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Poll: Do you think Mass. should extend to-go cocktails?

The state legislature passed a bill that would extend cocktails to-go for another year.

Takeout cocktails
Bartender/server Sunny Beane prepares an old fashioned and a Tequila Mockingbird cocktails to go, at the Tasty restaurant on Court Street in Plymouth. Globe Staff/Debee Tlumacki

By Shira Laucharoen

While takeout cocktails may have emerged as a product of the pandemic, it appears that many people want them to stay around, including Massachusetts lawmakers.

Earlier this week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate approved a supplemental budget bill that, among other things, would extend cocktails to-go for one year. The legislation is now heading to Governor Maura Healey for her to sign. Currently, there is a temporary measure allowing for to-go cocktails that will expire on April 1, 2023 and the new bill would extend their sale until April 1, 2024.

In 2021, Boston.com asked readers if they thought takeout cocktails should stay, and a 95% majority told us that they should. Many readers said that the practice of buying takeout cocktails allows customers to support restaurants more. Others said that the drinks help eateries to make up for lost revenue caused by pandemic lockdowns. A very small portion of readers, or 4.5% said that the bottled beverages should not continue to be sold.

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Tell us: Do you think Massachusetts should extend to-go cocktails? What do you think of the legislation and what it would do for businesses? Share with us in the poll below, or e-mail us at [email protected]. We may feature your response in a future article or on our social media channels.

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