Flavored Vodkas Presenting New Dangers to Under Age Drinkers

With the emergence of vodka flavors like espresso, double espresso and sweet tea, it's clear that liquor distillation processes have reached a new plateau when it comes to masking the unpleasant taste of straight vodka (regardless of quality) with flavors that are sweet and inviting. In the United States, under age drinking and its consequences have long been a very visible societal ill. Children who drink regularly before the age of 21 are likely to become involved in other illegal activity and run a much higher risk of being injured or killed in alcohol related incidents.

For liquor manufacturers, one of the primary marketing challenges has always been finding a way to at least make it seem that a product that contains nearly 40% alcohol can actually "taste" good. Even the finest and most aged types of liquor, expertly distilled, are generally unpleasant, especially to those who are not familiar with drinking alcohol. For those taking their first drinks, even beer is a bit of a shock to the palette. That is why the misguided coming of age ritual among under age drinkers in the U.S. often involves mixing alcohol with fruit-based beverages or trying first with wine coolers and other flavor-based drinks that contain smaller amounts of alcohol.

But recent years have seen a surge in the available options for alcohol consumers who wish to have a full-capacity liquor drink that doesn't taste very much like liquor at all. For anyone who has tasted the more popular brands of flavored vodkas - and we'll avoid naming the manufacturers here - there is little doubt that danger exists when vodka is not only made to taste almost exactly like an espresso, but also includes a significant amount of caffeine. If you thought vodka with a Red Bull was a recipe for disaster, then you should really try to wrap your mind around an 80-proof liquor that tastes like something you can get at Starbucks.

Of course, liquor products are intended for those who are old enough and presumably responsible enough to legally consume them. At least, that should be the intended market for such products. But as these high-octane drinks become more like soft drinks in their flavor, it is obvious that the risks to under age drinkers are going to increase exponentially. One of the inherent deterrents to drinking alcohol has always been its horrible taste relative to the types of sweet and inviting flavors that we find in non-alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic drinks are not refreshing and their only real impact is to intoxicate the drinker. But usually a quick sip of an alcoholic drink is enough to remind the drinker that it's not a drink that is intended to be enjoyed based on its taste.

Under age drinking isn't being driven by flavored vodkas and other types of better tasting liquor. In fact, the problem has been around much longer than that and attempting to address the rise in better tasting liquor is certainly not the answer. But it is something to be aware of - both at the level of the manufacturer and the consumer. Alcoholic beverages that taste almost exactly like a tall cool glass of sweet iced tea can be extremely dangerous to those too young or too inexperienced to understand the effects of high-proof liquor. Those monitoring such activity, whether it be parents or teachers or those who sell liquor to private consumers, must certainly increase their vigilance and be aware of the fact that the new generation of flavored vodkas may have a lasting impact on the new generation of under age drinkers.