posted 04-19-2014 12:01 PM                    

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US approves 'Palcohol' - powdered alcohol is on the way. A new brand of powdered alcohol - designed to be mixed into a drink or sprinkled over food - has been signed off by the US government and will be available in autumn of this year

By Zachary Davies Boren

3:08PM BST 19 Apr 2014

American drinkers could find themselves sprinkling their favourite beverage rather than pouring it, as powdered alcohol brand 'Palcohol' is now fully approved by the US government.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau this week signed off on seven versions of Palcohol, including Margarita and Cosmopolitan flavours, which will be made available in autumn of this year.

The company's website, which has been changed since approval from the TTB, pitched the product as a solution to the ever-escalating cost of liquid alcohol.

"What's worse than going to a concert, sporting event, etc. and having to pay $10, $15, $20 for a mixed drink with tax and tip. Are you kidding me?! Take Palcohol into the venue and enjoy a mixed drink for a fraction of the cost," the product's promotional material read.

The site also suggested that users add Palcohol to their food: "Sprinkle Palcohol on almost any dish and give it an extra kick. Some of our favourites are the Kamikaze in guacamole, Rum on a BBQ sandwich, Cosmo on a salad and Vodka on eggs in the morning to start your day off right. Experiment.

"Remember, you have to add Palcohol AFTER a dish is cooked as the alcohol will burn off if you cook with it... and that defeats the whole purpose."

Perhaps recognising that such a marketing strategy risked causing controversy, and even possible legal issues, Palcohol has removed the copy and issued a clarification: "We were caught off guard with the release of some of our labels by the TTB. As a result, people visited this website that we thought was under the radar because we had not made a formal announcement of Palcohol.

"Clearly, this site isn't finished. Thus, the verbiage that was copied was still in draft mode and the labels that were up were incorrect. So please disregard what is being printed as a result of information taken from this site.

"What we can say now is that we hope the product will be used in a responsible and legal manner. Being in compliance with all Federal and State laws is very important to us. Palcohol will only be sold through establishments that are licensed to sell liquor."

Patent lawyer Daniel Christopherson, writing for the Bevlog beverage blog, has speculated that the company will not be given exclusive rights of the production of powdered alcohol: "My expectation is that the patentability of Palcohol is very narrow and a patent will not be effective at keeping competitors at bay."

He points out that powdered alcohol is not a new concept, with similar products already sold in countries like Japan and Germany. Alcohol as a powder has even been sold in the US and has been the subject of several US patents.

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posted 04-20-2014 09:43 PM                    

quote: Buck Wilson

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Can people really not go a day without being sober? I just don't get it. Why people want to loose their sense of being while already being in a place of entertainment like a movie has always bewildered me.

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quote: Buck Wilson

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why indeed drink if not for its effects?

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quote: Leo Enticknap

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it can easily and undetectably be smuggled into places where alcoholic beverages are currently either banned (e.g. many sports fixtures) or heavily rationed/regulated (e.g. on airliners), for very good reasons

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posted 04-20-2014 10:51 PM                    

quote: Frank Angel

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So what are you suggesting, that theatres have police on hand to monitor what patrons are dumping into their drinks and arresting those who get zonked? How do you regulate under-age consumtion of this stuff?

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quote: Frank Angel

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As for responsible drinking...what you are not understanding Chris, is that we are not talking about you.

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posted 05-10-2014 05:47 PM                       

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Palcohol Creator: “You Won’t Get Drunk Faster Snorting Powdered Alcohol”
By Chris Morran May 9, 2014

A couple weeks back, the Internet went a bit nuts when it learned that federal regulators had given the green light to a powdered alcohol product called Palcohol. Then a backlash ensued, fueled in no small part by things mentioned on the product’s nascent website, and regulators quickly rescinded their approval while some called for a ban on the product. But in a recently released video, Palcohol’s creator attempts to show that this is much to do about very little.
In the powder-dry above video, which looks like it was shot on Betamax on the set of a 1984 public access talk show, Palcohol creator Mark Phillips addresses the each of the major concerns about powdered alcohol — that it could be snorted for an easy high; that it would make it easier to sneak booze into a theater or other venue; that it would make it easy to spike another person’s drink; and that children would have easy access to it.
YOU CAN SNORT IT, BUT DON’T
The Palcohol website had initially mentioned that one could snort the powdered alcohol, but Phillips claims that this and other statements on the site were an ill-advised attempt at “edgy” marketing on a site that wasn’t ready to be seen by the public. In reality, he says Palcohol isn’t just painful to snort; it’s also impractical.
“Because of the alcohol in powdered alcohol, snorting it is very painful,” says Phillips. “It burns — a lot!”
But would it be worth the quicker high? No, says Phillips.
“Palcohol is not some super-concentrated version of alcohol,” he explains in the video. “It’s simply one shot of alcohol in powdered form.”
So according to Phillips, it would take about one hour for someone to snort one shot’s worth of powder (though he doesn’t explain how he calculated that time frame).

He asks, “Why would anyone choose to spend an hour of pain and misery snorting all of this powder to get one drink in their system? When they could just — oh, I don’t know — drink a shot and accomplish the same thing? You won’t get drunk faster by snorting powdered alcohol, an you’ll go through a lot of pain.”
WHAT’S IN THE BIG FOIL BAG SIR?
Regarding claims that you could more easily sneak Palcohol into a movie theater or concert or boring work meeting, Phillips points to the 4″ x 6″ size of the resealable foil pouch.
“Powdered alcohol won’t make it easier to sneak alcohol into places because the bag is too big to conceal,” he explains, arguing that it would be much easier to sneak in airplane-size bottles of booze than it would a pouch of Palcohol.

Between the two options, Phillips say, “You’re not gonna choose Palcohol; the package is too big! Heck, you could sneak… four bottles in the same space as one packet of Palcohol.”
LOOK OVER THERE! (FOR THE NEXT MINUTE OR TWO)
As for the contention that one could more easily spike another person’s drink with Palcohol, Phillips points out that you need an entire pouch of the powder to equal one shot’s worth of booze, and that it does not miraculously dissolve instantaneously.

“It will take at least a minute of stirring for all the powder to dissolve,” he explains while stirring in a mess of Palcohol powder into a glass of ice water. “And because this drink is cold, it may even take a little bit longer.”
Phillips once again makes the comparison between what he maintains is Palcohol’s bulky, hard-to-hide pouch and tiny little bottles of alcohol.
“Why would someone try to carry one of these in [holding up Palcohol pouch] and spike someone’s drink when it takes so long to stir when you can do the same thing in three seconds?” he asks.
WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS?
The final concern is one that Phillips can’t really rebut with any form of demonstration. Instead, he just tries to clarify that Palcohol will only be available for purchase in the same stores you currently buy booze, and that it can’t legally be sold or given to anyone under the age of 21 in the U.S.
[via Eater]
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