Red Bull and vodka fans rejoice: the range of bottled alcoholic energy drinks has exploded from crude, homemade combinations to a long list of pre-mixed beverages.
Alcopops and malternatives
carbonated alcoholic beverages, began with drinks like Sparks, which combines the taste and sugar content of energy drinks with a 6 percent alcohol content by volume. Most domestic beers have an alcohol content between 3 percent and 6 percent and with much less sugar.
Registered dietician Beth Guthrie of The Ohio State University said she does not recommend mixing alcohol with high amounts of caffeine because the combination can exacerbate conditions like liver or heart problems.
CVS carries Sparks and Tilt, another malternative that mixes caffeine with 6.6 percent alcohol by volume. Both beverages are bottled in bright colors, which sets them apart from the gray cans of beer and contain taurine and ginseng.
Taurine, an ingredient highly visible on the cans, is actually found in almost all animal products, Guthrie said.
It's more of an advertising gimmick she said.
Four, an alcopop manufactured by Phusion Projects, also has wormwood, the active ingredient in absinthe, liquor banned in the United States.
Some students said they think the caffeine content helps extend the buzz from the alcohol and lessen the severity of hangovers.
But Guthrie said hangovers are caused by a lack of fluids, and both alcohol and caffeine are diuretics, which means the consumption of either dehydrates the body.
Other students said the drinks were over-hyped.
(Sparks) wasn't that tasty said junior Brian Bame. He said he tried it because he was tired, but it was not as good as other energy drinks.
Freshman Luke Conley said he has not tried any of the malternatives yet, but he looks forward to it.
It's something different
he said.
Anheuser Busch, the largest beer distributor in the United States, produces the raspberry-flavored Tilt. The company recently added B-to-the-E, a similar product with a blackberry flavor.
Other non-alcoholic energy drinks do not specifically advertise as cocktail mixers, though many students ignore this. Many consumers said they enjoy using Red Bull, which is sold in the university markets and at local grocers, to make liquor concoctions. Uptown stores also sell SoBe Adrenaline Rush and Hansen's Energy drink.
Fifth-year student Kendal Valesko said she tried one of the alcopops but could not remember which brand.
It was too tart
she said. I'd rather just drink beer.
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Justin Thompson
