alcohol

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Raising Drinking Age to 21 'Regrettable': Key Doctor

(Newser) - A psychiatrist who was part of a presidential committee that recommended raising the US drinking age to 21 now calls those efforts “the single most regrettable decision,” the Los Angeles Times reports. Morris Chafetz, in an opinion piece being shopped for publication, says seeing the “collateral, off-road...

Chinese Sow Stakes in French Wine Country

Foreign buyers retool prominent Chateaus for exports to China

(Newser) - Mao wouldn't likely approve on a couple of fronts, but Chinese investors looking to introduce their countrymen to the best in wine are buying up storied chateaus in the heart of French wine country, the Washington Post reports. Two companies paid several million dollars each to own Chateau Richelieu and...

Multifaceted Chardonnay a Welcome Surprise

Price does matter, but it's possible to find exciting varieties

(Newser) - Chardonnay is ubiquitous, but the “countless weak versions,” especially in the $10 category, disappoint wine lovers, writes Eric Arnold in Forbes. Nevertheless, Americans gulped down about 60 million 9-liter cases in 2008. If you’re willing to beef up your budget and experiment a bit, you may be...

Six Good American Gins
 Six Good American Gins 
OPINION
Jul 21, 2009 6:04 PM CDT

Six Good American Gins

(Newser) - Gin has always been the province of the British, but some American distilleries hold their own. Clay Risen takes a look at US bottles worth tasting in the Atlantic.
  • Seagram's Extra Dry: Yeah, it's a mass-market gin, but it's "easily the most drinkable as a straight sip, with a
...

Caffeinated Booze Prompts State Probes

AGs said to be concerned over deceptive marketing

(Newser) - State attorneys general are taking a hard look at increasingly popular caffeinated alcohol beverages amid fears the combination is dangerous and targeted at underage drinkers, the Wall Street Journal reports. The AGs are calling for company records from the makers of Joose and Four Loko. At 7-Eleven, Joose has had...

French Wine Industry Tanks, But It Still Makes Best Vino

(Newser) - The French wine industry is in a tough spot, Mike Steinberger writes on Slate. “It is hemorrhaging market share abroad, domestic consumption continues to plummet, and thousands of vintners are in desperate financial straits.” What’s more, “the appellation system that regulates much of French viticulture is...

A Couple Drinks Daily May Prevent Dementia: Study

Moderate drinkers developed dementia less often than teetotalers

(Newser) - Moderate drinking may prevent the onset of dementia, MedPage Today reports. A study found that adults aged 75 and over who had one or two drinks daily were 37% less likely to develop dementia. Across the study’s 6-year window, adults who drank more than two drinks a day were...

'Groovy' Dry White From Austria Great for Summer

(Newser) - A difficult-to-pronounce wine from Austria is “one of summer’s great, unlikely pleasures,” Eric Asimov writes in the New York Times. Grüner veltliner has risen above the pack of other Germanic wines to become a favorite in America, thanks to its bracing dryness. It "can range...

Drowning in Alcohol, Aborigines Split Over Booze Ban

Some see restrictions as infringement on hard-won rights

(Newser) - As the Australian government cracks down on alcohol in Aboriginal areas, some communities are taking matters into their own hands, instituting local restrictions on booze, the New York Times reports. Some indigenous leaders see alcohol as a blight on their communities, fueling child abuse and domestic violence. But others see...

Best Cheap, Canned US Beers
 Best Cheap, Canned US Beers 
OPINION
Jul 1, 2009 5:35 PM CDT

Best Cheap, Canned US Beers

National Bohemian tops list of cheap crowd pleasers

(Newser) - It's no small task to find a robust, canned American beer for less than $1, but these six passed the bar—albeit just barely—in a blind taste test conducted by the Washington Post:
  • Baltimore's National Bohemian tops the list with its secret strategy: "Actually tastes like beer."
...

Sour Beers Put Smiles on US Brewers' Mugs

(Newser) - The ever-adventurous US microbrewing community has embraced a new flavor, the Los Angeles Times reports, and it’s sour. Brewers are taking a page from the Belgian playbook and turning out tart lambics and gueuzes aged in oak barrels. “Sour beers are our connection to the ancient history of...

Beer's New Role: Cocktail Mixer
Beer's New Role: 
Cocktail Mixer 
Jul 1, 2009 11:51 AM CDT

Beer's New Role: Cocktail Mixer

New drinks throw away rules about mixing alcohol

(Newser) - The days of keeping your beer and liquor separate are over, with bartenders crafting crossover drinks that mix beer with other spirits—even wine. “Other countries have been doing this for a long time,” one beer connoisseur tells the New York Times. Creations range from the “Muddy...

Heath Almost Gave Up Pills
 Heath Almost Gave Up Pills 
GLOSSIES
Jun 29, 2009 3:47 PM CDT

Heath Almost Gave Up Pills

Friends, colleagues remember tragic actor

(Newser) - Heath Ledger was a complicated actor who quit using marijuana and alcohol and came close to giving up the sleeping pills that may have killed him, friends and colleagues tell Vanity Fair in a profile. Though he was leery of summer blockbusters—“He was afraid it would define him...

Local Food's New Apostles: Bartenders, Er, 'Bar Chefs'

(Newser) - The affinity for fresh, local produce in US restaurants has spilled out into the bar, USA Today reports. Many mixologists—or the new term of art, “bar chefs”—are starting their days scouting farmers markets instead of ordering syrups. “The flavor in the produce is not only...

To Beat Heat, Go 'Swizzled,' Not Stirred

West Indies drinks hit it big in New York

(Newser) - Shaken, stirred—or swizzled? This summer, many bartenders are urging patrons to choose the last. An authentic “Swizzle”—as the trendy drinks are called—doesn’t use a plastic stick; rather, a real stick from a Caribbean tree, with prongs that make it nature’s own Mixmaster, reports...

Let's Teach Teens How to Drink (Wisely)
 Let's Teach Teens 
 How to Drink (Wisely) 
OPINION
Jun 20, 2009 9:20 AM CDT

Let's Teach Teens How to Drink (Wisely)

(Newser) - It's time to stop treating underage drinking like a joke—5,000 deaths and 100,000 sexual assaults a year should make that clear—and give states the freedom to get creative with their laws, writes John McCardell in the Atlantic. The federal age-21 restriction only pushes the drinking underground...

Bachelor Parties: Creating Hangovers Since 500 BC

Time explores history of debauchery ritual

(Newser) - With The Hangover’s bachelor party tale dominating the box office, you might be wondering: Just where did this ritual come from? Time offers a brief history:
  • In the 5th century BC, the ancient Spartans celebrated the groom’s last night as a single man with dinner and toasts.
  • In
...

UK Women More Prone to Boozing, Brawling

Drinking fines skyrocket among women

(Newser) - In a sign of a growing “binge-drinking ladette culture,” fines for being drunk and disorderly have soared 30% over two years among British women, the Daily Telegraph reports—faster than among men. Fines to underage girls have risen by half, and a report says a quarter of violent...

Amsterdam's 'Beer Bikes' Drive Into Trouble

(Newser) - “Beer bikes”—party vehicles that combine two of Amsterdam's favorite things—are under scrutiny after two recent accidents involving the gizmos, Reuters reports. Each large conveyance seats 10 peddlers at a central bar while a non-drinker steers. “This beer bike is completely legal,” said a transport...

Speakeasies Make Secret Comeback

But they're not very similar to true Prohibition-era bars

(Newser) - Across the US, trendy bars are cropping up—but good luck finding them. These homages to the 1920s speakeasy are obscured by wooden slats, hidden behind other stores, accessible only by password. “People have an affection for this period of American history, and they want the mystery,” one...

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