Recession? Bah! Pour Me Three Fingers of Jack

Folks, including the C-Suite, are turning to alcohol to drown their recessionary woes.
Brown-Forman Corporation, saw operating income jump 4 percent to $222 million for its most recent quarter. In the first half of the firm's fiscal year, the Louisville, Ky.-based company saw sales of its famous Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey rise in the mid-single digits. Gentleman Jack, a fancier tipple, sold in the strong double-digit ranges while Finlandia vodka's net sales increased by double digits.

The only real laggard seemed to be Southern Comfort, that Janis Joplin favorite, which grew only in the single digit range.

Brown-Forman saw boozing up just about everywhere with the rare exceptions being Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain.
Personal note: About 10 years ago, I did a company tour with my gracious Brown-Forman host. We visisted quaint Lynchburg, Tenn. where Jack Daniel's is distilled. Someone asked the tour lady with the thick Southern drawl how come the bottle is four-sided. Her answer: "That's so it doesn't roll around so much underneath the seat of your car."

Happy days? Maybe not, but at least some businesses are doing well.