If you need a couple of adult beverages to get through your flight, you may not want to choose US Airways for your next trip, especially if you’re headed towards New Mexico. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago a passenger aboard a US Airways flight had too much to drink. After getting off the plane the passenger caused a fatal accident on a highway near Santa Fe. Other passengers reported that the airline served drinks to the person in question despite that fact that he already appeared intoxicated. It doesn’t help that state regulators in New Mexico had already cited the airline twice for over serving its fliers.

All this matters because a federal judge has now ruled that New Mexico officials can prohibit the airline from serving alcohol in the state or when an airplane is flying over the state. With US Airways having a major hub in Phoenix, we’re thinking that a lot of the airline’s planes have to go over New Mexico to connect passengers to elsewhere around the globe. ]]> kjb 2009-10-02T09:44:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/29/142424/886

All good things must come to an end, and such is the case with the bartending career of Angelo Cammarata. At 95 years young, he's the world's oldest bartender, but he plans to finally throw in the bar towel some time in the next couple of weeks. As an interesting AP story points out, Cammarata served his first drink - a bottle of Fort Pitt beer - at his father's grocery store just moments after Prohibition was repealed in 1933. He's been slinging the sauce ever since and only rarely indulges in alcohol himself, one of those secrets to a long life that we'd rather not hear on a Saturday. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-08-29T14:24:24-05:00 40.4412091 -79.985628 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/14/14450/3967

Don't just drink to forget, drink to save the world! Beverage company Pernod Ricard is offering the of-age a chance to win a volunteer vacation sponsored by Malibu rum where you can get SCUBA certified, help monitor precious reef ecosystems and just maybe relax on a picturesque beach with a cocktail when you're done.

Up for grabs is a 10-day internship with Reef Check, a global nonprofit dedicated to protecting coral reefs. 10 winners will be sent to Thailand, the Maldives or the Philippines to help monitor the local reefs on controlled dives. The trips will take place between October 15 and November 15, fortuitous for Northern Hemisphereans dreading the change of the seasons. (Airfare, room and board and training are all covered; visa fees and buying rounds for the locals, not so much.)

Besides knowing how to swim without a flotation device, applicants have to disclose previous jobs and references, answer a few questions (like "what are your hobbies?"); photos and videos are "highly encouraged," which means you'd better break out your best bikini. We're impressed that Malibu has taken what could have just been a booze-it-up photo op and made it something that one could conceivably put on a resume.

Related Stories:
· Malibu Beach Internship FAQ [Malibu-Rum.com]
· About Reef Check [ReefCheck.org]
· Volunteer Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Save this Maldives reef! Photo: Johnny Shaw] ]]> egw 2009-07-14T16:36:15-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/3/232510/3852

It's a story well told, two guys sitting around, reminiscing about some killer concoction they had overseas one night. Like any good tete-a-tete, a challenge is laid forth and from it, a blessing to all mankind. In the case of The Buena Vista, on Fisherman's Warf in San Francisco, it's the Irish Coffee for your Aunt Pauline to drink without looking like an alcy.

Born in 1952, the Irish Coffee was a collaboration between owner Jack Koeppler and international travel writer Stanton Delaplane, and it's based on a drink served at Shannon Airport in Ireland. The pair toiled over getting every component just right, the crux being the float of smooth airy cream on top. Maybe if the US wasn't so inherently puritanical we'd all be sipping Irish Coffees every afternoon instead of soy half-caff jerk drinks?

The Buena Vista has yet to go chain on us and the original Irish Coffee still remains the best. Yes, it's located in one of the craziest tourist sections of the city, but it's still worth a stop to drink up some real history.

Related Stories:
· The Buena Vista [Official Site]
· Starbucks Alternatives coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: whiffer]]]> DanielR 2008-06-04T14:00:01-05:00 37.806472 -122.42049 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/5/23/161222/684

Sure, this weekend is the unofficial start of summer. More importantly, though, it's the mega-official start of outdoor beer-drinking season. We believe it was Washington Irving who so succinctly summed it up, saying, "They who drink beer will think beer."

We've most definitely got cold beer on the brain but before we crack our first tall boy, we thought we'd put together a big list of suds festivals for ya. Enjoy.]]> DanielR 2008-05-23T17:00:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/5/14/133442/102

Tales of the Cocktail, the booze-focused "conference" for bartenders, restaurateurs and, uh, enthusiasts, runs July 16-20 in New Orleans. With seminars, demos, dinners and hobnobbing, it's like a giant cocktail party without the black ties and annoying co-workers.

One day passes are available for $175 and include four events and nighttime drinks. You can also just pick and choose a couple events, hanging at the festival as a smaller part of a New Orleans vacay. Tickets range from $25-$75, depending on what you're attending.

If you really wanna get serious, the Founder's Day pass gets you into everything and goes for $625. Seems steep, yes, but it's probably less than your bar tab for five days in NoLa would be.

Festival headquarters is the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter, and we can tell you from experience that it's the best place to stay for the event. Aside from giving you easy access to the Carousel Bar and festival seminars, it's also got discount rooms available if you book early.

Related Stories:
· Tales of the Cocktail 2008 [Official Site]
· Jaunted in New Orleans :: Gray Line Cocktail Tour [Jaunted]
· 120-Hour Cocktail Party Coming to New Orleans [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-05-14T13:36:27-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/1/15/92431/3293

We didn't have much of an opinion on the vodka-loving German who pounded a liter of booze rather than surrender it to airport security officers last month. But it seems he started a quiet revolution in liquor-loving travel, spawning both TSA sympathy and solidarity among travelers.

On a recent trip, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford forgot about his 375 mL bottle of 1991 Krohn port before passing through security at Spokane International. Instead of dumping the (undoubtedly dangerous!) wine, a screener told Morford that he could quaff it before passing back through the checkpoint. Why not, right?

I took my first big swig, and proceeded to enjoy one of the stranger, warmer, fuzzier late-morning lunches I've had in awhile. It was pretty good port. At least, for 11 am on a Saturday in an airport baggage claim.

And rather than down the whole thing, he shared the rest of his bottle with another traveler. Smart, that.

Related Stories:
· How to Get Drunk at the Airport [SF Gate]
· Dreaming Vodka Dreams [Jaunted]
· Airport Security coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: desi.italy]]]> pbb 2008-01-15T12:00:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/