As of recent there's been plenty of debate over whether D.C. bars should be able to stay open later or if the alcohol excise tax should be raised, but broader changes in the city's liquor laws are coming down the pike. more ›

A proposal for D.C. bars to stay open for an extra hour on weekdays and weekends was voted down by a D.C. Council committee this afternoon, though extended hours for liquor stores were approved. more ›

The national liquor lobby came out yesterday against a proposal to raise D.C.'s alcohol excise tax as a means to raise $20 million for city coffers. more ›

Want bars to stay open later? Want to buy liquor on Sundays? Neither of those ideas look like they're going to happen, but you could get stuck paying more for each drink. more ›

Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) doesn't like Mayor Vince Gray's proposal to allow bars to stay open for an extra hour, but he may replace it with an initiative that would allow liquor stores to open on Sundays. more ›

The fight over extending hours for D.C. bars and liquor stores heated up yesterday as civic activists complained at a D.C. Council hearing of the potential of increased noise, crime and drunken driving. Still, a compromise might be possible. more ›

Ahead of a hearing next week on a proposal to extend bar hours to 3 a.m. on weekdays and 4 a.m. on weekends, D.C.'s restaurant lobby has come to a not-so-surprising conclusion: they really like the idea. more ›

At a D.C. Council hearing this morning, Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) further laid out his opposition to a proposal in Mayor Vince Gray's budget that would allow bars to stay open for an extra hour on weekdays and weekends. more ›

As part of his 2013 budget rolled out today, Mayor Vince Gray proposed that hours for liquor sales at bars, restaurants and stores be extended. more ›

A distillery hoping to produce gin and whiskey in a warehouse in Northeast D.C. received federal approval to move forward with its plans, according to a tweet this afternoon from the New Columbia Distillers. more ›

For John Uselton and Michael Lowe, that the Rickey became the District's official cocktail last year is something of a nice coincidence. The two, after all, are planning on producing gin and whiskey -- both of which can be used in the cocktail -- once they open up their planned New Columbia Distillery this summer. more ›

According to Food & Wine magazine, two local bars are amongst the 50 best in the entire country. more ›

Yay! It's Repeal Day, the day on which we celebrate the 1933 constitutional amendment to abandon the wrong-headed policy of prohibition. Everywhere but in the District, that is. more ›

Until recently, if you wanted a Bloody Mary with your Sunday brunch, you'd have to wait until 10 a.m. But as of last week, early morning Sunday drinking became a possibility, as restaurants were given the go-ahead to apply to serve alcohol starting at 8 a.m. more ›

If you're someone who likes to keep a close eye on the dealings of the District, today is a big day. Two important hearings -- one in the morning and one in the afternoon -- are on deck, both of which many a DCist reader will probably want to keep an eye on. more ›

Maryland's liquor laws are fairly draconian -- so much so, that in this 2009 post about a potential reform which would allow people to ship wine into the Old Line State, I dubbed the state's booze rules as "featuring a rigidity rivaled only by...the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." But it looks like one of the state's largest and most influential counties might be loosening up a bit. The Examiner reports that residents of Montgomery County will now be able to shop at county-operated liquor stores on Sundays, thanks to an executive order signed by County Executive Ike Leggett. more ›

Montgomery County is considering allowing liquor sales on Sundays. This is an excellent idea, and one that the District of Columbia should consider as well. more ›

The Examiner covers a proposal by Maryland state legislators to institute a 10-cent tax on every alcoholic beverage sold in the state, in an effort to help stop the budgetary bleeding that has led to a projected $2 billion shortfall. Much of the estimated $200 million the tax would raise would go toward expanding Medicaid and funding services for the mentally disabled. more ›

Here's a story we missed last night from WJLA: as of January, bars in D.C. that are caught selling alcohol to minors for the first time now get a warning instead of a $1,000 fine and a two-day liquor license suspension. In a surprise twist, the change in the law pits Jim "Shut 'Em Down" Graham against the D.C./Va. chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), with MADD expressing concern over becoming too lenient on liquor sales violations, and Graham insisting the new law is more fair. Repeat offenders are actually penalized more now than they were before, Graham notes. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, the Examiner's Leah Fabel first reported that Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham planned to introduce legislation today that would allow D.C.'s bars and restaurants to serve alcohol until 5 a.m., and to keep doors open 24-hours per day, between Jan. 17 and Jan. 21 to accommodate inauguration tourists. We then linked to it in our end of the day roundup. D.C. Wire posted its own version this morning. Then about an hour later, D.C. Shadow Representative Mike Panetta posted the following message to his Twitter feed:

DC Council extends "last call" to 5 am during inauguration week. Sounds fun, but I'll be happy to stay awake past midnight :)