Dispensing, Delivery and Alcohol-Free Orders

Control the Source of Liquor

Liquor offered by a licensee must come from an authorized legal source. The course explains that drinks may be premixed by hand or with a device such as a Bellini machine, provided the liquor comes from the original containers purchased through the Liquor Distribution Branch. Premixing is different from refilling the original container.

Do not refill an original liquor container with anything. Refilling makes it harder for inspectors to identify unlawful liquor and trace what the establishment is serving. An empty branded bottle is not a reusable storage container merely because the replacement contents are the same brand.

The food-primary handbook permits infusing liquor and aging cocktails in a separate container, with specified labels and conditions. This is a controlled permission, not an exception allowing staff to refill original bottles. When an operation uses infusions or premixes, staff should know the authorized preparation, labelling and service procedure rather than improvise.

Staff Drinking and Unauthorized Customer Liquor

Licensees and employees must not consume liquor during working hours at the establishment or event site. The current food-primary handbook includes breaks, meal periods and time between shifts on the same day. A beer while closing or cleaning is still drinking while working, even if liquor service has ended.

After-work consumption is governed by the licence conditions: staff must be of legal drinking age, service must be during authorized hours and the licensee must be treated as an ordinary patron. Liquor must not be offered in place of wages or as a bonus. A house policy may impose stricter workplace expectations; distinguish that policy from a universal claim that no employee can ever drink there off duty.

Patrons generally consume liquor supplied by the authorized establishment or caterer. Watch for outside liquor and follow the handbook when it is discovered. A valid adult ID does not give a customer permission to bring a bottle of spirits into a bar.

Bring Your Own Wine

A food-primary restaurant may choose to allow Bring Your Own Wine. Under the handbook, the customer’s wine must be unopened and commercially produced and must be consumed with food. The restaurant may charge a corkage fee. Other customer-supplied liquor is not permitted through this arrangement.

Serve the wine as responsibly as wine ordered from the menu. Check age, monitor consumption and refuse further service when required. The fact that the patron owns the bottle does not remove the licensee’s service obligations. Do not treat corkage payment as permission to keep serving an intoxicated customer.

Resealing an unfinished wine bottle for take-away is a separate permission described in food-primary and liquor-primary handbooks. Staff must reseal it before it leaves. This does not authorize a takeaway cup of an unfinished mixed drink or a partly consumed spirits bottle.

Catered Events Require Supervision

The manual states that catering staff must be present while liquor is consumed: simply dropping off liquor for later consumption is not allowed. A licensed catered event is different from an event operated under a Special Event Permit. Check the authorization, service area, hours and other event conditions.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages must be provided at catered events under the relevant handbook. Catering staff must continue to assess age and condition, control service and comply with the required end-of-service procedure. The host’s invitation list or promise that everyone is an adult is not a substitute for age verification when needed.

Delivery Is Still a Liquor Transaction

The recipient must be at least 19, must not be intoxicated and must receive liquor at a place where it can legally be possessed or consumed. Assess the actual recipient rather than assuming the person who ordered online is the person accepting delivery.

Ordinary employees and third-party delivery drivers acting for a food-primary licensee must be 19 or older and SIR certified. The handbook expressly distinguishes common carriers such as Canada Post and FedEx. Apply the particular licence class’s conditions rather than asserting that every possible carrier follows an identical training rule.

Food-primary liquor delivery accompanies a meal and has additional restrictions, including permitted products, sale and delivery hours, charges and records. Do not infer that the general course’s delivery conditions authorize every product or delivery time. If acceptable age identification cannot be produced, or the recipient is intoxicated, refuse delivery and follow the establishment’s return and documentation procedure. Leaving the order outside avoids the required assessment.

Prevent Accidental Alcohol Service

A customer may avoid alcohol because of pregnancy, medication, religion, recovery, allergy or driving restrictions. Staff need no private explanation. Confirm the order, communicate it clearly to the bartender and verify the drink before placing it with the intended customer.

The course recommends distinguishable glasses, garnishes or straw colours, and serving a can alongside the glass where useful. Avoid nearly identical names that can be misheard as an alcoholic version. Check product labels: a beverage described as low alcohol is not necessarily alcohol-free, and some dealcoholized products contain residual alcohol.

For example, a group orders two alcoholic cocktails and one alcohol-free version. Ring the alcohol-free order distinctly, have the bartender mark it through the agreed method and identify it when serving. Do not guess based on colour or swap glasses after a customer notices a mistake. Address an error promptly with management, stop further consumption of the wrong drink and obtain appropriate assistance if needed.

Sources checked October 9, 2026

Official SIR manual; Food-primary handbook; Liquor-primary handbook.