Frank Bruni Ingests Four Loko So You Don't Have To

The New York Times:

While Four Loko has been on the market for only about two years, the dangers it poses are hardly new or isolated. Almost from the moment the caffeine-heavy energy drink Red Bull was introduced in the late 1980s, it was mixed with alcohol by revelers intent on bleariness without weariness. The vodka Red Bull even has its own moniker (a vod-bomb) and Wikipedia entry, and the Web is rife with recipes for Red Bull with rum or tequila or schnapps.

Their names suggest the kind of potent payoff their fans are after. There's the "crack pipe," "the shark bite," "the Hulk."

Read the whole story: The New York Times

Comments

[JeffDeVore]

09:06 AM on 11/02/2010

Is this so different than having an espresso with your brandy or the popular candied drinks of the eighties like fuzzy navels and white Russians?

[yakmeat]

11:37 AM on 11/05/2010

Yes, it is. The candied drinks of the eighties had to be mixed, in a cocktail glass. You (or a bartender) poured in rum, vodka, etc. and mixed it with a sweet juice. You could see how much alcohol was being added, and you could count (at least for a little while!) how many you drank.

These things come in one giant brightly-colored "hey kids - check this out" kind of can, mask the taste of the alcohol, and contain several times the amount of it that is found in a single beer. Add to that the massive dose of caffeine that prevents your body from giving up when it should, and you've got a recipe for alcohol poisoning.

That's a long way from a fuzzy navel, my friend.

[dbrett480]

06:19 PM on 11/12/2010

There is a HUGE difference. The amount of alcohol in a four loko is similar to drinking malt liquor.

[AJDionysus]

07:54 PM on 11/01/2010

Yuck, you couldn't pay me to drink that garbage. That being said, I respect other peoples right to drink whatever they like. If someone wants to drink antifreeze, bottoms up I say.

We don't need more regulation, we need more responsible parenting and more responsible drinking. While it is certainly tragic that people have lost their lives as a result of over-consumption, I am fundamentally against any rule, law, or regulation that limits freedom of the majority due to impropriety of the minority.

[shthar]

06:03 PM on 11/01/2010

uggh, only a lightweight needs to mix caffine with their booze.

[LenoraNunez]

07:19 PM on 11/01/2010

Well it looks like more and more lightweights are putting themselves in harms way.

My organization is trying to curb the ease and youth-centric appeal of these drinks — http://thinkdrink.org

We would love it if you would help sign our petition to the FDA for regulation.

[shthar]

10:20 PM on 11/01/2010

I'm too busy with my efforts to promote the Gin & Tonic.