OWC There seems to be a difference between how much you drink and actually how drunk you feel. Researchers at the Open University collected information on the drinking habits and hangovers of almost 1,200 people in the UK and Ireland. They were asked about their heaviest bout of drinking in the last month, how many drinks they had consumed, their mood when drinking and how drunk they had felt, from a score of zero to ten. According to the research how much they drank had only an 11% impact, compared to 64% for how drunk they felt. Dr Lydia Devenney who led the study commented ' This has implications for how we manage our hangovers. Your future self may thank you for not just keeping an eye on how much you drink, but also checking in with how you feel and remembering what's "normal" for you before ordering that next round.'
OWC Keira Knightley has revealed that she and her husband have sold their French vineyard. The property located near the slopes of Mont Ventoux in the Rhone valley was once valued at £3million. She married her husband, musician James Righton there in 2013. They produced organic batches of red wine comprising of five cuvees of grenache.
OWC A classic case of the more you think you know the less you have a clue about the subject, has been proven to apply by research carried out in the wine industry. Researchers looked at wine reviews from a website and followed around 30,000 users through each tasting note that they posted between 2003 and 2012. By tracking terminology and measuring confidence, analysis revealed that as people gained more experience of drinking wine they tended to waver in their assertions. Simply put the more experience they had, the more they got wrong. The study was conducted at the North Eastern University in Boston and published in the journal of Marketing Research.
OWC Craft breweries continue to close. Over 250 breweries in the U.S. closed down in the first six months of last year, with more closing in the second half of the year. There has been a three year downturn in the USA's craft beer industry. Closures included Bosque Brewing Company which filed for bankruptcy but shuttered its business after its Chapter 11 case was dismissed. Another popular beer brand, Entropy Brewing Company, closed without filing for bankruptcy, and several others filed for Chapter 7 liquidation and closed down, including Rogue Ales & Spirits, Strike Brewing Company, Iron Hill Brewery LLC, and Dissent Craft Brewing.
OWC Top-rated rums from the Beverage Testing Institute 2025 , featured Ron Zacapa (Guatemala) for its honey-sweetened, high-altitude aged profile; Rhum Barbancourt (Haiti) for its Cognac-style, fresh sugarcane juice base; and Kuleana Rum Works (Hawaii) for unique Agricole-style rums from heirloom cane. These selections showcase diverse production methods, from traditional molasses to fresh juice, and unique ageing processes, emphasising quality and craft in the global rum scene.
OWC An extraordinary vintage wine row is tearing apart one of Britain’s most prominent aristocratic families as the Earl of Bradford threatened to sue his son for consuming expensive wines from the family cellar. The row became public after the wedding of his son, Alexander Bridgeman served vintage wine at his wedding including Château Latour 1967 and 1955. The Earl threatened legal action for the loss of the wines, estimated to be worth around £30,000 at the time, stemming from years of strained relations. The discord became public when the best man thanked the Earl for the wine at Alexander's wedding, confirming the consumption and sparking media attention.
OWC An urgent warning went out before Christmas warning consumers not to drink whisky and gin products from a distillery in Orkney, Scotland. Food Standards Scotland (FSS) said that Kimbland Distillery based in Sanday had been producing and selling alcoholic products 'without the required safety controls external' that they had failed to provide evidence that its products met safety standards and they may pose a risk to health. FSS said the products to be aware of were New Make Spirit of Whisky (all sizes), Sanday Tempest Gin 70cl, Sanday Sunset Gin 70cl, Sanday No.1 Gin 70cl, and filled barrels and casks. Kimbland Distillery said it had not been producing or supplying spirits for the past 18 months.
OWC Fancy a curry? Scientists have found that turmeric, a key ingredient in curry can help alleviate hangovers. The focus was on its active compound curcumin how it helped with hangovers, which they concluded had a positive effect to the tune of 90%. The study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine centred on around 30 men and women taking concentrated formations of curcumin, or a placebo before drinking a 500ml, 16.5 per cent alcoholic drink and being monitored for 15 hours. Almost nine in ten of those taking curcumin had no hangover symptoms whatsoever while blood alcohol levels were nearly a fifth lower. There was also reduced headache, heartburn, flushing of the face and muscle pain. The research conducted at Kyung Hee University in South Korea concluded curcumin speeds up the processing of alcohol by the liver, reducing its toxic effects.
OWC Jim Beam one of the icons of the American whiskey trade and a global brand is far from beaming at the moment. They have announced that one of their distilleries is shutting down production for a year due to significant decline in sales in the U.S. The main cause being the looney trade war with Canada where American brands are being boycotted and the all too familiar tale of young adults cutting back on drinking alcohol. Jim Beam is owned by Suntory Global Spirits, and is one of Kentucky’s biggest bourbon producers. The distillery in question is its Clermont distillery, which closed this week. The visitors' centre on the site remains open.
OWC If you missed it, The Icon of Drinks Awards 2025 were as follows : Brand & Packaging Design Agency JDO Global, Brand Ambassador Sinead Tohill Killowen Distillery, Brand Innovator Prohibition Liquor Co, Craft Producer Beachtree Distilling Co, Distillery Manager Shenda O'Hare Killowen Distillery, Master Distiller/Master Blender Richard Ducret Distillerie de Lyon, Production Team The Team Killowen Distillery, Sustainable Distillery Beachtree Distilling Co, Visitor Attraction Distillerie Citadelle Gin, Visitor Attraction Manager Ramon Watson Stade's Rum Experience.
