State Now Manufacturing Spirits?

We once read a column lamenting that if Mega Giant Foods has a website enumerating new recipes and products, then Firestarter Matches just has to have a site also. Perhaps that why the Alabama Beverage Board has gone into the business of manufacturing spirits.

It's not unusual to see a state authorize a medal/coin for a special event, but somehow the ABC Board partnering with a bourbon distillery to manufacture a commemorative beverage seems out of the scope of its authority. But, hey, this is Alabama, so expect the unseemly hijinks of government.

Yes, the ABC Board partnered with Blanton Bourbon to produce a small number (thank God) of bottles of special one barrel product, then authorized just ten of its outlets to sell the specially brewed bourbon. Lucky Muscle Shoals was home to one of the ten stores, but don't look for it there now. The product almost immediately sold out at all ten retailers.

If you missed the commemorative One Barrel Bourbon, don't dismay. The Blanton Distillery is also producing its Jefferson Trace Bourbon in much higher quantities...in special 200th birthday bottles of course. After all, the state wouldn't want to miss out on any possible commissions from the sales.

Just how much is the state making off this little collaboration? No one is saying how much money is being taken in or where it's going. We're guessing it's not about to make its way to education, infrastructure, or Medicaid expansion.

For those of you who vehemently oppose our state being in the business of selling alcohol, now you have some new ammunition. After all, hasn't Will Ainsworth already had enough to drink?

Not to be Confused with the Bourbon in which Tyson Soaks its Chicken Bites

Muscle Shoals Travel Budget

Several readers have asked our opinion of the 30K annual Muscle Shoals travel budget. The budget does look odd when compared to the relatively meager 7.5K spent in the much larger city of Florence. Is Muscle Shoals that much more active in recruiting, etc.?

We asked a contact in Muscle Shoals who felt the budget was not excessive considering the city's recruitment of foreign business. Another source provided us with this breakdown:

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On a more serious note, the State of Alabama may soon be abandoning its role in liquor sales. Most other states which once played such a part in the sale of alcohol closed their retail outlets years ago. Should the state be in the booze business?

We say no, but recent articles on the subject have brought to light some interesting facts. Apparently when states control much of the retail market, sales are lower since such stores close earlier than their private counterparts. What? You mean people don't just drive elsewhere to get it? Then we've been lied to all these years?



Shoalanda