BYOB or BYO is an initialism and acronym concerning alcohol or marijuana that means "bring your own bottle" or "bring your own booze", "bring your own beer", or for marijuana, "bring your own bud".
BYOB is stated on an invitation to indicate that the host will not be providing alcohol and that guests should bring their own. Some restaurants and business establishments (especially in areas where liquor licenses are difficult to obtain) allow patrons to bring their own bottle, sometimes subject to fees or membership conditions, or because the establishment itself does not have license to sell alcohol [1] .[ citation needed ]
Today, BYOB may mean "bring your own bottle" or "bring your own booze". [2] BYOB is a later variant of the earlier expression, BYOL, meaning "bring your own liquor." [3] The earliest known examples of BYOL appeared in two panels of a cartoon by Frank M. Spangler in the Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama), December 26, 1915, page 5. The joke was that a man received an invitation with the mysterious letters "BYOL" in place of RSVP. He looked up the initials in a "social directory" and learned that it stood for "Bring Your Own Liquor".[ citation needed ]
Other early examples of the expression appeared in newspapers in Alabama or stories relating to Alabama, suggesting that it may have originated there, perhaps coined by Spangler himself. At the time, Alabama had recently enacted a new statewide prohibition law prohibiting the sale, but not the consumption of alcohol, making it necessary to bring one's own alcohol. [3]
A variant of BYOB is BYOS, meaning "bring your own sugar". This was used in England and the United States amid wartime rationing during World War I and again in World War II. [3]
Shortly after passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibiting the sale of alcohol nationwide, a joke about BYOL replacing RSVP on formal invitations began circulating in newspapers across the country. The joke appeared as early as June 1919 in the Des Moines (Iowa) Daily News, [4] and was in wide circulation by the end of the year. [3]
BYOB appeared occasionally during the 1920s, and when defined was usually rendered as "bring your own booze", although "beer", "bottle" and "beverage" were all suggested on at least one occasion. [5] BYOL was the dominant form of the expression until the 1950s. But when BYOB became more popular in the 1950s, it was regularly defined as "bring your own bottle", frequently in circumstances involving restaurants without liquor licenses. "Bring your own beverage" was in common use by the 1970s and was in wide circulation by the end of the year. [3]
In the 21st century, BYOF – "bring your own food" – appeared on the scene, referring to bars lacking full kitchens, encouraging patrons to bring their own food. [6]
Establishments that sell alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption, such as bars or restaurants, may also allow patrons to bring their own alcohol. That alcohol is usually subject to an opening fee. Often the rule is limited to bottles of wine, where the fee is known as corkage or a corking fee. [7] [8] Such policies are greatly regulated by local liquor control laws and licensing restrictions. [9]
As an alternative to the traditional full-service liquor license, some jurisdictions[ where? ] offer a similar license known as a bottle club license. It allows the business establishment to serve alcohol on the premises, but only if patrons brought the alcohol from elsewhere. The license generally prohibits the business from selling its own stock of alcoholic beverages and may require that patrons be members of the establishment. Such licenses may be preferred in situations where fees or zoning conditions imposed by a full-service liquor license are unwanted or impractical. They may also be the only license available, as some jurisdictions impose full-service liquor license quotas or business class restrictions.[ citation needed ]
In the United States, no license is required for private clubs that do not sell alcohol but allow patrons to bring their own. As obtaining a license to serve alcohol is complicated and expensive, and laws about what may happen on the premises are sometimes quite restrictive, strip clubs and other establishments providing some sexually-related service or environment often use a BYOB approach, sometimes announcing that they provide "mixers" (cocktail ingredients other than alcohol).
In Australia and New Zealand, the term "BYO" (Bring Your Own) emerged to describe business establishments that offered corkage. It is believed that restaurants in Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, were advertising as "BYO" establishments by the 1960s with the concept becoming popular in New Zealand in the late 1970s.
Legally, using New Zealand as an example, [10] if a premise only holds an on-licence-endorsed (BYOB license), an owner who is also a duty manager with a General Manager's Certificate is forbidden to have a wine list and sell alcohol on the premises. The owner must have both On-License & On-License-Endorsed to have a wine list and allow BYOB, thus calling the restaurant 'fully licensed'. [10]
In Taiwan whisky served at banquets is often brought from home. [11]
A bar, also known as a saloon, a tavern or tippling house, or sometimes as a pub or club, is an establishment retail business that serves alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, liquor, cocktails, and other beverages such as mineral water and soft drinks. Bars often also sell snack foods, such as crisps or peanuts, for consumption on their premises. Some types of bars, such as pubs, may also serve food from a restaurant menu. The term "bar" refers to the countertop where drinks are prepared and served, and by extension to the overall premises.
In a bar, a last call is an announcement made shortly before the bar closes for the night, informing patrons of their last chance to buy alcoholic beverages. There are various means to make the signal, like ringing a bell, flashing the lights, or announcing verbally.
A liquor store is a retail business that predominantly sells prepackaged alcoholic beverages, including liquors, wine or beer, usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence, off-sale, bottle shop, bottle store or, colloquially, bottle-o, liquor store or other similar terms. A very limited number of jurisdictions have an alcohol monopoly. In US states that are alcoholic beverage control (ABC) states, the term ABC store may be used.
Alcoholic beverage control states, generally called control states, less often ABC states, are 17 states in the United States that have state monopoly over the wholesaling or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits.
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, formerly the Washington State Liquor Control Board, is an administrative agency of the State of Washington. The Liquor and Cannabis Board is part of the executive branch and reports to the Governor. The board's primary function is the licensing of on and off premises establishments which sell any type of alcohol, and the enforcement and education of the state's alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis laws.
A liquor license is a governmentally issued permit for businesses to sell, manufacture, store, or otherwise use alcoholic beverages.
Alcoholic drinks in Sweden are as common as in most of the Western world. Sweden is historically part of the vodka belt, with high consumption of distilled drinks and binge drinking, but during the later half of the 20th century, habits became more harmonized with western Europe, with increasing popularity of wine and weekday drinking. Wine is now also grown and produced in several parts of Sweden and the southernmost region of Skåne is turning into a hub experiencing a strong growth in number of active vineyards.
Oklahoma allows any establishment with a beer and wine license to sell beer and wine up to 15% ABV, under refrigeration.
The alcohol laws of Missouri are among the most permissive in the United States. Missouri is known throughout the Midwest for its largely laissez-faire approach to alcohol regulation, in sharp contrast to the very strict alcohol laws of some of its neighbors, like Kansas and Oklahoma.
The alcohol laws of Kansas are among the strictest in the United States, in sharp contrast to its neighboring state of Missouri, and similar to its other neighboring state of Oklahoma. Legislation is enforced by the Kansas Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Alcohol laws of New York are a set of laws specific to manufacturing, purchasing, serving, selling, and consuming alcohol in the state of New York. Combined with federal and local laws, as well as vendor policies, alcohol laws of New York determine the state's legal drinking age, the driving under the influence limit, liquor license requirements, server training, and more.
The alcohol laws of Pennsylvania contain many peculiarities not found in other states, and are considered some of the strictest regulations in the United States.
Alcohol laws of Maryland vary considerably by county, due to the wide latitude of home rule granted to Maryland counties.
The alcohol laws of Utah regulate the selling and purchasing of alcohol in the U.S. state of Utah and are some of the most restrictive in the United States. A person must be 21 years old or older to buy or consume alcohol. The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (UDABS) has regulated the sale of alcoholic beverages since 1935, two years after the end of Prohibition. Utah is one of seventeen control states, meaning the state has a monopoly over the wholesaling and/or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverages.
The state laws governing alcoholic beverages in New Jersey are among the most complex in the United States, with many peculiarities not found in other states' laws. They provide for 29 distinct liquor licenses granted to manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and for the public warehousing and transport of alcoholic drinks. General authority for the statutory and regulatory control of alcoholic drinks rests with the state government, particularly the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control overseen by the state's Attorney General.
Alcohol laws of Australia are laws that regulate the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The legal drinking age is 18 throughout Australia. The minimum age for the purchase of alcoholic products in Australia is 18. A licence is required to produce or sell alcohol.
Alcohol has been consumed in New Zealand since the arrival of Europeans. The most popular alcoholic beverage is beer. The legal age to purchase alcohol is 18. New Zealand has an above average consumption rate of alcohol, in 2016 ranking 32nd globally in per-capita total alcohol consumption.
Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, are laws that restrict or ban some or all activities on specified days, particularly to promote the observance of a day of rest. Such laws may restrict shopping or ban sale of certain items on specific days. Blue laws are enforced in parts of the United States and Canada as well as some European countries, particularly in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Norway, keeping most stores closed on Sundays.