In Vino Veritas ... and Explosive Devices

Via Dignified Rant, "wine militants" versus the Socialist Party in Carcassone, France. 

Prosek vs. Prosecco

Croatians know the difference, but EU-rocrats don't think anybody else does.

The Champagne Index of French National Happiness

Apparently this index isn't official, but it darn well ought to be.  France is currently having a bad case of the holiday blues, and sales of bubbly are way, way down.

LOL: the Olympic Opening Ceremonies Drinking Game

Click to enlarge.

MM in the Kitchen: Red Wine Chocolate Cake

Sheer madness.  And you'll love it.

MM in the Kitchen: Glühwein (Mulled Wine)

Here's something warm and festive to drink!

LOL: the Lorem Ipsum Wine

Just look at the label for this bottle of French wine.  Need some info about (do)lorem ipsum?

Public Service Announcement: Watch "Prohibition"!

I had just noted this new PBS documentary, but now that I've had a chance to watch it myself, I can't recommend it enough.  It's fantastic!  You can watch all of it online here.  I just love how one historian flatly says about Prohibition, "What a stupid idea!"  As for "MM Behind the Bar" for the duration of your viewing, she shall make you a dirty martini.

Watch the full episode. See more Ken Burns.

History Lesson: Prohibition

Kyle Smith has a review of the new PBS documentary, and he piquantly observes:

“Prohibition,” a three-part miniseries that ... comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray this week, has many lessons to teach us about such antiquated, 1920s-era ideas as federal overreach, unfunded mandates to states, runaway taxation, a belief that great political leaders can accelerate human progress, crony capitalism, and of course the dire need of Washington to take steps to improve the lot of the poor and the children. 

In other words, “Prohibition” is, to an almost mischievous extent, an investigative report about 2011.

By the way, the documentary's website is here.

Happy Hour for Japanese Scientists

Booze + superconductors = Great Moments in Research!   Talk about happy hour!  You can even read those Japanese scientists' paper.

New Year's Eve DIY: How to Open a Champagne Bottle with a Sword

Well, MM Blog is supposed to be kind of, sort of, vaguely educational, right?  Here's a lesson in opening that bottle of bubbly with a saber.  No, really.  Stand back, kids!  Check out the video.

Great Moments in Research: Nerds for Better Wine

I'll drink to that!

Quote of the Day: Samizdata on Nanny-Statist Worrying About "Alcohol Education"

Here is the post (gist: some folks are worried about the use of alcohol in Harry Potter, so they want "alcohol educators" to harangue other folks about alcohol), and here is the quote from it:

There is only one kind of 'alcohol educator' worth listening to, and they are called sommeliers.

I'll raise a glass to that.

Satire Alert: the Gettysburg Address + Obama's Address to Congress

Enjoy.

Oooh, oooh, the broadcast is starting. Hey, here's a drinking game: every time Obama says "crisis," take a swig! He's already said it twice and he JUST GOT STARTED.

UPDATE: You can try a non-alcoholic game. Or not. Check out Steven "Vodkapundit" Green's unabashed drunkblogging of the speech. His drinking game rules: "Drink on 'hope,' or 'change,' or 'invest,' or 'stimulus.' If President Obama uses the word 'malaise,' then finish your drink, pour another, and call your broker. Tell him to put everything into ammo and bottled water."

Euro Notes: A New French Wine Label

This is hilarious.

Japan Recalls 1 Million Bottles of Sake and Shochu

The rice-based liquors could be contaminated with tainted rice. Here's a bit of the news blurb:

Shipments of pesticide-ridden, rotting rice, intended for use in glue factories, have ended up in the human food chain, principally as ingredients for brewing the national tipple. In the past week more than a million bottles of shochu and saké - drinks made from rice - have been recalled over safety fears.

Euro Notes: French Wine Endangered by Plague of Bureaucrats

Not that you needed any more argument that too much bureaucracy ruins business (and everything else), but here you go. What a headline: "How bureaucrats are wrecking French wine."

I had recently posted about the desperate French wine terrorists.

Hm, all this talk about French wine (and its ups and downs) makes me want to go see "Bottle Shock."

France's Troubled Wine Industry

Yes, yes, we know that the French wine industry has had some issues, but . . . wine terrorists?