Live free or die...

[SAMIAM]

NH is nowhere near the top of the charts for alcohol consumption...sales, yes.
Thousands of people from Maine, Mass, NY, NJ, Conn and other states stock up at state stores every week because of the tax free savings and low prices.
They buy for themselves, neighbors and friends. and this all shows very inflated
numbers for NH. Relax, we're not all alcoholics up here

[Garcia]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

NH is nowhere near the top of the charts for alcohol consumption...sales, yes.
Thousands of people from Maine, Mass, NY, NJ, Conn and other states stock up at state stores every week because of the tax free savings and low prices.
They buy for themselves, neighbors and friends. and this all shows very inflated
numbers for NH. Relax, we're not all alcoholics up here

A quick Google search shows NH is at the top of the states for per capita consumption at 4.67 gallons. Utah is lowest at 1.35. I was surprised by NH, not at all by Utah. Maybe sales to other states skew results.

[fatlazyless]

Is certainly possible that sales to Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island attracted to NH State Liquor's low prices and huge selection could be what this is really all about?

"The NH State Liquor store does NOT sell any adult beverage that is below 6% alcohol by volume!" .... ... "Live Free or Die!"

Is highly unusual to see a car around these here parts to be driving erratic that suggests a drunk driver at the wheel. With cell phones everywhere, it probably gets phoned in pdq to the local PD. That's like the #1 first item on their police patrol hit-list .... no drunk driving!

And, back 50-years ago in 1972, it was probably legal to drive around with an open can of Schlitz Beer held between your legs while you shifted into 3rd high gear with your right and clutched a Winston cigarette with your left, held up close to that vent window .... while listening to a local dj from that local a.m. radio station do a local advertisement, live ..... no kidding! Just watch out you don't hit a wandering black and white Holstein cow ..... that got loose .... mooooo! ...... remember Cow Hampshire!

https://www.cowhampshireblog.com

[garysanfran]

Originally Posted by Garcia

A quick Google search shows NH is at the top of the states for per capita consumption at 4.67 gallons. Utah is lowest at 1.35. I was surprised by NH, not at all by Utah. Maybe sales to other states skew results.

Not sure how a statistic like that can be analyzed. In a tourist state that attracts a lot of out-of-state vacationers drinking lots of booze, if you take the total alcohol sold, divided by the total population (How else would they do this?) the result will show lots of consumption per resident, compared to a state with little tourism...Like North Dakota (I got stopped for speeding in S. Dakota on Rt. 90 (doing 68 in a 65 zone with California plates). The cop asked where I was going, I said I thought, on my way cross-country, I'd head north and visit Fargo, N. Dakota. He asked, "Why would I want to go there? There's nothing in N. Dakota! ARE YOU TRANSPORTING DRUGS?" He then searched my car, even used a drug-sniffing German Shepard...Beautiful dog)...After putting my spare tire back into my trunk, the cop left, I repacked all my belongings sitting on the side of the road. Stopped at the next burger joint, had a burger and beer. Now I wonder how that beer was factored into S. Dakota's alcohol statistics? Probably skewed the result and caused all sorts of legislation...

[Garcia]

Originally Posted by garysanfran

Not sure how a statistic like that can be analyzed. In a tourist state that attracts a lot of out-of-state vacationers drinking lots of booze, if you take the total alcohol sold, divided by the total population (How else would they do this?) the result will show lots of consumption per resident, compared to a state with little tourism...Like North Dakota (I got stopped for speeding in S. Dakota on Rt. 90 (doing 68 in a 65 zone with California plates). The cop asked where I was going, I said I thought, on my way cross-country, I'd head north and visit Fargo, N. Dakota. He asked, "Why would I want to go there? There's nothing in N. Dakota! ARE YOU TRANSPORTING DRUGS?" He then searched my car, even used a drug-sniffing German Shepard...Beautiful dog)...After putting my spare tire back into my trunk, the cop left, I repacked all my belongings sitting on the side of the road. Stopped at the next burger joint, had a burger and beer. Now I wonder how that beer was factored into S. Dakota's alcohol statistics? Probably skewed the result and caused all sorts of legislation...

True, but still interesting. I don't think the high number can be explained away simply by tourists and sales to people in neighboring states. It is double the average and almost a gallon higher than then #2 Washington DC (probably another good case for non residents skewing the total).

[upthesaukee]

We had a conversation just last night about this very subject. We can see how the data "experts" can analyze the sales by NH Liquor stores and then take population and come up with a high per capita figure. What they can't do is determine who is buying, and where they live.

While we (our small group) certainly do all we can to keep the NH per capita figure up, we also know that when we go to the stores, especially in the May to October part of the year, odds are that NH plates in the parking lot are outnumbered by ME MA RI CT NY NJ plates.

Bottom line, reports like that simply use stats to tell their side of the lie.

Dave

[Descant]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

We had a conversation just last night about this very subject. We can see how the data "experts" can analyze the sales by NH Liquor stores and then take population and come up with a high per capita figure. What they can't do is determine who is buying, and where they live.

While we (our small group) certainly do all we can to keep the NH per capita figure up, we also know that when we go to the stores, especially in the May to October part of the year, odds are that NH plates in the parking lot are outnumbered by ME MA RI CT NY NJ plates.

Bottom line, reports like that simply use stats to tell their side of the lie.

Dave

Our dept. of tourism tracks where our visitors come from and aims their advertising accordingly. We just don't see it in NH. We see ads for Myrtle beach, for example. I would expect credit card records tell the same story to the liquor commission, but they don't need to do the long distance advertising because few people fly home with 4 cases of liquor, but those who drive certainly do. Not so much border crossing the last 24 months, but don't forget our neighbors from Canada. They shop here too for no sales tax and cheap liquor. When I go to the Merrimack Premium Outlets, I hear a lot of French being spoken. Of course, that could all come from Pinardville. IDK.

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by Descant

When I go to the Merrimack Premium Outlets, I hear a lot of French being spoken. Of course, that could all come from Pinardville. IDK.

Well there's a way to tell, you know.

Standard French: Je vais faire vérifier les freins de mon camion maintenant.

Pinardville French: M’a faire chequer les brakes de mon truck ast’heure.

[John Mercier]

Originally Posted by Descant

Our dept. of tourism tracks where our visitors come from and aims their advertising accordingly. We just don't see it in NH. We see ads for Myrtle beach, for example. I would expect credit card records tell the same story to the liquor commission, but they don't need to do the long distance advertising because few people fly home with 4 cases of liquor, but those who drive certainly do. Not so much border crossing the last 24 months, but don't forget our neighbors from Canada. They shop here too for no sales tax and cheap liquor. When I go to the Merrimack Premium Outlets, I hear a lot of French being spoken. Of course, that could all come from Pinardville. IDK.

Sort of. We really only have good numbers on items like snowmobiling and OHRVing, because those items tend to have very limited ways to get around the registration requirements. Most other items are studies that may overstate or understate the influence of visitors to the State.

The liquor commission sometimes shuts down some operations that don't seem to be selling well, and opens others. I think that over time they determined that easy access off the major routes was more of their marketing plan.