Big bottles: cost vs space

[Kent Wang]

I only buy 1.75 L bottles of liquor whenever possible but the bottles are rather unwieldy. My bar cabinet is quickly running out of room.

However, every bar that I've been to only have the standard 750 mL or 1 L bottles. Considering how much volume a bar goes through are they actually paying the higher cost for the smaller bottles or do they order the big bottles and simply refill the small bottles at the bar with them?

[eje]

Kent,

I believe there are federal laws which specifically prohibit "marrying" bottles.

It would be just as unwieldy for bartenders to handle and store those big bottles under their bars as it is for you. Probably more so, since the racks, shelves, and rails are usually designed with smaller bottles in mind.

[slkinsey]

There are probably many reasons. Given that the bars are not paying retail anyway, I wonder how much money they would save by buying 1.75 liter bottles. Second, as mentioned above, there are practical use and storage issues. Third, there are spoilage issues wrt fruit flies, oxidation, etc. Finally, the 1.75 liter bottles don't have a good aesthetic appearance.

[Kent Wang]

Maybe the distribution channels for bars don't even carry the 1.75 L bottles at all?

[Dave the Cook]

1.75 L bottles (of the common base spirits, anyway) are often used in gun dispenser systems. In that scenario, Sam's objections are mitigated: it's a high-volume situation, so oxidation isn't an issue; the system is sealed from vermin, and the bottles are out of sight.

[KatieLoeb]

Depends what state you live in whether or not refilling the smaller bottles is legal or not. On the books it might be illegal, for fear that unscrupulous bar owners might put Popov into the Belvedere bottles, but I suspect if you're displaying what you're actually selling, it's a fairly unenforceable law and unprosecutable offense.