Anheuser-Busch has announced that it will end the free beer samples it gives out at its SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando, San Antonio, and San Diego, and at its Busch Gardens parks in Tampa and in Williamsburg, Virginia.  It plans to replace the free beer samples with restaurants that have more of a family-friendly appeal, whereas it saw the free beer as having very narrow appeal among theme park guests.

I guess Shamu and Budweiser aren’t as good a match as everyone thought.  I guess guests will have to throw a six-pack in the trunk and chug a few before they go in.

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, one of the biggest excuses of the year to party and drink, is on February 24 this year.  Here’s a link to a great article (in IT World, of all places) explaining what happens at Mardi Gras, full of links to New Orleans restaurants, music, and events, and also to other Mardi Gras celebrations around the US.

Get your Mardi Gras-celebration supplies at Mid-South Alcoholic Supply.  Dozens of booze-related categories to choose from!

For obvious reasons, the U.S. military bans troops from drinking in combat zones.  They need to have their wits about them at all times.  There’s also a second reason why combat troops in Iraq are not allowed to drink - out of respect for local customs.  Although drinking isn’t illegal in Iraq, it’s banned under Muslim law.

However, according to this AP article, the troops will be allowed to drink beer while they watch the Super Bowl on February 1 (actually the morning of February 2, due to time differences).  Each service member will be allowed two 12-ounce beers during the time the game is on TV.

Glad to see our troops can join us in a cold one for Super Bowl Sunday.  Check out our collection of beer mugs to keep your Super Bowl beverages frosty cold.

Suppose you want to buy someone a beer or a drink for their birthday, but you won’t be in the same physical location on the big day.  A new site called Give Real may have the solution to the problem.  You sign up and declare how much you want to spend on the recipient, and then that amount plus a 90 cent surcharge is charged to you.  The recipient is then notified.  After registering their credit card with Give Real, they can then use their credit card at the bar or restaurant of their choice, and a credit in the amount of your gift appears on their card.  It was developed by two Princeton students.  There is a related Real Drinks application you can install on Facebook.

This is not the only way to give drinks online.  Here in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, home of the Mid-South Alcoholic Supply World Headquarters, local blogger Paul Ryburn has created a www.Buy-Paul-a-Beer.net website, allowing fans of his blog to buy him a beer as a tip for the information he provides.  “I got the idea from another Paul,” he told me, referring to Internet marketing guru Paul Myers.  Myers has the www.Buy-Paul-a-Beer.com domain, and links to it in all the marketing newsletters he e-mails to his subscribers.  The donations are funneled to the recipients’ PayPal accounts, and can be made with a credit or debit card.

Items from Mid-South Alcoholic Supply also make great gifts.  Since secure checkout and shipping is handled through Amazon, you can take advantage of Amazon’s gift-wrapping options at the time you check out.

This Examiner.com article has some suggestions for romantic New Year’s Eve drinks.  They include:

• Belgian lambics such as Lindeman’s for beer drinkers
• Single-barrel bourbons and single-malt scotches
• Rose-colored champagnes and sparkling wines

Be sure to stop by Mid-South Alcoholic Supply for some champagne flutes and shot glasses in which to enjoy your New Year’s Eve drink.

A Phoenix TV station, KNXV-TV, recently posted some tips to help you throw a budget-conscious New Year’s Eve party.  Although some of the tips (do an eVite rather than paper invitations, use an iPod instead of hiring a DJ) are not booze-related, the article also contains some good advice for cutting back food and alcohol expenses.  The tips are relevant not only to New Year’s, but any time of year.

Another great piece of advice is to buy your party supplies through Mid-South Alcoholic Supply.  We have thousands of items, many at 30-40% off or even more.  Secure payment and shipping is handled by Amazon.com, the Internet’s most trusted retailer.

We’re closing in on three weeks away from Barack Obama’s inauguration, and over in Kenya they’re getting ready.  When Obama was elected to the Senate, East African Breweries released a Senator beer.  Now that he’s moving into the White House, the beer has been promoted too.  Read more about President beer here. Also, here’s a link to East Africa Breweries’ home page.

Meanwhile, in the Chicagoland area, Blagojevich cocktails have started to pop up, commemorating the investigation of Gov. Rod Blagojevich for allegedly attempting to sell Obama’s seat in the Senate.

Tired of politics?  Take your mind off it for a while with a few shots of Jagermeister in Mid-South Alcoholic Supply’s Jager shot glasses.

White Russians are a great cocktail, but now you can have them on a plate as well as in a glass.  This article from the Schenectady, NY Daily Gazette has a recipe for White Russian cake.  Ingredients include coffee liqueur and vodka.  Best served the day before, so plan ahead.

Find many more booze-related recipes in the cookbooks in Mid-South Alcoholic Supply’s bookstore.

The Harrisburg Examiner recently ran a recipe for an espresso martini.  If you plan on having people over to your home for Christmas, this would be a good way to impress them.  You’ll need espresso, vodka, coffee liqueur, and creme de cacao on hand to prepare this cocktail.

Be sure to pour your espresso martini into one of the many fine martini glasses sold at Mid-South Alcoholic Supply.

The hot toddy is a classic cocktail that is great to serve at Christmas parties or other parties in the winter.  This Modesto Bee article teaches you how to make a hot toddy.  The recipe is from the book The Essential Cocktail: The Art of Mixing Perfect Drinks, which the article quotes at a price of $35, but which is available at a 43% savings off list price at Mid-South Alcoholic Supply.