By Christopher McCollum

Taiwanese company Kavalan has made shockwaves around the world amongst whiskey/whisky connoisseurs, as a blind taste test among experts in Scotland resulted in them beating out three Scottish blends and an English.

Yesterday was Burns Night in Scotland, which is the annual celebration of the birthday of Scottish Poet Robert  Burns. To mark the celebration, the taste test went on to see which was the best Scotch. The two foreign bottles were sneaked into the test, and surprise surprise when the results were declared. “Oh. My. God.” were the words out of expert Charles MacLean’s mouth when the results were declared, as the Kavalan whisky won 27.5 points out of a possible 40, beating second place Langs by 5.5 points. The taste was described as fruity, and one can be sure that there will soon be a run on Kavalan whisky, as more and more people want to experience this New Kid On The Block.

Unfortunately, the Taiwanese brand is not readily available, as worldwide distribution hasn’t gone into full effect. The company is marketing itself as “The 1st step to a hundred-year distillery” and has been working through trial and error to create Taiwan’s first whisky. The name comes from the name of the first people to settle the Lan-Yan plain in Taiwan, and the company chose Kavalan because it represents sincerity, honesty, and step-by-step cultivation.

Right now, the pricing research that I can find puts it at about $68 for a 750ML bottle, putting it on the rather expensive side. However, with the reviews that have been given it, we are definitely not looking at a low quality whisky. In their efforts to create Taiwan’s first whisky, they have produced a work of art that may become a masterpiece, as their process continues to grow and evolve. They are taking the right steps, putting incredible effort into the research and design process; They have imported copper stills from Scotland, as well as the services of Scottish master distillers. Combining these efforts with King Car, their parent company’s thirty years of food and beverage experience, the sky appears to be the limit for the Taiwanese upstart.

Here’s hoping we can get a bottle on hand to do our own taste test, in the near future.

By Micah Hanks

It has been long lamented that overseas in countries like Germany you can order a beer with your Big Mac at McDonalds. However, soon one of the restaurant’s leading competitors, Burger King, will be making this a reality to US diners as well.

Investors.com reported today that the franchise plans to open a 24-hour “Whopper Bar South Beach,” that serves alcohol along with the chain’s popular burgers. This, in an effort to make certain Burger King locations appeal to the “sit down” crowd, will mark the first instance where alcohol has been sold in one of its US locations.

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By Micah Hanks

Sources claim that famous rocker Keith Richards, legendary guitarist with the Rolling Stones, has given up drinking alcohol, having abstained from imbibing for four months now. The UK Sun, quoting a friend of the guitarist, admitted “There’s no guarantees that he will stay off it, but he’s doing really well so far.” The story also appeared at the website LondonNet.

Keith’s change of heart is apparently in response to the wild antics of fellow guitarist, Ron Wood, who left his wife Jo last year for a “teenage lover” (actually 20 when they began dating) named Katia Ivanova. The relationship lasted only a year before he subsequently dumped Ivanova after an alcohol fueled argument. Wood was also arrested during one such dispute in December of last year, facing assault charges and prompting Ivanova to describe Wood to the press as an alcoholic “evil goblin king.”

Not caring to follow suit, Richards has apparently changed his ways for the better; but will it last?

By Christopher McCollum

Out of the living tragedy that is Port-au-Prince, a miraculous rescue has been made, with a survivor pulled from the wreckage of a grocery store 11 days after the earthquake rattled Haiti.

Sky News reports that the lone survivor was trapped under a desk for a week and a half, and was able to survive by reaching for nearby groceries. Those nearby groceries happened to be cookies, canned soft drinks, and of course, cans of beer. Wismond Exantus is indeed a lucky individual, as the desk protected him from the building falling around him, and he was made even luckier as these items were intact and within reach of him. What makes the rescue of Exantus even better, is that the Haitian government officially called off the search for survivors earlier in the day. Working of their own accord, private rescue teams continued to scour the ruins of the capital city, until a Greek team was hailed by Exantus’ brother, who had heard a voice where the store used to stand.

The chance of finding anyone else alive in the rubble is incredibly small, but hopefully there are others who are in similar situations as Wismond. The time frame is getting smaller, and hope is dwindling as the death toll continues to sky rocket, and bodies are dumped into mass graves on the outskirts of the ruins. Any glowing bit of hope is good for the morale of the people on the island, as well as for those watching with baited breath around the world. Tens of millions of dollars have been raised to help Haiti, and several people I personally know have made monetary and material donations to help the survivors.

That one man can survive on beer, leads us to hope that perhaps two men could survive on beer, and perhaps even three. Keep digging, people. Keep digging, and hopefully more will be found before it’s too late. While I have many questions that I would love to ask Wismond Exantus, I think the one that would be first off my tongue given the opportunity, is what kind of beer was he living off of?

Here’s to you, Wismond. And here’s hoping there are many more like you.

Special thanks to Greg Le Guyader for contributing to this article.

By Christopher McCollum

In an earlier article, we touched upon the Belgian beer unions striking against Anheuser-Busch InBev, over cuts of up to 800 employees, which amounts to 10% of their European workforce. The strikers held up production at A-B InBev plants for two weeks, causing shortages of popular Belgian beers all throughout northern Europe.

While this article is being written just past midnight on Sunday, the 24th, I still consider it to be yesterday, Friday the 22nd that the strike was officially called off, and the blockades were lifted. The agreement came mere hours after the first article was written, and the following day, production and delivery continued. Beer shortages eased across the country, and many purveyors of Leffe and Stella breathed a sigh of relief.

It was not just a win for A-B InBev, however, as the union got what they wanted as well, which was a freeze on several hundred layoffs, and the opening of two new call centers in Belgium, providing additional jobs, and reducing the overall job cut to around 260.

This is obviously very good news for both parties, as A-B InBev can finally continue with production, and many hundreds of jobs were saved. However, for this to remain good news, there needs to be a shift in taste in Belgium’s flagging beer market, as more and more drinkers turn to wine and spirits, decreasing beer sells by frightening percentages.

Please, Belgium, for the sake of your brewers, keep buying beer.

By Christopher McCollum

The L.A. Times reports on alcohol crackdowns in Baghdad.

With Saddam Hussein removed as the Dictator in charge of Iraq, hope was sprung for millions of people to enjoy freedoms that were unimaginable up to that point. People cheered, and savvy businessmen opened clubs and bars all around the downtown district of Baghdad. Alcohol flowed freely, and the people of Iraq had a real taste of the west. Unfortunately, militia activity began rising and pushing against alcohol, and many places stopped carrying it for fear of invoking the wrath of the Islamic extremists. Still, many brave business owners continued with the practice of selling alcoholic beverages to their patrons, and they seemed to endure through the hardships of insurgent violence, but even having succeeded in that environment, they are finding an even tougher challenge ahead.

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By Christopher McCollum

Time Magazine reports that Belgium is running out of beer, and it’s because of labor strikes over planned cuts of 800 jobs. Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, announced their plans to cut these jobs and have been met with fierce resistance all around the country for the past two weeks, as striking union members have blockaded breweries and set fire to paths leading in and out. No delivery trucks can pick up the untold thousands of gallons of beer that is stuck inside loading bays, and the brewing equipment itself is running dry as they are unable to get supplies.

Anger over the decision to cut jobs was increased as A-B InBev announced third-quarter profits soaring over $1.5B USD, and people are feeling that this is the ugly side of Capitalism. A-B InBev is taking the stance that they are a global company employing over one hundred thousand people around the world, and they must look after the best interests for the company. InBev bought out Anheuser-Busch in 2008, and in doing so, went heavily into debt. They are struggling to repay, and have already sold eight major theme parks in the United States. The workers in Leuven, Belgium, which traces their brewing back to the middle 14th century, have a greater concern for their families than for the Brazilian ran company’s debts. The striking workers have been so incensed, they have even taken several members of A-B InBev management hostage, while demanding to speak to executives within the company. The hostages were released without incident after 11 hours.

With A-B InBev owning over 200 brands of beer around the world, including several major brands in Belgium, one must wonder if global beer supplies will be effected by this strike as well. The bars in Belgium are reporting shortages, and pretty soon these shortages may reach the rest of Europe and the world. For those who love Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, and Leffe, now may be the time to begin stocking up, as there is no telling how long this strike could go on; As there is virtually no chance at saving their jobs, they may just camp out on the drives that lead in and out of the plants for several more weeks in order to spite A-B InBev, and put a wrench in the gears of what many people believe to be nothing more than yet another profit-over-people mega corporation.

Special thanks to Dwight Walker Jr. for contributing to this article.

By Christopher McCollum

In my previous ‘Diageo Dollars’ article, I wrote about Diageo departing Puerto Rico for St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, stirred on by their quest for greater profit margins. While that can be decried as being one of the evils of Capitalism, and the epitome of corporate greed, it must be remembered that one action can not condemn an entire group. Even though in Diageo’s case, many people think it’s actually two actions, as they closed down a 200 year old Johnnie Walker distillery in Kilmarnock, Scotland, as well as the grain depot Port Dundas, in Glasgow. Company restructuring aside, it could be easy for many people to view Diageo in a very negative light, thinking that they do not see the common man as anything more than a tool that can be discarded at the whims of whatever boss has monetary symbols in his or her eyes. However, it would be wise to take each action as it is, and remember that it does not reflect completely on the moral compass of those in charge of the company. Many actions over time can have the company begin to earn their reputation, but until that day comes, let’s also consider that terrific things can be done by those with the power and ability to do it.

For example, a couple of days ago, news broke that Diageo would be chartering a plane and sending relief supplies to Haiti, where they have part ownership in a brewery in Port-au-Prince. These supplies include medical kits, and 45,000 pounds of food that will reach tens of thousands of starving people who are still at this moment residing in the earthquake ravaged capital city. Many are still dying, adding to the potential total death toll of over 200,000 people. Food and water is still barely getting to the necessary places, and hopefully Diageo’s contribution will make it to the victims sooner rather than later.

The soft side of Diageo has been shown, and let’s hope that many others follow suit. The world is indeed a cruel place, but with the generosity of those who can manage it, it doesn’t have to be quite as cruel for some people.

The slogan of Buckfast tonic wine, made by Benedictine monks of Buckfast Abbey in Devon, UK, once read, “Three small glasses a day, for good health and lively blood.” Now, as the culture of consumption continues to grow out of control among the British youth, the brand has received a new unofficial slogan: “Buckfast, made by monks for drunks.”

This rather crude name (really one of many that also includes nicknames like “commotion lotion”)  entails a variety of things. Buckfast, selling at a mere £5.49, could be likened to many of the less expensive brands of wine on the market here in America that, due to having a fruity taste and higher alcohol content than beer and malt beverages can provide, become popular among inexperienced younger drinkers. However, there is concern growing among experts who, upon analyzing statistics that pertain to alcohol-related violence and criminal activity, have noticed a startling consistency that links to Buckfast consumption.

The British Daily Mail reports that “research at Polmont offenders’ institution in West Lothian reveals that more than 40 per cent of those who had consumed alcohol immediately before committing their crime had been drinking Buckfast.” The report continues, “But sales of the drink… have soared to £37 million in the past five years, with Scots spending more than £50,000 a day on it.”

Accepted at face value, the information presented in this study seems to make an obvious association between the consumption of the Buckfast brand and crimes being committed. However, why are other important factors involved, namely the age groups of those committing the crimes, not included as well? The fault in this argument becomes far more apparent once we delve deeper into the cultural factors which, as is so often the case, aren’t being well represented.

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By Christopher McCollum

It was reported several months ago that the producer of Captain Morgan Rum, Diageo PLC (NYSE: DEO), was going to be getting a new factory in the U.S. Virgin Islands, along with $2.7B USD in tax credits and benefits over the next 30 years, which sparked a bit of controversy as they are a British owned company. With this struck deal, Diageo will be moving the Captain Morgan operations from Puerto Rico, where they’ve been operating for generations, to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, while potentially putting the rum culture in jeopardy.

Puerto Rican representatives claim that this business move will cost Puerto Rico about $120M annually in lost tax revenue, which at this point in time is an even harder pill to swallow than in the past. In March of 2009, Puerto Rico’s governor, Luis Fortuno, declared that the government there is bankrupt, with a deficit of more than $3B USD, making it the highest deficit-per-capita in the United States. Over the ensuing months, there have been plans implemented to lay off potentially 30,000 government workers, and to slash salaries across the board in an effort to save money. Union protests have been going on all over San Juan’s financial districts, and the unemployment rate on the Island of Enchantment will soar to potentially 17%.

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