Moist county (Kentucky) explained

In the United States state of Kentucky, a moist county is a county the regulations in force of which are between those of a "dry county" (in which the sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited) and a "wet county" (in which alcohol is sold). The term is typically used for any county that allows alcohol to be sold in certain situations but has limitations on alcohol sales that a normal "wet" county would not have. Some historically "dry" counties are switching to this system to avoid losing money to businesses in other counties when they do not wish to become completely "wet". The term "moist" in itself does not have any specific meaning except that the county is neither completely "wet" nor completely "dry". A "dry" county that contains one or more "wet" cities is typically called "moist".

The term can be used in two different senses:

• Two different statutes allow any dry territory, which can be a dry county or a city located in a dry county, to vote to authorize limited sales of alcoholic beverages by the drink in restaurants. Both statutes require such a restaurant to make at least 70% of its money from food, rather than alcohol, sales. One statute requires that the restaurant seat at least 100 patrons. The other, signed into law in June 2007, requires only 50 seats but prohibits licensed establishments from having a dedicated bar and requires the drinks to be sold in association with a meal. Once a jurisdiction votes for such sales, qualifying restaurants can apply for a permit, which are distributed on a somewhat-limited basis. For example, the Louisville suburban jurisdiction of Oldham County voted to allow such sales in the early 2000s (its county seat of La Grange later approved full package sales in 2012).^[1] However, Kentucky's Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control does not use the term "moist county" to describe a county in which such sales are allowed, but instead calls it a "limited" county.^[2]
• Officially, a "moist county" is an otherwise-dry county in which a city in the county's jurisdiction has voted to allow full retail sales of alcoholic beverages. The following Kentucky counties^[1] fall into that category:

Dry county	Wet city or cities
Boyle	Danville
	Junction City
Caldwell	Princeton^[3]
Calloway	Murray^[4]
Carter	Grayson
	Olive Hill
Clay	Manchester
Estill	Irvine
Fleming	Flemingsburg
Garrard	Lancaster
Greenup	Bellefonte
	Greenup
	Raceland
	Russell
	South Shore
Hardin	Elizabethtown
	Radcliff
	Vine Grove
Henry^[5]	Eminence
Hopkins	Dawson Springs
	Earlington
	Hanson
	Madisonville
Jessamine	Nicholasville
Johnson	Paintsville
Knox	Corbin
Laurel	London
Lewis	Vanceburg
Logan	Russellville
Madison	Richmond
Martin	Warfield
Montgomery	Mount Sterling
Muhlenberg	Central City
Oldham^[6]	La Grange
Pendleton	Falmouth
Pike	Pikeville
Pulaski	Burnside
	Somerset^[7]
Rowan	Morehead
Scott	Georgetown^[8]
Shelby^[9]	Shelbyville
Simpson	Franklin^[10]
Todd	Guthrie
Warren	Bowling Green
Washington	Springfield
Webster^[11]	ProvidenceSebree
Whitley	Corbin
	Williamsburg

Note that once a city votes itself fully wet, Kentucky state law mandates a 60-day period, starting on the date that the election results are certified, before vendors can apply for licenses to sell distilled spirits and wine. At the end of that period, the state will then advertise in that city's newspaper of record to announce the number of licenses that will be granted. However, beer licenses are not subject to quotas, and can be applied for once the city enacts a governing ordinance.^[12]

Notes and References

1. News: La Grange voters approve expanded alcohol sales . Associated Press . . July 25, 2012 . July 26, 2012.
2. Web site: Wet-Dry-Moist Territories August 21, 2014 . Kentucky Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control . September 2, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141224030253/http://abc.ky.gov/Licensing/Wet%20Dry%20List%20-%20Revised%208-21-14.pdf . December 24, 2014.
3. News: Princeton & Sturgis Vote to Allow Alcohol Sales . Rose . Krzton-Presson . . Murray, KY . August 7, 2012 . August 24, 2012.
4. News: City to begin its alcohol governance discussion . Hawkins . Teague . Murray Ledger & Times . July 24, 2012 . July 26, 2012.
5. This county is also a "limited" county which has voted to allow qualifying restaurants outside of the city of Eminence to sell alcoholic beverages by the drink. Minimum seating capacity is 50.
6. This county is also a "limited" county which, before La Grange voted fully wet, voted to allow qualifying restaurants throughout the county to sell alcoholic beverages by the drink. Minimum seating capacity is 100.
7. News: Somerset, long dry, votes in favor of alcohol sales . Bill . Estep . . June 26, 2012 . August 24, 2012.
8. News: Georgetown Now A 'Wet' City . . . July 31, 2012 . August 24, 2012 . dead . https://archive.today/20130209200110/http://www.wtvq.com/mostpopular/story/Georgetown-Now-A-Wet-City/AnxNaGQFV0KXMALe1rh30A.cspx . February 9, 2013.
9. This county is also a "limited" county which has voted to allow qualifying restaurants outside of the city of Shelbyville to sell alcoholic beverages by the drink. Minimum seating capacity is 100.
10. News: Getting wetter . . Ashland, KY . June 21, 2012 . August 24, 2012 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221219220546/https://www.dailyindependent.com/opinion/editorials/getting-wetter/article_60ce757f-a021-5e00-a41e-29b071db6d41.html . Dec 19, 2022 .
11. Web site: Hughes. Matt. Providence, Sebree go wet. Nov 7, 2018 . 2020-12-01. The Journal-Enterprise. en . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20221219220541/https://www.journalenterprise.com/web/providence-sebree-go-wet/article_8751d464-e2a3-11e8-8126-cba6f9819ce3.html . Dec 19, 2022 .
12. News: Wet-dry results certified Thursday . Hawkins . Teague . Murray Ledger & Times . July 20, 2012 . July 26, 2012 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220827031726/http://murrayledger.com/news/local/wet-dry-results-certified-thursday/article_60a4e6e4-d274-11e1-b2af-0019bb2963f4.html . Aug 27, 2022 .