Fruit flies hit the sauce when the lady flies don’t give them any lovin’. Yep, this is an actual article in the academic journal Science. Link
Are you single? Are you a drunk? Most likely you live in Washington, DC. Link
Need a brain boost? Forget the coffee and grab yourself a beer. Thank you, University of Illinois. Via Newser
Opposite day? New vaccine will give you a hangover after drinking a single beer. Via the Santiago Times.
As a rule of thumb, it’s not a good idea to transport liquor without a license. It’s even a worse idea to attempt crossing a national border with nearly 700 gallons of black market booze. One Swedish gentleman tried to do just that. Not surprisingly, he got busted. Border guards noted he was hauling 600 gallons of beer, 42 gallons of cocktails, 3 gallons of wine, and 4 gallons of spirits. Needless to say, he was immediately arrested for smuggling.
This is where it gets interesting. Instead of sending him to the pokey, a Swedish court just sent him home with his freedom, and all his booze. His winning defense? He claimed he was an epic drunkard, and that the booze — the equivalent of 22 barrels — was for his personal consumption. The court ruled that it was plausible that the booze was intended for him and his family, and therefore not illegal. That’s about 12 pints a day –every day– for a year.
We wish the unnamed gentleman the best of luck to him, his family, and their livers.
A still from Family Guy.
Via TheLocal
It’s possible that your friendly neighborhood postal carrier will soon be dropping off bottles of booze on your doorstep. A bill has been introduced into the US Senate that would allow the Postal Service to ship alcohol, something which it has been banned from doing since 1909.
In the last ten years, online wine sales has turned into a billion dollar industry, annually. Online retails such as Bacchus Selections are redefining how people purchase wine. All those bottle have to be shipped, and that has turned into a very lucrative business for both FedEx and UPS. Now, this is a market the USPS also wants to get into, according to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. Not surprising, since it offers a way for the near-bankrupt Postal Service to once again become profitable.
The Post Office used to ship alcohol, and many mail-order liquor companies existed in the 19th Century. However, as the temperence movement started to grow, so did it’s ability to influence politicians. One if the movement’s first national successes was banning the shipment of booze. The law in question, Section 217 of 18 U.S.C. 1716(f) of the Act of March 4, 1909, ch. 321, 35 Stat. 1131, was indented to prevent poisons, explosives, and other harmful items from being mailed. However, language was inserted into the bill that also banned “spirituous, vinous, malted, fermented or other intoxicating liquors” from being shipped by the USPS.
From 1880, when shipping booze via the Post Office was legal.
In the end, let’s hope this bill passes. It will likely drop the price of shipping wine, beer, and spirits. And fund Mr. Postman’s retirement package, too.
A drug aimed at alcoholism is one step closer to hitting your corner pharmacy. Nalmefene apparently obliterates the pleasure of drinking booze by targeting -and blocking- specific receptors in the brain . In a six-month study that included 604 patients in multiple European countries, the drug cut down alcohol consumption by half. Clinical trials are underway in Europe.
It could be a boon for anyone who likes the sauce a bit too much. However, you won’t see a big marketing push by any of the big Pharmaceutical companies, since it’s considered a generic drug in the US. Plus, it has some uncomfortable side effects, including drowsiness, hypertension, tachycardia, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.
Ah, genever, you are a pretty one. The last time we met up, I was face down in an infamous brown bar near The Hague. The Dutch know how to drink, and I had spent much of the night in a Kopstootje session. Loosely translated as a “little head butt”, it’s the equivalent of a boilermaker: a shot of liquor with a beer back, always a lager.
WTF genever? Funny you should ask. It’s the booze that inspired the Brits to invent Gin, and both are flavored with Juniper and other botanicals. The difference is that genever is based on an unaged whiskey, rather than a neutral spirit. It’s also dangerously easy to drink. If you can find it, Bols “1820″ Genever is a lovely and malty example of the spirit.
I hadn’t dared seek out genever since that fateful trip to the Netherlands. So, when Tal Nadari of Bols Genever invited me to a Kopstootje session at Farmer’s Cabinet here in Philly, I jumped at the chance. Tal is the definition of a gentleman, with a distinct Dutch manner. What I didn’t expect from the evening was a bit of sacrilege from Tal. Instead of a standard lager, Tal poured me a new beer from Baltimore’s Stillwater Artisinal Ales.
Brian Strumke of Stillwater is something of a mad genius. The beer he crafted is a deconstruction of Bol’s classic genever. The beer offers up a fresh malt note married with wood and spice flavors; a finish of juniper and hops gives the beer a deep savory note. Based on a classic Saison style, the beer remains light and fresh with a moderate level of carbonation. Highly Recommended.
Epikur is a magazine about food and drink, with a focus on our hometown of Philadelphia.
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