There is a huge, long history of associating alcohol beverages with death and demise. In recent US history, this is famously illustrated by the Black Death Vodka episode of the 1990s. This trend shows no signs of abating. Rigor Mortis Ale is made in Quebec, Canada and is imported by Shelton Brothers. The label does not explain why the product is adorned with a rotting corpse and snails and ants. Would you rather stare at a frosty glacier or a rotting corpse as you quaff a brew? Wikipedia explains that rigor mortis is:

postmortem rigidity due to buildup of lactic acid, which causes “the actin and myosin filaments of the muscle fibers [to] remain linked until the muscles begin to decompose.” (In simpler terms, this means that the muscles become stiff because there is a build up of the waste of the energy producing process of the body. This buildup is because the chained tissues of muscles hook together and stick until the body starts to decompose. During decomposition, this buildup is broken down over time.) Immediately following death the body is flaccid. It becomes increasingly rigid over time due to lack of ATP and buildup of lactic acid. This process happens in stages over the first thirty six hours post...

One of our favorite themes is that alcohol beverages can be made from just about anything lying around the kitchen, and the TTB approvals tend to bear this out. Although the overwhelming majority of wines are made from all manner of grapes, a massive quantity of wine is also made from various types of citrus. Orange wines are common. Above is a grapefruit wine vinted and bottled by Revolution Wines of Sacramento, CA. A second example is Bullfrog Lemon Table Wine, produced and bottled by Jules J. Berta Vineyards of Albertville, AL. These wines do not bear a vintage date and TTB does not allow vintage dates on other than grape wines.

Avery Brewing is more than ready for the new president. Way back in March, this Boulder, Colorado brewer got approval for Ale to the Chief!, a Presidential Ale. Blast Magazine says it’s selling well, and in 32 states. The script on the label says:

Ale to the Chief! A Presidential Pale Ale to celebrate Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009 We the Brewers of Avery Brewing Company, in order to form a more perfect ale, require new leadership that can liberate us from our quagmires in foreign lands; embrace environmentally sound energy alternatives to imported oil; heal our ailing health care system; free us from tyrannical debt and resurrect the collapsing dollar. We hereby pledge to provide him or her with an ample amount of our Presidential Pale Ale to support in the struggle for the aforementioned goals! Hail to the New Chief! A brew worthy of the Oval Office!

It is likely that all beer, wine and spirits labels will change dramatically in the near future. TTB has been working on new rules since CSPI and other groups submitted a petition in 2003. The new rules would require a “Serving Facts” panel on every container. This panel would include a lot more information, such as the typical serving size, number of servings per container, calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat. Because this is a big, controversial change, TTB has received more than 18,000 public comments during the past few years. There are far too many comments for most people to review, and so we will highlight and summarize the most noteworthy comments here. The most recent proposal and comments are here. This is comment 2 in a series; to see others, click on the “serving facts” tag below.

1. Miller supports the initiative as “appropriate and timely.” This is a not-so-common instance where the big alcohol beverage companies, the anti-alcohol groups, and the government are on the same side.
2. TTB should allow the information to be shown in a smaller, linear format, rather than the larger, panel format. It will cost Miller about 14 times more (as much as $39 million) to show the information in the panel format. “The dramatically higher … deployment costs for the panel...

Here is dué. It claims to be “The World’s First Chardonnay Flavored Vodka.” It is made in Italy and imported by Francoli of California. Francoli also has a Merlot Flavored Vodka. Emily Haile found this approval from way back in 2001 and brought it to our attention. The dué grape flavored vodkas are not to be confused with Ciroc. The latter is distilled directly from “Fine French Grapes,” as opposed to adding grape flavor to a grain vodka.