I‘ve been slow to follow up on this…
(Reuters) – The Czech government agreed on Wednesday to ease a ban on the sale and export of spirits after police found the source behind the spread of deadly bootleg booze that has killed 26 people.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/26/us-czech-bootleg-idUSBRE88P1M320120926
125 years ago today:
[Life: September 27, 1937]
Not much to say here, except that I like the rooster (Life magazine, September 20, 1937):
A strange story this weekend: the Czech Republic on Friday announced a full, national ban on any alcoholic beverage over 20% abv — namely, any hard spirit. The problem, which began a couple of weeks ago, is with bootleg liquor, some of which contains methanol, which is toxic to humans. So far, 20 people have died, and 36 are in critical condition.
I can’t quite understand the rationale for a blanket ban; the government says that bootleg spirits are often sold as legitimate product, which would mean it’s hard to know the true quality of that bottle of Absolut you just bought at a Prague shop. Here’s a telling detail, though:
The BBC’s Rob Cameron in Prague says that with the number of reported deaths slowing, attention is focusing on saving those who survived drinking the tainted alcohol and finding those who bottled it in the first place.
So the idea is: prevent future poisonings, care for those afflicted, and track down the culprits. A full ban still seems like an overreaction to me, though.
The ban is expected to be temporary, but no Czech officials are speculating yet as to when it may be lifted.
Poland has now taken the step of banning spirits imports from the Czech Republic.
Thus far, police have failed to locate the source of the tainted hooch.
Sticking with beer, here’s one from Life‘s September 13, 1937, installment.
September 6, 1937, issue of Life.
Let’s just have some fun with this, shall we?
From the Library of Congrass, a 1903 song proclaiming the famous Schlitz slogan:
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/202/
The beer that made Milwaukee famous made all New York drunk!
Finally, what made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me:
So, while we were in the midst of moving to Brooklyn, back in late May and early June, I was also writing a piece, for Ralph Lauren’s online magazine, about Calvados and apple brandy. It appears in the fall issue of RL Magazine, here.
Eric Asimov talks to Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Oliver, on the White House’s beer recipes.
A hodgepodge, from Life‘s issue of August 30, 1937:
(Another Norman Rockwell ad. I keep meaning to do a specific post on Schenley’s history. Another time.)
(Burnett’s is still around; the brand, today, is owned by Heaven Hill.)
(If you need me to tell you that Myers is still around, you don’t drink enough.)
Both from the August 23, 1937, issue of Life magazine:
CRANK IT.
Wait, what does that say?
“rich, full flavor” Oh, so gin is supposed to be richly flavored. Got it.
But wait!
CRANK IT.
Gin is supposed to blend, to disappear into the drink. You shouldn’t actually taste gin when you have a gin cocktail! (We’ve seen this before, of course.)
