Results tagged “alcohol”

A stolen semi containing more than 1,200 cases of liquor was found on the South Side on Monday. The truck was reported stolen around 12:30a.m. on Friday from a National Wine & Spirits in Indiana, according to Sgt. Matthew Mount. Two men allegedly wearing ski masks commandeered the delivery truck by gunpoint after attacking the truck's driver and handcuffing him and throwing him in an empty trailer of a parking lot. After the two men drove off, the driver exited the trailer and called for help. The truck was recovered over three days later at the 12000 block of South Avenue O in Chicago and two men were arrested. It is unknown if the liquor was still in the truck when it was found. Rumors have been circulating that the 1,200+ cases were headed to Chicagoist Editor-in-chief Marcus Gilmer's house for a Halloween party.

At one point in their lives, almost all beer enthusiasts have dropped in to the local liquor store to pick up a single foamy beverage. Many liquor stores, convenience marts and other booze barns sell single cans or bottles of beer in all shapes and sizes. For consumers, single cans are an alternative to grab a quick drink instead of investing in a six pack or full case. For retailers, selling them is a way to cash in on broken cases or on locals interested in a more portable intoxicant. That is exactly what some townspeople in north suburban Arlington Heights want to change.

According to an article in today's Trib it looks like beer, wine and other alcoholic packaged goods could be coming soon to a Walgreen's near you. After Prohibition the drugstore began selling alcohol at many of their locations, but that was phased out in early 90's because it was deemed too costly. Now, according to company spokeswoman Tiffani Washington, new computer systems will make it easier to manage. Profits at the chain have been slipping recently. Perhaps booze can pump them back up. We're completely in favor of the change, as it would mean another way we'd be able to avoid CVS, not to mention it's easier to find a Walgreens.

A young man's oafish buddies convince him to take a bus to the countryside and meet them at a college chum's guest house, where "there's lots of booze and delicious barbecue." Of course when he arrives his friends are nowhere to be found; and getting back to Seoul proves to be an unexpectedly tall order. Among the problems he has to contend with are crappy cell phone reception, con artists, and the constant necessity of being polite by accepting drinks from strangers.

Following up on yesterday's story regarding the city asking bars and restaurants around Wrigley Field to voluntarily honor a ban on alcohol sales after the seventh-inning stretch during post-season "clinch" games (definition for some readers/"Cubs Fans": "a game in which the Cubs can end a series with a win, facilitating their continued participation in the postseason"). How do you think Mayor Daley reacted to the protests of business owners who said that the proposed ban lacked common sense? Rationally?

Leave it to the city to throw a huge bucket of cold water on the Cubs first back-to-back division titles ever. They're asking bars and restaurants around Wrigley Field to observe a voluntary cutoff of alcohol sales after the seventh-inning stretch to keep post-playoff game celebrations from turning into... well, the 81 regular season post-game celebrations that preceded them.

Metra is eliminating its bar cars come Friday. The rail service hasn't renewed contracts with vendors not because of concerns about alcohol use but because the bar cars don't bring in enough money; instead, Metra wants to use the cars for regular seating. But fear not, traveling boozers! You can still drink on the train. [Trib]

When we filed our report from the National Restaurant Association's annual trade show in May, we were very curious about Wine Cellar Sorbets. The New York-based company and "sorbet sommelier" Dave Zablocki do not skimp on the amount of wine (or sake) used in making their sorbets, which was one of the reasons we gravitated toward the booth.

Chicago is the fifth-hardest drinking city in America, according to a new analysis by Forbes, who's really feeling the ranking stories this week. We drink less than Austin, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and Providence. Providence?

Even before William Ligue Jr. ran onto the field at Comiskey Park and attacked a Royals coach, Cubs fans have tried to pin the undeserving "violent" label as a negative stereotype of Sox fans [Ed.'s note: It probably has something to do with incidents like this]. Never mind that Ligue admitted to actually being a Cubs fan... or that it was outside Wrigley Field that a fan was shot and killed [Ed's note: Touché, Lipsman].

One can't have a hearty Korean dinner — or even sushi — without a bracing serving of soju. It's clear color and clean flavor is comparable to vodka, except for a slightly sweeter taste resulting from the addition of sugar in the distilling process.

Newsflash: Teenagers like drugs and fucking! Sun hot, water wet, Jolie attractive, Hawking smart. And so on.

Terrence Camodeca, Orland Park resident, and Village Trustee Pat Gira are working on making "airplane bottles" of liquor illegal in the OP. And then from there, to the county, and maybe...to the state? (Cue "Trumpets of Doom.")

Remember when prom night meant spiking the punch bowl, renting a hotel room on Lincoln and packing it with liquor, then drinking until sunrise and taking what was left to Great America? Good times.

Red Bull has won a $680,000 lawsuit against Wet, a Loop bar that served its clubby patrons a different energy sauce when they ordered Red Bull. A manager at the company was at Wet and asked for a vodka Red Bull. She was served a vodka...Other Thing. From the Trib:

“Trick-Move Gone Bad” award of the day: A man was charged with reckless conduct and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after sticking his foot in front of an El train at the Clark and Division red line stop around 1 this morning.

Former Chicago Police sergeant John Herman faces a minimum of 24 years in prison after he was convicted of rape this week. Herman had a bench trial rather than a jury trial, and Judge Joseph Claps not only found Herman guilty, he also had some additional harsh words for the rapist. "The defendant's testimony is unreasonable and nothing short of perjury," Claps said. Claps also didn't believe two officers who testified on Herman's behalf, saying...

The Trib rolled out Part II of its damning investigation of Chicago police officers shooting civilians, and it's just as intensive as Part I--plus it's accompanied by a harsh, determined editorial. God, agreeing with the Trib's editorial board...this is a whole new feeling. Today's report focuses on Officer Phyllis Clinkscales, who shot and killed 17-year-old Robert Washington in June 2000, which sets up an analysis of how thoroughly police shootings are investigated. Guess what?...

We were downstairs at our neighbors' a couple weeks back, drinking bloody marys before the Bears-Broncos game while we were making chicken stock for soup. Normally, we make a killer bloody mary. But on this occasion we were missing something. Turned out that our neighbor had the cure-all: a good beer chaser. She had been to Sam's earlier in the week and picked up some selections from Ridgeway Brewing, and the first bottle she opened...

OK, after this we'll call an end to Thanksgiving-related posting--it's wearing us out--but there were a couple of oddball turkey stories in the news today.

File this one under "Color Us Surprised": Obama was interested in girls, drank alcohol and experimented with drugs in high school. Obama made a campaign stop at a study hall in Manchester New Hampshire yesterday and answered students' questions. Prior to meeting with the students, Obama unveiled an $18 billion plan that would expand public education from pre-school through 12th grade. He also criticized No Child Left Behind. To their credit, the high schoolers had...

The more we dive into New Belgium's selections, the more flabbergasted we become at the popularity of Fat Tire. Sure, we've said ourselves that Fat Tire serves as an entry beer to the other offerings New Belgium brews. If conventional wisdom says that you only get one chance to make a good first impression, then Fat Tire would seem like the wrong entry point for New Belgium.

Bell's beer fans don't start celebrating just yet, but Larry Bell himself weighed in on the Beer Advocate forums yesterday about a possible return to Chicago. "Bell's continues to work on a way to return to Illinois... I have had discussions with other wholesalers and there is a possibility that we would return, but not with any brand we currently produce... Chicago is my home town and I would love to sell beer there again....

Today's Headline: Peapod Caught Delivering Alcohol to Teens. We don't want to say anything to besmirch Peapod's good name — if it weren't for their timely deliveries, there is no telling what we would be attempting to eat out of our fridge. However, it seems like our favorite grocery folk been delivering alcohol to teens without checking for ID.

When lasted we checked in, all was not "love they neighbor" on the corner of Winchester and Thomas. Neighbors of the Inner Town Pub were angry about the drunken and sloppy behavior of the bar's patrons and wanted Alderman Manny Flores to do something about it. This week's Chicago Journal has a nice little wrap-up of what's happened since. Bar representatives, upset neighbors and Flores have been meeting on a monthly basis to improve...

Rather than go out to participate in last Sunday's national toast to Michael Jackson, we decided to stay at home and raise a glass in honor of the "Beer Hunter." Earlier that afternoon we finished the remaining bottles of Goose Island Harvest Ale during that debacle of a Bears game and were left with a varied selection in the fridge — a couple brews from Three Floyds, a bottle of Unibroue 16, two cans of...

What's the only thing more sketchy-ass than Chicago's city hiring? The folks fighting over the money for the victims of said rigged system. We're pretty sure we were denied a job too ... now give us a cut of that $12 million! And we used to just be scared our own vibrating toys would rouse suspicion. (It's a scalp massage, honest!) Now airport screeners think that remote controls for toys are under suspicion as...

When Tim Kasher isn't busy fronting the band Cursive and writing screenplays, he's penning songs and touring with his other project, The Good Life. The band began as a side project of sorts, but now has noted two albums under its belt: 2004's heart-wrenching The Album of the Year, which narrates a romantic-turned-nasty two-year relationship, and the recently released Help Wanted Nights, which actually serves as a soundtrack to Kasher's play of the same name....

Now that summer is doing the quick fade, certain foods and beverages that we avoided during the warm months are creeping back into our diet. They tend to taste better during cooler weather. One of those beverages is a good stout. We mean a good stout, with the viscosity of motor oil and brewed with malt so heavily roasted you'd think they burned the brewery down making the beer. We bought a couple bottles of...