Perhaps more than any other state, Virginia is the cradle of American history. Four of the first five presidents hailed from Virginia, and its countryside is dotted with famous Founding Father estates, pivotal Civil War battlefields, and Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Authority liquor stores. These government-run booze stores are a direct descendant of Virginia's deep prohibition heritage.
After Prohibition, Virginia maintained a powerful temperance mindset, which let government-operated stores have complete control over the sale of distilled liquors. But what may have started as an understandable offshoot of a bygone era is now a woefully antiquated relic. Almost 90 years since the end of Prohibition, Virginia may finally upgrade its alcohol laws for the 21st century.
