It’s not just the Irish. We’re also drinking less Scotch. While not as brutal as the dip in sales for Irish whiskey, which felt the pain of a recent 20% sales decrease, worldwide Scotch sales recently fell 0.8% according to a report released by report wizards Just Drinks. 14 of the 25 major markets saw a decline in Scotch consumption, but growth continues modestly in the United States, as well as in emerging markets like Russia and India. [Just Drinks]

Main Street’s Jason Notte goes inside the numbers and shows consumers just how much they are overpaying for each beer they drink. Presented as a counter argument (of sorts) to Notte’s article: a recent article in Forbes regarding the potential pitfalls of data journalism. [Main Street]

The protests in Hong Kong may have slowed things down for the general population a bit, but there were no signs of it at Sotheby’s auction, where the world’s most expensive lot of wine was auctioned off for $1.6 million yesterday. The 114-bottle set of Romanée-Conti wines date from 1992 to 2010 and were sold to an unidentified buyer, proving once again that not even government upheaval can stop wine lovers from getting what they want. [Forbes]

In the world of weird whisky news, the public battle between Templeton Rye and consumers still lingers on, and a Texas judge has found Balcones founder Chip Tate in contempt of court for violating a temporary restraining order against him by Balcones. No idea on how either of these stories are going to turn out in the end, but you can bet both of them are just hitting their respective strides.

And finally today, let’s end on a high note. The recent drought in California may have hurt many a agricultural crop, and when you combine that with the earthquake in Napa earlier this summer things aren’t exactly going the wine industry’s way. However, the Wall Street Journal is reporting a silver lining: that this year’s crop of grapes may produce some of the most flavorful fruit the region has yielded in some time. Only time will tell, but at least there’s something to look forward to in a few years. [Wall Street Journal]

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