Alcopops

[the-glyphon]

In my opinion these alcopops are not a great development. Many are configured so that the alcohol cannot be tasted so it is hard foreven a sensible drinker to keep track of how much they have consumed--and the flavors appeal to young people.

It seems to me that traditional alcohols like wine and beer are a more aquired tatse and somewhat more difficult to consume in such large amounts.

I also read recent research that shows that the articicial sweetners in alcopops actually cause the body to absorb the alcohol more rapidly so behavior and judjement is more rapidly impaired.

[QuietLunatic]

Some (probably most) of these go down very easy!! My son bought some vodka ones one day and he and I shared them--they really are just like drinking pop (or soda, if you prefer) and you don't notice the alcoholic kick. They're nice, but you really have to watch your limit.

[ozzie]

I've never heard of these before! I can see how they might easily cause a person to consume too much alcohol in a short period of time. It's really sad how some young and inexperienced drinkers can get alcohol poisoning.

[britjojo]

Yes, and alcohol poisoning is a very frequent occurrence in the UK in young drinkers discovering alcopops. They seem to have been designed with nothing else in mind other than roping in these young and impressionable first time and under age drinkers who otherwise would have a harder time finding a drink that was palatable for that.

Now, they just pick their favourite pop, and there is almost guaranteed an alcopop version of it.

[Ricardo]

I haven't heard of them in Canada. I'm curious about how they're advertised. It sounds like something that could easily be abused by younger people.

At first I thought you were talking about coolers, which are usually wine or vodka based.

[britjojo]

Alcopops are very similar to coolers, and most are vodka based still. They are advertised mainly at and around bars and off-licences. I haven't seen them advertised on TV, but have heard one or two radio ads.

[QuietLunatic]

They're not necessarily called "alcopops" in Canada. I was reading about them online and drinks like Mike's Hard Lemonade qualifies as an alcopop. So consider all the vodka coolers and rum ones that have juice or cappuccino or chocolate as alcopops. They're good, but ... yeh.

[britjojo]

Right, though Mike's hard on the bottle will tell you that it is a malt beverage, when you get down to it, it's lemonade and vodka. Not much malt in that....