Feds Approve 'Powdered Alcohol'

Palcohol changes website copy after official approval
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 20, 2014 5:17 PM CDT
Feds Approve 'Powdered Alcohol'
   (Shutterstock)

As if alcohol, marijuana, caffeine, and pills of various kinds aren't enough to give Americans a buzz, the federal government has approved a new product: powdered booze, reports Gawker. Even the company behind it, Palcohol, says the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's approval caught it off guard. The product is now expected to hit shelves in the fall, giving consumers six just-add-water options to choose from, including straight options like vodka and mixed offerings like Cosmopolitan, reports Eater. A sampling of the company's old website copy and new (at Palcohol.com) may reflect a little legal advice:

  • Then: "We have found adding Palcohol to food is so much fun. ... 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."
  • Now: "Can Palcohol be added to food? I suppose so. ... As Palcohol is a new product, we have yet to explore its potential of being added to food."
  • Then: "Let’s talk about the elephant in the room….snorting Palcohol. Yes, you can snort it. And you’ll get drunk almost instantly ... Good idea? No. It will mess you up."
  • Now: "Can I snort it? We have seen comments about goofballs wanting to snort it. Don't do it!"
The site now notes that the former "humorous and edgy verbiage about Palcohol" wasn't "meant to be our final presentation of Palcohol," and asserts that it was very clear even then that its product be used responsibly. Lehrman Beverage Law, which first reported the TTB's approval, is "absolutely astonished" that Palcohol was approved and says it "seems highly likely to raise a large number of legal issues and controversies." (In other booze news, the plant tequila is derived from could help fight obesity.)

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