alcohol
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You can now use Amazon’s palm-reading tech to buy alcohol
Amazon’s palm payment technology is moving from the world of convenience food to a booze-soaked baseball field. The company just announced that the Amazon One identification system is being implemented at Denver’s Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball franchise, allowing customers to buy beer and hard alcohol with their palms.
How wood-scanning tech is taking the guesswork out of aging bourbon
Penelope Bourbon hoped to tap into the success of its Toasted Series Bourbon by creating "builds" of French oak using a infrared wood-scanning tech called OakScan.
DoorDash couriers will need to scan a customer’s ID before delivering alcohol
The aim is to make it harder for under-21s to order and receive booze.
DoorDash expands alcohol deliveries to 20 states and DC
The company can bring booze to users in 20 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and Australia.
YouTube bans election and gambling ads at the top of its homepage
Alcohol and prescription drug advertisers are also locked out of the prominent masthead slot.
Uber is buying alcohol delivery service Drizly for $1.1 billion
Uber is buying the alcohol delivery service Drizly for $1.1 billion to expand Eats' reach.
How to get and stay sober during the COVID-19 quarantine
If your drinking habit is become problematic during the coronavirus quarantine, here are some online resources to get you back on the wagon.
Sacramento Kings guests can use 'smart' bottles to pour their own drinks
The Sacramento Kings are fond of using technology as a hook to fill seats, but their latest may be particularly alluring if you're in the position to score premium tickets. The basketball team is using connected bottle tops from NINA that let you pour your own alcohol in a suite or loft. You only have to open a tab, choose what you want to drink and pour until you get the quantity you paid for. This might let you focus more on the game than asking a bartender for more libations.
Instacart pickups now include alcohol and let stores know you're nearby
Online grocery company Instacart has added a bunch of new features to its Pickup service, designed to make it even easier to click-and-collect your stuff. Customers can now shop via smart storefronts -- a single digital storefront for each of your favorite grocers on the platform -- and enable location-based notifications to let the store know when you're nearby, so handover is quick and seamless.
Drinkworks Home Bar is a literal Keurig for cocktails
I have seen countless companies claim to deliver the Keurig of (fill in the blank). The "Keurig of cocktails" market in particular is crowded with wannabes that don't seem to be gaining much traction -- Barsy, Bartesian, Somabar, Bibo... am I missing any? But now there is a company building a literal Keurig for cocktails. Drinkworks is a joint venture between the single-serving coffee pod giant and Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), and it's building a familiar-looking machine that mixes up cocktails using disposable pods. If anyone can build the Keurig of anything, well, it's got to be Keurig itself, right? The insanely deep pockets of AB InBev certainly don't hurt either.
A temporary tattoo may be able to track your alcohol levels
A new monitoring device could help people discreetly measure their alcohol intake by transmitting alcohol levels to a connected cell phone. The tech, developed by engineers at the University of California, San Diego, is a small wearable, comparable to a temporary tattoo, that sits directly on the skin. According to Science Daily, it works by stimulating perspiration, which the device can then use to measure the level of alcohol in the person's system.
Drunk droning in New Jersey could land you in prison
The law is pretty firm when it comes to drunk driving -- and the consequences are obvious. Now, officials are turning their attention to drunk droning. New Jersey has just approved a bill that, if signed by Governor Chris Christie, would make it illegal to fly one under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Google bans sketchy UK ads for profiteering addiction helplines
Google's not having the best start to the year, as it's already been called out, yet again, for unscrupulous advertising practices. An investigation by The Sunday Times shed light on a significant money-making machine, which played out through Google ads, targeting people seeking help for substance abuse issues. Someone entering relevant search terms might see an ad for a free advice helpline. These services might subsequently provide details of formal treatment options at private clinics. A caller wasn't to know, however, that successful referrals were netting these companies significant commission fees. As a result of the investigation, Google has now banned these types of ads from appearing in search results in the UK.
SodaStream’s new concentrate lets you mix your own champagne
SodaStream has been inching its way into the adult beverage scene for a little while now and today the company announced that it's launching its take on champagne. Sparkling Gold is a new concentrate from SodaStream that supposedly tastes like a fruity Riesling and when mixed by the recommended one part concentrate to five parts sparkling water, it contains 10 percent alcohol by volume. Each bottle has enough concentrate for up to 12 glasses of DIY sparkling wine.
Can an app stop you from drinking on a work night?
A new app, likened to a "nagging cyberparent," has been designed to help drinkers moderate their boozing. The snappily-named Mobile Intervention for Drinking in Young People (MIDY) pushes notifications to your phone during your nights out. So, as you eye the delights nestled behind the bar, you'll be asked questions like "Do you have work tomorrow?" and "What time are you going home?" Of course, party animals can choose to simply ignore their phones. But the app's creators, from Australia's Victoria University, say MIDY has been well-received. A pilot program saw an 89 percent response rate to the app's hourly-communication, and now the researchers are about to embark on a two-year project involving 300 students.
Postmates' speedy booze delivery begins drop-offs in NYC and Texas
Postmates' on-demand alcohol service is now available well beyond California's borders. On top of an expansion to Miami in May, the internet delivery mainstay is now making its Drinks feature available in New York City (in Brooklyn and Manhattan) as well as Austin, Dallas and Houston. As before, the aim is to bring neighborhood stores' booze to your door in 25 minutes or less. You'll have to be in the mood for certain drinks depending on where you live, though. The NYC service focuses on wine and spirits, while the Texas offerings revolve around beers.
Picobrew's next goal: A safe and affordable DIY distillery
Picobrew has a new, cheaper countertop beer brewing system. That you already knew. But the company is now dipping its toes into distilling. The Picostill is an add on for the Pico Model C that turns that weird custom designed keg into a countertop distillery. Specifically it's a reflux still that uses vacuum distillation, which doesn't look as cool as a pot or column still, but makes far more efficient use of the space.
Postmates' latest service brings you alcohol in 25 minutes or less
Let's be honest: It sucks to run out of alcohol at times you really need a drink. And heading to the closest liquor store or beer shop can be a headache when you have friends over. Thanks to a new option from Postmates, that frustration could be a thing of the past. The restaurant and store delivery service will now bring you alcohol in 25 minutes or less.
This bag of Tostitos doesn't want you to drink and drive
Super Bowl Sunday celebrations typically include two things: snacks and drinking. To discourage partygoers from drinking and driving after this year's big game, Frito-Lay and ad agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners teamed up on a limited-edition Tostitos bag with some added features. The so-called Party Bag is equipped with sensors that can detect alcohol on your breath. This isn't a breathalyzer that analyzes blood alcohol content and it will switch from green to red if you've had just one drink.
FTC finds 'Shark Tank' connected breathalyzers are inaccurate
Accuracy is a big issue with wearables and all sorts of connected devices. Despite marketing claims of "government-lab grade testing," the Federal Trade Commission found that Breathometer's app-connected breathalyzers weren't as accurate as the company promised. Government regulators said the company didn't have the scientific evidence to back the claims it was pitching to consumers who were looking for a way to stay safe after drinking.
