Photo from Flickr - retutaAttention caffeinated drinkers - stock up on Sparks if you want to drink it in the future, because the good times are over:
MillerCoors has announced that it's pulling the juice out of the malt liquor Sparks (NPR) - The brand will continue to be brewed, but without caffeine, taurine, guarana and ginseng = which leads me to ask: why continue it at all? Will it still be a sweetened malt liquor, a 'malternative' for people who don't like beer? I don't see this brand lasting very much longer - the core identity of the product has been changed. Without energy, this is just another sweetened alcopop, competing with Smirnoff and Bacardi, both of which taste better.
I wonder if there will be any repackaging of the brand. Will the can will still look like a battery? I remember when it first came out, I knew a guy who loved it because the can looked more like an energy drink than a malt liquor, and he could drink it in class. More recently, I told some people at a party that pre-packaged caffeinated alcohols days on the shelf were numbered, and a girl told me that every time she mixed energy drinks and alcoholic drinks, she blacked out. Knowing this, she no longer mixed the two, and I don't blame her.
To me, Sparks is the symptom, not the disease. Consumer groups have been asking for the banning of caffeinated beverages, which aren't evil in and of themselves. American culture lacks a healthy attitude towards drinking to begin with. Young people are not drinking responsibly because current drinking laws foster illicit drinking environments where alcohol is consumed in terms of cost efficiency (how drunk can i get for how little). Drinking should happen in a positive social environment where a quality beverage enhances the time spent with friends, as opposed to dominating it.
Alcohol companies are trying to meet the needs of their consumers, and Sparks did a good job of that for a growing group of people. Some people don't like the taste of beer, but want to drink. People are more likely to drink something that is sweet. And some people will live beyond their bodily means regardless of their situation. They will continue to push their body's limits, drinking energy drinks so that the fun can continue, paying for that fun with their bodies. I do not fault MillerCoors for providing a beverage that people want; I question why people want to drink such a beverage.
My hands (and liver) are not completely clean: I've had red bull-vodka (but I prefer it with Jaeger), I enjoy Irish Coffee, I like whiskey cokes on occasion, and I've been known to interrupt a night of drinking with coffee or even *gasp* espresso! Caffeine as a stimulant has a definite place in my life and our culture - but it is not a way of life. Like alcohol or any drug, it must be treated with respect and used in moderation. I limit my caffeinated drinks to 1-2, and if I'm still tired, I go to bed. My health and well-being are that much better for it. I'm not telling you what to do with your body, only the lessons that I have learned with mine.
Recently I had the pleasure of trying
Mateveza, an organic combination of Yerba Mate and beer. Considering I already enjoy Yerba Mate, this beer was definitely a win - if you haven't tried YM yet, try that before you purchase this beer - but be quick, it could be forced off the market before too long...
