Here is a rather unusual package. It is a lemon spirit packed in something like a toothpaste tube. Why? So nobody tampers with your drink. We were a little skeptical at first, because we have not seen this as a major problem. But when we mentioned it to others, a lot of people said it’s a good idea and serves an important need, at some nightclubs. The back label says “protect your drink.” It is vodka with natural lemon flavor and it’s made in Austria.

Camper English wrote a great post about Cachaca, at Alcademics a while back. But he showed only small pieces of the label, leaving some room for us to come in with the labels and approvals. Alcademics said:

Of all the competitions between all the spirits brands, there is no more heated battle than the one for dominance of the cachaca market. Cachaca, Brazilian rum made from sugar cane (instead of molasses) is the ingredient in the Caipirinha … there are thousands of cachacas in Brazil, and most Americans don’t know what cachaca is.

He points out the leading brands, at this point, are Sagatiba, Cabana and Leblon. The Cabana label and its racy ad is above. We hesitate to categorize these products as rum, because the cachaca producers tend to insist it is not rum. But for now, TTB classifies it as rum, and requires “rum” on the label, as on each label here.

Here is Kelpie Seaweed Ale, made in Scotland and imported by Legends Ltd. of Baltimore, MD. The back label explains that the ingredients are:  malted barley bree, hops and seaweed. The late and noted beer aficionado, Michael Jackson, described it this way:

The new product has a mahogany color; a slightly ash-like aroma; and some sour-and-sweet seaweed notes over the fruitiness and maltiness of a Scotch Ale. The seaweed, harvested in the Western Highlands, is used in the mash tun. The idea is to replicate the flavors that might have arisen when island crofters used seaweed to reinforce the soil in which they grew barley. The beer is not intended to have the medicinal, iodine-like, seaweed character of an Islay whisky like Laphroaig.

Many thanks to Tracy F. Several readers suggested this label but she was first.

It is pronounced AH-sigh-EE, according to Zola. And it’s probably at a bar near you. It is a small, black-purple berry common to Brazil. Distilled Resources was first off the mark, with VeeV acai­ spirit, in 2006. The back label says “The acai­ berry is thought to be the world’s preeminent superfruit … blended with … prickly pear and the acerola cherry.” The idea was good enough that Anheuser-Busch followed in 2007, with PomaAcai. It is a pomegranate and acai­­ berry flavored vodka, made in collaboration with USDP of Minnesota. Not to be outdone, Absolut came along in 2008 with Absolut Los Angeles. It is acai­­, acerola, pomegranate & blueberry flavored vodka. It is of course made in Sweden, though another place is featured much more prominently on this label. It can be difficult to predict when this will and will not be allowed. We doubt TTB would allow Absolut Napa.