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Beverage Media
October 2012
A Few Things To Consider
BY DUNCAN H. CAMERON
SPIRIT
SCOPE
The New Profit Center in DWI
Thanks to the growing number of dis-
tricts mandating them, DWI offenders
are being forced to underwrite a new
industry to the tune of $1 billion for
ignition interlock devices. And these
are not your father’s ignition interlocks.
Sales of new high-tech, DWI-busting
gadgets that can detect alcohol, kill a car
engine and dispatch cops to the scene—
all by satellite within just minutes—are
growing fast.
Offenders pay upwards of $130 a
month, through automatic credit-card
or checking debits, to one of the seven
major U.S. vendors that supply the sur-
veillance gear.
“
The courts are under pressure and
will be tightening the gap for more in-
stallations. This could triple revenues
of the industry pretty quickly,” said Don
Nebhan, marketing director of Dallas-
based Smart Start, the largest U.S. mon-
itoring vendor.
Like its rivals, Smart Start is ex-
panding its cutting-edge technology to
include drugged and distracted drivers—
especially those who are texting behind
the wheel. “Texting is going to be a huge
market,” said Nebhan.
Smart Start is rolling out a $1,500
device this autumn that can instantly
analyze a person’s fingerprint residue to
detect telltale metabolites (which indi-
cate usage of narcotics or other drugs)
in fingerprint folds. Scrubbing fingers
won’t foil the test.
Another new product due in 2013 is
generating a lot of excitement—and $21
million in backing from chip-making gi-
ant Intel. The device can catch drunk
and or distracted drivers by monitoring
their eye movement.
Sipping Steady
According to Gallup’s annual Consump-
tion Habits poll, Americans’ drinking
habits held steady in the past year: 66%
say they consume alcohol. Drinkers av-
eraged just over four drinks per week.
Beer continues to be Americans’ pre-
ferred drink, although wine remains
a close second, with liquor favored
by 22%.
Only 12% of drinkers report con-
suming eight or more drinks in the past
week. Gallup finds 22% of drinkers
saying they sometimes drink too much.
This is similar to the percentages in
most other years over the past decade.
Prior to 2001, the proportion tended to
be higher.
Men aged 18 to 49 are the heaviest
drinkers of any age/gender group. But
they get over it: 36% of younger men
admitting they sometimes drink too
much, compared with 18% of older men,
20%
of younger women, and 8% of
older women.
The slight majority of male drink-
ers, 55%, say they most often drink beer,
followed by liquor and wine at 21% and
20%,
respectively. Female drinkers have
an equally strong preference for wine,
with 52% saying they most often drink
wine and just over 20% favoring either
liquor or beer.
Beer is the beverage of choice
among both 18- to 34-year-olds and
those aged 35 to 54, while adults aged
55
and older lean more toward wine. It
would be interesting, however, to com-
pare these self-reported preferences
with actual retail spending numbers. I
suspect spirits would rank somewhat
higher when people vote with their
dollars instead of on the phone with
a stranger.
Federal Judge Strikes
Down Kentucky’s
Retail Rules
Local control of alcohol regulation po-
lices may be at stake in an unusual way
in Kentucky. A long-standing law for-
bidding groceries and gas station con-
venience stores there from selling wine
and liquor has been overturned by a
Federal in Louisville.
The opinion, handed down by U.S.
District Court Judge John G. Heyburn
II, marks a big win in a five-year push
from the Food With Wine Collation, a
consortium of large and small Kentucky
retail grocery, supermarket and conve-
nience stores owners aimed at allowing
their outlets to apply for liquor and wine
package sale licenses.
The judge found there was no con-
vincing reason “why a grocery-selling
drugstore like Walgreens may sell wine
and liquor, but a pharmaceutical-selling
grocery store like Kroger cannot. This
distinction would seem to have no re-
lationship whatsoever to the control of
higher-proof alcohol sales or the abuse
of these products.”
The Judge said he’ll give the parties
in the case some time to file motions
requesting a stay of enforcement of his
order. An appeal, which is considered
likely, could keep the order on hold
for months.
White House
Adds A Brewery
President Obama may have a new rea-
son for seeking four more years in the
White House. It has been confirmed
that his team has added a small brewery
in the executive mansion.
The product of the brewery is called
White House Honey Ale, with both
light and dark varieties. The honey
for White House Honey Ale report-
edly comes from another relatively new
facility—the garden created by first lady
Michelle Obama.
Home brewing is legal in Washing-
ton, DC. Maybe they could sell some to
help with the deficit!
