Texas’ ‘Operation Bottoms Up’ turns up places serving cheap booze at high-end prices

You’ve been warned: The Good Stuff you’re ordering at your favorite bar, restaurant or, um, gentleman’s club could be the cheap stuff.

That’s according to an undercover investigation by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, which sampled drinks at 68 licensed establishments across Texas and determined that 21 of them were serving phony pours — “counterfeit liquor,” according to the release. TABC spokesman Chris Porter tells The Dallas Morning News that five of the 21 establishments staring at steep penalties are in North Texas, with one each in Dallas, Fort Worth, Irving, Mesquite and Addison. He says he can’t name names until formal charges are filed. He also says he can’t reveal what brands were ordered and what brands were actually served, since they don’t have the manufacturers’ permission.

TABC is filing administrative notices against 14 of the joints visited; the other seven are still being investigated for multiple violations. The 21 are looking at everything from being fined to having their liquor licenses revoked. But the TABC says first-time offenders could also receive nothing more than a letter of reprimand.

The investigation’s name: Operation Bottoms Up. The investigation commenced in April, and Porter says the TABC is now working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Read more: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/07/texas-operation-bottoms-up-turns-up-places-serving-cheap-booze-at-high-end-prices.html/