Monday Overnight Open Thread - August 11, 2025 [Doof]

Howdy Hordelings! The wait is over for the Monday night ONT. Please stick around for a while and share some with and wisdom in the gray boxes. To our lurker friends - we'd love to hear from you! Come on in, one and all!

Alternate versions of the mystery click above

The Corrs with Bono
Yes, Bono is a colossal d-bag - but Andrea Corr in this video is hawt, and she has an amazing voice. Bono is actually pretty good here, too.

Lana Del Rey & Barrie James O'Neill
I know nothing about Barrie James O'Neill, but Lana is also hawt with a lovely voice.

Trash writing from the BBC

A buddy of mine - fellow bourbon lover - sent this article to me earlier today.

How Kentucky bourbon went from boom to bust

The headline says "WENT" - as in past tense, something that already happened.

Then here is the lead sentence:

As American as apple pie, Kentucky bourbon was booming after the last Great Recession ended. But as the economy has waned post-Pandemic - and with multiple trade wars on the horizon - the market may be drying up.

"MAY" be drying up?? So did it happen - or is it just something that might happen?

But like most market bubbles, this one was bound to burst. The pandemic's lockdowns tanked bar sales, and inflation has made many would-be bourbon drinkers choose less expensive options - or forgo drinking all together. Amongst Gen-Z, many 20-somethings are drinking less than their older siblings and parents did at their age.

Those factors have contributed to declining alcohol sales, with bourbon sales specifically slowing down to just 2% between 2021-2024, according to IWSR data.

So there was a bubble, and it was bound to burst. Makes sense. Decent analysis in those 2 lines - credit where it is due.

President Donald Trump's global tariffs have been the final straw. The EU has announced retaliatory tariffs against US goods, including Kentucky bourbon and Californian wine, although implementation has been delayed for six months.

Ah - the all-important dig at Trump. No "real" journalism-ing would be complete without it! "The final straw"?? Trump killed the industry already? Of course not. Check out these (not-so) supporting facts:

These economic pressures have created a growing list of casualties.

Liquor giant Diageo, reported that sales of Bulleit, a Kentucky distillery that makes bourbon, rye and whiskey, where down 7.3% this fiscal year.

Wild Turkey - a Kentucky bourbon owned by Campari - sales were down 8.1% over the past six months.

In July, LMD Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy - just one month after opening the Luca Mariano Distillery in Danville, Kentucky.

And in January, Jack Daniel's parent company closed a barrel-making plant in Kentucky.

Diageo's fiscal year just started on July 1. A month ago. Not nearly enough time to make predictions or show cause/effect connections.

Wild Turkey sales down over the past 6 months? Must be Trump tariffs to blame, right? But the author already said the implementation has been delayed 6 months. And Trump has only been in office a little more than 6 months.

LMD Holdings has been a "Non Distilling Producer" (NDP) for many years. They buy whiskey from a producer (possibly MGP in Indiana, but I don't know that for sure), then they bottle and/or label it with their own branding. They took on millions of dollars of debt to buy a property in KY with the hopes of making a distillery and a related "experience". That is a risky endeavor. It appears to have failed. Trump's fault, right?!?!

The barrel making facility closed in January. The month Trump took office. See - it's HIS FAULT!!

Trump has said that tariffs will boost made-in-American businesses.

But Republican Senator Rand Paul, who represents Kentucky, said the tariffs will hurt local businesses and consumers in his home state.

"Well, tariffs are taxes, and when you put a tax on a business, it's always passed through as a cost. So, there will be higher prices," he told ABC's "This Week" in May.

Tricky little piece of bias here. Senator Paul did indeed say those words. However, the writer seems to want readers to believe he said them specifically about bourbon. Wrong! He was talking in more general terms and mentioned China and WalMart.

Read the whole article for yourself and make up your own mind. Even you folks on the other side of the Scotch vs Bourbon divide might back me up on this one!

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Oh wait - there's more!

Irish Whiskey Distilleries Are Shuttering Because of Trump’s Trade Tariffs

The Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co. closed down last month, resulting in the loss of about 50 jobs, according to Bloomberg. The company, which started as a tap room in Kerry a decade ago before debuting its blended whiskey last year, was battling those industry-wide problems, but says “tariffs on Irish whiskey exports to the U.S. and wider economic uncertainty” were the final nail in the coffin.

Eoin O Cathain, director of the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA), which represents 47 distillers, or 98 percent of the industry, says Irish whiskey makers have been struggling over the past couple of years. “But then this year, in particular for our SMEs (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises), when the talk of tariffs first started, that raised a lot of concerns,” O Cathain told Bloomberg. “It made it more difficult to keep the head above water.”

Emphasis mine. The article is headlined to put the blame solely on Trump's tariffs - even though there were many other contributing factors.

On To Another Divisive AOSHQ Topic

Can anything like this happen in the Longbow realm?

Man Survives Two Days with Crossbow Bolt Stuck in His Brain

A 64-year-old Italian man was found conscious in his bed two days after shooting himself in the head with a crossbow from very close range.

The unidentified Ancona resident, a known crossbow enthusiast, was found in his home by local police (carabinieri) following an emergency services phone call from a concerned family member. After forcing open the man’s door, the carabinieri found him lying in bed with the end of a crossbow bolt sticking out of his forehead. He was immediately transported to the local hospital, conscious, with his eyes open. According to the doctors’ report, he ‘babbled incoherently, but could still speak,” despite his serious injury. The bolt prevented him from turning his head, and hospital staff learned that he had not eaten or drunk anything in two days, ever since the crossbow incident.

Ouch. What else can be said?

Random links

Hot Air is hit or miss these days. This one is a hit!

America Is Back! Sororities Across the Nation Filming Sexy Dance Videos to Annoy Liberals

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No connection intended between that previous article and this one

Sticky goo in 2,500-year-old bronze jars finally identified, settling 70-year debate

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Quite the entry fee!

Farmer Gives Away $400,000 to the Poor Because God Told Him He Would Go to Heaven

Not related, yet somehow related

Go North, Eh!

For One Summer Only, You’ll Be Able to Take a Rare Train Ride Through Jasper and Banff National Parks

Luxury train operator Rocky Mountaineer will offer a new scenic rail itinerary through two of Canada’s most beautiful national parks for one season only.

Rocky Mountaineer, the luxury train company known for its glass-domed coaches and slow-travel ethos, is charting a new course through the Canadian Rockies next year—one that will be available to passengers for only a few weeks.

Dubbed “Passage to the Peaks,” the just-announced route will run between Banff and Jasper in Alberta, Canada, in June and July 2026. Unlike Rocky Mountaineer’s other offerings that typically start in Jasper or Banff and end in Vancouver (or vice versa), this new itinerary stays entirely within the Canadian Rockies, offering travelers a deep dive into one of North America’s most dramatic alpine regions.

The train will trace a historic stretch of rail between the gateway towns to two of Canada’s most beloved national parks, climbing past glacial lakes, hanging valleys, and the jagged summits of the Continental Divide. Among the highlights visible from the train: the thunderous, multi-tiered Pyramid Falls, and the towering face of Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at just under 13,000 feet.

Travelers can book the two-day train journey on its own, which includes an overnight stop in Kamloops, a riverside town roughly halfway between Banff and Jasper. Alternatively, they can opt for one of several extended packages (up to 10 days) that include hotel stays and excursions in Banff and Jasper, as well as in Calgary (the largest city in Alberta) and Lake Louise (a famously stunning turquoise glacial lake within Banff National Park). The longer options add experiences such as cruising Lake Minnewanka, hiking on the Columbia Icefield (one of the largest accumulations of ice south of the Arctic Circle), and riding the Banff Gondola and Jasper SkyTram. The extended itineraries will operate as motor-coach tours (apart from the two days on the train).

Looks like an incredible trip! Bonus -- by then, Alberta might belong to the USA.

DJ Doof - This Date in Music History Version
from thisdayinmusic.com

Born in this date in 1943
Jim Kale bassist from Canadian rock band Guess Who

Born on this date in 1950: Erik Braunn, guitarist from American rock band Iron Butterfly who had the 1968 US No.14 single 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'.
Settle in for this 22 minute live version!

Obligatory accompanying piece

Born on this date in 1954: Joe Jackson, UK singer, songwriter, who had the 1980 UK No.5 single 'It's Different For Girls' and 1982 US No.6 and UK No.7 single 'Steppin Out'.
Let's go with a different one from JJ

Tonight's ONT brought to you by smart-assery (language warning)

Hilarious 😂 pic.twitter.com/EX0AXkVyb2

— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) August 7, 2025

posted by Open Blogger at 09:59 PM

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