Has Wilayati Gone Mad?

A few nights ago, Abu Muqawama went out for a pint with his neighbors, two young Spaniards working in London their first year out of university. One of them, whose English isn't so hot, excitedly told Abu Muqawama about a sign he had seen earlier that day on the Tube: "You are. From Tennessee! Yes! Jack Daniel's!"

Yes, Abu Muqawama is indeed from Tennessee. A state that has lost its %$#@ing mind:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Here's a sobering thought: Hundreds of bottles of Jack Daniel's whiskey, some of it almost 100 years old, may be unceremoniously poured down a drain because authorities suspect it was being sold by someone without a license.

Officials seized 2,400 bottles late last month during warehouse raids in Nashville and Lynchburg, the southern Tennessee town where the whiskey is distilled.

"Punish the person, not the whiskey," said an outraged Kyle MacDonald, 28, a Jack Daniel's drinker from British Columbia who promotes the whiskey on his blog. "Jack never did anything wrong, and the whiskey itself is innocent."

Investigators are also looking into whether some of the bottles had been stolen from the distillery. No one has been arrested.

Authorities are still determining how much of the liquor will be disposed of, and how much can be sold at auction.

Tennessee law requires officials to destroy whiskey that cannot be sold legally in the state, such as bottles designed for sale overseas and those with broken seals.

"We'd pour it out," said Danielle Elks, executive director of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

(Ex-flatmate Theo sent this along.)

Update: Eric W. Barton has single-handedly redeemed the state. Atta boy, Eric!