Friday, April 25, 2003

Tastefully named Cocktail of the Day

We read in today's Irish Times that Guinness has been embarrassed by bar promotions on the East and West coasts of the US, flogging a cocktail made from Guinness, Irish whiskey, and Baileys. It's called a Car Bomb (sometimes Irish Car Bomb). The measures are provided here, but a Google search for the drink results in many hits, so doubtless the cocktail has spawned several variants at this point. The Irish Times reports that a Unionist politician is demanding that Guinness rein in these promotions (may require sub), and we've noted before that there tends to be a big blind spot in the Irish Republic when it comes to local versions of what would be perceived as insensitive elsewhere. Many dubious activities can be grouped under the all-purpose exemption of "craic" -- a bit like the self-granted "I'm being ironic" exemption often encountered in the US. Complaints have so far focused on the drink making light of terrorism in the US after 9-11, but I sincerely hope that they are not selling this drink in Australia after the Bali bombing. But sadly the stupidity induced by excessive alcohol consumption is sometimes exceeded by the stupidity of alcohol marketing. Duff Beer anyone?

No comments: