Posts Tagged ‘current events’
Feminist Wine
We’ve probably posted a fair number of sexist labels. To help balance things out, here we have a bunch of feminist wine labels.
I’m Not Your Waitress is one in a series of wines made and bottled by Lac Belle Amie of Elizabethtown, North Carolina. Bitchin’ Babes is another.
And for the man who has everything, there is Sugar Mama red wine. This helpful website (“Cougars and Young Men Dating Club”) opens the door so you too can find a sugar momma (if it’s for real). (At this writing, sugarmommameet.com was unavailable, so the link shows a cached page.)
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current events, narrowed demographic
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No Refund for BigHorn
Here we have an embarrassment of riches. We didn’t expect to see one beer label about the intricacies of the Internal Revenue Code — let alone two.
Tax Ale is a classic from way back in 1996 (hence the miserable photocopy). The fine print, below the big screw, says:
Warning: This beer is not approved by the Internal Revenue Service. Brewed with compassion for Internal Revenue. … By the Special Audit and Brewing Company.
Ominously, BigHorn only lasted a few more years and got its last approval in 1999. Meanwhile, Lagunitas is still busy tweaking the government left and right. The top of the Correction Ale label seems to refer to section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, and our dwindling retirement accounts. The text on the right side of the label says:
Who would ever [give] their money to a guy with a name like “Made-Off”? … If it was all too good to be true, it was. … OK, we all partied down and, YES, we took some liberties with some of our female guests. But now it’s the day after Mardi Gras when everyone kneels down and prays. Apparently it really is possible to have too much fun. But it is far better to have partied and lost than never to have partied at all. Gracefully surrender the things of 2008. Smoke a fag, drink a beer, and buy toothpaste… in that order. Live to party again.
It sure seems like Tony Magee (company founder) knows how to have a good time.
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Military Spirits
More than six years in, many labels reflect the US at war. Above is Jim Beam “Operation Homefront” Bourbon. The idea is to “provid[e] physical and emotional support for military families in your community.” The label doesn’t really say how, but the website does.
Brave Spirits was early to link spirits with supporting the military. TTB approved their Valor Vodka back in 2007. Brave donates $2 per bottle toward the military. Valenzano Sangria is the only one that outright shows the American flag; TTB does not usually allow it, but this one is restricted for sale in New Jersey only. Valenzano donates $1 per bottle to “Operation Troop Aid.”
The Intoxicologist recently said this form of marketing is tacky. What do you think?
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business strategy, current events
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Wine of the Times (for an Ale-ing Economy)
A few weeks ago we wrote about Recession Red table wine. We were sort of hoping we would have no reason to revisit this woeful topic anytime soon. And yet the markets have continued to shrivel, and so, not surprisingly, a significant number of alcohol beverage companies have picked up on this theme.
Broke Ass Red Wine (above) is made in Argentina and imported by USDP of Minnesota. On the right, the Bailout Bitter Ale says:
A hoppy golden ale with recession fighting properties. … A bitter ale for bitter times.
We have trouble discerning a health claim in these words. And yet, the applicant felt compelled to state (at box 19): “The brewery certifies that it is absolutely not making any representation on health benefits on this … product.” An important clarification, we think — just in case the public might think the ale could cure athlete’s foot or the ailing world economy. Bailout Bitter is made in Canada and imported by KIAI of Atlanta.
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caffeine/secondary effects, current events
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Plenty of COLAs
We like to think of the COLA database as a microcosm for the US economy. This got us wondering whether the economic meltdown has tamped down the number of labels submitted to and approved by TTB.
In blue, above, is the S&P 500 Index from late 2004 through February 23, 2009. It shows the meltdown, from roughly the beginning of 2008 through February 23, 2009; a drop of 712 points or about 48%.
In red are the number of TTB labels approved, during the December through January (2 month) period each year. We picked this 2-month time period because it best allows a comparison to the ugly last month of 2008 and first month of 2009. The red line shows no falloff in the number of labels approved each period, with 14,151 labels approved during the most recently completed two month period (and 11,041 approved during the comparable period from 12/1/2004-1/31/2005). It’s nice to see a graph that’s not headed south, and this should bode well for variety at the store, and many interesting labels to showcase here in the near future.
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