High booze prices hitting bar patrons in the wallet

Tucked away on Capitol Hill, nestled within the nooks and crannies of a dark wooden interior, 1,300 bottles of booze beckon customers to Canon.

Owner Jamie Boudreau created the Seattle bar and restaurant to be a cocktail capitol; a destination for fine drinking, where rare whisky and seldom-found scotch share shelf space in the dimly lit, diminutive joint.

The vast selection of imbibing options even led to Canon's recent nomination for "World's Best Cocktail Bar."

Despite critical acclaim -- and less than a year since opening -- the local hotspot is one of several Seattle bars mixed up in a predicament.

"We're not raising prices to be greedy. We are just trying to survive," Boudreau said, "and if we get charged more, we can only soak up so much of it."

It's been two weeks of soaking up -- and stirring through -- new prices on alcohol, since liquor sales became private in Washington state. The sticker shock that hit customers in grocery stores and wine shops is now becoming tough to swallow for bars and restaurants as well.

"Unfortunately for the most part, everything's going up, and going up substantially," Boudreau said, referring to the price he pays for many spirits. "A lot of my mid-range pours are going up -- up $5 a shot more, which is kind of outrageous. As soon as you start getting into more interesting spirits, more diverse selection, then you're seeing big jumps in prices."

Boudreau says some bottles more than doubled in price - and, in at least one case, reached nearly triple what he once paid (in the case of a Japanese whiskey). Anticipating a bit of sticker shock, he stocked up on thousands of dollars' worth of alcohol before privatization took effect -- as other Seattle bars have reported doing -- but says he has no choice but to pass some of the increased cost on to the customer.

"If it's specialty stuff, I have to raise my prices, or I'll end up having to shut my doors," he said.

Bar patron Barbara Gregg of Seattle said increased costs wouldn't prohibit her from a night out, but said she could see how others might deal with it differently.

"I'm able to go out and enjoy and pay the price, but certainly it is a big difference," she said, while sipping a cocktail Thursday night. "I enjoy the ambience and the nice people that I meet so I guess I'm willing to pay the price."

Friends Angela Pasquale and Jamie Barton -- who were enjoying Thursday evening happy hour -- agreed.

"I have other expenditures, but I have more disposable income, so the impact for me is maybe minor to moderate, versus someone else," Pasquale said.

"I think about (the price)," Barton added. "When you see drinks getting into the $15 dollar range on a nice cocktail, I'd say that's a little on the pricey side."

Boudreau said he expects to raise some prices as early as this weekend.

"Prices are going up. That's the sad reality. There's really no way around it at this stage of the game," Boudreau said. "Right now it's just a little frustrating. It's disappointing. We'll see how this pans out."