Never heard of 4Loko? Then you must not be in college or live in the hood. This drink has taken both communities by storm. I went for months not knowing what it was, and finally I got a taste for myself. I swear, my liver will never be the same again...
((via wikipedia.com))
Four (nicknames: "liquid cocaine" and "blackout in a can")[1] is an alcoholic energy drinkproduced by Phusion Projects LLC of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The Four brand includes two variations, Four MaXed and the newer Four Loko. The company, Phusion Projects, also does business under the name Drink Four Brewing Company.[2] Four debuted in the US market in 2005, first in Ohio, followed by Florida/California/Illinois by mid-year,[3] then spreading to other states. It was developed by three alumni of Ohio State University: Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright and Jaisen Freeman.
The drink is available in nine flavors: Grape, Fruit punch, Orange Blend, Watermelon, Blue raspberry, Lemonade, Cranberry, Cranberry lemonade and Lemon Lime. [2] It is sold in the US as a 23.5 oz aluminium-canned, caffeinated, alcoholic, malt beverage. Its alcohol content varies from state to state, from 6% ABV in Indiana[3] up to 12% in California.[4] It also contains carbonation, sugar, and natural and artificial flavoring, similar to other alcopops. Its name is derived from its four other ingredients, caffeine,taurine, guarana, and alcohol.
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| My first can... |
I am intrigued by the drink - simply because upon tasting it, I had a mix of effects. First - it tasted like someone spilled a cup of juice into a bottle of beer. The sweet flavor is just strong enough to mask all the other flavors (until you burp) enough for you to stomach at least part of it. After the initial gulp - I was jolted awake, which happened to be during watching "Hot Tub Time Machine." I was alert through to the second half of the movie; some of which I don't remember - and was ready for bed as soon as it was over. Lucky for me, I was at home and in my couch that day. When I woke up in the morning, I hated all things liquor.
The second time was in Orlando last month. I wanted to celebrate Gina's graduation by all of us having drinks in our hotel room. She doesn't drink at all, and I can't imagine why I thought this was the ideal first drink (probably because I blacked out my first try). Well, long story short - three of us shared one can, I drank a small cup and a half. I ended up drinking the most, and was stumbling all over the room for the whole night. Cured my insomnia and knocked me out briefly. I fell off the bed and drunk texted the Mr. for half the night. I really can't tell you what else happened. Sad thing is - one of the girls drank two cans - TWO CANS - by herself! Told us it was like soda. Yeah mama - you're officially hood.
{{Tangent: I'm on the 4Loko official site voting on the next flavor. Sweet tea sounds good, right? SMH.}}
Not to be mistaken with Arizona's can...
Anywhoo - I caught wind that colleges have been banning the drink from their campuses - and it's no wonder! The alcohol content varies in each state, and of course Florida is at 11% content. That's worse than a beer, and almost as much as like - wine. Come to find out, Ramapo College back up north in Jersey banned the drink because of the ridiculously high number of students who've gotten alcohol poisoning from overdrinking. ((See article here)) I can see why. They mask the taste of the alcohol with appealing flavors, and the drunken feeling creeps up on you later on. Imagine playing beer pong with 4Loko instead, or pouring it down a funnel into some upside-down college kid's mouth. This can have a deadly outcome.
On the official site, they have a section about responsible drinking - but do drunk kids really want to read that? I hope someone doesn't have to die for this drink to really be regulated. Every other company has had to pull the reigns in on their alcoholic energy beverages - why shouldn't they? I'm all about having a good time, but when it starts posing health risks - it gets a bit out of control... You'd be loko not to see that.
((Pun intended))
Peep the official site here
I hope this product doesn't get pulled. I mean its cheap tasty and it gets u drunk. Not that sleepy limp Dick drunk, that extra energy to long cock a woman for hours drunk. Also 4 lokos are properly labeled. And I have been id trying to purchase a few, so all this news and efforts to remove the product are unjust. Just because a few college kids had to be hospitalized drinking it means nuffing. We all know how college kids drink if they didn't drink a loko to excess it would have been something else.
ReplyDeleteEven I don't think it should be banned - but there should at least be control over the alcohol percentage - which varies by state. Shoot - in Europe, 4Loko is made with Absinthe, which if mixed with a certain herb can be turned into a hallucinogen. That's definitely potential for danger...
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