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Beer, Wine and Spirits. Tastings and Travel. News and Events. Classic Flavors from Breweries, Wineries and Distilleries Across the Drinks World.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Pernod Ricard Acquires Absolut for $8.3 Billion

One of the most sought after spirits labels to go up for auction in recent years has a new owner. Pernod Ricard is the new owner of Absolut vodka after agreeing to buy Vin & Spirit AB from the government of Sweden for $8.34 billion.

Pernod Ricard's offer was better than Fortune Brands and other bidders. However, in addition to the hefty sale price, the victory comes at another price: the company will no longer handle sales and distribution of the Stolichnaya brand outside Russia.

With the acquisition of Absolut, the French company now has the second leading vodka brand in the U.S., plus other V&S brands, including Plymouth Gin, Cruzan rum, and Level, Fris and Luksusowa vodka.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Might Get a Little Thirsty


Alistair Darling is being banned at pubs across the United Kingdom. What has he done to become a pariah at watering holes?

Darling is the U.K.'s Chancellor of the Exchequer -- the Treasury Secretary. He presides over new taxes that will add 8 cents to the cost of a pint of beer, 26 cents for a bottle of wine and $1.10 for a bottle of spirits. The controversial tax is hated by publicans and patrons alike, especially since it is supposed to go up automatically on an annual basis during the next four years.

Andrew Little, manager of the Utopia pub in Edinburgh, decided as a gag to protest the taxes to post pictures of Chancellor Darling in his pub with the message "Barred." The joke has caught on and now bars across the U.K. are banning Darling.

Opposition Conservative leader David Cameron jumped on the grassroots tax protest during the weekly Prime Minister's questions session in Parliament for political gain noting "every pub in Britain" was moving to ban Darling. The government claims the tax hike is designed to fight binge drinking, but those opposed to the move point out taxes on cigarettes and gasoline have also recently been raised.

Snake Vodka Lands Texas Man on the Wrong Side of the Law

Snake wine is a traditional drink found in China and Southeast Asia that is actually made using snakes – usually venomous varieties – as a main ingredient. The base is an overproof spirit that delivers quite a punch -- it has too, after all, since you are drinking snake. It is illegal to import snake wine to the U.S. because some of the snakes popular in the production are endangered species.

That fact did not derail a Texas rancher who says he decided to make snake vodka for medicinal purposes. Bob Popplewell, has raised rattlesnakes and turtles at his ranch south of Mineral Wells. Agents for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission raided the place recently, charging Popplewell with selling alcohol without a license. The ABC agents confiscated 429 bottles of the snake-infused vodka the agents claim Popplewell was selling at $23 a bottle.

Popplewell spent a short time in jail. He says he is meeting the demand of the Asian community who use the products as wellness remedies. He buys vodka and places 10-inch rattlesnakes in each bottle. He says he does not feel he is violating the law. ABC agents feel otherwise and a conviction could result in a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Baptism by Beer? Not Quite


Salisbury Cathedral is one of Europe's most impressive churches and is celebrating its 750th anniversary this year. I can still remember being double awestruck as a college student in England on the day that I visited both the cathedral and Stonehenge within a couple of hours. I recall being able to locate a traditional pub for a pint of bitter that afternoon to consider the determination and engineerings skills of both the ancient pagans and Christians that erected these amazing monuments just a few miles apart centuries ago.

Now comes word from Salisbury that Wadworth Brewery came to the rescue for Easter Sunday to help the church overcome an issue created by an archaeological dig at the cathedral. The cathedral's font, used for Baptisms could not be used during the work, so the Archdeacon of Wiltshire asked the brewery if it might be able to help.

Wadworth loaned the church a copper vessel that was once used to dissolve sugar during the brewing process as a makeshift font for Baptisms on Easter.

The chancellor of the cathedral, Canon Edward Probert is quoted in media reports as saying: "We are extremely grateful to Wadworth for coming to our rescue and at such short notice. I have to say that this is one of the most unusual vessels the cathedral has used as a font."

As the beer festival t-shirts say: "Beer is proof that God loves us." I guess this was a case of beer loving God back.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Hockey Greats Use Wine to Raise Charity Funds


The N.H.L. Alumni Signature Wine Series has been launched honoring eleven former players and raising money for a host of charities.

The National Hockey League Alumni Association endorsed program includes six chardonnay and six cabernet sauvignon wines made at Ironstone Vineyards in the Sierra Foothills area of California. Players featured include Detroit Red Wings Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay; Chicago Blackhawks Bobby Hull and Tony Esposito; Philadelphia Flyers Bobby Clarke and Dave Schultz; Buffalo Sabres Pat LaFontaine and Rob Ray; New York Islander
Clark Gillies and Pat LaFontaine; and New York Rangers Mike Richter and Rod Gilbert.

Every bottle of wine sold results in a donation to the charity of each player’s choice; a donation to the teams’ Alumni Association; and a donation to benefit the N.H.L. Alumni Association’s "Hockey’s Greatest Family Fund."

Diageo Sees 8 to 9 Percent Increase in Scotch Sales

Diageo PLC,the London-based drinks giant, says demand from developing Scotch markets will boost sales by 8 to 9 percent annually.

The company produced 33 million cases of Scotch last year and now Diageo believes that demand from China, India and South America will fuel further growth. Diageo brands include Johnnie Walker, Lagavulin and Oban.

In 2007 the company said it would invest $200 million to build a new distillery in Roseilse on Speyside, in northern Scotland, and expand its Cameronbridge distillery in Fife.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Maryland Senate Votes to Broaden The Definition of Beer

The Maryland Senate has decided by a vote of 36-10 that in the eyes of the law hard cider and malternatives should be defined as beer.

Cider and drinks like Smirnoff Ice are already taxed at the same rate as beer. The change to the law means that grocery and convenience stores would be allowed to sell the products. Both are in the same range of alcohol content as beer.

Before it becomes law the bill must be passed by the Maryland House and signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley. Some opposed to the bill claim that it will encourage underage drinking.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Tuesday Tasting: Finger Lakes Reds


Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we travel to the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York to taste six reds.

From the full disclosure desk: I work for Eric Mower and Associates, a marketing communications agency (www.mower.com). We developed a program for the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance called the FLWA Vintners' Roundtable. This virtual tasting is conducted via conference call, linking winemakers and food and beverage journalists. Earlier this month I played host to a FLWA Vintners' Roundtable attended by several drinks journalists, including Sandra Silfven of the Detroit News, Sean Ludford of Beverage Experts, Christopher Davies of Wine Country International, freelancer Thomas Pellechia, and bloggers Rob Lane of the Finger Lakes Weekend Wino and Carlo DeVito of East Coast Wineries.

When the subject of red wines from the Finger Lakes comes up, most people – vintners included – immediately question whether or not the climate can support the longer growing period required to mature grapes on the vine. Marti Macinski, who runs Standing Stone Vineyards with her husband on Seneca Lake recalls the day that a neighboring grape grower, Jim Hazlitt, showed up with cabernet sauvignon grapes he was trying to sell. She turned him away because she was “convinced you couldn’t grow red wines in the Finger Lakes.” Luckily, Tom Macinski did not get that memo and ended up buying the grapes from Hazlitt. It was the start of Standing Stone’s successful Pinnacle blend.

Wineries in the Finger Lakes are extremely young compared to the classic red wine producing regions in France, Italy, Spain and California. Most of the vines producing vinifera reds are less than a generation old. The Upstate New York winters can be tough on the vineyards and the relatively short growing season means that for the most part the Finger Lakes will never be known for producing big red wines that have built the reputations of Sonoma and Napa vineyards. However, this does not mean that the wineries cannot make some very fine reds with plenty of character. These wines are stylistically on target and compare very well in matching food to wine with some of the top reds from around the world.

For this tasting we sampled six reds, four cabernet francs and two Bordeaux-style blends. Cabernet franc is a slightly lighter style cousin of cabernet sauvignon. The French love this grape for blending, but Finger Lakes wineries are finding that it is one of the red grape varieties that thrives in the region and can make a sophisticated wine.

Billsboro 2006 Cabernet Franc ($18): This wine is 83 percent cabernet franc and 17 percent cabernet sauvignon. This Seneca Lake vineyard came under new ownership in 2007 and this wine is from the first harvest under winemaker Vinny Aliperti. The harvest conditions were wet and the wine spent a short period on French and American oak before being declared ready. There is a solid berry note and dry finish to this red. Perfect to accompany a hunk of Tuscan bread and sharp provolone cheese plate.

Fox Run 2005 Reserve Cabernet Franc ($24): Trisha Renshaw, the assistant winemaker at Fox Run, presented this wine, made using a blend of 77 percent cabernet franc, 15 percent merlot and 8 percent cabernet sauvignon. The winemakers had high hopes for the vintage because of the great 2005 growing season, but when they tasted the cabernet franc in the barrels in the Spring the flavors were not quite right. Renshaw said they considered using the wine for blending, but at a later tasting they discovered it had morphed into a complex and deep cabernet franc. There is an oak and smoke note in the flavor profile that one of the tasting panel of journalists said had a bacon-like quality. There is plenty of ripe raspberry fruit in the base of this wine.

Hunt Country 2005 Cabernet Franc ($22): Winemaker Chris Wirth has been in the Finger Lakes for three years after having spent 15 years in Oregon and three years in California. Made with 100 percent cabernet franc grapes grown along Kueka Lake, this wine spent 12 months in oak barrels. It has a big zinfandel nose and firm tannins. There are appealing leather and java notes in the finish of this wine. A solid choice to go along with a pork roast or venison chop.

Sheldrake Point 2005 Cabernet Franc ($17): Winemaker Dave Breeden says this wine was an experiment because it blends 87 percent cabernet franc and 4.5 percent cabernet sauvignon grapes from the Finger Lakes with 8.5 percent cabernet sauvignon grapes from California’s Grass Valley. Sheldrake does not plan to replicate this use of California grapes in the future at its Cayuga Lake winery. The winery used 65 percent older barrels and 35 percent newer (three vintages or less) to age the wine because Breeden wanted the fruit to come through rather than the wood. The result is a dry, rich red with plenty of dark skin fruit notes.

Ravines 2005 Meritage ($25): Morten Hallgren is a native of Denmark who’s family owns a vineyard in southern France. He has spent time at vineyards in Texas and North Carolina before coming to the Finger Lakes. The 45 percent cabernet franc, 32 percent cabernet sauvignon and 23 percent merlot in this wine was sourced from vineyards across the Finger Lakes and aged in 75 percent French oak and 25 percent Pennsylvania oak. Hallgren achieved solid balance with this red. There is nice ripe fruit, good amounts of tannins and a a nice oak character in the wine. Great wine for a rib eye steak.

Standing Stone 2005 Pinnacle ($21): This blend of 89 percent cabernet sauvignon, 8 percent cabernet franc and 3 percent merlot from estate grown grapes was aged on Missouri oak. Usually, Standing Stone uses less cabernet Sauvignon in this blend, but the grape works very well in this wine. There are supple rich berry flavors to this wine, with firm tannins that make this feel very Old World in its structure.

The winemakers in this tasting noted that Bordeaux used to be the yard stick for red wines, but now California is the standard. This has changed the way many wine drinkers look at red wines, pushing them towards believing that the bigger the better. The reality is that great red wines can come in many styles, all flavorful and offering rewarding characteristics.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Can a Six Foot Tall Pint of Guinness Hide on St. Patrick's Day?

There will be plenty of pints of Guinness consumed today, but police have a special interest in locating one of them.

A six foot tall Guinness pint costume has gone missing in Michigan and the Eastpointe Police Department believes there is a good chance it might show up during St. Patrick's Day celebrations. The $3,000 costume is believed to be one of only two in the United States. A Detroit area beer distributor loaned it out for Halloween and when it asked for it back they learned it had been taken from a suburban garage.

This might be a case of you can run, but you can't hide for the crooks. After all, even on St. Patrick's Day someone is going to notice a six foot tall pint.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Mark Your Calendars for Drinks Events

The popularity of drinks festivals is immense. People pack events like the Great American Beer Festival because they are great places to sample a huge range of new brands and reacquaint one's self with old favorites. There are a number of events coming up that are worth attending. Here are just a few:

Whiskey Fest in Chicago, April 4: The folks at Malt Advocate bring together 200 of the world's finest, rarest, and most expensive, single malt and blended Scotch, Irish, Bourbon, Tennessee, Japanese, Welsh, Canadian and other whiskies from around the world for one night. General admission tickets for the event are $110 and you can get early admission VIP entry for just $150. Besides all of the whiskey, you will also find sipping rums, Tequila and beer. During the evening a number of seminars are held with distillery representatives taking guests through sensory experiences while providing history, humor and hard to find samples of great whiskey.

Craft Distilling Conference in Louisville, Ky., April 6-9: This is not a consumer event, but if you have ever wanted to open a craft distillery, then the American Distilling Institute's fifth annual event focused on whiskey is the place to be. The program includes informative distilling seminars, trips to area distilleries, still makers and cooperage, and the chance to interact with some of the top names in the business, including Chris Morris and Dave Scheurich, Brown-Forman; Jess Graber, Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey; Ralph Erenzo, Tuthilltown Spirits; Rick Wasmund, Copper Fox Distiller; Don Poffenroth, Dry Fly Distilling; and Sonja Kassebaum, North Shore Distillery.

SAVOR in Washington, D.C., May 16-17: A total of three sessions (tickets are $85 for each) will give attendees the chance to taste some of the best American craft beers matched with interesting food combinations. The Brewers Association has hand picked 48 breweries to take part and some of the biggest names in American beer will be on hand to talk with attendees, including: Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing; Adam Avery, Avery Brewing: Peter Bouckaert, New Belgium Brewing; Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery; Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing; Greg Koch, Stone Brewing; Jim Koch, Boston Beer Co.; Garrett Oliver, Brooklyn Brewery; Hugh Sisson, Clipper City Brewing; Carol Stoudt, Stoudts Brewing; and Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing.

Golden Nose Award in Corning, N.Y., May 30-31: If you ever wanted to know what it is like to judge wine in a competition, this one is for you. This event features Finger Lakes Wines and starts off with a reception on May 30 at the Rockwell Museum of Art and the judging and tasting the next day at the Corning Museum of Art. Award ceremony tickets are $50, but for $200 you can help pick the winners as an official judge. All amateur judges get a morning training session and then take part in sampling and judging hundreds of Finger Lakes wines.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Tennessee Groceries Want Wine Sales


The Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association is launching a public relations and lobbying effort to try to get the state legislature to approve the sale of wine in grocery stores.

Using the slogan “Red, White and Food,” the group says the measure would benefit consumers and help their businesses. The group points out that 33 states currently allow wine to be sold in food stores.

The move to bring wine to grocery stores would not change the law in dry counties in the state. In the past similar measures have died in committee. Grocers say that lobbyists for liquor store interests have been able to beat back the bills.

Long Island Gets Vodka Distillery


Long Island Spirits Inc. of Baiting Hollow, N.Y., is the first licensed distillery on Long Island since the 1800s after receiving federal and New York state permits to begin production.

The company plans to begin distilling LiV vodka, using 9,000 pounds of Long Island potatoes per batch. The company's still is located in a barn on a potato farm on Long Island's North Fork. which is one of the top wine regions on the east coast.

The company hopes to have its first bottles of LiV on store shelves by April. You can get more information at www.lispirits.com.

To Your Health: Non-Drinkers Can Cut Cardiac Disease by Starting to Drink

A study conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina has found that non-drinkers who started having one or two drinks a day lowered their risk of cardiac disease.

The research looked at more than 7,600 non-drinkers between 45 and 64 years old over a 10 year period. Those who started enjoying one to two drinks of alcohol daily during the study had a 38 percent lower chance of developing heart problems than those who continued to abstain.

In the study those who drank wine saw the greatest reduction in heart problems.

Friday, March 07, 2008

The Session #13: Wolaver's Brown



Chris O'Brien over at the Beer Activist is the host for this month's Beer Blogging Friday event. His topic for this edition of The Session is Organic Beer.

Prior to moving to North Carolina, I lived in Saratoga County, N.Y., a quick drive from the Vermont border. Vermont is one of those places that just feels a little different than most of the rest of the world. They still value family farms. They hold Town Meeting Day the first Tuesday each March to elect local officials, vote on budgets and generally have their say. In the fall, clubs hold annual Game Dinners, where everything from venison to moose and bear to rabbit is served up to raise money for local charities. Country inns are the place to stay and cheddar cheese is an art form.

I have been a fan of Otter Creek Brewing in the college town of Middlebury, Vt., since it opened in 1991. They have nice line up of brews, including a solid Copper Ale and my favorite, Stovepipe Porter. In the late 1990s they started to brew Wolaver's Certified Organic Ales in partnership with Panorama Brewing Company. In 2002, the Wolaver family purchased Otter Creek Brewing, formally uniting the two brands corporately.

For my beer for The Session #13 I decided on Wolaver's Brown Ale, which I found on tap at The Flying Saucer in Charlotte. The beer was a rich mahogany color and had a very mild, smooth flavor. The malt is firm in this beer, but not too sweet. There is a slight fruit element to the background from the ale yeast. The hops in this brown ale are respectfully mild and true to the style.

Wolaver's Brown is one of those beers you could easily drink over the course of an evening, feeling good about how it makes you feel and how it treats the environment.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Amazon Prepares to Sell Wine in U.S.

Millions have purchased books from Amazon and may soon be getting their vino from the online retailer.

Changes in laws that make it easier to ship wine from one state to another have attracted Amazon's attention. The company is the world's largest online retailer and could have an impact on how consumers shop for wine.

Amazon has been selling non-perishable foods for about two years. In Seattle, the company also operates a service that delivers fresh groceries. Shipping wine is more difficult because of state laws and regulations. The weight of the bottle and liquid also makes it costly to ship. However, Amazon may be able find a niche with consumers trying to buy hard to find labels or regional brands.

Material Girl is Now a Publican

Pop music star Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie have purchased The Punchbowl, a pub in the fashionable Mayfair section of London.

The pair paid $10 million for the 18th Century pub, which is close to where they have a home in the British capital. Media reports say that Madonna likes to hoist pints at the pub and Ritchie regularly meets friends at the location.

It is reasonable to expect the pub will become a tourist favorite as they yearn for celebrity sitings.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Anheuser-Busch Adds Sun Dog Amber Wheat to Brigade of Seasonals


Anheuser-Busch is set to launch Sun Dog Amber Wheat as part of the company's seasonal beer line up.

Sun Dog (5.3 percent alcohol by volume), brewed at the company's Fort Collins, Colo., brewery, is taking the place left vacant by Spring Heat Spiced Wheat, which is now year-round offering known as Shock Top Belgian White.

Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale, Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale and Beach Bum Blonde Ale are the other four A-B seasonals.

Tuesday Tasting: Gosling's Rum


Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we head to Bermuda to enjoy some run.

The current issue of DRAFT magazine has just hit the newsstands. The "Leisure Issue" has actor John O'Hurley (Jacopo Peterman for all you Seinfeld fans) on the cover and an article that I wrote about rum on the inside. As part of developing the story I had the chance to speak with Malcolm Gosling, president and chief executive officer of Gosling-Castle Partners, which imports rum from Bermuda.

Gosling says that rum is “enjoyment in a bottle,” noting the versatility of rum, from frozen drinks to aged spirits perfect for nightcap sipping. Rum’s ability to evoke a mood and a place is also a big part of the drink experience. The Dark and Stormy, a mixture of Gosling’s Black Seal Rum and ginger beer, is established as the national drink of Bermuda.

The story of Gosling's rum goes back to 1806, when Englishman James Gosling landed in Bermuda with a boat full of rum instead of the U.S. because his charter expired. He set up a rum shop in St. George’s and today Gosling’s Black Rums are Bermuda number one export. Malcolm Gosling is a seventh generation rum maker.

I had the chance to sample three different varieties of Gosling's:

Gosling’s Black Seal: A rich brown color, this rum has a lingering pleasingly sweet aroma and a smooth flavor with hints of hazelnuts and plenty of wood.

Gosling’s Family Reserve Old Rum: Brown leather color, mellow sweet nose. There is pleasing oak throughout the flavor with a cocoa sweetness around the edges. This blend of rums that are at least 16 years old is a treat for sipping.

Gosling’s Gold: This 80 proof Bermuda rum’s color is true to its name. It has a toffee nose and a slightly earthy and oaky flavor profile behind a vanilla sweetness.

Saturday, March 01, 2008

It's Time to Close the Books on the Latest Noble Experiment: Repeal the 21 Year Old Drinking Age


I have three simple questions for the folks at the Marin Institute, Mother's Against Drunk Driving and the other anti-alcohol groups who threaten any politician who dares to question the effectiveness of the 21 year old drinking age:

(1) In the more than two decades since the drinking age switch was forced upon states by the threat of the loss of federal highway matching funds has the new law kept 18-20 year olds from drinking?

(2) Is it a safer environment now that the government has pushed 18-20 year old drinking underground, without controls or supervision, and caused otherwise law abiding young adults to break the law?

(3) Is it fair to say to a small group of adult Americans that there are rights the rest of us can enjoy that they are not entitled to -- at the very same moment that their government sends tens of thousands of 18-20 year olds to Afghanistan and Iraq to fight for their country?

The 21 year old drinking age -- Prohibition for the 18-20 year old crowd -- has been around since 1984. That's 23 years and counting -- 10 more years than the Prohibition the nation had to endure during the 1920s. The results have been much the same. This latest version of the Noble Experiment has failed. It has turned average people into criminals and created an underground society. Then and now, any politician that looks at the facts and decides to speak out faces the wrath of the highly organized drys.

But some elected officials are starting to show they have both the intellectual ability to see the 21 year old drinking age is not working and the guts to stand up to the neo-Prohibitionist lobby.

In Vermont, state Sen. Hinda Miller introduced a bill that would create a task force to look at the implications of lowering the legal drinking age in her state to 21. She is quoted in media reports saying, "Our laws aren't working. They're not preventing underage drinking. What they're doing is putting it outside the public eye. So you have a lot of kids binge drinking. They get sick, they get scared and they get into trouble and they can't call because they know it's illegal."

In South Dakota, a bill sits waiting for action that would allow 19-and 20-year-olds to legally buy 3.2 percent beer. Sort of an training wheels approach to the issue.

In Missouri, a grassroots group is using the Internet to gather 100,000 signatures to get a referendum before voters to lower the drinking age to 18.

South Carolina and Wisconsin legislators have made proposals that would permit active duty military personnel younger than 21 to buy alcohol. This falls under the "old enough to die for your country, old enough to have a beer" view of the world. New Hampshire lawmakers voted down a similar bill last year.

There is a group working to try to get Congress and state legislatures to look at the situation and repeal the 18-20 year old Prohibition. Choose Responsibility is a Vermont-based group, headed by John M. McCardell Jr., the former president of Middlebury College. The organization's primary goal is to encourage "dispassionate public discussion about the presence of alcohol in American culture and to consider policies that will effectively empower young adults age 18 to 20 to make mature decisions about the place of alcohol in their own lives."

Choose Responsibility points out the U.S. is among a select group of countries that has a 21 year old drinking age. The others? Mongolia, Indonesia and Palau. It points out that according to the World Health Organization in many European countries where the drinking age is 18 or younger, 15 and 16 year-old teens have more drinking occasions per month, but fewer occasions of dangerous intoxication than their American counterparts. The group notes that one of the strongest arguments for the 21 year old drinking age -- drinking and driving deaths -- have declined since 1984. It also notes that the trend of fewer highway deaths relating to alcohol was already started before 21 became the law. Also during the last two decades other factors such as such as designated driver programs, alcohol awareness education, bar staff service training, greatly increased seatbelt usage, cars equipped with airbags, safer vehicles and highways, and lower permitted blood alcohol content levels have all contributed to cutting down on highway deaths.

A statement on its website says, "Choose Responsibility does not, has not, and will not receive funding from the alcohol beverage industry or organizations affiliated with it." This has to anger the neo-Prohibitionists because they would love to find "dirty money" from drinks companies backing the group so they could attack the effort.

It's time we end Prohibition for 18, 19 and 20 year olds.