Booze News: Rum Gets Classy; Caffeinated Booze Bad for the Body?

Jimmy Bedford, the former master distiller of Jack Daniel's whiskey, died Friday at age 69. Bedford retired in March 2008 after 20 years at his post in what is the oldest registered distillery in the country.
[MSNBC]

Rum is becoming more of a sipping spirit, like single malt scotch or cognac. Popularly enjoyed with Coke or mixed into cocktails like daiquiris and pina coladas, rum is now being promoted as a drink best served neat or cut with a dash of water.
[Bloomberg]

Alcohol may be to blame for a rise in oral cancer rates in the U.K. Diagnoses of lip, mouth, tongue, and throat cancers in people in their forties have increased by 26 percent in the past decade, which is likely due in large part to alcohol consumption doubling since the 1950s.
[BBC]

Ted Breaux, the founder of Jade Liqueurs, almost single-handedly proved through chemical analysis that absinthe is safe to drink. In 2007, he helped launch Lucid, the first authentic absinthe to be legally sold in the U.S. since the spirit was banned in 1912.
[Huffington Post]

Caffeinated alcoholic drinks are being targeted by state attorneys and health advocacy groups. Some wish to ban the drinks altogether, while others want to add warning labels to them stating that mixing caffeine and alcohol could carry health risks.
[Wall Street Journal]