Liquor Shopping in South Carolina: The Rules Behind When, Where, and What You Can Really Buy

It's 6:35 p.m. in Greenville and you promised to bring bourbon to a neighbor's cookout. You have 25 minutes to make the buy. That's because every spirits register in the state goes dark at exactly 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and doesn't power back on until 9:00 a.m. the next business day. Liquor stores are closed all day Sunday and on Christmas Day, with no local exceptions. Those are not store choices; they're fixed statewide rules set by the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) and enforced by SLED. 

The clock and the calendar that control your purchase

South Carolina treats spirits as a tightly regulated retail category. A Retail Liquor Store (license type PRL) may sell only for off-premises consumption and only inside a firm daily window of 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday. There is no grace period; if you're in line at 6:59 p.m., you can check out, but no sale may be rung after 7:00 p.m. Spirits sales are prohibited on Sunday, period, and on Christmas Day. 

You'll see the rule reflected in chain storefronts that publish a separate "Spirit Sales Hours" block for South Carolina stores. For example, Total Wine's Greenville location at The Shops at Greenridge lists spirits hours as 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and "No sampling today" on Sunday. The same store publishes broader general hours for its beer and wine side that run later into the evening and include Sunday, which is legal for beer and wine where local ordinances allow. 

Green's Beverages, which operates beer/wine and liquor under separate licenses at multiple addresses, posts the split clearly. In Greenville, the beer and wine side is open 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. on Sundays, while the liquor side remains closed; Monday-Saturday liquor hours are 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. statewide. 

Two more time-savers that many shoppers only learn at the register: curbside pickup, drive-through windows, and delivery are not authorized for retail liquor licensees in South Carolina. If you want a bottle of tequila, someone has to walk it across the counter during that 9-to-7 window. The state publishes this directly on the Retail Liquor Store (PRL) license page. 

What you can buy where: spirits, wine strength, and why your vermouth sits on the liquor side

A PRL license authorizes sales of sealed liquor and wine to go. It does not authorize beer sales, on-premises pouring, or any merchandise that isn't liquor or wine, with only narrow exceptions such as producer-packaged gift sets and, separately, state lottery tickets. The license page spells it out in a bulleted "This license does NOT authorize" list. 

South Carolina also draws a bright line by alcohol content: wines over 16.5% ABV can be sold only in a licensed liquor store or at an establishment licensed to sell liquor by the drink. Retail liquor stores may sell wine up to but not exceeding 21% ABV. That's why you'll usually find ports and sherries on the liquor side of a plaza, while lighter table wines and beer live in the grocery or specialty beer/wine shop. 

Retail liquor stores can host tastings of high-ABV wine, cordials, and distilled spirits, but they must follow sampling rules, notify SLED in advance, and limit each guest to a single sample of any one product. In practice, that means small, scheduled sips at the counter rather than a free-pour happy hour. 

One counterintuitive merchandising rule trips up new residents: nonalcoholic mixers can't be sold by a retail liquor store unless packaged together with liquor by the producer or wholesaler. That's why you'll see bitters or ginger beer on the other side of a shared wall. If you want club soda and rye, plan two stops in the same center. 

Another small but practical policy detail: South Carolina does not require your bottle to be bagged when you leave. SLED's alcohol enforcement FAQ states there is no such rule for retail liquor stores.

Who sells and how many stores: the six-store cap that shapes the market

One reason South Carolina's liquor aisles look the way they do is a statewide cap on how many retail liquor licenses any one company or person can hold. The legislature expanded that cap in stages and, since June 2022, a licensee can operate up to six retail liquor stores, with the additional three limited to counties over 250,000 residents and no more than two in the same large county. SCDOR lists the qualifying counties based on the 2020 Census: Charleston, Greenville, Horry, Lexington, Richland, Spartanburg, and York. 

That cap changes how national chains position themselves. You'll often see a big footprint split into a beer/wine store that can operate later and on Sundays where the local ordinance allows, and a separate, adjacent liquor store that runs 9-to-7 and stays dark on Sundays. Total Wine's South Carolina store pages make this separation explicit by publishing a "Spirit Sales Hours" box. 

Zoning and licensing also drive where a liquor store can sit. The state measures distance to certain sensitive sites when granting licenses. In practice, that means new retail liquor locations must observe a separation of 300 feet from a church, school, or playground inside municipalities and 500 feet outside municipalities, with distances measured along the shortest route of ordinary travel. The state has published detailed guidance on how to measure those feet for licensing decisions. 

Prices and taxes: why a cocktail at a bar costs more than the same spirit at retail

At the register, retail liquor purchases are subject to the normal state 6% Sales Tax plus any approved local sales taxes in your county or city. On top of that, spirits carry a statewide Liquor Excise Tax of $0.71825 per liter that wholesalers build into the price structure. Bars pay an additional 5% Liquor by the Drink tax on spirits they serve, which helps explain why the same vodka costs one amount in a bottle and a different amount in a martini. 

Allocation and discounts work differently here than in some neighboring states too. Quantity discounts are allowed at the wholesale level if they are price-based and available to all retailers, and SCDOR explains how a multi-store owner may transfer limited amounts between their own locations without gaming wholesale quantity breaks. That's why you'll sometimes see a rare bottle "move" to a busier shop for a scheduled lottery or release. 

Customer lotteries and loyalty programs are allowed for allocated items, with specific guardrails. Membership must be free and can't be conditioned on prior purchases. If you're chasing a limited bourbon, joining a free list can help, but there's no paid "club" shortcut under state policy. 

Shipping, delivery, and out-of-state workarounds

If you just moved from a state where spirits arrive on your porch, reset expectations. Direct shipment of liquor to consumers in South Carolina is not authorized; alcohol manufacturers may ship spirits only to properly licensed in-state businesses. Wine is the exception. With the proper out-of-state shipper license, a winery may ship up to 24 bottles per month directly to a South Carolina resident for personal use, and in-state wineries have their own direct-to-consumer framework. Beer may not be shipped to consumers. 

Retail liquor licensees also may not offer curbside pickup, drive-through, or third-party delivery for spirits. That's why you'll see "Spirits cannot be delivered or shipped" noted even on large chains' South Carolina store pages. 

How it plays out on the ground: a few real shopping patterns

Greenville

At The Shops at Greenridge, Total Wine publishes two blocks of hours: general store hours (for beer/wine) and "Spirit Sales Hours." Spirits ring 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday, and never on Sunday. If you need beer or table wine on a Sunday, that same footprint can run until 8:00 p.m., consistent with local beer/wine ordinances. 

Across Greenville at 445 Congaree Road, Green's splits hours by license: the liquor side is open 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday and closed Sunday; the beer & wine side opens 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. on Sunday. If you're trying to stock both spirits and beer for a game, you can do both stops in one parking lot on Saturdays, and return on Sundays for beer and wine only.

Columbia

In the Harbison retail corridor, Total Wine's store page shows "Spirit Sales Hours" of 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday, matching state law, while general hours run later and include Sunday for the beer/wine side. That split explains why traffic can look "open" inside the same four walls on a Sunday while the spirits registers are powered off. 

Charleston area

In Mount Pleasant's Moultrie Plaza, Bottles Beverage Superstore operates a large footprint that markets spirits and a broad beer/wine selection under separate licensing. As with every PRL in the state, the liquor counter follows the same 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday, closed Sunday rule, while beer and wine availability follows local beer/wine ordinances. 

Myrtle Beach

Green's Myrtle Beach lists the same statewide liquor window of 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. and closed Sundays, with the beer/wine side operating on its own schedule. This is common along the Grand Strand, where retailers use adjacent doors to keep the categories legally distinct. 

Store-posted hours and features above come from each operator's own page. "Spirit Sales Hours" are the clearest tell that you're looking at South Carolina's legally constrained liquor window embedded inside a larger retail footprint. 

Key things to know before you go

• Spirits can be purchased only 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Mon-Sat; retail liquor stores are closed on Sundays and Christmas Day. Beer/wine hours can run later and include Sunday where the local ordinance allows. 
• Liquor stores sell liquor and wine only. No beer, and no nonalcoholic mixers unless pre-packaged with liquor by the producer or wholesaler. 
• High-ABV wine over 16.5% ABV belongs on the liquor side, and liquor stores can sell wine up to 21% ABV. 
• Expect taxes at the register: 6% state Sales Tax plus local tax if applicable, and an embedded $0.71825 per liter Liquor Excise Tax in spirits pricing. Bars also pay a separate 5% Liquor by the Drink tax. 
• Shipping spirits to your home isn't allowed. Licensed wineries can ship up to 24 bottles/month to a resident; retail liquor stores can't deliver or run curbside. 
• Large operators are capped at six retail liquor licenses statewide, with the last three restricted to counties over 250,000 population, which is why you often see beer/wine and liquor split into adjacent storefronts. 

Reader Q&A

Can I buy a bottle on Sunday if I'm in Charleston or Myrtle Beach where bars pour on Sundays?

No. Retail liquor stores statewide close on Sundays. Some jurisdictions allow Sunday beer and wine sales and liquor-by-the-drink at bars, but package sales of spirits remain prohibited on Sundays everywhere in South Carolina. 

Why does Total Wine list Sunday hours if liquor stores can't open on Sundays?

Their South Carolina stores publish two sets of hours. General store hours apply to beer/wine where allowed locally. A separate "Spirit Sales Hours" block shows the spirits counter's legal window of 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday, and no Sunday sales. 

Can a liquor store hand me a bag of tonic water with my gin?

Not unless the mixer is packaged together with liquor by the producer/wholesaler as a gift set. Retail liquor stores are limited to selling liquor and wine; nonalcoholic mixers are typically next door in the beer/wine or grocery store. 

Is there a way to get a rare bottle without camping out?

Retailers may use free loyalty lists or lottery sign-ups for allocated items, but they can't sell preferences as a paid membership and cannot base access on past purchases. Joining a free list helps you hear about drops without violating state policy.

When you're choosing where to shop, think in pairs: a spirits stop that closes at 7:00 p.m., and a beer/wine stop next door that may run later and on Sundays. If you line up that two-stop plan around the liquor window and your local beer/wine ordinance, you'll rarely be caught short.

Published: September 7, 2026