Powdered alcohol turns water into booze, but don't get your hopes up

Don’t expect powdered alcohol to make its way up to Canada from the United States anytime soon.

American regulators have reversed a previous decision made weeks earlier that approved ‘palcohol’ following mounting public criticism and fears that it could be consumed irresponsibly and provide a new mechanism for underage drinking.

According to CNN, the United States’ Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved Palcohol’s powdered mixes “in error”.

Palcohol responded to the mutual decision to surrender its labels, stating that “there seemed to be a discrepancy on our fill level, how much powder is in the bag.”

“This doesn’t mean that Palcohol isn’t approved,” the company added. “It just means that these labels aren’t approved. We will re-submit labels. We don’t have an expected approval date as label approval can vary widely.”

Palcohol had originally announced six different labels of powdered alcohol, including rum, vodka, and four cocktails – Lemon Drop, Powderita, Cosmopolitan and Mojito. The labels originally received approval on April 8, and even if its approval status were maintained the Phoenix-based company would still have to undergo years of hurdles from state regulators, wholesalers, insurance and legal issues before it can go into market.

And that’s just for the U.S. market, whereas Canadian regulators are generally much more stringent and conservative with alcohol laws.

With water and powder as the sole ingredients, this would have essentially been Kool Aid for adults. However, the company went much further than that as its website had featured questionably irresponsible ways to consume their products.

The portability of the one ounce packages makes Palcohol significantly easier to conceal at venues and events than a bottle or a flask.

“Maybe you’re a college football fan. So many stadiums don’t even serve alcohol. What’s that about; watching football without drinking?! That’s almost criminal. Bring Palcohol in and enjoy the game,” stated the website.

It also suggested that its powdered form of alcohol could be poured over food, but it warns that this should not be done while the dish is still hot.

“Sprinkle Palcohol on almost any dish and give it an extra kick. 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,” stated the website. “Remember, you have to add Palcohol AFTER a dish is cooked as the alcohol will burn off if you cook with it… and that defeats the whole purpose.”

Palcohol even seemingly encouraged consumers to snort their product: “you’ll get drunk almost instantly because the alcohol will be absorbed so quickly in your nose.”

This content was quickly taken down over the weekend when the company gained much unwanted negative media publicity.

Featured Image: Alcohol via Shutterstock