drinking

ASTROLIQUOR for June 8-14—What the stars say you should drink!

My Fellow Inebriates,

Here’s your booze horoscope:

You regard your relationship as immune to interference, Aries, but keep any Sagittarians you know on your radar, because one could get between you and your partner this week. The catalyst will be a shot—actually, shots—containing peppermint schnapps, peach schnapps, vodka, and grenadine. What ensues will last until September, and it won’t necessarily be mindless and debauched.

Taurus, nature will beckon this week, although appointments may interfere. Like many Taurus types, you feel a constant need to desist from working. You daydream at your desk, feeling sorry that you get no holidays, when in fact you’re always on a mental holiday. It’s okay to vacation this way, especially with some Grey Goose in your desk.

Without opportunities to vent, Gemini, you’re on a path to snapping, so be sure to bust out this week at the bar rather than tormenting your coworkers. You don’t want them to think you’re a tool. If you can’t get to a bar, pack that booze along to work with you in the mornings. A shot of Bailey’s in your coffee will work wonders, and hey—wouldn’t your boss prefer you drunk and positive than sober and negative? Totally.

This is a terrific time to improve your home, Cancer, but doing it cheaply is a challenge for you. Self-discipline isn’t your strong suit; if it were, you wouldn’t have chugged all that Vincent Van Gogh espresso vodka last week and permanently puke-stained a decent pair of shoes. Try seeking out simpler pleasures and small purchases for your house such as throw-pillows in a barf-camouflaging dark color.

Leo, someone is counting on you this week, but you’re too distracted to help. The distraction is a love interest of the unattainable kind—someone who’s taken, perhaps, or maybe a blood relative. This is not a good time to load up on watermelon schnapps, especially at a family picnic. Go easy on the booze, at least until your forbidden urge(s) pass(es).

An exciting week lies ahead, Virgo, featuring parties, good friends, and lashings of Stolichnaya. Your star is rising socially. Get in touch with old friends, especially a Capricorn from long ago who pops into memory. I see you on a happy bender, making effusive toasts with espresso martinis, and wearing a thong.

Libra, things are going to break and spill this week, so think about plastic mickeys, and remember—you can always buy more vodka if you need to. Sure, some douchebag associate will criticize you for being a sloppy drunk, but we’ve all been there. Of greater concern should be a message offering you an opportunity—something tells you it might not be legit. It’s really fun to answer all your emails while wasted, but don’t give your banking information to anybody just because they ask; make sure they’re somebody important, like the son of the deposed leader of Nigeria.

Someone within your social group needs you, Scorpio. Fortunately, you’re sensitive to friends’ moods and can react appropriately. At least when you’re not hosed! If this person hits you up after you’ve consumed a bucket of Drambuie with butterscotch schnapps, Kahlua, and Irish cream floating in it, then good luck, because he/she won’t be addressing the diplomatic you. Fortunately (yet again) this person is a sap and will forgive you anything.

Sagittarius, you’re under extreme pressure this week, seeking something that might not be attainable, and which competitors are also hotly pursuing. The solution may be to do a 180 away from this goal. Sometimes you can’t win. Hole up at home and find a distraction. Ever combined coffee, raspberry, and pear liqueurs with some bitters and then blended it up with vanilla ice cream? Me neither, but we should both do it.

A valuable offer crosses your desk, Capricorn. It could be a promotion or it could be a long-wished-for item such as an art object, suddenly deeply discounted. Take advantage now, before you overthink it. Some would say take a brisk walk and weigh the pros and cons. Boring! If your rational side is getting in the way, get out the vodka and rum, add some lemonade, and pound it.

Aquarius, good fortune is smiling. This is a great week to purchase lottery tickets (for small winnings) and suck up to your boss. Whatever madness you engage in, keep it moderate, because August features some purse-string tightening. Have no fear, though—by September you’ll be able to loosen the restraints again. For now, just buy a really high-quality vodka and try to sip it slowly.

Pisces, your house will probably get flooded this week, and while you’re camped out at a neighborhood gymnasium, hoodlums will break in and loot all your gin. It comes as crappy news to naïve you that other humans can be such jerks. Hang on until August, when things improve and you can take some sort of revenge. Or if you’re not the avenging type, just get drunk and stay that way.

ASTROLIQUOR for June 1-7—What the stars say you should drink!

My Fellow Inebriates,

Here’s your booze horoscope:

You can’t solve everything by yourself, Aries, especially while on a bender involving rum and apricot brandy. Ask a friend to help, not to mention share the booze, which should keep you alert enough to deal with your mounting email. There’s an important message in it, so clear your head a little if you want to find it. Avoid public transit this week at all costs! (And since you’ll be too drunk to drive, that means stay home.)

Taurus, the urge to see an old Capricorn friend consumes you this week—someone who used to excite you but has degenerated into a tequila-soaked lush. You can still enjoy a satisfying friendship even if the sparks are gone. Don’t fall into this friend’s habits, though, or you’ll be lying outside the liquor store all day keening to yourself.

You’re stuck working on a project with an annoying coworker, Gemini, and the urge to vent your anger could inflame the situation. But don’t vent it at innocent bystanders! Everyone will notice your maturity if you take the high road. What you need is some coconut rum to take the edge off. There’s no problem that can’t be solved with Captain Morgan.

Traffic will challenge you more than usual this week Cancer, especially if you deviate from your normal route or routine. In fact, all change is bad this week; even at work you should stay in a low-profile rut where you can’t be singled out for new responsibilities. If you can manage to stay invisible, all threats will pass. So take the bus, work quietly on the Penske file, and put nice, clear, odorless vodka in your flask. No fruity craziness until next week! Oh yeah, and, get a handle on your electronics so they don’t start beeping at 4:00am.

Leo, think about inviting friends and family over to your home for a nice dinner. They tend to picture you in filthy underwear, swilling rum from a styrofoam cup, so they’ll be surprised and delighted that you’re capable of hosting a civilized social occasion. It’ll be good for you too, if only because it inspires you to wash those skivvies.

Someone from your past gets in touch, Virgo. How exciting! You thought this person was just a one-off, sordid one-night stand in a squalid motel, and here he/she is wanting to hang out. You should definitely find out more about this person. What’s his/her star sign? Do you both love vodka with madeira and cherry brandy? Does your friend have chlamydia? By June you’ll have at least one of the answers.

Libra, usually you’re difficult to prank, but work-related distractions make you an easy mark for mischievous colleagues this week. If you let them frustrate you, tempers will flare up and a fight will ensue, drawing unwanted attention from higher-ups. You have a sweet thing going at work with your vodka flask. Don’t wreck it!

Keep an eye on your health this week, Scorpio. The stars are looking vicious—don’t let them punish you for all those apple martinis. Baby yourself a bit. Dress properly instead of putting yourself at the mercy of the elements. Walk slowly and pay attention to those around you—no one is attractive enough to warrant extra risks right now. This week is all about stasis.

Sagittarius, you’ll pass a test this week, but only with the help of an Aries. Of all the star signs, you’re the best at picking people up, so hit the neighborhood pub and start asking “What’s your sign?” Eventually you’ll find an intelligent Aries, but it might take a while, so pace yourself. No hard stuff (that means no Jell-O shots)… Stick to apple cider.

You have large, global concerns, Capricorn, which make everyone else’s day-to-day worries seem trivial by comparison. So consumed are you by world politics that you can’t stop lecturing, expounding from a bar stool while pickling yourself with pear vodka. You feel like a voice crying out in the wilderness, but make no mistake about it, people think you’re a douche. The best thing you can do is drink yourself past intelligibility so your friends don’t have to listen.

Aquarius, you’re all about superficial relationships lately, but one of your new friends is going to stick around longer than expected. In August you’ll realize you’re smitten—not just romantically but in all respects: hobbies, business, politics, relentless vodka consumption… How the relationship develops is up to you. The stars are very controlling but you can still steer this thing.

Pisces, the urge to socialize is strong with you this week, but so is the urge to lie compulsively! You tell people all kinds of shit, sometimes contradicting yourself and setting yourself up for trouble. It’s very hard to conduct yourself this way when you start tossing Kahlua into your coffee at 6:00am and progress from there. Just wait till a handful of friends get into a room together and compare stories.

WHYTE & MACKAY SPECIAL—If you have to pay sin tax, pay it on something cheap

My parents are refusing to buy any more booze. It’s too expensive and—if you believe the dire predictions about the upcoming privatization of BC Liquor Stores—it’s going to get more expensive. I don’t know what’s cooking in my parents’ heads right now…they’re planning a change of headquarters…they’re doing budgets—all painfully boring and seemingly designed to torture yours truly.

Why is alcohol so expensive in Canada?

Seriously! A 750mL bottle of JOHNNIE WALKER BLACK LABEL is $49.99 in Canada versus $34.95 in the US. With our dollar just a couple of cents off par, what could explain this massive difference?

The answer is excise tax, imposed in Canada on goods such as tobacco, alcohol, gasoline, and vehicle air conditioners. Also known as sin tax, excise tax operates in theory as a disincentive to use harmful products, even though these products are often labeled inelastic precisely because imposition of tax (or any other variable) has little effect on net consumption.

Huh?

Essentially, the argument goes, people smoke, drink, drive, and cool themselves as per their own ideologies and lifestyle choices. Increasing or decreasing tax on these choices does not markedly change them; studies show that people continue to consume what they consume—they just bitch more about the prices.

But does this mean excise tax serves only as a penalty for “sin”?

Not according to the prevailing wisdom on excise tax—that higher prices deter consumption while (circuitously) offsetting associated health costs.

It’s hard to pin down the correct assumption. Would hardcore smokers smoke four packs a day instead of two if the price were cut? What margin of society would stay constantly drunk if booze were cheap? Given people’s jobs and obligations—not to mention public proscriptions against public smoking and drinking and social pressures to at least approximate a healthy lifestyle—it’s hard to imagine that, at least for the majority of people, tax cuts would launch them toward debauchery. Not everyone is as thoroughly lacking in judgment as your host here.

Arguments in favor generally fall into three categories:

  • Moral. Excise tax gives pause to people who would otherwise show no restraint. But can you derive good, “moral” behavior through monetary means? Is the tax a disincentive or a punishment?
  • Medical. Forty-five thousand Canadians die from smoking each year. Alcohol-related costs are harder to isolate, however. A glass of merlot with dinner is heart-healthy; a box of merlot is not. The healthy “sweet spot” lies somewhere on the continuum between. How can it be defined without Big Brother’s assistance? Surely, if one glass is healthy, that glass should be subsidized, not taxed…
  • Financial. Especially in countries with tax-funded healthcare, smokers and drinkers burden society with their treatment costs and should therefore pay taxes on the products that eventuate in their ailments. Or should they? According to a Dutch study, overall lifetime health expenditure is highest among healthy-living individuals, precisely because they live longer, whereas their smoking and/or obese counterparts check out earlier, relieving the medical system. Wow!

Photo: CBC

But conclusions from a study conducted in the Netherlands don’t necessarily make the leap to Canada. More relaxed attitudes toward alcohol, reduced emphasis on driving, and a greater acceptance of socialized medicine contrast glaringly with Canada’s moralistic attitudes on alcohol. Whereas alcohol is a casual element of European dining that extends to teenagers, in Canada and the US, alcohol gets built up to Holy Grail status, leading teenagers to binge-drink at the first opportunity. All-or-nothing morality guides prohibitions on youthful drinking (dry grad, anyone?), leading to adolescent obsessions with alcohol (“I’m gonna get so wasted”) as opposed to healthful incorporation of alcohol as a life skill. So when doctors write in the Canadian Medical Journal that alcohol costs Canadians $3.3 billion in annual health costs, they’re not joking. But is the solution to tax the shit out of alcohol, or is it to educate people on how to use alcohol safely?

Admittedly it’s too late for me, my fellow inebriates. For now I take refuge in cheap finds such as WHYTE & MACKAY SPECIAL BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY. At $25 for a 750mL bottle you really can’t do better—at least not in Canada. THE DALMORE SINGLE HIGHLAND MALT is the primary backbone, blended with some well-judged mystery whiskies, and treated with double cask maturation. Generous and malty on the nose, WHYTE & MACKAY is a lovely amber and offers rich malt and sherry on the palate, tapering from sweet to dry and lingering pleasantly. There’s no smoke to speak of and little complexity—but there’s nothing offensive either. This is an excellent rocks Scotch—an easy, undemanding sipper for when you want a wee dram without feeling too extravagant.