The discovery of distilled spirits was welcomed by the alchemists of Old Europe as the key to one of the great mysteries of their art: the elusive aqua vita, the water of life that would cure all ills. Hundreds of years later, these same spirits are often seen as the cause of many of society's troubles. But every once in a while, they are credited with something good.

According to Dr. Malcolm Lloyd, there is almost no end to the benefits of regular drinking.

"A lot of research shows that people who drink moderately flat-out live longer than those who don't," Lloyd tells Page Six. "From the pre vention of the common cold to the pre- vention of the onset of Alzheimer's to preventing certain types of cancer, regular drinking can be very beneficial."

That said, there are always going to be opposing theories.
Either way - kill or cure - France is taking steps to prevent its young 'uns getting their hands on the stuff too early, while in Scotland, the minority SNP government is being forced to introduce its plans to curb excessive consumption the hard way. On the other side of the pond, it seems that it's the producers who are taking the responsible drinking message to the masses.
Is MxMo about to cross over? It looks like this post from Cocktailians has led this Kansas-based lifestyle blog to ponder this month's theme.
Wayne Curtis meets a liquor necromancer.
In Russia, a vodka named for the current president fails to trouble the marketshare of his predecessor.
If you've got a spare half-hour, you should spend it with Sarah Buchanan's wonderful podcast life after radio.The current episode meets Vancouver's home fermenters.