By Micah Hanks

Tequila aficionados are no longer the only ones lauding the present over-abundance of Agave, a plant used in the distillation of the Southwestern liquor famously used in Margaritas (and hangovers). Now, the Agave plant has also been associated with beneficial prebiotic bacteria, according to a new study.

Researchers with Reading University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico suggest in the study that Agave displays prebiotic activity, as observed in samples of inulin extracted from the plant. The beneficial bacteria present in the samples, according to experts, may provide both a useful and cost-effective alternative to chicory inulin, which presently dominates the market. However, Inulin extracted from Agave tequilana managed to similarly boost levels of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, two bacteria that are commonly used in commercial inulins, as well as a host of other components.

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By Micah Hanks

Don’t let the rather suggestive name fool you: when it comes to getting “high,” Jeremiah Weed Kentucky bourbon literally means high in the sky.

Jeremiah Weed provides a 100 proof bourbon, as well as its own variations on the popular pre-mixed sweet tea vodka and vodka-lemonade. As reported recently at the Buzztab website, according to distribution company Diageo the liquor is sold close to many military bases; hence it also happens to have become a favorite among men in service. Though its proximity to military installations might have something to do with the affinity that has developed, probing a bit deeper leads us to another notion as to the origins of this love affair with the innocuous bottled spirit.

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The results are in from the 2010 “Beer City USA” poll with Asheville, North Carolina, emerging the victor in a close battle with Portland, Oregon, with whom they tied in last year’s voting. According to official results, Asheville won with 39.9 percent of votes; 34.1 percent were attributed to Portland.

The Asheville-based Citizen Times reported that the title is one celebrated by the area, whose beer community in Buncombe County consists of nine breweries. Only weeks away in June, the city will celebrate its first first “Beer City Festival” in downtown Asheville.

In total, close to 19,000 votes were cast. Among the US cities that also placed in the ranking were Denver, CO, and Milwaukee, WI. In 2009, Asheville also tied with Portland, leading some to consider this a “second victory” for the rustic Western NC city.

By Christopher McCollum

In a recently concluded study of more than 22,000 people, lead by Yangmei Li of Cambridge University, results have shown moderate drinkers who also smoke are almost two thirds more likely to have a stroke than their moderate drinking, non-smoking counterparts.

There have been a bounty of recent studies showing the moderate consumption of alcohol having positive affects on heart health, blood pressure and circulation, and bone density. Studies have also surfaced showing that alcohol appears to reduce stroke risk in individuals, and this study from Ms. Li seems to support that.

The results show that out of all the combinations of smokers and drinkers, the lowest risk of stroke came in the 7 – 14 drinks per week demographic, followed by 3 – 7 per week. Those who consume a fewer amount of drinks (0 – 3 per week) appear to be 31% more likely to succumb to a stroke, while those who drink the most (more than 28 drinks per week), are 75% more likely than those who average 1 to 2 drinks per day.

The smoking contingent of the study has another mixed bag of results, with non-drinking smokers being 32% more likely than our aforementioned moderate drinker, while the most at risk demographic were those who both smoke and drink, who are a staggering 218% more likely to suffer a stroke.

So with these results in mind, it looks like the healthiest vice to have is drinking, but in moderation of only 1 to 2 drinks per day. In relation to some of the previous studies that we have written about here at Culture of Spirits, it seems that a pint of Guinness alternated daily with a pint of an IPA, backed up with a glass of Champagne or red wine would be the logical choice to optimize the health benefits of some of our favorite beverages.

Until next time, sophisticated ones!

By Christopher McCollum

A new statute is being proposed in Californians called the Alcohol-Related Harm and Damage Services Act of 2010. This proposal, which seeks to increase the state alcohol tax by astronomical proportions, was brought forth by Josephine and Kent M. Whitney, of San Diego, California.

Last year, I wrote an article about Russia raising its alcohol tax by sky-high margins, but if this Act in California goes through (it is going to require around 430,000 signatures on a petition just to go to a vote), President Medvedev will have to bow his head in submission, as his 300% tax hike will look like pocket  change compared to the proposed 5,500% to 12,675% tax increase that the Whitney’s have authored.

In reading the details of the proposal, we see a helpful summary that California’s Attorney General wrote, which details what exactly will be taxed, and how much the tax will be; Beer’s six-pack tax will rise from 11 cents to $6.08 USD, a 5,527% increase. With that in place, say hello to $12 six-packs of Yuengling, and a lovely $15 for a six-pack of a good micro-brew, or about the price that a case costs here in North Carolina. The steepest tax increase of almost 13,000% is on 750ml bottles of wine, which aims to raise the tax from 4 cents to $5.11 USD per bottle, which has many people fearing that this will cripple the wine industry. According to one grower with a winery in Soledad, California, the most in-demand product on the wine market are mid-range bottles of $7 to $8. He fears that raising the price on those hot ticket items by an additional $5.11 will reduce the overall demand and put a tremendous strain on local wineries, eventually leading to job losses.

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By Micah Hanks

A new study appearing today at the Web MD site suggests there is a link between heavy drinking and people who consume lesser wholesome foods. Specifically, diets consisting of heavier alcohol intake appear to lack consistent (and recommended) amounts of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and milk, according to researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Cancer Institute, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Interviews performed by these agencies among 8,155 men and 7,715 women in the U.S. sought to learn about their individual drinking and dietary habits. The findings, reported in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, suggest dangerous dietary habits are certainly more consistent among the more regular drinkers. Immediately, one must consider whether other factors, some of which are less obvious, might be contributing to such statistics; if so, what are they, and how might they influence trends that exist between alcohol consumption and the quality of foods being eaten by these individuals?

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By Christopher McCollum

Greetings, Cultured ones! It’s been awhile since my last post, and for that, I am regretful. However, I am getting back into the swing of things, and will start it off right with an article for health conscious ladies around the world.

A recently concluded study from the Archives of Internal Medicine, conducted by Doctors associated with Divisions of Preventive Medicine and Aging, and Harvard School of Public Health has shown a correlation between moderate drinking and body shape. The results of the study come from a nearly 13 year study in which 19,220 women aged 39 or older were kept up with about once a year, with weight and alcohol consumption being provided by the participants.

What the researchers noticed at the conclusion of the study, is that women who imbibed light to moderate amounts of  alcohol were found to have little to no weight gain, and a much decreased likelihood of becoming obese. Other mitigating factors were not included in the results, such as activity levels, diet, and family history. These test results are very interesting, and further studies should go into these women to see if the alcohol intake had any direct affect on them, or if it is just a coincidence.

It seems fairly unlikely, given all that we know about alcohol and calories, that these results actually have anything to do with alcohol, and instead it is pretty easy to assume that it just happens to be a facet of the already active lives of many women. A very interesting thing to know is the type of alcohol that these women in the study were imbibing in; Beer and it’s empty calories, or Red Wine and it’s already well known health benefits.

Perhaps a likely scenario is more of a social one than a health one, as cocktails and wine are imbibed at events by women who are already image conscious within their social circles. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to say. Until another study is done that provides more details about the alcohol aspect, we can do nothing but speculate. However, it must be heartening to us to learn that we are not guaranteed to gain weight from alcohol’s empty calories, as some would lead us to believe.

The city of Arab, Alabama, recently got an unexpected surprise: research by the city’s police chief, Mike Blackwood, found that alcohol related offenses have not risen since 2008, when the town decided to begin allowing sale of spirits. But that’s not all, according to a recent statement from Blackwood that appeared in the Cullman Times online. “We’ve seen about a 6 percent decrease in alcohol-related crimes,” he adds, and though he warns that it’s still fairly early in the game to draw conclusions, “so far the alcohol-related crime is down.”

Additionally, Blackwood says that statistics he collected from other towns in the region who decided to lift bans on the sale of alcohol reported similar drops in violent crime related to alcohol consumption. But perhaps the most interesting facet of Blackwood’s findings has to do with how the number of people drinking and driving through the area has dropped as well.

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By Christopher McCollum

It is apparently old news that the United States government poisoned alcohol during prohibition in a bid to stop drinking altogether, but I had not heard of it until reading an article on Slate a couple days ago.

During the 1920′s, at the height of prohibition and the underground world of Speakeasies, some 60 million gallons of industrial alcohol were being stolen each year and re-distilled back into drinkable alcohol. The government had a problem with this, and president Coolidge’s administration decided that drastic measures must be taken to preserve the sanctity of American life. Obviously, the logical decision was to poison industrial alcohol, so that whenever anyone imbibed in it, they would get incredibly sick and possibly die. Some 10,000 people died from these efforts, and possibly many more. Newspapers in Chicago decried the act, calling it barbarous, while the Omaha Bee in Nebraska defended it.

Despite critics vehemently arguing against this tactic, from politicians to medical experts, the government persisted in tainting alcohol supplies until the end of prohibition. Socially speaking, it seemed that the upper class imbibers were not being affected nearly as much by the poison–which included kerosene, gasoline, camphor, formaldehyde, methyl alcohol,  carbolic acid and who knows how many others–because they could afford more expensive, smuggled liquor. The primary victim of this insane plot were the poor and lower middle class who were the famous consumers of bathtub gin.

New York City medical examiners knew something was wrong during the Christmas season of 1926, when some 60 violently ill people were admitted to hospitals, of which 23 died. The explanation was chalked up not to alcohol poisoning as they were very accustomed to seeing, but to just plain poisoning. The source was a mystery until word began getting out that it was actually a government mandated operation to solve the drinking problem; During the years of prohibition it is estimated that alcoholism rose by 300%.

The obvious moral question (with an obvious answer, I feel), focuses around the government’s knowledge that this drinking was going on: Knowing that people are using industrial alcohol to consume, is it okay to poison that supply and essentially engage in mass murder in order to stop it?

While it may have been illegal to produce and transport alcohol, it was not illegal to consume it, as many people erroneously believe. Even if it was illegal to consume, does that justify a death sentence?

This was an egregious violation of civil rights and human rights, and I can only hope that sentiments such as these have ceased to exist in this advanced society that we live in.

Here’s hoping, and my drink tonight will be in honor of those victims of an unwarranted, deadly prohibition crackdown.

By Micah Hanks

Recently, I had a chance to catch up with my good friend Lesley Groetsch, owner of one of the nicest new bars to hit Asheville North Carolina in recent years: The Asheville Sazerac.

As stated at their website, much of the location’s inspiration is drawn from old New Orleans, though the Sazerac “is a uniquely Asheville restaurant and cocktail lounge.” Asheville may be “Beer City East,” but there is no doubt still quite a cocktail culture here as well; The Asheville Sazerac helps affirm this in the minds of Southern cocktailians everywhere.

“Classic and contemporary cocktails, a full menu of sumptuous small plates, lounge seating and rooftop dining have all made Sazerac an instant favorite. Whether you are a seasoned local or a sophisticated tourist, put Sazerac on your must-visit list today.” Indeed, to draw so well from the spicy flavors and culture of the Big Easy, The Asheville Sazerac speaks to the heart of its hometown. In future posts here at the site, we’ll be sure and get more information from Lesley about her fine new venture she and her husband, Jack, have brought to the table. In the meantime, if you’re planning on visiting Asheville soon (or better yet, you’re already a local), you can learn more about the Sazerac by following the link below:

The Asheville Sazerac