This actually doesn’t seem that silly to me. Isn’t this a bog standard Pigouvian tax? And I think it should be fairly uncontroversial that there are definite negative externalities to handles of liquor…
What is the real cost difference between two 750ml vodka bottles and one 1.5L handle? The Piguovian tax is probably on the order of $1-2 per liter of liquor. This is negligible.