[ZenGum]

Downunda, bottle shops have one alcohol licence for all kinds of booze. Trading hours for pubs and bottle-ohs are limited by their licence, but I'm not a regular drinker and haven't had a problem with this.

As a result of drunken English munitions workers being blamed for a poor campaign in WWI, our pubs had to close at 6pm, which meant working men got there at 5.30 and drank like pigs for 30 minutes, pissed on the floor, staggered home and vomited on the wife. This arrangement lasted until the 1950s.

Now, Japan ...
Any kind of booze, 24/7, convenience shops, and they're everywhere. 2.7 liter bottles of Glenfiddich in the supermarket for about $50 (very low tax). Beer in vending machines. The drinking age is 18, though, so they put the beer (and cigarette) machines in well lit public places because teenagers would be too ashamed to be seen buying these things. This works. They're ... different.