Idaho says 'Five Wives' Vodka offensive to church

(KLEW-TV) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Five Wives Vodka was named in bad taste and won't be stocked or special ordered at stores operated by the state of Idaho, regulators said.

The middle-shelf vodka is made by Ogden's Own Distillery in Utah, where the Mormon church is based. Its label carries the name and an image of five women, an apparent reference to polygamy, a practice abandoned by the church more than a century ago.

Idaho State Liquor Division administrator Jeff Anderson said the brand is offensive to Mormons who make up over a quarter of Idaho's population.

Regulators in Idaho notified Elite Spirits Distributor that the brand's concept is "offensive to a prominent segment of our population and will not be carried," according to a letter sent Thursday.

"The bottom line is, we represent everybody," Anderson added Tuesday. "It's masterful marketing on their part. But it doesn't play here."

Anderson said state stores already make hundreds of vodka brands available for sale and don't have room for another brand priced at around $20 a bottle.

Ogden's Own Distillery is trying to make the most of the rejection with a media campaign and sale of "Free the Five Wives" T-shirts.

It says the snub is unfair because a Utah beer named Polygamy Porter is available in Idaho. Anderson said Idaho doesn't decide what beer brands can be sold in grocery and convenience stores.

"We're a little dumbfounded by it all," said Steve Conlin, a partner and marketing chief for Ogden's Own Distillery. "The average person can look at our bottle and they don't find it offensive. It's certainly not obscene, which is what it would require for it to be banned."

Five Wives Vodka has been approved for sale in Utah, a state dominated by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's also available in Wyoming, another state that regulates liquor sales.

Nobody in Utah is raising a fuss over the brand, said Vickie Ashby, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Utah regulates all sales of hard liquor, wine and heavy beer, making the products available only at state-owned stores. Idaho and Wyoming control liquor sales with a mix of state-owned and privately-operated stores.

"We have a product that has sold nearly 1,000 cases in six months in Utah," Conlin said. "If the reaction is because of a religious concern, we think they are extremely misguided."

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• Idaho says 'Five Wives' Vodka offensive to church 

Bar Raiding Cocktail-Loving Caribbean Monkeys

By Ted Thornhill

(The Daily Mail) Monkeys may be closer to humans than we previously thought – because they even ape our drinking habits.

There are gangs of vervet monkeys on the Caribbean Island of St Kitts that regularly raid the local beach bars for cocktails to satisfy their thirst - and they can be seen getting their paws on them in a hilarious YouTube video.

The cheeky boozers first arrived on the island 300 years ago with slaves from West Africa who were shipped there to work in the rum industry.

Thirst for fancy drinks: This vervet monkey cheekily sips a tourists' cocktail

Shipped in: The boozing monkeys first arrived on the island 300 years ago

They developed a taste for alcohol from eating fermented fruits on forest floors – and have now been filmed for the BBC’s Weird Science show moving on to stealing beachgoers’ fancy tipples.

However, not all of them like alcohol.

The show discovered that their drinking habits match that of human populations.

The voiceover explained: ‘Some monkeys are teetotal and reject alcohol in favour of soft drinks.

This monkey was caught enjoying a cocktail - but some are teetotal

Thieves: The monkeys regularly steal drinks as beachgoers sunbathe

‘The percentage of teetotal monkeys matches the non-drinkers in the human population.

‘In line with human habits, most drink in moderation, 12 per cent are steady drinkers and five per cent drink to the last drop.

‘It shows that our liking for alcohol is determined largely by our genes.’

Just like humans, the monkeys that have been drinking end the day by falling over a lot and getting involved in scuffles.

But unlike humans, the monkeys that drink are respected by those that don’t.

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Jack Daniel's Distillery Targeted for More Taxes

(Associated Press) For decades, Jack Daniel's whiskey has celebrated its small Tennessee hometown of Lynchburg with folksy, black-and-white advertisements urging folks to slow down and have a sip.

Now local officials want the maker of the world's top-selling whiskey to pay a bigger bar tab as they struggle with their budget. How does up to $5 million sound?

A measure approved by the Moore County Council asks the Tennessee legislature to authorize a local referendum on whether the distillery should pay that much in new taxes on the 500,000 barrels it fills with whiskey each year.

The 145-year-old distillery, tucked away on 1,700 hilly acres down the road from Lynchburg's quaint town square, now pays $1.5 million in local property taxes...

Distillery officials say they already do their civic and fiscal duty.

"We're paying our part, our fair share," said Tom Beam, senior vice president and general manager of production at the facility. He said the distillery has already helped the area in several ways, including assisting with renovations at the courthouse and a swimming pool.

"We operate as a partner with the county," he said.

He worries such a law would be a terrible precedent for other businesses in the state.
"Other counties could try to do the same thing, attacking businesses. It could be a job killer," he said.

Nevertheless, supporters of the referendum say Jack Daniel's still owes more.

"Lynchburg and the people of Moore County have been involved in the success of the Jack Daniel's brand; the value of the brand worldwide is due in no small measure because they have marketed our town and people successfully," said Charles Rogers, who has led the campaign for the new tax...

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Alcoholic Vervet Monkeys! - Weird Nature - BBC animals

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