How Putting Bacon In Vodka Got One Man Arrested

He isn’t under 21 and he wasn’t drinking in public. In fact, one can conclude that the problem wasn’t the vodka.

The problem was the bacon.

To be fair, pickled vegetables and jalapeños also landed Colin Grizzle, the manager of The Pump Bar in Oklahoma City, in lockup. One cannot hold the bacon fully accountable.

Bacon
Image via Youtube screengrab.

The Pump bar in Oklahoma City’s brunch menu has two infused Bloody Mary drinks.

According to Title 37 Section 584 that is a violation of Oklahoma law.

“No holder of a mixed beverage, beer and wine, caterer, special event, public event or airline/railroad beverage license shall refill with any substance a container which contained any alcoholic beverage on which the tax levied by Section 553 of this title has been paid.”

This violation first came to the attention of the police when they were investigating a noise complaint on Karaoke night. The managers were given a warning about the alcohol statue. According to Fox News, police later deployed the VICE unit to check on the status of the infused vodkas.

When the bar was found to still be in possession of the “tampered” alcohol the manager was placed under arrest.

The bar’s owner, Ian McDermid told Reason,

“You should see the look on people’s faces, the laughs, when you say my manager went to county lockup for three days because we put strips of bacon inside a bottle of vodka.”

While the incident may be the subject of a few laughs, McDermid also reported that since he has stopped serving infused drinks he’s seen a negative impact on his business.

Additionally, violating Title 37 Section 584 is considered a misdemeanor that can carry a $ 500 sentence and up to 6 months in jail.

Local defense attorney Brett Behenna told KFOR News that,

“If you were to change the alcohol that’s in there, change its content, either decrease it, dilute it with water, some other substance, that would be in violation of the statute… When it says refill, that seems to connotate changing it with some other kind of liquid, and I don’t think that happened in this case.”

Ian McDermid is hoping to find some clarification for the intended purpose and application of the Oklahoma alcohol law. Until then, Pump Bar customers will have to wait on infused beverages.