As we learned earlier, alcohol consumption increases with the volume of music in bars, and now it seems certain sorts of wine are better suited to specific music genres. Red wine especially seemed to enjoy more favour among a study group when accompanied by "powerful and heavy" music. Four types of music were played - Carmina Burana by Orff ("powerful and heavy"), Waltz of the Flowers from The ... Read full entry

Why is the music in many bars so loud that you can't hear what the person next to you is saying? Because you go to bars to drink not talk, of course. Because everyone is shouting, the bar becomes even noisier and soon people start to give up trying to communicate and focus on their drinking, meaning more trips to the bar, and more regrets in the morning. Of ... Read full entry

It's all in the delivery, and how you carry yourself off, not what you actually say. Stick your nose into the glass. Sniff deeply, then close your eyes as though you're processing a lot of things simultaneously. Even if you smell nothing, act as though this drink is a cornucopia of sensations and you're sorting through all of them. Do not speak. Scent is pretty easy to verify, so ... Read full entry

Dry July doesn't refer to a rain free July, rather an alcohol free month, and is an opportunity to help Sydney based cancer support charity, Dreams 2 Live 4, while sitting on the wagon for a few weeks. Dry July is a month long sponsored abstinence from alcohol... Throughout the month of July, friends, family, loved ones or colleagues can sponsor a registered Dry July participant (DJ) with ... Read full entry

Absinthe's Mind-Altering Mystery Solved Highly concentrated alcohol has been named as the "mystery ingredient" of Absinthe, following tests of 100-year-old samples of the muse-inducing tipple, also known as "the Green Fairy". The culprit seems plain and simple: The century-old absinthe contained about 70 percent alcohol, giving it a 140-proof kick. In comparison, most gins, vodkas and whiskeys are just 80- to 100-proof. Clearly the reports, legends, and myths, of some other ... Read full entry

Law Would Ban Serving Obese Diners Well we have "responsible service of alcohol" regulations in Australia (supposedly) preventing the service of alcohol, in licensed premises and bottle shops, to anyone who is, or appears to be, intoxicated. I'm not sure how similar laws, preventing the service of food at restaurants, for those deemed to be obese, as proposed by a legislator in the US state of Mississippi, would go down ... Read full entry