In fall of this year you’re going to be strolling through the booze section of a Safeway and notice a little black package labeled “Palcohol” – powdered alcohol you can mix with water, liquids, and food. Yes, food.
This week, The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau signed off seven flavors of Pacohol: V (vodka), R (rum), Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Powderita (Margarita) and Lemon Drop. Add 5 ounces of water to the mix and you’ll wind up with a standard cocktail – with the same strength of one as well.
According to Palcohol’s website, the product is a solution to the rising 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?!
Aside from mixing Palcohol with liquids, the website also recommended that it can be enjoyed with food:
…we have found adding Palcohol to food is so much fun. Sprinkle Palcohol on almost any dish and give it an extra kick. Some of our favorites 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. Palcohol is great on so many foods. 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.
For you vegans out there, the adult Kool-Aid is gluten free, you can pretty much get drunk off salad. The website does warn to apply Palcohol responsibly:
As Palcohol is a new product, we have yet to explore its potential of being added to food. As always, please use it responsibly. Because it adds alcohol to the dish, do not serve the dish to minors.
The internet has reacted; some people are disgusted with the announcement of the US legalizing powdered alcohol:
Ugh! MT @robertjoseph: US legalises powdered alcohol to sprinkle on drinks or food(!) http://t.co/SbNRdpmYTW pic.twitter.com/Kg4hy6WpmQ”
— S. Irene Virbila (@sirenevirbila) April 18, 2014
Powered alcohol? An absolutely ridiculous idea. Should never be sold here. #palcohol
— The Crisp Guy (@alflavor) April 20, 2014
Some fear:
“That’s gonna kill a lot of my friends.” — Billy when I showed him the stories about Palcohol — Susie ヽ(⊙.⊙)ノ Cagle (@susie_c) April 21, 2014
Some imagine worst case scenarios:
“I swear officer, I haven’t been drinking. All I had was a burrito.” http://t.co/l0xs7FnLF4
— Scout (@scoutlandish) April 20, 2014
Besides passing red tape and becoming marketable, powdered alcohol isn’t something fairly new; Dutch students came up with some powdered alcoholic concoction back in 2010:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGRahYQ8EAU
Palcohol hits stores this fall and will also be available for purchase online.
Image via Facebook