Becoming a tradition itself alongside the Kentucky Derby, Woodford Reserve is once again issuing its $1,000 limited edition mint julep cup set, with this year’s theme being “gold.” What does $1,000 get you? Ice made of gold-filtered mineral water sourced from the easternmost coast of Nova Scotia, mint leaves dusted with gold, Woodford Gold sorghum, and a hand-engraved cup featuring a thoroughbred. 79 cups will be available for auction starting at $1,000 each, 9 cups will start bidding at $2,000 and feature a cup cut with diamonds, and one special package will start at $5,000. The lucky winner of that auction will present the trophy at the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic on Kentucky Derby Day, enjoy a private tour and dinner of Woodford Reserve, and get a private tour of Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Center with a Hall of Fame jockey as your host. You can place your bids at Woodford Reserve’s Mint Julep website. [Woodford Reserve]

Chivas and Italian design firm Pininfarina have teamed up together to present “The Drop,” a series of conceptual cases inspired by air and liquid. The Drop will be available in three editions, each of which will feature Chivas 18 inside. The first edition will feature a streamlined case, limited to 1,500 units at a price of $140. The second edition will be a more upscale rendition: 120 editions at $495 each. And for the drinker who truly has everything, a limited edition hand made 7-foot-4-inch sculpture will be commissioned in an edition of five, each at a cost of $100,000. [Chivas]

A group of researchers at Indiana University published an article in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology detailing findings most beer drinkers have known since their first taste of hops: that merely a taste of beer can start a rush of chemical pleasure to the brain. [Smithsonian Magazine]

In other science news, researchers are looking into the possibility that psychologically tricking drinkers into thinking they’ve had a bad experience in the past could potentially lead them to drink less. These particular experiments have been performed before, but not in the arena of heavy drinking. [Time]

Meanwhile, Australian lawyers are noticing a significant increase in men filing divorces due to excessive drinking and drug use from their wives, with one prominent law firm reporting that 30% of its cases now involve some sort of substance abuse. [Herald Sun]

And finally today, the new budget for the federal government has some pretty heavy new tax increases in order to cover the $1.8 trillion in new revenue which needs to be generated. One of more head-scratching increases involves subjecting flavored vodka to a new level of tax. Here’s hoping that flavored vodka drinkers either dump their bottles in the nearest harbor in protest, or do their patriotic duty and swallow the increase for the rest of us, like good Americans. [Yahoo! News]

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