Dieting Drinkers Rejoice

     Several public interest groups have been urging the Treasury Department to finish up rules for the comprehensive labeling of alcoholic beverages.   These labels will contain such information as serving size, number of servings per container, ounces of alcohol per serving, calories per serving, and ABV percent.   This is all part of a push to modernize the labels on alcoholic beverages in order for the consumer to better understand how much alcohol they are consuming as well as dietary information.  

     I feel that this is going to be a goo thing on many fronts.  I stand behind a bar 5 days a week serving cocktails, you would not believe the number of people that are concerned about what cocktails and what liquors have the most calories.   Lets face it, this country is calorie conscious, people make decisions on what they consume based on the calorie content as well as taste.   In the liquor industry the light beers by far out sell the standard beers, and in cocktails there are almost as many diet soda requests as the regular ones.


     There is hope that the new labeling rules will be in effect this year.   In a joint letter from the public interest groups that are pushing the Treasury Department to  finalize the labeling rules said,"The need to modernize the alcohol beverage labels so that consumers can better understand how much alcohol they are consuming, and to comply with the Dietary Guidelines, has been unaddressed for far to long.   Better alcohol awareness con not happen without better labeling."  Of the two that I have been able to find, the more detailed one like the Diageo on I feel has more of the information that I would find helpful, the other on is far to basic.    Come on "T Men" lets get it done, we really do need this information in the alcohol industry like we do in any other industry that makes things that we consume.   ;o)