Two Ways You Can Legally Drink Under 21 in New York State

On December 1, 1984, in response to the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, the New York Legislature raised the legal drinking age from 19 to 21. Just two years prior, the minimum age was actually just 18. Since then, the legal age has remained at 21. However, while this may be a bit surprising, but there are still two ways you can technically drink while under 21 in New York.

How This is Possible

According to NYsenate.gov, someone is allowed to drink under the age of 21 if the alcohol was given to them by a parent or guardian. You are also allowed to drink if you're a student and the alcohol was given to you in a curriculum licensed or
registered by the state education department, and are required to taste the alcohol for the required curriculum. Aside from that, all other consumptions by those under 21 is still illegal across the state.

Nothing huge, though there are still some folks out there who may not have known this. Of course, many still drink while underage anyway, but that's a different story.

One of the primary reasons that the state raised the age in the early 1980s was to cut back on drunk driving (the federal government threatening to withhold $90 million in highway funds was also a HUGE consideration). Regardless of age, be responsible when you drink.

NY Man Caught Driving 3X Legal Limit

Back in December 2021, police busted a New York state man who allegedly was driving at three times the legal limit. Police say the incident happened on the NY State Thruway when a 31-year-old man was stopped by state troopers. WKTV didn't go into detail about why the Herkimer County man was stopped, but when you allegedly are driving with the blood alcohol content this guy was, then there could be any number of reasons why.

Troopers say they found the man to be drunk and took him to the nearby barracks where his BAC was .28%, which is three times the state's legal limit.