Who holds legal responsibility for the sale of an alcoholic beverage?

The legal responsibility for the sale of an alcoholic beverage primarily lies with the bartender serving the drink. This is because the bartender is the individual directly involved in serving alcohol to customers and is responsible for ensuring that service is compliant with legal drinking age laws and other regulations. Bartenders are trained to recognize signs of intoxication and must make decisions on whether to serve an individual based on their level of intoxication, which is crucial for responsible service. They also need to check identification to verify that customers are of legal drinking age, thus directly influencing the establishment's compliance with alcohol laws.

While other roles like the establishment owner, the delivery person, and the manager on duty have important responsibilities related to alcohol sales, they do not engage in the direct act of serving alcohol. The owner is generally liable for the overall operations of the establishment, including adherence to regulations. The delivery person typically handles logistics and does not serve alcohol on-site, while the manager on duty may oversee operations but still relies on the bartender to execute responsible service practices. Therefore, the primary legal responsibility in the context of serving alcohol lies with the bartender directly involved in the transaction.