Well, wouldn't you drink a lot if you lived there?

Ah, legislatures. The voice of the people. Alabama now has an official whiskey, thanks to the Alabama state Senate and House. And not a generic style of whiskey: the "official state spirit" is a commercial endorsement of a specific product made with water from Alabama.

Most states - including Alabama, up until now - tend to reserve their official designations for natural, historic, or native items, and are generally noncommercial in nature. Most states have an official bird and flower, and some states go a bit overboard with other official items - New York has an official state muffin (the apple muffin), New Mexico has an official state question ("Red or green?"), and Ohio has an official state bicentennial bridge, for instance - but I don't know of any other state using its official symbolic designation to endorse a product for commercial purposes.

Probably the best part of this story is that the governor vetoed the legislation, pointing out that the legislature might have more important things to do, and the legislature took the time to override the veto. I guess they don't mind being considered drunken buffoons.