Liquor
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
New York to let COVID-19 state of emergency expire

By Marina Villeneuve Jun. 23, 2021 02:58 PM EDT

This photo provided by Heaven Hill Distillery on Friday, June 18, 2021 shows the Heaven Hill Distillery opened a $19 million tourist center this week In Bardstown, Ky. The new center, called the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience, is the latest investment by a Kentucky bourbon producer to promote the state’s tourism tourism.
Bourbon tourism shaking off pandemic slump in Kentucky

By Bruce Schreiner Jun. 18, 2021 01:30 PM EDT

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks with reporters following his tour of the UPS Worldport facility in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday, Apr. 27, 2021. UPS is tone of the primary shippers of the COVID-19 vaccine. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, Pool)
Beshear toasts bourbon startup; touts progress against virus

By Bruce Schreiner May. 11, 2021 06:11 PM EDT

This March 4, 2021 photo shows alcohol-free spirits for sale at Spirited Away, New York's first "booze-free bottle shop." According to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, global consumption of zero-proof beer, wine and spirits is growing two to three times faster than overall alcohol consumption.(AP Photo/Joseph B. Frederick)
New wave of bars creates buzz without the booze

By Dee-Ann Durbin Mar. 16, 2021 12:01 AM EDT

Kentucky Senate votes to make to-go alcohol sales permanent

By Bruce Schreiner Feb. 22, 2021 06:47 PM EST
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers advanced a bill Monday allowing to-go alcohol sales to become a permanent fixture touted as an economic shot for...

FILE - This Oct. 3, 2012 file photo shows the Jim Beam visitors center at its central distillery in Clermont, Ky. Kentucky's whiskey industry is always looking for the newest twist to its spirits products, but its inventiveness took a gooey turn when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Jim Beam, the world's largest bourbon producer, is making sanitizer at its Global Innovation Center at its Clermont operation. It fills about 1,500 1.75-liter bottles of sanitizer each production day, said Eric Schuetzler, the spirits company's vice president of global innovation. (AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner, File)
Coronavirus slows bourbon tourism in Kentucky

By Bruce Schreiner Feb. 16, 2021 03:05 PM EST

Expecting to fetch up to US$49,000 at auction, a 72-year-old bottle of Glen Grant single malt whisky from Scotland is displayed at a Bonhams auction preview in Hong Kong, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. Despite the economic uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, interest in the rare whisky remains high. Compared to other investment commodities, collectable whisky is doing strong in the past 10 years, with a four-fold increase in its price, Bonhams specialist Christopher Pong said. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
72-year-old Scotch whisky fetches over $54,000 in auction

By Zen Soo Jan. 29, 2021 08:07 AM EST

FILE - In this July 7, 2018 file photo whiskeys distilled and bottled in the U.S. are displayed for sale in a grocery store in Beijing. American whiskey absorbed some setbacks but showed resilience in the face of COVID-related clampdowns on bars and restaurants as liquor sales benefited from enduring demand for a good stiff drink. Despite plunging sales from bars and restaurants, the American whiskey sector still rang up increased revenues in 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
U.S. whiskey bolstered by liquor store sales in 2020

By Bruce Schreiner Jan. 28, 2021 10:01 AM EST

Expecting to fetch more than US$49,000 at auction, a 72-year-old bottle of Glen Grant single malt whisky from Scotland is displayed at a Bonhams auction preview in Hong Kong, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. Despite the economic uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, interest in the rare whisky remains high. Compared to other investment commodities, collectable whisky is doing strong in the past 10 years, with a four-fold increase in its price, Bonhams specialist Christopher Pong said. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Rare 72-year-old Scotch whisky to be auctioned in Hong Kong

By Katie Tam Jan. 28, 2021 06:28 AM EST

Republican state Sen. William Sharer of Farmington, left, and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe greet each other with an elbow bump on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in Santa Fe, N.M., on the first day of a 60-day legislative session. Fences, roadblocks, police and troops encircled the building as a precaution against federal warnings about the potential for violence. Plexiglass partitions have been installed on the floor of the House and Senate to protect legislators from coronavirus infection, and the Capitol is closed to the public to blunt the contagion. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
New Mexico lawmakers among beneficiaries of relief grants

By Morgan Lee Jan. 21, 2021 06:39 PM EST

This Nov. 3, 2020 image provided by New Mexico State University shows bottles of the school's new officially licensed spirit, Pistol Pete's Six Shooter Rye Whiskey, being filled at Dry Point Distillers in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The whiskey is part of the school's latest branding and licensing project. (Charlie Hurley, New Mexico State University, via AP)
New Mexico State University rolls out 1st licensed whiskey

By Susan Montoya Bryan Nov. 11, 2020 10:23 AM EST

European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis takes off his protective face mask prior to addressing a media conference after a meeting of EU trade ministers, in videoconference format, at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. European Union trade ministers on Monday exchanged views on the trade policy review and relations with China and the United States. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, Pool)
EU puts tariffs on US but hopes for change with Biden

By Lorne Cook Nov. 09, 2020 05:21 AM EST

Virtual Kentucky Bourbon Festival opens Thursday

Oct. 14, 2020 04:06 AM EDT
BARDSTOWN, Ky. (AP) — This year's Kentucky Bourbon Festival that was postponed then moved online gets underway this week. ...

A collection of spirits and cocktail recipe books are displayed at a home in Alexandria, Va., on Oct. 4, 2020. Since the pandemic hit the United States, a lot of social drinking has moved back home. (Elizabeth Karmel via AP)
Cocktails get the home treatment in several new books

By Elizabeth Karmel Oct. 06, 2020 09:56 AM EDT

New Orleans bars serving drinks to go as virus cases wane

Oct. 04, 2020 02:35 PM EDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — One of the sacraments of New Orleans life, buying a drink to go, is again on offer. City officials on Saturday allowed...

Sugar House bartender Shelby Minnix creates a Lavender Lemonade cocktail in a to-go bottle, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, in Detroit. At least 33 states and the District of Columbia are temporarily allowing cocktails to-go during the pandemic, up from around three before the coronavirus struck. Dave Kwiatkowski, who owns the Sugar House was able to reopen July 10 for carryout service. Kwiatkowski normally employs a staff of 16, but for now, it's just him at the door and a bartender making drinks. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
To-go drinks an elixir for public, a lifeline for business

By Dee-Ann Durbin Aug. 24, 2020 12:14 PM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Tennessee

By The Associated Press Jun. 24, 2020 02:20 PM EDT
Recent editorials from Tennessee newspapers: ___ June 22 The Kingsport Times-News on school...

Michigan Legislature OKs cocktails to go to help restaurants

By David Eggert Jun. 24, 2020 12:10 PM EDT
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — People could order cocktails for pickup or delivery from Michigan bars and restaurants through 2025 under a bill that won final approval...

Maui Brewing Co. under investigation for sanitizer giveaway

Apr. 22, 2020 10:09 AM EDT
HONOLULU (AP) — A liquor control commission has launched an investigation of a Hawaii brewery for giving away hand sanitizer with purchases of its beer. ...

In this April 16, 2020 photo people line up to purchase Pennsylvania made liquor at Pennsylvania Libations in Pittsburgh's Strip District. The Pennsylvania liquor control board closed the Pennsylvania state-owned stores that retail nearly all of Pennsylvania's liquor in March, driving up demand from the state's distilleries, which have been allowed to continue production and sales, although some report stockpiles are rapidly drying up. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Liquor store closures drive drinkers to seek booze options

By Mark Scolforo Apr. 19, 2020 10:02 AM EDT