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Friends will gather Sunday to raise a glass and bid farewell to the Long Island Iced Tea, the potent concoction of five different liquors that has been the source of countless hangovers and untold regrets.
That's because, as of Monday the most significant change to Utah's liquor laws in nearly two decades takes effect, and bartenders will no longer be able to serve the Long Island in its current incarnation, says David Morris, owner of Piper Down, which is hosting the wake, billed as the "Boston Tea Party."
"They just really mucked things up with this one," says Morris, who was among a group of tavern owners who lobbied against the change in the last legislative session.
The new law increases the amount of primary liquor in a drink from one ounce to an ounce-and-a-half, doing away with the "sidecar," an additional shot that patrons can order to give their cocktail more punch.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. pushed for the change as a tradeoff for a ban on sales of flavored malt liquor beverages - nicknamed alcopops - in grocery stores. That switch won't take effect until fall.
The ounce-and-a-half pour law was billed as an attempt to normalize the state's quirky liquor standards, and pushed by restaurants that weren't allowed to serve a sidecar but wanted to be able to give patrons a better cocktail.
But ditching the sidecar and reducing the overall amount of spirits that can be in a drink from 2.75 ounces to 2.5 ounces means the recipe for drinks like the Long Island and the Mai Tai will have to be rejiggered.
Neil Cohen, who works in compliance at the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, said the new law isn't as problematic as suggested by some bar owners, who he says "are overthinking this, a lot."
"The whole landscape and way of thinking is bound to change, but it's got to change over time and some of the bar owners out there are just trying to cling to the old way of doing things," Cohen said.
"It's a new way of thinking about drinking," he said.
The change to the liquor laws is likely the most significant since 1990, when the state went away from mini-bottles in bars and brown-bagging in restaurants.
"The expectation is that Utah's restaurants and clubs will move more toward mainstream when it's put into effect," said Senate Majority Leader Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, who sponsored the change. "The intention was to make the policy more in line with what [visitors] would see in other states."
A separate bill will allow bars to serve liquor on election day, but state liquor stores will stay closed.
The liquor law changes are just two of the more than 300 new laws that take effect Monday, including provisions requiring a booster seat for children under the age of 8 riding in cars, strengthening penalties for certain crimes against children, extending protections to mobile home owners, and imposing new regulations on the practice of midwifery.
Rep. Tim Cosgrove, D-Murray, sponsored the child booster bill, which was backed by hospitals, pediatricians and car insurance companies, among others.
"Our hope is that fewer children will die or sustain serious injuries on the highways," said Janet Brooks, child advocacy manager for Primary Children's Medical Center and vice president of Safe Kids Utah.
Drivers will be fined $45 for each child not in proper restraints. Children who are taller than 57 inches are exempt from penalties. Generally, children under that age (8) and size don't fit properly in seat belts or they don't sit properly in the car, she said.
"I hope parents will look at this as something to help and not hinder them at better protecting their kids," Brooks said.
Mobile home owners will have to be given nine months notice before a park owner evicts them, under the new Mobile Home Owners Rights Act. Currently, residents are only entitled to 90 days notice. The new law will also prevent landlords from raising rents during the pre-eviction period.
"It is an improvement on what we had before and it's one step at a time," said Francisca Blanc, policy specialist with the Utah Housing Coalition.
Utah's version of Jessica's Law, named for Jessica Lunsford, the Florida child slain by a sex offender, significantly strengthens penalties for various sex crimes, including a sentence of up to life in prison for the rape of a child.
And legislation also adds new requirements on the 16 midwives in the state licensed to do home births. The new law specifies instances where the mother must be taken to a hospital. Under the current law, the transfer is optional and the mother can waive hospitalization.
"There's no room for judgment. There's no room for the parents to make any decisions on that anymore," said Heather Johnston, a licensed midwife who worked on the legislation. "The midwives are not thrilled with it and a lot of our parents are really upset about it, too. . . . Philosophically, we just don't feel that's the government's business to be doing."
The law would not affect the untold number of unlicensed midwives in the state, who can still conduct home births, but are not allowed to use medication.