Utah bar owners say the state is cracking down on straw tests

Salt Lake City bar owners say Utah liquor regulators are cracking down on straw tests — a common technique used to ensure the quality of a cocktail.

Driving the news: State enforcers within the past year started warning bars against taste tests, several bar owners and staff told Axios.

• Regulators say these tests amount to illegal consumption of liquor on the job.

Why it matters: Mixologists at some of Salt Lake's most acclaimed bars say the straw test ban is stifling their creativity and forcing them to change their operations.

• They argue it's also likely to deter culinary talent from Salt Lake's exploding craft cocktail scene, right as Utah is overcoming its teetotaling reputation.

The big picture: Straw testing is a standard industry practice that bartenders liken to a chef tasting a sauce or soup before sending a plate out of the kitchen.

• A bartender dips the tip of a cocktail straw — a standard diameter of .15 inches — into a drink and places a drop or two into their mouth or on a finger to taste.
• The method helps bartenders become familiar with a new libation, avoid forgetting an ingredient in increasingly complex recipes or make changes at the customer's request.

What they're saying: "For some reason recently, they have decided that they wanted to let us know that it's absolutely not OK, even though it's something that they know [bars have] been doing for years," Mike Askerlund, who co-owns and runs Alibi Bar & Place , The Pearl and The Green Room , told Axios.

• "It's an infinitesimal amount of alcohol," said Clif Reagle, general manager of the nationally recognized Bar Nohm . "You're not straw-tasting every single drink."
• Some bar staff told Axios the issue has always been a grey area.

The other side: Utah's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) insists there have been no new enforcement efforts on their end.

• Alcohol consumption on the clock has not been permitted under state law for several decades, DABS spokesperson Michelle Schmitt told Axios. That includes taste-testing cocktails, even at minimal amounts.
• Schmitt said the department has sought to improve communication with alcohol license holders, which entails informing businesses about straw testing.
• "It's been happening over the years," she said. "There was no point in time where somebody at the department said, 'Now we will tell people this has been illegal.'"

Between the lines: Schmitt said she's not aware of what's causing the confusion around the sampling of alcoholic beverages. She noted it's possible that the Utah Department of Public Safety's alcohol enforcement team is bringing up straw testing more often with license holders.

• She said there hasn't been a recent increase in violations of on-duty alcohol consumption among license holders.

Threat level: Such breaches are considered "serious violations," that could result in a $500-$3,000 fine and a 5-to-30-day suspension for a business for a first-time violation.

Creative license, revoked

Straw tests are especially crucial for a popular type of improvised recipe creation, known as bartender roulette where patrons describe the ingredients and flavors they like, and the bartender comes up with a new drink on the spot.

Zoom in: Bar X is known for its roulette program, which makes up about 25% of its cocktail orders, said co-owner Richard Noel, who also operates the neighboring Beer Bar and the Cotton Bottom in Holladay.

• Since a DABS audit in April when Noel learned about the sampling restrictions, the staff has limited roulette drinks to already-known recipes.
• "It's not fun anymore," Noel said. "The whole point of the straw test is to make sure a cocktail is balanced and has the right ingredients."

The other side: Ara Megerdichian, general manager of Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club at The Gateway, said he's never allowed straw tests in the multiple bars, restaurants and nightclubs he's run in Utah over the past two decades.

• "We have recipes for all of our drinks and all the drinks should be consistently made," Megerdichian told Axios. "[Bartenders] really shouldn't need to straw test."

Zoom out: Personalized mixing is a growing movement in craft cocktails, with bartenders winning fame for their on-the-fly concoctions in Dallas ; Nashville , Tennessee; Seattle ; Charleston, South Carolina and Washington, D.C .

Keeping up with the times

Utah's population is growing fast, with transplants from cities that set high expectations for cocktails, said Jordon Strang, bar manager for the high-end HSL restaurant downtown.

State of play: Cocktail culture has seen a major revival nationally in recent years, with a heavy emphasis on showcasing innovation, Strang told Axios.

Friction point: Mixologists here already are working around some of the country's strictest liquor laws .

• Happy hour specials are banned, pours of base liquors are limited to 1.5 oz., and bars have to stock their shelves from a state-run supply chain that doesn't always carry the bottles they want.
• Eliminating taste tests is just another setback, bartenders told Axios.

What they're saying: "They want the Olympics," said Noel, referring to Salt Lake City's bid to host the 2034 Winter Games . "We need to make sure we're making world-class cocktails, and they've essentially taken that away from us."

Context: Alcohol laws are crafted by state lawmakers — most of whom are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

• The Utah-based faith forbids alcohol for members in good standing.
• Axios requested an interview with Layton Republican state Sen. Jerry Stevenson, who has sponsored multiple bills related to alcohol policy, about the legality of straw testing. A Senate spokesperson referred Axios to DABS.

Catch up quick: In the past, critics have accused state regulators of hostile oversight of alcohol sales, by leaders who largely didn't imbibe in the first place.

The latest: New DABS leadership has undertaken a yearslong effort to rehabilitate the agency , improve liquor stores and remove barriers for businesses that sell alcohol.

Yes, but: On taste tests, Utah remains restrictive.

Case in point: Oklahoma revised its state liquor laws earlier this year, allowing bartenders to sample drinks and allow straw tests "to determine the quality or desired flavor profile" of an alcoholic beverage before it's served to a customer.

• "The goal here is to clarify that language and allow these businesses to provide the level of service their customers have come to expect," GOP state Rep. Neil Hays, who authored the legislation, said in a statement in April.

The bottom line: Both Strang and Askerlund say they would support similar legislation if it were introduced in Utah.

• "And I think every single person buying cocktails in the state of Utah would as well," Strang said.

Read more: The amount of alcohol in a Utah cocktail taste test