Results tagged “booze”

Labor Day's not too far off but coming up sooner is a new tax hike on booze that might make that Labor Day picnic whiskey a touch more expensive if you wait until after September 1 - when the hike goes into effect - to hit the liquor store. Distilled spirits have the highest increase, with a fifth going up from $0.90 per bottle (to a total of $1.71 a bottle), a bottle of wine jumps by $0.13 to $0.28 a bottle, and beer goes up to $0.13 a six-pack. So, as always, the cheapest option is to just buy a case of High Life and see where the day takes you. [Tribune]

Summertime: living is easy, the fish are jumping, and it's time to sit back with a long cool one and get pleasantly hammered. We have just the thing.

This in-between-seasons non-winter and non-spring bullshit tends to get us down, and we tend to treat our self-diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder with liberal quantities of intoxicants. So we figured it'd make sense for us to talk about liquor this week.

With yesterday's crazy, come-from-behind 12-inning victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs have cut their magic number to just two. Two more wins by the Cubs, two more losses by the Brew Crew or a Cubs win and Brewers loss will hand the NL Central crown to the North Siders.

As much as we'd like to think there's a couple fingers of bourbon in that glass, we doubt it. But since political conventions are traditionally festivals of drunkenness, and seeing as how so many of us are going to be huddled around the television tonight, we figured it might not be a bad idea to lay out some ground rules for some drinking and viewing. Oh, and if you're going to be around a laptop during the speech, Chicagoist will be liveblogging the whole spectacle as well, so set a reminder now, kids.

Metra is eliminating its bar cars come Friday. The rail service hasn't renewed contracts with vendors not because of concerns about alcohol use but because the bar cars don't bring in enough money; instead, Metra wants to use the cars for regular seating. But fear not, traveling boozers! You can still drink on the train. [Trib]

Chicago is the fifth-hardest drinking city in America, according to a new analysis by Forbes, who's really feeling the ranking stories this week. We drink less than Austin, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and Providence. Providence?

Sometimes, we read a story that makes us feel like our brains will melt and leak out of our ears. Back in August 2006, a woman named Rory Beer climbed up on the bar at one of Division Street's classier joints, Bar Chicago. Ms. Beer (formerly Rory Roberts) then slipped and fell, permanently injuring her left foot and ankle. Now, Ms. Beer wants $50,000 in compensation for her injuries. Our favorite part?

The lawsuit claims that Bar Chicago encourages patrons to dance on the bar, but doesn't warn people of slippery surfaces or provide handrails, "cushioned flooring" or "safety nets."

A federal study released today says that more than half of 12–20-year-olds have had a drink. Illinois is in the middle when it comes to underage binge drinking: between 19.1 and 21 percent of underage drinkers in Illinois binge drink, which is better than Wisconsin (between 24 and 31 percent) but worse than Utah (14 to 17.2 percent).

The Kentucky bourbon brand erected a billboard across from Wrigley imploring, "Save our Ballpark's Name." The website listed on the sign, www.saveourname.com, includes a petition demanding that Wrigley remain Wrigley forever. Additionally, Beam will be handing out t-shirts and other paraphernalia around Wrigleyville with the "Save Wrigley" theme all summer long. But didn't the Tribune Co. already say that the Wrigley name wasn't going anywhere? Guess that's the problem when big corporations try to go guerrilla.

Wrigley announced today at its shareholder meeting that it's redesigning its gum packaging for old-school stick gum (as opposed to pellet gum or tab gum). They're calling it a "slim pack;" it's envelope-style and it holds 15 pieces.

We've always wanted to have a Russian Writers Party, wherein everyone has a typewriter, a shot glass, and a bottle of vodka. We still think it's a good idea, but have decided it's best left unrealized.

Bin 36 hosted their annual Bubbles Bash last night where 450 revelers ate and drank, then drank ome more, to their heart’s delight. Champagne, cava, prosecco, sekt, and sparklers from a full range of countries flowed for hours making a dark and drizzly Wednesday night into a scintillating celebration of friends, flavors, and holiday festivities.