risqué

Perhaps I should have known these labels were about something other than a “British Star of Stage” or a male chicken. But somebody needed to tell me they were also about . . . male body parts. It just so happens there are a lot of alcohol beverage labels about male body parts, all of a sudden. Since this blog tries to cover a wide variety of issues pertaining to alcohol beverages, we thought we would hold them back no longer. We have decided to start gingerly, with these two rather genteel labels, before going quite a bit further in coming days. Consider this your warning to avert your gaze if need be. It is not for nothing that they are called adult beverages. And it is not always the lady parts that get all the attention on alcohol beverage labels. Both John Thomas Red and The Devil’s Rooster are beer made by Manchester Brewing of Concord, New Hampshire. The first term is explained here. I am not certain that the second is about the same, though a friend tells me it is (and what else could it suggest?). I am, however, quite sure this overtly risque label is about the same general topic.

1. Say the brand name three times, fast.
2. Wonder if it’s that good.

It is Sofa King Bueno red wine, made by Chronic Cellars in Paso Robles, California.

One might assume that beer + naked women is a nearly unstoppable combination. But it did not work out that way for Coast Range Brewing. It looks like the Gilroy, California purveyor of Nude Beer is long gone. Their last COLA was in 2006 and their last Nude Beer approval was in 2004. There is no sign of the company at the web address above. In all, the company got about 23 approvals for Nude Beer before fading away. Coast Range provides a clear lesson that it takes a lot more than unclothed women to sell beer. In case it’s not obvious from the above image, the idea is that you buy the beer and then peel off part of the label to reveal a woman with little if any clothing. A slightly blurred example is at the end of this sentence but don’t click it if you don’t want to see nudity. This kind of stickering is a good option for companies that want to show something more than the government and retailers might otherwise allow. We wanted to capture it before it fades into ancient history. This also shows that the system has a lot of checks and balances, such as the market, and the government doesn’t need to carry the entire...