Inventory for October 18th, 2015
This week the beverage industry was rocked by the AB InBev/SABMiller merger, scientists are drinking too much when stationed in the arctic, and Lufthansa released a new bottled range of cocktail.
Welcome! It’s rainy and the sky is grey. That’s pretty much where our heads are at. But, to combat the winter blues, we’ll be making tiki drinks and holding on to summer reaaaal tight. Some fruits here, a fresh flower there, and all of a sudden your mood’s turned around. Joins us, why don’t you?!
1) Impending AB InBev/SABMiller Merger
The merger has been in the making for months now, last we heard, SABMiller unanimously rejected Anheuser-Busch InBev’s offer for lowballing them. Last week’s offer of $104 billion seems to have sealed the deal. The New York Times has an excellent analysis of the situation, including an explanation of the Brazilian investment firm that helped broker the deal. If the deal goes through, and right now this is looking very likely, then every third beer sold worldwide would be owned by the same corporate giant. The merger of AB InBev and SABMiller Merger would make them the market leader in 24 out of the 30 most important beer market. These are tough figures to swallow.
2) Scientists are Boozing too much in the Antarctic
Frankly, who wouldn’t be? IFL Science! published an article last week in which writer Tom Hale looked at the amount of alcohol researchers consume when stationed in the South Pole. A health and safety report conducted by the NSF (National Science Foundation) uncovered the alcohol problems the McMurdo Station and South Pole Station are currently dealing with. “The report said that the alcohol consumption in the USAP can create unpredictable behavior that has led to fights, indecent exposure, and employees arriving to work under the influence”. Apparently, researchers have taken to brewing their own beer, though that goes against the rules. “Although the figures on alcohol abuse are vague, one of the HR managers estimated that 60 to 75 percent of disciplinary action taken in the camp was related to drunken behavior”. This seems to be a stuck-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place situation. Fifty people, locked up, it’s -45°C, and there’s basically no sun. You can’t go outside because the frost will bite your nose off (and the friendly Jack Frost from children’s tales). Of course people go crazy. Throw alcohol into the mix and they’ll just go crazier. Take it away, and you have a different kind of crazy on your hands. Good luck?
3) New Bottled Cocktail Range: Lufthansa Cocktails
Let’s face it, the glorious, elegant heydey of air travel is over. Those died along with Don Draper. On the upside, we’re now able to traverse the globe without breaking the bank and truthfully, we’ll gladly spend a couple of hours cramped in a metal box with nary a cocktail in sight. Things are looking up though, Big Small Brands just took over the brand licensing rights for Lufthansa’s classic welcome cocktail and is set to revive them as a bottled cocktail range. Classic cocktails, such as the Manhattan, Negroni, Old Fashioned, Dry Martini, and Pear Gimlet are modernised by the two bartenders Steffen Lohr and Bastian Heuser before they’re bottled and aged. The cocktails are meant both for at home and in-flight consumption. Guests can expect to try them in Lufthansa’s Business Lounge in Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, Berlin-Tegel, and Hamburg. The six cocktails will be available come November 1st for prices from € 22 to € 35. More information here soon.
