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Distilleries just learned that to cap off a brutal year, the FDA is charging them a fee normally reserved for drug manufacturing facilities. For many American craft distillers, 2020 was already one of their worst years ever. The COVID-19-related closure of tasting rooms and cocktail bars, loss of tourism, and inability to offer in-store sampling slashed their sales revenue and cut them off from their customers. Then this week, just as it seemed they'd made it through the worst of a terrible year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had one more surprise in store: The agency delivered notice to...

TAMPA, Fla. - A North Port man was arrested after he allegedly tossed golf clubs from his van at other cars, then assaulted an FHP trooper who ended up having to use a stun gun on him. Troopers say they received a complaint this afternoon about the driver heading northbound on Interstate 75, throwing golf clubs from his work van near the Sun City Center Boulevard exit. When a trooper caught up with him near Fowler Avenue and pulled him over, they say the driver – later identified as Jonathan Edward Day – got out of the van clutching a...

Happy Hour starts at 3 o’clock. Tenants selling reality-relief are killing it. I called a number of retailers to double-check my desultory anecdotal evidence. One, the owner of a first-rate supermarket chain, said his alcohol sales are up 25 percent since March. That came as no surprise, but the identity of his best-selling beer — Corona — did. Along with half of America, I assumed that Corona was destined to become the Adolph of beer labels. Wrong. Drinkers love it — some think calling a hangover a “corona virus” is funny. This merchant said the only limitation on his Corona...

Buckingham Palace launched its first ever gin on 13 July, and within just eight hours it sold out. The Royal Collection Trust, a department of the Royal Household, created the premium small-batch London dry gin from natural ingredients sourced in the grounds of the royal residence. The Buckingham Palace Gin is infused with 12 botanicals, including Hawthorn berries, as well as zesty lemons, verbena and mulberry leaves.

In a pandemic, no one knows you’re underage. That’s what Gen Z has discovered as they’ve updated the fake ID for the COVID-19 era, hitting up liquor stores dressed as elderly grandmas wearing coronavirus face masks. The “prank” has taken social-media platform TikTok by storm, with videos of users bedecked as boozehound bubbies — seemingly victorious, bottles in hand — racking up millions of views.

Several states banned religious gatherings due to the coronavirus but have allowed liquor stores to remain open. Governors in California, Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Minnesota, Illinois, New York, and Vermont prohibited in person religious gatherings through stay-at-home orders implemented as the coronavirus took hold of the United States, data from the Pew Research Center shows. Some of these states have since begun the process of reopening that loosens restrictions on religious gatherings. But when governors initially banned religious gatherings, liquor stores remained opened in California, Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Minnesota, Illinois, New York, and Vermont. Churchgoers in several of these...

Trying to buy wine or liquor from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s online store these days is a lot like playing the lottery. The odds are against you in being able to buy your favorite wine or spirits from the state’s website. Gov. Tom Wolf closed the brick-and-mortar retail liquor stores on March 17 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Last week, the state resumed online sales but it’s been an exercise in frustration for many who want to buy booze. With demand for these products is outstripping the PLCB’s ability to accept and process orders, the talk about privatizing all or...

Pennsylvania's system of state-owned liquor stores, closed because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, resumed limited online sales Wednesday only to have the state’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits website fail to keep up with demand. The state's website is accepting a "controlled number" of daily orders but plans to expand as it develops more capacity. The website had an apology posted Thursday morning that told customers that “due to overwhelming demand, the online store is not available at this time.” People looking to reload their booze supply are urged to try again in the coming days.

Sydney (AFP) - Hard-drinking Australians were told Tuesday to limit themselves to buying just 12 bottles of wine and two cases of beer a day as a coronavirus lockdown saw panic buying of alcohol. Major retailers agreed to enforce new rules limiting individual purchases as Australians went on a booze-buying spree amid a shutdown of non-essential services -- including pubs and bars. "It was clear that uncertainty on the impact of supply... caused some people to purchase differently," Retail Drinks chief executive Julie Ryan said in a statement launching the restrictions. Australian social media has been awash with video and...

Full title: "India residents surprised to find beer, brandy, rum mixture coming out of kitchen faucets" "Residents in an apartment building in India discovered free mixed drinks on tap in their kitchens earlier this week"

Lovers of Champagne and other French sparkling wines should brace for big cost increases if the United States makes good on a threat to impose 100% tariffs on French goods in a dispute over the country’s planned digital services tax. A $70 bottle of Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage could surge to $130, for example, said David Parker, chief executive of Benchmark Wine Group, the largest U.S. supplier of fine and rare wines for wine retailers. The U.S. government said in December it may slap duties of up to 100% on $2.4 billion in imports from France of Champagne, handbags,...

Once you age an Old Fashioned or martini for 60 days, you’ll never go back.... __________________________________________________________________________________________________ If you want a truly exceptional cocktail at home, you might need some patience. How does 2-3 months sound? If you’re barrel-aging your cocktails, the extra time might be worth it. You’ve probably seen (or ordered) a barrel-aged drink at one of your city’s finer cocktail establishments. These aren’t just drinks thrown into the same casks that will up a distillery’s warehouse; these are tinier, often countertop-sized vessels that can imbue your drinks with a unique character. “In a barrel, the cocktail tends to...

Hunter Biden was suspected of smoking crack inside a strip club where he dropped “thousands of dollars” during multiple visits — at the same time he held a seat on the board of a controversial Ukrainian natural-gas company, The Post has learned. The incident, which took place at Archibald’s Gentlemen’s Club in Washington, DC, late last year, represents the most recent alleged drug use by Biden, 49, who has acknowledged six stints in rehab for alcoholism and addiction that included a crack binge in 2016. Workers at Archibald’s, located about three blocks north of the White House, said Biden was...

A grape variety still used in wine production in France today can be traced back 900 years to just one ancestral plant, scientists have discovered. With the help of an extensive genetic database of modern grapevines, researchers were able to test and compare 28 archaeological seeds from French sites dating back to the Iron Age, Roman era, and medieval period. ...a team of researchers from the UK, Denmark, France, Spain, and Germany, drew genetic connections between seeds from different archaeological sites, as well as links to modern-day grape varieties. It has long been suspected that some grape varieties grown today,...

A new study published in The Lancet has revealed that on average Irish people continue to drink more year-on-year. According to the research, alcohol intake in Ireland has risen from 12.3 litres in 2010 to 13.2 litres in 2017. That’s more than double the global average of 6.5 litres, which is based on studies from 189 countries across the world. The study found 84% of Irish adults drink alcohol, with Ireland boasting one of the highest per capita consumption rates in Europe. IRELAND’S ANNUAL alcohol consumption continues to rise, despite notable decreases across the rest of Europe. It also revealed...

The “Dry Alabama” Facebook page, illustrated with stark images of car wrecks and videos of families ruined by drink, had a blunt message: Alcohol is the devil’s work, and the state should ban it entirely. Along with a companion Twitter feed, the Facebook page appeared to be the work of Baptist teetotalers who supported the Republican, Roy S. Moore, in the 2017 Alabama Senate race. “Pray for Roy Moore,” one tweet exhorted. In fact, the Dry Alabama campaign, not previously reported, was the stealth creation of progressive Democrats who were out to defeat Mr. Moore — the second such secret...

20 years ago, my wife gave away my carboy and put dog food in my ABS plastic bucket that I did my first ferments in. I have constantly reminded her of that violation. This Christmas, she bought two brew kits for me. So of course, I had to try it out right away. I did a kit for a Honey Brown Ale - Similar to Newcastle. Yesterday, I cracked open a bottle with friends.

“The health risks associated with alcohol are massive,” said study senior author Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou, a researcher in the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. “Our findings are consistent with other recent research, which found clear and convincing correlations between drinking and premature death, cancer, and cardiovascular problems. Zero alcohol consumption minimizes the overall risk of health loss.” “The study does not distinguish between beer, wine, and liquor due to a lack of evidence when estimating the disease burden,” she added. “However, we used data on all alcohol-related deaths generally and related health outcomes to...

Adults will finally get to enjoy an alcoholic beverage at the happiest place on earth. For the first time in its 63-year history, Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, announced its public liquor sales, years after its exclusive private Club 33 and adjacent California Adventure park have been selling libations. When the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction opens next year, its Oga’s Cantina will offer beer, wine and outer space theme cocktails.

The maker of Corona and Modelo beers in October took a 9.9 percent stake in the Canadian cannabis company. The deal included the option for future investments, giving Constellation a first toehold in an industry the brewer said it expects to soon be legalized across the United States. Shares of Canopy Growth surged 23.2 percent in Wednesday trading, while Constellation's stock fell 8.9 percent. With this latest investment and the execution of some warrants, Constellation says its stake will become 38 percent of Canopy. Constellation also received an opportunity over the next three years to buy up to 139.7 million...