VA ABC rakes in the cash… and spends it

Apparently the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has had a banner year. In a message on the ABC website, Department Chairman J. Neal Insley writes:

This year ended with $692.7 million in gross sales, 0.4 percent above the projected $690 million and $17.2 million more than last fiscal year. ABC transferred a record $121 million in profits. Sunday store sales are up 9.6 percent or $1.9 million when compared to last year.

Unsurprisingly, VA ABC appears to have found something to do with the extra cash. This morning, a friend pointed me to their website, featuring a link to a brand new Spirited Entertaining site and delicious looking mixed drinks of all types. If you say you are 18, the site will allow you to access the recipes to craft the luscious drinks yourself.

While, as DJ pointed out a few days ago, restaurants and bars face quite a few interesting restrictions, including:

– No promotion of happy hour/drink specials on websites, facebook, twitter, etc
– No adjectives or descriptive phrases that may encourage drinking (i.e. the word ‘COLD’ in front of the word ‘BEER’ because knowing it was cold would make you want to drink it more)

But the Commonwealth’s new website advertises dozens of good enough to drink recipes, complete with appealing photographs and step-by-step instructions. Wonder how much that cost? Probably didn’t eat into that $121 million in profits too much since Chairman Insley notes another great development in his FY2011 report:

All 333 ABC stores received state-of-the-art point of sale (POS) systems and equipment this fiscal year. The new POS system allows customers to select debit, commercial credit, ABC Gift Card or cash as payment options. The new registers provide cutting edge technology for employees with features such as infrared touch screens with much larger viewing areas and receipt printers that are twice as fast as before. Implementation of this new system has placed ABC in the forefront of current POS technology and customer service.

I guess it’s good to know that VA ABC has cutting edge technology. Not that there’s anything wrong with drinking responsibly or selling alcohol, but I seem to remember when Republicans were talking about how the state shouldn’t be in the business of selling liquor?

Well, my friend, Sylvia Ross has a suggestion for a new recipe to put on the site –
She’s calling this the “Fiscal Hangover”:
-1 full Cup of the Constitution swallowed with
-1 Big Gulp of Political and Professional Restraint
And the… Chaser to this:
1 Common Sense Keg Party.

Do you have a “spirited” conservative drink for the Commonwealth’s new site? Share it in the comments…

Сейчас уже никто не берёт классический кредит, приходя в отделение банка. Это уже в далёком прошлом. Одним из главных достижений прогресса является возможность получать кредиты онлайн, что очень удобно и практично, а также выгодно кредиторам, так как теперь они могут ссудить деньги даже тем, у кого рядом нет филиала их организации, но есть интернет. http://credit-n.ru/zaymyi.html - это один из сайтов, где заёмщики могут заполнить заявку на получение кредита или микрозайма онлайн. Посетите его и оцените удобство взаимодействия с банками и мфо через сеть.