When I first moved here, it was strange to see beer ... well, everywhere. In Massachusetts, a handful of grocery stores are licensed to sell beer and wine (beer, malts and wine are on a separate license from booze – I think in New York only beer and other malt beverages are separate), and until recently, only one store in the state could sell alcohol on Sunday (except for the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day).

It never occurred to me to make a run to the gas station for a six-pack. But I can, so sometimes I do.

But if you're a small distillery – in or out of New York – trying to get your product on the shelf, well, good luck.

Local favorites Beak and Skiff Apple Farms wants to make apple vodka – a reasonable request for an orchard, I think – but Governor Pataki vetoed legislation that would have allowed small distilleries to sell their products.

The deal here is that if you want to sell booze in New York, you have to go through a wholesale distributor. So, you make the stuff, and you have to sell it to a middle man, who stores it in a warehouse until someone orders it.

This does two things: (1) It adds a step increase in the price. (2) It means you have to produce enough product to sell in bulk to the wholesaler.

That means small wineries and breweries can sell their own stuff across the counter, but not in stores. Distilleries can't even do that.

And it's only in-state vintners and brewers who can sell directly to customers. If you're out-of-state, forget about it. Which means no ordering a case to be shipped if you're touring California wine country, and no joining a wine-of-the-month club on the Internet.

You get big booze, or nothing.

Which brings us back to Beak and Skiff: Why shouldn't a small business be able to produce a product that the market can support and sell it responsibly to responsible consumers?

Oh, right. Because this is New York, and we like it bigger, faster or not at all. Small business is for sissies.