California lawmakers just gave a nod to something a lot of guys have gotten used to since the pandemic hit: ordering a mixed drink along with dinner and taking it home in the car. The state Legislature passed AB 2663, a bill that keeps cocktails-to-go legal in California all the way through 2029. Right now the current rule was set to run out in December 2026, so this bill buys another three years before anyone has to worry about it again.
The bill isn't law yet. It still has to land on Governor Gavin Newsom's desk and get his signature before it's official. But getting through the Legislature is the big hurdle, and the industry is already treating this as a win.
How This All Started
Nobody was walking around asking for to-go cocktails before 2020. This whole thing started as a pandemic fix. When restaurants and bars got shut down or restricted during COVID-19, states scrambled to find ways to keep those businesses breathing. One of the moves was letting restaurants sell mixed drinks to customers who were picking up food or getting it delivered. It gave bars and restaurants another way to bring in money when dine-in service wasn't really an option, and it gave people stuck at home a small taste of normal life.
What was supposed to be a temporary patch turned into something people actually liked. Years later, the demand hasn't gone anywhere. People got used to grabbing a margarita or an old fashioned with their takeout order, and apparently they don't want to give that up.
What The Bill Actually Allows
AB 2663 isn't a free-for-all. There are rules built into it. Restaurants can sell cocktails to-go, but only two ways: either the drink comes in a container sealed by the manufacturer, like a canned cocktail, or it's in a container with a lid that's secured and sealed so it can't just be sipped on the drive home. On top of that, the cocktail has to be purchased along with a meal. You can't just swing by and grab a to-go whiskey sour with nothing else on the ticket.
Industry Reaction
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, which represents the spirits industry and lobbies on issues affecting it, came out strongly in favor of the bill. Adam Smith, the group's vice president of state government relations, put it plainly:
"Adult consumers in California are one step closer to enjoying cocktails to-go for another three years," said Smith. "What began as a lifeline for neighborhood restaurants has become a convenient, popular option for consumers. Extending cocktails to-go allows local businesses to continue meeting customer demand while giving adults more flexibility to enjoy restaurant-quality cocktails at home. We thank the Legislature for its support and urge Governor Newsom to sign this legislation."
That quote sums up how the industry is framing this: what started as emergency help for restaurants during a rough stretch has turned into something regular customers actually rely on and enjoy.
California Isn't Leading The Pack Here — It's Playing Catch-Up
Here's the part that might surprise people. A lot of other states already made this permanent. Since the pandemic began, 32 states plus the District of Columbia have passed laws making cocktails-to-go a permanent fixture, not something that needs to be renewed every few years. That's a majority of the country that's already decided this isn't going away.
The states that made it permanent include Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, along with Washington D.C.
Meanwhile, California is still in the "temporary" camp, along with a couple other states. New Jersey has passed something too, though the timeline on that one is still to be determined. New York allows it on a temporary basis as well, but their version doesn't expire until April 9, 2030, giving them a longer runway than California just got.
So while California just secured itself until 2029, it's still technically behind more than two-thirds of the country, which has already locked this in for good. Whether California eventually joins that list permanently is still an open question. For now, lawmakers punted it three more years down the road instead of making a final call.
Why This Matters For Regular People
For anyone who likes grabbing dinner and a drink without sitting at a bar for two hours, this is a pretty direct win. It means restaurants can keep offering that option, which helps their bottom line, and it means customers get to keep doing something they've clearly gotten comfortable with over the past several years. Restaurants get another revenue stream, especially ones that lean on takeout and delivery, and customers get more flexibility about how and where they enjoy a drink they'd otherwise only get by sitting down at a restaurant or bar.
It's worth pointing out that none of this changes the basic rules around drinking responsibly. The spirits industry itself is pretty upfront about this — cocktails-to-go are meant for drinking at home, not in the car, not out in public, and every other alcohol law still applies. The convenience doesn't come with a pass on moderation or on following the law. The industry group specifically notes it's committed to responsibility and encourages adults who choose to drink to do so in moderation.
What Happens Next
The ball is now in Governor Newsom's court. If he signs AB 2663, cocktails-to-go stay legal in California through 2029. If he doesn't, the current law still runs out at the end of 2026, and restaurants would have to stop selling mixed drinks to-go once that deadline hits.
Given how popular the option has been and how many other states have already made it a permanent thing, there's a reasonable expectation this gets signed. But nothing is official until the governor puts pen to paper. Until then, it's a wait-and-see situation, though a pretty short one — the fact that it passed the Legislature already tells you where the political wind is blowing on this issue in California.
