Time Magazine reports that a growing number of towns and college campuses are prohibiting beer pong, saying that it encourages drunkenness and subjects those nearby to foul, obscene behavior. Some Jersey shore towns have even passed ordinances banning all indoor drinking games. If you want to buy a beer pong table or supplies, you better do it now, while you still can!

However, the article reports, beer pong also has its supporters. The 4th annual World Series of Beer Pong, to be held at the Flamingo Hotel January 1-5, 2009 (conveniently scheduled over college winter break), should be the biggest one yet. A field that is expected to grow to over 1,000 participants will compete for a $50,000 grand prize.

Presidential candidate John McCain has a possible conflict of interest to deal with, should he win the office. His wife Cindy owns a large Anheuser-Busch distributorship in Arizona. According to this article, McCain’s conduct in the Senate has consistently been above board regarding this conflict of interest - he has made a practice of abstaining from voting on legislation that concerns beer or alcohol. However, as President he would not be able to defer decision-making to other people. He would be forced to rule on issues that could affect his wife’s beer business.

The article also states that Cindy McCain made roughly $800,000 on the sale of Anheuser-Busch to InBev, based on the amount of stock she owns.

This article from CO-ED magazine cites beer pong as a major cause for the spread of herpes simplex virus-1. According to the article, spread of the virus is up 230% in the past 10 years, and the sharing of beer pong cups seems to be a major reason why.

So, don’t buy any of our fine beer pong tables and accessories, don’t play beer pong, and go back to catching herpes the old-fashioned way.

At Mid-South Alcoholic Supply, you can benefit from the wisdom of some of the great philosophers of our time… and you can do it while drinking. Here are a few samples:

Peter Griffin: Let’s go drink until we can’t feel feelings anymore

Homer Simpson: Beer! Now there’s a temporary solution.

More wisdom from Homer Simpson

Peter Griffin: Everything I know I learned watching Family Guy

Stewie Griffin’s recipes for disaster

Simpsons Pint Glass Drinking Game

Two role models: Moe and Barney

These are just a few of the many fine glassware items you’ll find in Mid-South Alcoholic Supply’s beer glass and beer mug sections.

When I was a little kid, it was a special treat to go out for a root beer float. There are special treats for adults too, only without the “root”… beer floats.

In a previous post, I mentioned that there is a bar down the street from the Mid-South Alcoholic Supply World Headquarters that is sometimes used as a branch office. This bar sells beer floats… Young’s Double Chocolate stout mixed with vanilla ice cream. Beer and ice cream together may sound gross, but with Young’s Double Chocolate, it actually works… it tastes like a chocolate float.

If you don’t have a bar in your neighborhood that sells beer floats, you can always pick up some Young’s Double Chocolate and ice cream at the grocery store, and enjoy a float in one of our beer mugs.

This article from the Calgary Herald talks about xanthohumol, an antioxidant derived from hops in beer-making. Xanthohumol is believed to be anti-viral, anti-allergic, anti-tumor, anti-clotting, and anti-inflammatory. Recent findings at Oregon State University indicate that xanthohumol is active against breast, colon, and ovarian cancer cells.

So, if it can be found in beer hops, does that mean you’ll stay healthy by drinking beer? The article says no, but I disagree. It points out that most US beer doesn’t contain much in the way of hops, but there are exceptions - ale, porter, and stout. You’d have to drink 17 of those to get an amount of xanthohumol found to be effective in research studies. Apparently the writer of the article thinks consuming 17 beers in one sitting is a bad idea. Why not? There’s a bar down the street from the Mid-South Alcoholic Supply World Headquarters (in fact, the bar is sometimes used as a branch office of the HQ, thanks to its free Wi-Fi) that sells beer for $2.75 on Monday Pint Nite. By my calculation, that means you could get your xanthohumol for only $46.75. That’s a small price to pay for good health, and who knows, if you get creative maybe you can get your insurance to cover it.

You may want to get one of our portable breathalyzers to take with you to the bar, to discourage yourself from driving home after getting your xanthohumol. Because drinking 17 beers = Good Thing; drinking 17 beers and then driving home = Bad Thing.

Red Bull and Vodka has been popular among drinkers for a while, to give them that energy boost along with the effects of the booze. Vodka makers have now incorporated that idea into vodka itself. Check out this review of P.I.N.K. vodka, which was the first vodka to be infused with caffeine.

I wonder if that will hurt Red Bull’s market share? I wonder what percentage of Red Bull sold is used as a mixer with vodka or other forms of alcohol.

Speaking of Red Bull… I just did some searching on Amazon and noticed that they have 24-packs of Red Bull for $45.99. That’s not a bad price. They have sugar free Red Bull too. Less than 2 bucks a can. Not a bad price at all. Maybe I should add an energy drink section to Mid-South Alcoholic Supply.

One of my favorite sites is Bumwine.com, which can tell you all about some of the most awful wines ever made. The site is all about wines bums drink - you know, the people who panhandle on the street corner who “just need a little change to get something to eat,” then head straight to the liquor store as soon as you’ve donated and gotten out of sight.

Bums tend to prefer “fortified wines,” wines with extra alcohol added, because that’s how they get the most bang for the buck. Where regular wine tends to contain 11.5-15% alcohol, bum wines run in the 17.5% to 18% range.

One of the most famous bum wines is one you may have tried in college - MD 20/20. MD stands for “Mogen David,” but everyone refers to the wine as “Mad Dog 20/20.” Other famous bum wines include Cisco (which was forced by the federal government to print “this is not a wine cooler” on the label), Night Train, Wild Irish Rose, and perhaps the grandaddy of all the bum wines, Thunderbird. I bought a friend a bottle of the Bird as a gag gift and tried a sip. Let me tell you, if you never broke into the utility cabinet and took a swig of Drano as a kid, Thunderbird is a pretty close approximation.

The bum wines tend to sell for $2-3 for a 750 ml bottle here in Memphis, home of the Mid-South Alcoholic Supply World Headquarters. Based on the trash left outsde the liquor store around the corner from the World HQ, Mad Dog 20/20 and Wild Irish Rose appear to be the most popular wines consumed by bums in Downtown Memphis.

The preferred way to drink these wines is straight out of the bottle, wrapped in a brown paper bag, but if you want something a little classier, Mid-South Alcoholic Supply has a wide range of glasses to choose from.

Here’s a recipe for ya: Bourbon banana pudding trifle

Made with the usual ingredients you’d find in banana pudding: Bananas, whipped cream, vanilla wafers. They also have a non-alcoholic version of the recipe where you can substitute apple juice. Me personally, if I ever whip this up, I’ll be using Maker’s Mark!

This would be a great dessert to serve at your next party. Don’t forget, you can find all the party supplies you need at Mid-South Alcoholic Supply.

The Scotch Blog

Found this while surfing the web. Updated frequently, with information about the latest products and distilling techniques. Good one to add to your bookmarks if Scotch whiskey is your thing.