On the topic of studies and premature deaths, a new report from the British medical journal the Lancet says that no amount of alcohol is safe for your overall health. Worldwide, alcohol increases the risk of premature death for both men and women and is responsible for a full tenth of all deaths.
Plus, Philip Van Cleave's suspect defense.
A writer in the New York Times Magazine recently fixed our present epoch in time as “a few decades after the heyday of the notorious ‘three-martini lunch.’ ” The gin-soaked midday meal, he explained, had been “an anachronistic ritual during which backslapping company men escaped a swallowing sense…
We learned this week from the Harvard Business Review of a study alleging that mild intoxication can enhance “creative thinking.” “You often hear of great writers, artists, and composers who claim that alcohol enhanced their creativity, or people who say their ideas are better after a few drinks,”…
In 2017, the bar for what must be deemed politically incorrect, culturally appropriative, or just plain inappropriate was set to a new low, so low that only insects could limbo their way beneath it. What was determined to be bad in 2017? Oh, just the Rocky Horror Picture Show, nearly all Halloween…
We all know the phrase “killing them with kindness.” But is there now such a thing as “suing them with kindness”? Yes, if you happen to be the legal team of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, arguably the most successful pop musician of the past two decades.
What to watch tonight. If you're looking for something new and interesting to put on tonight, check out Errol Morris's Wormwood tonight on Netflix. It looks fantastic. The Times gave it a positive review, saying:
As we celebrate this Christmas season (or this “holiday,” for Christ-haters), I don’t wish to be a killjoy to the world. But reflecting on the year gone by, it’s hard not to notice that we have lost a few of our favorite things: Tom Petty, political moderation, our dignity.
With Thanksgiving approaching, can't we all agree? Thanksgiving is a tough time for the politically inclined (even worse for the disinclined, I suspect!) This year, I think we can all come together and put our disagreements aside to agree on a simple truth: mayonnaise is disgusting.
If you've ever thought that sitting at a bar and watching sports on TV is too boring or that barroom billiards or darts lacks excitement, don’t fear—there’s a new trend popping up in cities around the country.
Moonshine always reminds me of the time the great P. J. O’Rourke got hold of a jug of the stuff in college and it caused him to be struck blind. It seems that O’Rourke and some of his buddies in Ohio went down into Kentucky looking for moonshine to bring back for a party that night. He drank from…
Moonshine always reminds me of the time the great P. J. O’Rourke got hold of a jug of the stuff in college and it caused him to be struck blind. It seems that O’Rourke and some of his buddies in Ohio went down into Kentucky looking for moonshine to bring back for a party that night. He drank from…
Since the repeal of Prohibition, most regulations pertaining to the sale and distribution of alcohol has been left to the states under the "three tier" system of distribution, in which manufacturers sell to distributors and control boards, who sell to retailers, who sell to the public according to…
In this episode of THE WEEKLY STANDARD Confab, Fred Barnes talks about the DC swamp most in need of draining-the Department of Justice. And then host Eric Felten makes a batch of the essential American Christmas drink, Tom and Jerry.
The U.S. Surgeon General granted that the country's worsening opioid epidemic received due attention amid the long election season, but said alcohol-related issues are still costlier to the public after the release of a government report on drug addiction and abuse this week.
Late in November of the presidential election year 1888, the Detroit Free Press asked "What is Fame?" After all, things like elective office, or battlefield laurels, or citations and awards, all may fall under the cautionary motto sic transit gloria. But to have a cocktail named after you: Now…
In this episode of THE WEEKLY STANDARD Confab, Fred Barnes talks about The Donald's attention-grabbing immigration-policy show, and Kevin Kosar comes by to tell us about Britain's anti-alcohol freak-out.
To a degree, the British government’s recent freak-out over alcohol is understandable. The nation's tabloids regularly carry stories featuring individuals getting falling-down drunk and doing stupid things. "Drunk chef, 23, who used an aerosol deodorant can and lighter as a makeshift flamethrower…
It was the decade of hot jazz and short skirts. Knowing what we now know about the 1920s, the Jazz Age can feel at times like the Decameron, with beautiful people dancing on the edge of oblivion. Even though liquor, wine, and beer were prohibited, thanks to the Eighteenth Amendment, the nation kept…
Last month, when voters in the U.K. decided to exit the European Union, the pound plummeted and market chaos ensued. The media speculated as to which companies might pull out of the country. And everyone wondered how the referendum would impact the flow of immigration. But there's an even graver…
As mentioned previously, Brown-Forman is selling Southern Comfort to the Sazerac Company for $543.5 million. This ought to free up the Louisville, Kentucky-based liquor giant to focus on its flagship brands, namely, Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel's. Indeed, last October Brown-Forman unveiled the…
Istanbul
During my research for Vodka: How a Colorless, Odorless, Flavorless Spirit Conquered America, I met with the execs at Jim Beam who, besides selling fine bourbon, also sell Pinnacle Vodka, a brand known for its vast array of flavors: Cherry Whipped, Cookie Dough, Pumpkin Pie, Strawberry Shortcake,…
The pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC, Ready for Hillary, is getting set for the Democratic presidential candidate to officially enter the presidential race. This afternoon, the group sent out an email to supporters announcing a 50 percent sale on whiskey glasses, mason jars, and Champagne glasses.
Jesse Byrnes of The Hill writes that:
Victorino Matus, writing for the Wall Street Journal:
In my quest to write an article about my family vacation to Turkey and thereby write off part of the cost, I came up with an observation I deemed worthy of David Brooks or Malcolm Gladwell. It turned out to be dead wrong.
Our affable colleague, senior editor Victorino Matus, is famous for his big head, big heart, big appetite—and encyclopedic knowledge of food, drink, the consumption of same, contemporary German politics, and the sociology of his native New Jersey. Vic’s attention to detail, and mastery of English…
In an interview with the New Yorker, President Obama says that he believes marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol.
The daughter of incoming New York City mayor Bill de Blasio opens up in a YouTube video about her drug use, alcoholism, and depression:
Pessimists who believe that once a large piece of governmental malpractice is in place, it is there forever and immoveable, should to pay attention to this day and, perhaps, celebrate with a cocktail.
When Prohibition ended in 1933, Pennsylvania governor Gifford Pinchot promised to make purchasing alcohol “as inconvenient and expensive as possible.” To this day, Pennsylvania has some of the most stringent—and absurd—liquor laws in the country. Beer and wine can’t be sold in grocery stores, and…
My before-dinner drink almost inevitably is a martini or a whiskey on ice. Despite running an online booze review site for over a decade and tasting nearly every alcoholic beverage known to man (and liking many of them), I reflexively return to these stand-bys.
One of the well-known effects of alcohol is that it reduces inhibitions. China’s top-ranking UN diplomat, Sha Zukang, experimented with the substance at a banquet at a UN retreat in the Austrian ski resort of Alpbach. Addressing one of his American colleagues during a rambling toast, the truth…