If you aren’t in a chair already, you may want to sit down before reading this; present American budget deficit numbers, projected at a whopping $1.8 trillion for 2009 and $1.2 trillion for 2010, both represent levels not seen since World War II.

But here’s the good news:some sources advise that this may be a good excuse to drink to your health (since we know drinking to prosperity is out of the question, for now). According to the Web site American Progress, “If a Martini is your drink, skip the Vermouth. If Whiskey’s your poison, take it straight. If you’re a teetotaler, make an exception. And if you really, really shouldn’t drink, close your eyes and take a deep breath. But, under no circumstances should you look at President Obama’s budget blueprint for the next ten years without fortification.” Whoops, if you’re seeing these numbers here for the first time, it may be too late. Sincerest apologies (at least I asked if you were sitting)!
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According area news sources, the Pennsylvania House Appropriation Committee heard yesterday that sales of wine and spirits in the state are projected to outdo last year’s fiscal earnings of $1.77 billion.

“At the halfway point of fiscal 2008-2009, which was December 31st, state store sales were $1.02 billion. If sales continue on that same path through June 30th they will total over $2 billion for the full year. That compares with the total for the entire fiscal year of 2007-2008 which was $1.77 billion,” reported Newsroom Solutions yesterday.
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Brian McDonald at the New York Times alcohol blog Proof recently shared some rather philosophical musings on drunken writers who have influenced him, and among them I found one of my many favorites: Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Below is an excerpt:

“Late one night Hunter S. Thompson sat by himself at a back table lighting shots of Bacardi 151 rum with his Zippo and firing them down the hatch. I don’t remember how many flaming shots he drank — but I do remember the last one. Something had gone horribly wrong with his technique. When I looked back at him he was on fire. Only the quick thinking of Carlo the waiter, who snatched a nearby tablecloth and used it to smother the blue flames, saved Dr. Thompson from escalating into a three-alarm blaze.”

The Rum Diary : A Novel

Among other vibrant literary names, McDonald also conjures Hemingway, as well as F. Scott Fitzgerald (another feller close to home in my repitoire). You can read the entire article by visiting the Times Web site.

Last night on the late-night radio program Coast to Coast AM, host George Noory began his show by reading various news items of particular interest to those who follow “offbeat” topics in his listening audience. One of the stories Noory touched on has to do with an article written by Dianna Cahn, a Staff Writer Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The story reads that “On Feb. 27 and 28, the Sheriff’s Office plans to apply for a search warrant from an on-call judge for anyone refusing a breath test, to take a blood sample, according to a memo by Captain Patrick Kenny, head of the agency’s traffic division.”

Normally, only in extreme incidents involving serious injury or death are officers allowed to take a blood sample from a motorist suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. New measures designed to obtain on-spot search warrants with intent of forcing a blood sample from all DUI suspects is not only controversial, but has already been defeated in some courts.

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Some of the finest mixed drinks you could think of off the top of your head include wines as an ingredient, like Martinis or Manhattan cocktails, which both use vermouth, an aperitif wine. But what would you think of a drink that called for champagne… mixed with beer! As strange as it may sound to American audiences, the practice of mixing beer and ale with things like wine, champagne, brandy, and other spirits is not only a tradition; it is quite commonplace.

First up on our list of English beer cocktails is the Black Velvet, a hefty combination of champagne and stout (usually Guiness). I remember first stumbling across this beverage when it was ordered by James Bond at lunch during one of the early chapters of Diamonds Are Forever. According to English tradition, the stout is supposed to represent the lowly “common man”, whereas the champagne is indicative of “nobility”. Celebrated homebrewer Marty Nachel calls this comparison “a tired old stereotype” in his Beer For Dummies, but whatever the case may be, the legend persists. Along these same lines, a Brown Velvet is stout mixed with port wine (probably not as exciting as the crisp-carbonated Black Velvet, honestly). In Germany the recipe differs in that the beer used is schwarzbier, a dark lager, and an alternative name is used for the drink itself: “The Bismarck,” named after 19th century Minister-President of Prussia Otto von Bismarck.

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Look out, ya’ll: it appears that Kid Rock is hoping to stimulate the poor economy with a Michigan-based beer brand of his own design. Conrad Doucette of Maxim Magazine tells us “The beer will be ‘an American lager’ and will be suitable for parties, Pistons games, and BBQs all summer long. Snobby sots need not apply!” What this translates to is “Kid Rock plans to bottle a Budweiser-clone in the center of the failing auto industry capital of the world.”

There are both good and bad elements here. The good has to do with the help this may provide in the way of jobs in the Michigan area. The down side: it’s questionable whether any amount of rejoicing that dozens of Michiganders will be getting these jobs will outweigh the tears many of us will cry in our craft brews at the notion of a “Kid Rock brand beer.”

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Every well-learned journalist prescribes and adheres to some manual of style. In fact, many major media outlets have their own guides to proper style for their writers, like the Associated Press Stylebook (which I use), The Economist Style Guide, and of course, The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage. I bring this up because, as I understand it, the latter of these three, used by the astute newspaper of the same name hailing from the heart of the Big Apple, recently modified it’s guidelines regarding the use of the words whiskey versus whisky.

Blogger Eric Asimov of the Times‘ excellent blog The Pour recently used the spelling whisky in reference to single-malt scotch, to which Times readers scolded him profoundly, asking whether or not he knew better that to omit the “e” when referring to Scotch and Canadian whisky.

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Yesterday the New York Times featured a recipe for a cleverly-named cocktail, which they call “The Market Crash”. As much as alcohol and its particular relation to the present economic situation the world-over is discussed on this Web site, I felt that this one must be added to the cavalcade of crash-cocktails we’ll no doubt continue to enjoy for the next several months (at least). That being said, do you have a recession-themed beverage that you would like to recommend to Culture of Spirits? If so, email it to us by clicking here.

And now, on to that recipe…

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Today the Associated Press reports that liquor laws, especially those which prohibit sale of spirits on Sundays, may be repealed in an effort to boost individual state economies.

AP writer Brock Vergakis writes, “In Utah, and across the country, governors and lawmakers faced with budget deficits are advocating loosening laws that restrict alcohol consumption in the hopes of boosting tax revenues.” Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota and Texas all plan to end present bans on Sunday liquor sales with hopes of boosting revenue with the day’s worth of sales added to weekly figures.

State governments choosing to capitalize on alcohol sales may never have picked a better time, in spite of the recession, as liquor sales are on the rise just about everywhere. Across the US during the year of 2008, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) reports that sales rose 2.8 percent from 2007 to $18.7 billion in 2008, according to revenues reported by liquor suppliers. For instance, in Perham, Minnesota, the local municipal liquor store saw an increase in sales by nearly a half million dollars during this period; nearly a 33% gain.

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Yet again, we see that another portion of the United States is reporting liquor sales on the rise, in spite of the looming recession:

Liquor Sales up in Idaho

According to Idaho resident and restaurant owner Dan Willie, “In a recession or in a so-called recession people tend to drink more, and that’s been historically true in the great depression… I don’t know if they are drinking to drown their sorrows or just spending more time in bars and restaurants.” Willie says the bar in his restaurant picked up sales in December, and has maintained steadily ever since.

Yet again, it appears that the business of wine, beer, and spirits may be the ultimate “recession-proof” industry.