Beyond the membership aspect, Utah private clubs also face other often complex restrictions. When ordering a mixed drink, a person can only get 1 ounce of a "primary liquor," which makes a genuine martini (2 ounces of vodka or gin) illegal but a Long Island iced tea (which has tequila, rum, vodka and gin) legal. A person cannot get a double shot, although he can get another 1 ounce shot of liquor as a sidecar. Happy hours with discounted drinks or free food are also prohibited.

Colorado, another state with a tourism economy based on skiing, takes very few hits from visitors about its laws prohibiting Sunday sales or limiting beer sold in grocery stores to 3.2 percent alcohol or less. Colorado liquor laws receive little attention, Dalquist said.

"I haven't heard of any complaints. Alcohol is very easy to obtain, unless it's a Sunday," Dalquist said. "There are very strict laws about serving to minors or to anyone that is visibly drunk."

Unlike Utah's 3.2 law, however, "real" beer is often found next door to grocery stores in private liquor stores, and the bars can also serve "real" beer. Even tight restrictions on liquor store ownership that prevent anyone from having a financial interest in more than one store do not make the purchase of alcohol difficult.

21st-century bootlegging

Utahns who drink often flee their home state to purchase alcohol for a variety of reasons — not all of them based in fact. At Evanston's Yellowcreek Liquor Store, owner Brent Bateman sells a lot of brand-name beers that may or may not have a much higher alcohol content than the 3.2 Utah beer. He also sells a lot of liquor available from the Utah state liquor stores, primarily because of seemingly lower prices.