More than half of American adults drink less than once a week or not all, but 10% -- 24 million people – consume an average of 74 drinks a week. An Arizona man hopes to make it easier for people to imbibe, but even before his product goes to market, Virginia has banned it.
When entrepreneur Mark Phillips moved from Chicago to Phoenix, he caught the outdoor bug.
“In hiking especially or backpacking, at some point I’d like to enjoy an adult beverage, and so I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if there was some kind of powdered mix that you just add water to.”
He came up with a sealed pouch of powdered vodka or rum plus mixes for margaritas, mojitos, lemon drops and cosmopolitans. In an online video, Phillips demonstrated the making of what he called Palcohol.
“All I do is pour about five ounces of water in there, zip the bag closed, and then shake, and the cool thing about the gusset in the bottom is the bag stands right up, and you can drink right out of the bag. "
But as Phillips was putting his feet up and preparing to celebrate the launch of Palcohol, government started raining on his enterprise. The federal Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade initially approved the packaging he proposed, then changed its mind – arguing some information on the labels was inaccurate. Phillips agreed to corrections, but some state legislators like Virginia’s Alfonso Lopez jumped on the news, concluding it was proof of how dangerous Palcohol might be.
“The FDA gave approval. Then they realized that they had made a very significant error, and they revoked their approval, and that got a lot of people’s attention in statehouses.”
In truth, the Food Drug Administration completed a thorough scientific review of Palcohol, and found no basis for a ban. Still, Lopez, who represents residents of suburban Washington, D.C., pressed ahead, seeing enormous potential for abuse.
“It can be sprinkled in someone’s food. If you don’t have the right liquid content, it could make an incredibly potent shot that would be very damaging, and then there have been examples of kids snorting it.”
At the University of Virginia’s Medical Center, chief toxicologist Chris Holstege says there are recipes on the Internet for making powdered alcohol, but if you tried to snort the stuff, it would burn.
“You would be in pain by doing that. You would not enjoy that experience.”
He says it would be hard to mix powdered alcohol into food, since the ethanol would begin to evaporate when it came into contact with air, and adding too little water turns the product into mush rather than a super-strong shot. Holstege, who also heads the student health service at UVA, does see some potential for abuse at concerts, ballgames or in schools.
“You could sneak this into venues where they’re looking for liquids, not powders, but there are many alcoholic products that are very highly concentrated that I worry more about.”
For example, a tiny bottle of something called Ever Clear is pure ethanol that could conceivably be mixed into a potent cocktail. Holstege says he carries a flask when he goes hiking.
“I can use that to start fires. I can use it to disinfect, and quite frankly if I have a femur fracture, I’m going to use some of my Ever Clear so I don’t have so much pain.
Inventor Phillips says it would be easier to conceal small bottles of concentrated alcohol than four-by-six inch pouches of Palcohol. Still seven states including Virginia have now banned powdered booze. Wyoming’s legislature turned back efforts to make it illegal, and there’s keen interest from consumers online.
Virginia have now banned powdered booze, but Wyoming’s legislature recently decided to permit it, and there’s keen interest from consumers online.
“Hey everyone. Lacey Green here for D News, and back in my day if we wanted to get drunk we had to carry a bottle of booze, through the snow, but now kids have Palcohol! It’s a new and improved way to get drunk that could hit the shelves later this year. "
Phillips believes some states will make the product available, creating a black market in states that have banned it – and sooner or later, he hopes all lawmakers will see the wisdom of taxing and regulating Palcohol through liquor stores, to try and keep it away from kids.
