Alcoholic Beverages

ACROSS L.A., that jejune institution known as bottle service has taken on a life of its own. Not just the big-club "cologne head" custom it once was, lately it's infiltrated trendy restaurants and intimate bars. And at Hollywood clubs, the practice is even more entrenched, more elaborate and ever more costly. It's long been the case in the hottest clubs that in order to reserve a table you had to order a bottle of liquor for an exorbitant price -- $200 to $500 or even more.

A fruity cocktail may count as health food, U.S. and Thai researchers said Thursday. Adding ethanol -- the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits -- boosted the antioxidant nutrients in strawberries and blackberries, the researchers found. Any colored fruit might be made even more healthful with the addition of a splash of alcohol, they reported in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. Dr.

A television commercial featuring golfer John Daly singing in a honky-tonk bar amid reveling beer drinkers and later shown grabbing a beer from a friend while driving a golf cart has been rejected by CBS. "It did not meet the standards of the CBS network," spokeswoman LeslieAnn Wade said Tuesday. "Any implied or direct reference to excessive consumption of alcohol would not meet network guidelines."

Attorneys general in California and 26 other states urged Anheuser-Busch Cos. to issue warnings about mixing alcohol with caffeinated energy drinks, such as its new Spykes flavored malt beverage drink. In a letter to the company Thursday, state officials accused the beer company of marketing Spykes and other products to underage drinkers and failing to deter minors from using them.

RUM allegedly cured the king of Spain's deadly flu. A concoction of aromatic bitters kept Simon Bolivar's South American troops healthy, and daily doses of brandy are credited with helping several Catholic popes live long, healthy lives. Of course, all this was a long, long time ago, when liqueurs, aperitifs and other alcoholic beverages weren't found behind the bar as often as they were by the sickbed.

You must have seen it. The clip of Danny DeVito, loopy as Charo, burping and slurring his way through an interview with a less-than-amused Barbara Walters and her colleagues on "The View." Obviously the guy was a little lit up. In fact, more than a little. He'd been up all night, he admitted, drinking with his buddy George Clooney. "I knew it was the last seven limoncellos that was gonna get me," he told the girls.

HONEY from Yucatan bee fields. Coffee so concentrated it's like chocolate stirred with molasses. Damiana, an herb with a heady, aroma evoking mint, musk and Juicy Fruit gum. The earthy bite of agave familiar to tequila lovers. These are a few of the flavors you find in Mexican liqueurs. Quick, name a Mexican liqueur. If the only one that comes to mind is Kahlua, you're not alone.

A new television series set in a New York advertising agency in 1960 has drawn complaints from a consumer group alleging that the show's sponsor -- Jack Daniel's whiskey -- is violating liquor industry standards by mixing sex, irresponsible behavior and alcohol. Trailers from AMC's period drama "Mad Men," scheduled to premiere July 19, appear on its website along with Jack Daniel's promotions.

Beginning today, everyone will be required to show identification before buying beer in Tennessee stores -- no matter how old the buyer appears. It will be the first state to make universal carding mandatory, says the National Alcohol Beverage Control Assn. However, the law does not apply to beer sales in bars and restaurants, and it does not cover wine and liquor. Supporters say it keeps grocery store and convenience store clerks from having to guess a customer's age. Democratic Gov.

UNDER the olive tree on the patio at Dominick's, the Italian spot on Beverly Boulevard. Poolside at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. Behind the bottles and jars of elixirs and house-made bitters at the bar at Fraiche in Culver City. Sangria, it seems, isn't just for tapas bars anymore. Where you'd least expect it, it's making a splash. What could be more appealing than a big, icy pitcher of juicy, fruity, herbal, deeply flavorful sangria? (Two big icy pitchers?