Jagermeister in the snow. Photo: janeyesee, Flickr

Our counterparts over at AOL U.K. recently ran an article entitled "Comedy Booze" lamenting the unfortunate habit some guests have of using parties to re-gift hard alcohol they found unfit to stomach back when they received it. From Greek ouzo to French pastis, it's a multi-culti takedown.

Of course, sometimes that famous Brit wit doesn't cross the pond. We know some folks who adore pastis, and others for whom a bottle of Jagermeister might be considered quite a smashing (or quite funny) addition to a party.

That said, we can certainly sympathize with the sentiment. After the jump, three things we think you should never bring to a party. Tell us what we missed!

Restaurant menus abound with unhealthy choices. Photo: smoorenburg, flickr

Hanna Raskin's first waitressing job was at a small Greek diner in Michigan. In the 15 years since, she's worked at a chop suey joint in Mississippi, an exclusive Arizonan country club, a vegetarian eatery and an Irish pub. She currently picks up odd shifts at a seafood eatery in the North Carolina mountains, where she cracks crab legs for helpless tourists. This is the ninth in a series of posts.

Server discretion, like sobriety checks and seat belts, helps prevent deadly car crashes.

Backed by laws that decree certain ruin for restaurants that serve drinks to overly intoxicated patrons, most servers don't hesitate to cut off customers who've had enough. But they're understandably reluctant to police other equally dangerous behaviors observed at the table, raising the question of whether servers ever have an ethical obligation to intercede.

Restaurants are in the business of providing their guests with food and drink, which makes the prospect of withholding either seem counterintuitive at best. But when the requested item would harm the diner, does the "just doing my job" argument falter?

Absinthe drip and sugar cube. Photo: Alex Van Buren.

So we've been all about Bastille Day for the last 24 hours, from petanque to moules frites, brioche burger buns to a gorgeous vegetable tian and even a Francophile-friendly absinthe-spiked cocktail.

We're not the only ones itching to get out the door and toast our friends in the Old Country (or the wonderful eats and drinks they've sent our way). For those who will celebrating the occasion at home, Chow has recipes for three lovely terrines; Serious Eats discovers the tapenades of Provence; and one of Slashfood's own beer columnists breaks down Saison style beer at Gourmet while his colleague tackles eight great aperitifs, several of which are French.

Perhaps the triumph of the online articles, however, is France Magazine's enormous feature on aperitifs. From Lillet to Suze to Noilly Prat, it's all there, and we'll be printing it out and tucking it into our bag. (They've just unlocked the online files especially for Slashfood.) Happy celebrating!

A strawberry reflects. Photo: Paraflyer/Flickr

• Retro berry flavor: A Strawberry Charlotte recipe from the 1940s.
• Sit-down chains like Applebee's and Ruby Tuesday are waging discount price wars to win your patronage.
• Is it possible for one establishment to have a good selection of brews and delicious food, or are the two mutually exclusive?
• The Minimalist makes Greek Nachos.
• The swizzle stick isn't just a souvenir of drunken shenanigans. It's also a controlled way to stir a drink.
• Biryani on a budget -- where to get it in New York for under $25.
• First the rise, then the fall. Australia's booming wine industry is starting to suffer as prices slide.

• Our pockets empty while our bellies fill with booze: "Canadians boosted alcohol sales by 4.3 percent [this year], funnelling more than $18.8 billion into the economy."
• SeaChoice now offers a downloadable sushi guide about locating sustainably sourced fish, but brace yourself -- the beloved unagi and hamachi are on the list.
• Laiterie Charlevoix's Le 1608 cheese -- the "pleasant tang of the long finish clinches this cheese's spot as a new Canadian favourite."
• Miga restaurant in Mississauga, Ontario, a favorite due to "wannabe luxe comforts."
• A guide to that Twitter cooking shorthand we've seen so much.
• Wine on a budget -- a general rule for which wines to grab and which to avoid.
  
• Au Petit Chavignol in Vancouver -- serious cheese, an amazing wine list and full meals.
• Next time you spy bubbles, it might not be club soda -- Ontario's about to get Camitz Sparkling Vodka.
• A talk with Kevin Kent, "possibly Canada's great prophet of Japanese knives."

It's a predicament almost as old as alcohol itself. In fact, in Macbeth, Shakespeare wrote of partaking in alcoholic beverages: "It provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance." Well, maybe if Shakespeare had spent more time drinking in moderation...

NewScientist reports that a recent Australian study found that moderate drinking can actually reduce the chances of developing erectile dysfunction by 25% - 30% compared to people who don't drink at all, even after accounting for additional risk factors such as age, smoking and heart disease.

Sounds counterintuitive compared to the old adage, right? But it seems more and more, scientists are identifying the health benefits of drinking in moderation. (Plus drinking in moderation can provide you the benefits of not looking like an idiot at family gatherings!) To your health!

[via Hop Talk via Boing Boing]

Wine lovers all over the country have reason to celebrate tomorrow: December 5, 1933, marked the end of the 13-year Prohibition on alcohol in the U.S. (Of course the resulting state-by-state laws are still confusing, cumbersome, and laden with politics, but individuals can speak up to their legislative representatives through the nonprofit organization Free the Grapes.)

During those long thirteen years of Prohibition, the California wine industry suffered. Most wineries were forced to close their doors, and those who remained open produced wines for medicinal and religious use. Farmers willing to ride out Prohibition fared a little better: each male was allowed to make 200 gallons of wine each year for personal use, so the demand for grapes around the country was fairly high, even as commercial winemaking all but disappeared.

This year, a new line of wines called Festival 34 was released to commemorate California's first harvest following the repeal of Prohibition 75 years ago. The wines include a Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, all sourced from California's Central Coast and made by C & B Vintage Cellars in Napa.

I'm usually skeptical of fancy marketing ploys when it comes to wine, because there's often an inverse relationship between the quality of the wine and the cleverness of the label. Festival 34 is an exception for three reasons. One, the concept is truly clever, as it calls attention to and celebrates the end of a terrible era for wine lovers; two, the label art is gorgeous and practically collectible; and three, the wines are quite good. The Chardonnay was too oaky for my taste, but I loved the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Both are a great value for around $12-15.

I absolutely believe that moderation (called "temperance" in the old days), not prohibition, should be the buzzword with alcohol, and on the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition in the United States, I raise my glass to the liberation of the vineyards.

Tired of not being in the know?

Everyone knows that every night, somewhere, people are drinking for free. Various bars have promotions from liquor companies, nights when they want to pack the house, and special events that result in totally free drinks, and often free food, as well!

Whether you're visiting or a resident, visit My Open Bar for free drinks in:

• New York City
• Los Angeles
• San Francisco
• Chicago
• Honolulu
• Miami

My Open Bar lets you know what time, what's free, and where it is. All you have to do is show up! They even have mobile and RSS feeds.

Special thanks to my friend Brandon A. for the tip.

Smirnoff Ice has, from what I count, nine flavors. Secretly, I've always assumed that they all taste the same: a little sparkly, mildly tart, and way too sweet.

So. Smirnoff Ice: Do they all taste the same?

Personally, I think it would be really funny if after the jump it just said "yes." But it doesn't, so read on as I give four flavors a fighting chance.

Sparks, the "caffeinated alcohol beverage with a blend of caffeine, taurine, guarana and ginseng extract," has been around since 2002 and has been owned by Miller since 2006, so it certainly isn't a new phenomenon. However, a number of questionable decisions recently have led to a massive backlash against the beverage and may well spell the end of alcohol/energy drink hybrids on the market.

General sentiment has been building that caffeinated alcohol beverages pose a risk to drinkers, especially for younger and underage drinkers who the beverages' detractors believe the products directly target. In fact, last summer, Anheuser-Busch received enough pressure that they eventually stopped making caffeinated-alcohol products. However, MillerCoors managed not only to slip by, but appears to have decided to do some flaunting.

First, the company announced they would be releasing Sparks Red this October, an addition to the Sparks product line that will have as much as 8% alcohol by volume -- a significant step up from the original Sparks' 6% ABV. Then there was backlash against what many considered to be a raunchy and unethical advertising campaign.

Well, they got publicity, but probably not what they were hoping for. As of yesterday, district attorneys from 25 states have called for the cancellation of the Sparks Red launch and, last week, the Center for Science in the Public Interest sued MillerCoors to stop selling Sparks all together. Public opinion seems to be shutting this industry down.

[Photo Credit: MillerCoors]

Special summer drinks guide: blender drinks. Do you know what goes into a 'Missionary's Downfall?'

Wine critic Eric Asimov goes virgin with a root beer review.

The Minimalist talks modern mixed drinks. Kamikaze, anyone?

The Croque-Monsiur, France's answer to the ham and cheese, is the perfect bar food.

Forget the kegerator. Real brewski lovers have beer cellars.

I don't think of bourbon as a summer drink ingredient. Summer drinks to me are ones that are fruity and light and crisp and maybe have an umbrella in them. I mean, they don't have to have an umbrella in them, but fruity and light are what I think of when I think of summer drinks. Bourbon is a harder potion to me, made for fall and winter nights.

But this recipe over at MarthaStewart.com for Eli's Elixir (created by Allen Katz) sounds promising, because it does have that fruit element in it (apple juice, apples) along with 2 oz of bourbon. You also use a Homemade Ginger Cordial in the recipe too.

Look no further than Beer Suggest, a new website that - well, isn't it obvious?

The site is a work in progress, with its simple design and rudimentary tools (it only went live about a week ago). So far, the site boasts over 4,000 beer listings and over 1000 breweries. There are also beer-centered events, and reviews of various brews.

Think you can walk the walk when it comes to beer? Register for an account, and feel free to review and rate beers. Check here for the current Top 10 lists of rated and reviewed beers, including the Shiner Bock and the Gonzo Imperial Porter.

The site is slow to load, so be patient. But with a few tweaks and a few more ratings, it could develop into a seriously helpful tool for beer lovers.

...well, not forever. Technically, only for 21 days, along with all animal products, caffeine, sugar, alcohol, and gluten. Oh, right: and she's calling it a "cleanse," in hopes that it will prepare her for her "inner makeover."

Now, giving up alcohol, caffeine, and animal products is a difficult decision, and one that shouldn't be taken lightly.

But, (big surprise), I have several issues with this. First of all, I dislike the word "cleanse." It's often associated with that ridiculous maple syrup/cayenne pepper diet, and don't even try to convince me that it works, because depriving yourself of food is simply unhealthy, I don't care if you feel "amazing" or not (most likely, that "amazing, high" feeling is the effects of oxygen depletion to your brain, sweetie).

France's Environment Minister and Resident Party-Pooper Jean-Louis Borloo is pushing a proposal that will force bars open later than 2 a.m. to administer breathalyzer tests to patrons before they leave the establishment.

The move is in response to a spate of fatal car accidents involving drugs or alcohol.

Some immediate obvious questions: Who will be in charge of administering the tests to everyone who leaves? What happens if a patron argues, or refuses to take the test? Will he or she be chased down and fined?

What do you think? Are mandatory breathalyzer tests a good idea, or an invasion of privacy and a waste of time? Would you agree to take one, even if you'd had one beer, or weren't driving home?