A great many brands hint at it, but Frank-Lin has gone right to the heart of the matter, launching Sex in a Bottle. The Hula Girl is very direct and to the point, especially compared to something like Tease brand wine. Frank-Lin has about 11 variations of this distilled spirits specialty, approved over the past year. Sex in a Bottle (above) is “luscious peach” flavor, made with grain neutral spirits, rum and flavors. Bikini Bling has a pina colada-type flavor.

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 1 in a series; to see others, click on the “serving facts” tag below.

1. MADD has “no objections to the responsible use of alcohol by adults.”
2. Thousands die each year due to misjudging (or ignoring) rules of responsible consumption.
3. “Standard drinks” labeling will better educate consumers.
4. There should be equivalence among beer, wine and spirits, based on a standard drink equal to 0.6 fluid ounces of pure alcohol.
5. The facts panel should require a moderation message such as “no more than two drinks for men, one drink per day for women.”

Is...

We thought this was a good label because it does an excellent job of answering the age-old question:  “Why Brewed with Potatoes?” That’s what we wanted to know, and this label is happy to oblige. It helpfully explains that potatoes add sugars that supply dryness to this extra-dry stout. Long Island Potato Stout is made by The Blind Bat Brewery of Centerport, NY. It is classified as a Malt Beverage Brewed with Potatoes. TTB has also approved Finnegan’s Ale Brewed with Potatoes. It is made by Summit Brewing Company in Saint Paul, MN. Note that TTB has asked Summit to add “Product of USA,” probably because of the large reference to Irish Amber and several four-leaf clovers.