A shop in England refused to sell two bottles of wine to a white-haired, balding grandfather—you know, the kind with wrinkles on his face—because he balked when the cashier asked him to prove he was over 21. The man, being ornery in that way that old folks just naturally embrace, refused: “I felt like saying ‘What do I look like? Are you a fool?'”
alcohol
10 Great Wines For $10 Or Less
By 9.24.07
The sommeliers who read The Consumerist may scoff, but there are actually some decent wines available for $10 or less, or so says the New York Times food critics.
Should Alcoholic Beverages Have Nutrition Labels?
By 8.5.07
Our alcoholic uncle always swore that booze was healthy, and if the Treasury Department has its way, nutrition labels on alcoholic beverages may soon have people thinking he was right. A rule issued last week by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau would require all alcoholic beverages to sport a panel listing traditional information like serving size and alcohol content, along with data on calorie, carbohydrate, fat, and protein content. The alcoholic beverage industry vigorously supports the rule, but some advocacy organizations are concerned that the nutrition labels might imply that alcoholic beverages have some nutritional value. Tell us what you think of the proposed rule in our poll, after the jump.
Teens Prefer Liquor To Beer, Hate Wine
By 7.29.07
The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report claims that teens prefer bourbon, rum, scotch, whiskey, and vodka to beer. Why should you care? Regulators and policy makers use the statistics to develop beverage-specific measures to combat underage drinking, “including increasing alcohol excise taxes and increasing restrictions on the distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages.” The CDC studied high schoolers in Nebraska, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Wyoming, and found the following:
By 7.5.07
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Personal blood-alcohol meters are pieces of crap, giving wildly inaccurately results.
Man Arrested For Driving After Drinking On A US Airways Flight
By 5.22.07
We need to figure out how to make airports more entertaining. After drinking at Phoenix International Airport and again on his US Airways flight, Ernest Wright, 49, of Albuquerque, got in his car and drove away. He was arrested with a blood alcohol level of .16 and charged with aggravated DWI.
Spykes Gets Axed
By 5.19.07
Anheuser-Busch is pouring Spykes down the drain less than a week after twenty-nine state attorneys general asked the brewer to warn customers that mixing Spykes with caffeinated beverages could be dangerous. The AGs also expressed concern that the colorful alcoholic flavor shots encouraged underage drinking.
“Due to its limited volume potential and unfounded criticism, we have ceased production of Spykes,” Anheuser-Busch said in a statement, in which it added that Spykes was the lowest alcohol content product in its market segment.
The decision, announced by Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch IV, was heralded by Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal as a “significant victory in the fight against underage drinking.” Sorry, kids. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Twenty Nine Attorneys General Worry Teenagers May Get All Coked-Up On Spykes
By 5.12.07
Twenty-nine state attorneys general have asked Anheuser-Busch, makers of the alcoholic flavor shots called Spykes, to warn consumers that it may be dangerous to mix Spykes with caffeinated beverages. The AGs also expressed concern that Spykes might encourage underage drinking with its “tiny, attractive, brightly colored containers that can be easily concealed in a pocket or purse.” That couldn’t possibly appeal to underage drinkers, who, we are told, prefer their 40 oz beverages concealed in sober tan paper bags.
Anheuser-Busch spokeswoman Francine Katz said the St. Louis company does not endorse underage drinking and does not target minors. She said Spykes shots, which are sold in 2-ounce bottles and have as much alcohol as a third of a glass of wine, are less likely to appeal to minors, who typically “drink for instant impact.”
Controversy is practically Spykes’ mistress. The Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms already ruled that the Spykes’ teeny-tiny government mandated warning label was “out of compliance” for being too teeny and tiny. We don’t see Spykes becoming less controversial anytime soon, leading us to wonder: is Spykes the new Cocaine? — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Beer Money In Congress
By 5.11.07
Beer manufacturers are lobbying congress in order to secure a “beer tax rollback” which would “cut the federal beer tax in half to its 1951 level,” according to the CSPI. Alcohol producers donated around $10 million to federal candidates in the last election cycle, and 70% of that was “beer money.”
Calm Down, British Airways Looking To Hire "Air Rage Investigator"
By 4.30.07
The post has been advertised against a backdrop of a sharp rise in the number of air rage incidents. According to the Civil Aviation Authority’s latest statistics, the number of incidents has increased from one in every 27,000 flights in 2002-3 to one in every 16,000 flights in 2005-6.
Drunks On A Plane: Inebriated Concert Pianist Threatens To Murder Flight Attendant
By 4.20.07
David S. Howell must have thought he was so smooth: Sneaking a water bottle full of vodka onto a full United flight out of Chicago. Too bad he drank most of its contents in the first 30 minutes, then threatened to kill a male flight attendant.
Screw-Cap Wine As Good — or Better! — Than Corked Wine
By 3.26.07
More and more wines are coming with screwcaps instead of corks. Good.
Will More Fuel Efficient Cars Lead To Cheaper Beer?
By 2.22.07
We’re assuming he means that ethanol production is to blame for the spike in grain prices. (Corn is at a 10-year high today.)
Drunks On A Plane: How Not To Behave During A 6 Hour Flight
By 1.23.07
Yes, flying can be stressful, but it’s no excuse to get belligerently drunk. On a recent United Airlines flight from Boston to San Francisco a 28 year-old female passenger did the following:
Health Risks of Red Bull & Alcohol
By 1.3.07
According to Red Bull’s website, the product (which has about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee) “supplies tired minds and exhausted bodies with vital substances that have been lost, while reducing harmful substances. It provides immediate energy and vitamins.” Oh! Vitamins! It must make binge drinking healthy!
FDA Calls For Stricter Warnings on Tylenol and Other OTC Drugs
By 12.20.06
“Non-prescription pain relievers used by millions of U.S. consumers need stronger health warnings regarding liver or stomach risk, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.” The drugs in questions are acetaminophen (Tylenol), and NSAIDs like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin). In particular acetaminophen is associated with liver problems.
