One firm that followed this path is Jinro, which makes soju, Korean-made hard liquor.

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Fruity vodkas and tequilas have lately been creating new consumers for hard liquor.

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Not many years ago hard liquor seemed destined to go the way of some now virtually extinct soft drinks such as Moxie.

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The labeling regulation, issued May 28, comes after a decade of lobbying by hard liquor companies and consumer groups, with clearly different goals.

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Stolen credit cards are more likely to be used to buy hard liquor than wine, for example, because it is easier to fence.

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The issue of succession in Pyongyang is somewhat immediate due to the fact that Kim himself is thought to have suffered serious health problems over the past decade, no doubt worsened by his affinity for hard liquor and a probable past drug habit.

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"The unacceptable incident at Central Washington University, which appears to have involved hard liquor, such as vodka and rum, beer, our products, and possibly illicit substances, is precisely why we go to great lengths to ensure our products are not sold to underage consumers and are not abused, " a company statement said.

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And it was in Bandera that the Great Western Trail began, and with it the cult of the cowboy: 300, 000 head of longhorn cattle, most rustled from Mexico, herded through its broad main street every year in the 1870s and '80s, a last staging post to stock up on liquor and chilli brick before the long, hard ride to Dodge City, Kansas.

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Unlike liquor and lottery tickets, enterprise technology is not an industry that benefits from hard times.

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