Panton Hill Hotel, on the outskirts of Melbourne, has banned kids from drinking lemon, lime and bitters in the wake of strict new state laws. Pubs, bars and restaurants in Victoria can no longer sell liquor to a minor under any circumstances and the hotel has taken a zero-tolerance approach.

Until now, minors could have alcohol with a meal as long as they were with a guardian or parent. Those in breach of the new decree can be served fines of up to $19,000.

Though the quantities used are minuscule, bitters has an alcohol content of around 45 per cent and the hotel says serving it to minors in the popular drink is simply too great a risk. “We couldn’t get a definitive answer on [whether a few drops of bitters] constitutes selling alcohol to minors so we decided not to serve it,” duty manager Julie Buckingham told news.com.au. “We’re just trying to do the right thing. If we serve alcohol to minors we get a $19,000 fine, so it’s just not worth it,” she continued, admitting the response from the community had been surprisingly angry.

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation told the Herald Sun that a soft drink with bitters doesn’t usually constitute an alcoholic drink, but it depended on the amount added.

Publican Kenny Graham of the Mary’s Group (Mary’s Burgers, The Unicorn and The Lansdowne) believes the situation is ridiculous. “Lemon, lime, and bitters is so popular in Australia – we just love it here. This move is more a commentary on how ridiculous liquor laws have become. Surely the public is going to recognise that.”

While the law is Victoria only, Graham says the Sydney group would never make such a heavy-handed response. “It’s not in our nature to be so preventative,” he says. “The law has to trust that responsible venues and publicans don’t want to do anybody any harm – that’s not in our best interest. If you work that way, you’ll fold your business pretty quickly. I think it’s important for people to keep that in mind – we’re hosts, we’re hosting you in our venues and our pubs, and we want you to have a good time.”

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