'Most clubbers pre-load on off-trade booze

"Most nightclubbers binge on cheap supermarket alcohol before they leave home, a new study suggests. The findings could cast doubt on the effectiveness of legislation introduced this week banning happy hours and drinks promotions in pubs and clubs. The survey, by academics at Glasgow Caledonian University, found that almost all had "front loaded" on cut-price alcohol before they went out." - Sunday Times​

"Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson, whose restaurant chain sank into administration earlier this year, is at the centre of a legal wrangle over £36,000 of fine wine. A report filed by the administrator of AWT Restaurants, which failed in February with debts of £800,000, states that it is in dispute with ADP Wines, a business set up by Worrall Thompson to supply his restaurants. ADP is continuing to trade and supplies three of the restaurants the chef has reopened in the aftermath of AWT's collapse." - Sunday Times​

"Black pudding is the latest food to find itself at the centre of a cross-border row, with Stornoway and Bury, in Greater Manchester, both laying claim to its origins. Producers in both areas are seeking geographical protection from the European Union for their version of the blood sausage." - Sunday Times​

"Supermarkets will be selling cut-price champagne in the run-up to Christmas because of a glut of the sparkling wine that has the celebrated French industry in fear for its future. Seasonal bargains may even result in widespread sales of quality brands as low as £15 a bottle, with supermarkets competing to clear out stock." - The Observer ​

"Underage binge-drinking should be tackled with a raft of wide-ranging measures, the government will be told by its health advisors. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) wants booze prices lifted so they are out of the reach of kids. It will also urge ministers to endorse bans on ads suggesting drinking makes people more fun or attractive." - News of the World​

"Diageo is at the centre of a political row in America after it was revealed it is to receive $2bn of taxpayers' money to relocate a rum distillery. Congressmen in Washington are outraged the drinks giant is using a 50-year-old law to receive $2.7bn (£1.6bn) in tax credits and other benefits to move production of Captain Morgan rum from Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands. The news comes amid suggestions the maker of Johnnie Walker is considering accepting an offer of public cash by the Scottish Government to save its Kilmarnock bottling plant." - Scotland on Sunday ​