When will the politicians learn? Prohibition does not work.  The Washington Post’s Rama Lakshmi reports on the very bad things that are resulting from the banning of booze in Bihar. The Danish beer company Carlsberg set up a gleaming green-and-grayContinue readingOne of India’s most-populous states recently banned alcohol. Mayhem ensued.

Fans of the HBO drama Boardwalk Empire will no doubt recall the series’ many Prohibition-era scenes featuring high-level politicians rubbing elbows with bootleggers and openly imbibing in private, even as they assailed the purported societal dangers of the “devil’s brew”Continue readingProhibition Era Laws Live on in DC, Maryland, and Virginia

Craft distillers often complain about the Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits (27 Code of Federal Regulations 5), a set of labeling rules enforced by the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the Treasury Department. These regulations define whichContinue readingRevised Rules for Whiskey Labeling? Proceed With Caution

Maryland’s Montgomery County is a nice place. Its western border runs along the Potomac River and its southern territory abuts Washington. Many folks who work in the district settle in Bethesda and other parts of Montgomery County, as the schoolsContinue readingMaryland’s Alcohol Agency Brags That It Screws Up Only 15 percent of Its Deliveries

Apparently free trade is o.k. only so long as one benefits from it. When certain growers face stiff competition, well… Decanter reports: “A masked gang of militants claiming allegiance to the shadowy French winemaker group CRAV have attacked one ofContinue readingFrench Wine Militants Attack Again

In Texas, as in much of the nation, alcohol is regulated under the so-called “three-tier system,” which requires alcohol manufacturers, distributors and retailers to be separate and independent from each other. Texas, however, takes this requirement to the extreme. NotContinue readingWarren Buffett Takes On the Three-tier Drinks System