Thursday.

"It just seems to make common sense that government should worry about big issues like transportation and not get too concerned about what people drink," said Del. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria), who introduced the bill.

Why not just repeal the old law on a voice vote and be done with it?

|1.25.08 @ 2:39PM|#

So you have a shot and you drop the shot in a pint of beer and a bunch of stuff happens and the who mess ends up in your tummy...

You telling me that is Illegal?

I thought my state was fucked up.

|1.25.08 @ 2:39PM|#

In the sin city of Olongapo, Luzon, Phillipines, they served this wonderful concoction called Mojo. Surprisingly tasty, this stuff will definately raise your BAC abiove the legal limit. Here's the recipe for a bucket of the stuff. Do your own math to get it down to size.

1 qt light rum
1 qt dark rum
1 pint cherry brandy
6 cans light beer
5 cans 7-Up® soda
4 qt pineapple juice
2 bags ice

Mix all ingredients in a large container. Keep stirred.

It goes down sooo easy. You don't notice the booze till you try to stand up.

|1.25.08 @ 2:43PM|#

Amending my last. Replace "light beer" with this.

kinnnath|1.25.08 @ 2:45PM|#

Kool-aid with a punch:

one shot Vodka
one shot Blue Curacao
one shot lemon sweet & sour

in a tall glass with ice, then top of with your favorite clear non-cola soda

|1.25.08 @ 2:48PM|#

I like how Kwix just blindly assumed a poster was wrong without having any idea of what's in a flaming DP.

|1.25.08 @ 2:57PM|#

How can one keep a mistress in Virginia without an occasional tinto de limon?

|1.25.08 @ 3:02PM|#

I've been served some Sangria in my time that folks should go to jail for. Its an over-rated drink which is sometimes an excuse to off-load some very rough wine on an unsuspecting drinking public.

|1.25.08 @ 3:05PM|#

Anyone who adds vermouth to gin should be taken to Gitmo immediately.

I take my martinis the same as Churchill, thank you.

|1.25.08 @ 3:10PM|#

Remind me again why Virginia is supposedly such a great state? No rights for gays, has sangria and equivalent outlawed....

Oh yeah, it's that Thomas Jefferson guy, right?

|1.25.08 @ 3:12PM|#

Well to be fair, it's not really a bar/restaurant kind of a drink, more suited for parties and backyard festivities. i wouldn't feel right ordering it, but it would be fun to make for a summer party. as far as "overrated", from my experience it's just red wine, triple sec(or brandy i guess) a sweetner and some chopped fruit, not exactly high-class. it's adult punch really. but it's from spain so i guess that means it's should be okay for virginian high society. got to make sure the peasants don't mix anything else though...

R C Dean|1.25.08 @ 3:14PM|#

I dunno, Shane, a good sangria is a damn fine hot weather drink.

|1.25.08 @ 3:22PM|#

Virginia's liquor laws and their enforcement are a total racket. This from one of the birthplaces of moonshine.

A rethinking of this crap might be one of the benefits of us displaced Yankees in northern Virginia starting to take over the place.

|1.25.08 @ 3:39PM|#

"Not to lessen the stupidity of this, but why not just leave out the brandy? The wine is the important part."

I feel the same way about buffalo wings. Get rid of all that sauce. The wings are the important part anyway.

|1.25.08 @ 3:45PM|#

"Not to lessen the stupidity of this, but why not just leave out the brandy? The wine is the important part."

Because then it would just be fruity wine, not sangria.

I feel the same way about buffalo wings. Get rid of all that sauce. The wings are the important part anyway.

Because then it would just be chicken, not Buffalo wings.

It's like reese's cups without the peanut butter, or oreos without milk, or pizza without cheese, stop talking crazy!

Episiarch|1.25.08 @ 3:49PM|#

A rethinking of this crap might be one of the benefits of us displaced Yankees in northern Virginia starting to take over the place.

Uh, displaced Yankees from states with blue laws? We haven't changed them here, what makes you think you will change them there?

Episiarch|1.25.08 @ 3:51PM|#

I feel the same way about buffalo wings. Get rid of all that sauce. The wings are the important part anyway.

I was merely asking why they didn't skip the brandy to comply with the law. You can still get hammered off the wine part of it. If they passed a stupid law that you couldn't have the blue cheese dip with your wings, would you still eat them?

|1.25.08 @ 3:56PM|#

Shane: Cointreu for the high society folks. The best sangria I ever had (which led to the belief that I could bullfight a calf) contained wine, Cointreu, vodka, sugar and fruit. Generally, people would mix it with a carbonated beverage called Casera, which is like slightly sweetened club soda or less sweet Sprite.

Episiarch: Sure, but they wouldn't be called chicken wings. In your scenario it would be called "wine." Sorry if my response sounded all dick, wasn't intended.

|1.25.08 @ 3:57PM|#

I meant:

Sure, but they wouldn't be called chicken Buffalo wings.

Paul|1.25.08 @ 3:59PM|#

Legislators are considering amending the law, but only to allow sangria. Other drinks mixing wine, beer, and/or spirits would still be verboten.

We're gonna fight the War on Drugs on battle at a time. This is proof that we're winning.

/sarcasm

Disgruntled|1.25.08 @ 4:09PM|#

I want one legislator-just one-to offer a coherent explanation of why this law is a good idea. Without mentioning the children, please.

|1.25.08 @ 4:15PM|#

Shane,
Thanks for informing me of what exactly a "Flaming Dr. Pepper" is. You learn a new recipe every day!

Abdul|1.25.08 @ 4:23PM|#

I want one legislator-just one-to offer a coherent explanation of why this law is a good idea. Without mentioning the children, please.

I'm no legislator, but on general principle people shouldn't ruin a perfectly good Jamesons by dropping it into a beer.

If a few men go to jail in order for the rest of society to learn the lesson, so be it.

|1.25.08 @ 4:29PM|#

Sangria margaritas are really good though. Banning sangria means banning sangria margaritas and that's just wrong. Wrong, I say!

|1.25.08 @ 4:30PM|#

Don't care for sangria.
But the comments about Kir got me stirred up. I like the regular and the royal. And it is great to drink to the memory of Felix Kir.

|1.25.08 @ 4:38PM|#

It is illegal to mix wine with fruit juice, but is it illegal to mix Jesus's blood with fruit juice?

notjohn|1.25.08 @ 4:52PM|#

Those Mexicans are disobeying the law , the all mighty, God sanctioned law of a governing body on their subjects that without which we are doomed to chaos, social destruction, libertarians in high office, Bill Kristol's nails scuffed and men marrying their horses . . .

|1.25.08 @ 5:03PM|#

you mean i can't have a hillary wallbanger? a peach bottom? a cooler by the lake? a welcome delight? a soloquoy? a hot springs cocktail or an italian spritzer? A CHEAP STEVE? COME ON PEOPLE IN VIRGINIA WHAT THE HELL DO YOU PEOPLE DRINK AFTER COLLEGE?

|1.25.08 @ 5:04PM|#

I forgot sexy rocket fuel...man you virginians just haven't lived until you've had some sexy rocket fuel...

Robert|1.25.08 @ 6:00PM|#

The way you serve a shot-and-a-beer, a bump-and-a-beer, a boilermaker, whatever you call it, is the shot and the beer separately, and the drinker mixes them if desired. I'm sure that's legal in Va.

Or if you're Drinky Crow, you'll have some other say of mixing them or they'll get mixed within you as a byproduct of some gruesome event that leaves Xs on your eyes.

|1.25.08 @ 7:12PM|#

How about frozen Sangria on a steek…

alan|1.25.08 @ 9:21PM|#

COME ON PEOPLE IN VIRGINIA WHAT THE HELL DO YOU PEOPLE DRINK AFTER COLLEGE?

Ever have white lightning? Fuck absinthe, if you really want to see shit drink some of that swill. I have my moonshiner on speed dial.

Sort of kidding there, I'm not a Virginian, definitely not a redneck (dad being union, mum being a hippie, I was brought up a Democrat) one state over and to the South, but I typically buy a few mason jars for my fourth of July party from our town's fire marshal who
has cornered the distribution here.

alan|1.25.08 @ 9:27PM|#

Ever have white lightning?

Awesome grammar there! When rewording a sentence don't forget you'll likely need to change the verb tense. Bleh.