As many of you probably know, the FDA effectively forced the makers of Four Loko to reformulate their beverage and remove the malt alcohol from the allegedly fruit-flavored energy drink. Some state legislators don't feel like we're doing enough to protect our children (and ourselves) from the menace of caffeinated cocktails. Iowa state Sen. Brian Schoenjahn (D-Arlington) has proposed a bill that would make it a misdemeanor for any business with a liquor license to "manufacture for sale, sell, offer or keep for sale, import, distribute, transport, or possess any caffeinated alcoholic beverage." A "caffeinated alcoholic beverage" is defined as "any beverage containing more than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume, including alcoholic liquor, wine, and beer, to which caffeine is added." Thus, this bill, if passed, would effectively outlaw not only the old-version of Four Loko but also cocktails containing both caffeine and booze such as the red-bull and vodka or my beloved--the Irish coffee.
Now, West Coast, though currently residing in San Francisco, hippie-capital of the People's Gaypublic of Drugifornia, is actually a corn-fed Iowa boy. And let me tell you, it doesn't get much more anti-Iowan than telling people what to put in their cocktails. Our liberties we prize and our rights we shall maintain, Senator Schoenjahn! We Iowans cherish freedom. We love our booze! Iowa ranks fifth in the nation with 3.73 bars per 10,000 people. Senator Schoenjahn, I suggest you step away from the Irish coffees or I'm going to have to move back home and raise an army of concerned pre-alcoholics to keep you from re-election.
Hat tip - Reason magazine
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