Palcohol (powdered alcohol)

[Cylinder]

Palcohol is a trade name for so-called powdered alcohol that has generated some controversy here in the US. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau originally approved the labeling scheme which is a key step in bringing any new alcoholic beverage to market. Two weeks later and facing political pressure, they rescinded the approval stating that it was given in error.

New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer wants to be the buzzkill and prevent powdered alcohol from hitting store shelves, warning it could become “the Kool-Aid of teenage binge drinking."

The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, after some confusion, last month decided not to give final approval for “Palcohol,” a product that would be a pocket-sized powder packet coming in several varieties including rum and vodka.
But Schumer wants to make sure the bigger, more powerful Food and Drug Administration permanently keeps the product off the market.

“It’s absurd. It’s scary,” Schumer told WCBS Radio and other news outlets on Sunday in New York. "I'm calling on the Food and Drug Administration to immediately step in, investigate Palcohol based on its obvious health risks and prohibit this ludicrous product from going to market.”

So-called powdered alcohol works by encapsulating the liquid molecularly in cyclodextrins - a starch-like ring of sugars that can absorb up to 60% of its dry weight in alcohol. When the resulting powder is rehydrated, the alcohol is liberated resulting in a sweet and potent base for drinks.

 

[Peterson]

I wonder what it tastes like? My uneducated guess is that it's quality will be sub-Ruble Vodka.

 

[Charlie Wilkes]

Palcohol is a trade name for so-called powdered alcohol that has generated some controversy here in the US. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau originally approved the labeling scheme which is a key step in bringing any new alcoholic beverage to market. Two weeks later and facing political pressure, they rescinded the approval stating that it was given in error.




So-called powdered alcohol works by encapsulating the liquid molecularly in cyclodextrins - a starch-like ring of sugars that can absorb up to 60% of its dry weight in alcohol. When the resulting powder is rehydrated, the alcohol is liberated resulting in a sweet and potent base for drinks.

Jesus iced.

No.

No to "Palcohol." It's not even a solution in search of a problem... It's a problem in search of a bigger problem.

 

[lobosrul]

Jesus iced.

No.

No to "Palcohol." It's not even a solution in search of a problem... It's a problem in search of a bigger problem.

Might be useful for campers, especially backpackers. It'd be nice to have a drink after a long days hike, where lugging around liquid alcohol is impractical. Not saying that's enough reason to allow it, but its a reason.

 

[Olowkow]

Sugar and alcohol processed to a fine powder sounds more like a volatile rocket fuel than anything I'd want to put in my mouth.

 

[Wolrab]

Combining the above posts: It's an adult beverage, a fire starter, and signal flare.

 

[theprestige]

Yeah, but is it flammable or inflammable?

 

[Charlie Wilkes]

Might be useful for campers, especially backpackers. It'd be nice to have a drink after a long days hike, where lugging around liquid alcohol is impractical. Not saying that's enough reason to allow it, but its a reason.

A traditional metal flask obviates the need for "Palcohol" under the conditions you describe.

But, hey, as long as backpackers have to risk a steep fine to buy "Palcohol" on a (hopefully non-existent) black market, I will consider the idea. I'm a reasonable man.

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I wonder if your skull is powdered the next morning?

 

[Emily's Cat]

I'm curious if the process would work for isopropyl alcohol. Could have storage applications for the medical industry...

Aside from that, it could have impacts on cost. Just consider how much bars could save on shipping!

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Also handy for backpackers and in lifeboat survival gear.

 

[Wolrab]

Hmmm... maybe market it as part of a First Aid kit. Disinfectant, self cauterization, fire starter, flare gun propellant. Intoxication incidental.

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Hmmm... maybe market it as part of a First Aid kit. Disinfectant, self cauterization, fire starter, flare gun propellant. Intoxication intentional.

ftfy

 

[Toke]

60% of it's weight in alcohol?
It would end up as a pretty sweet drink like with a main market of teens.

Seeing what other alcoholic horrors are being marketed to them, this might not be more than a gimmick.


Good point about the lifeboat, all they have now is water and those sweet greasy biscuit.

 

[colander]

I'm not sure I understand how this is supposed to be useful. It's only a bit more than 1/3 ethanol by mass. Wouldn't it be more weight-efficient to store alcohol as a high-concentration solution, like Everclear?

 

[Brian-M]

No to "Palcohol." It's not even a solution in search of a problem... It's a problem in search of a bigger problem.

What bigger problem? Seriously, I'd like to know what realistic objections there are to this.

As for being "not even a solution in search of a problem", the site linked to in the OP lists various uses for it, such as...

• Outdoor Activity Applications: Palcohol is a boon to outdoors enthusiasts such as campers, hikers and others who wanted to enjoy adult beverages responsibly without having the undue burden of carrying heavy bottles of liquid.
• Travel Applications: Similarly, adult travelers journeying to destinations far from home could conveniently and lawfully carry their favorite cocktail in powder format. Moderate quantities of flavored Palcohol products carried in resealable pouches are a fraction of the weight and bulk associated with traditional liquor packaging.
• Hospitality Applications: Because powdered alcohol is so light, airlines can reduce the weight on an airplane by serving powdered vs. liquid alcohol and save millions on fuel costs. An ice cream manufacturer wants to add Palcohol to their ice cream to make an "adult" version. A hotel in Hawaii is interested in powdered alcohol because it would save them so much on shipping from the mainland. That savings in shipping costs would be attractive to many resorts who rely on imported alcohol.

There's also a list for uses of the industrial (non-indigestible) form of Palcohol. The headings include medical applications, manufacturing applications, and fuel applications.

Sugar and alcohol processed to a fine powder sounds more like a volatile rocket fuel than anything I'd want to put in my mouth.

You're supposed to dissolve it in water first. Lots of people drink things that consist of mostly sugar and alcohol dissolved in water.

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'm not sure I understand how this is supposed to be useful. It's only a bit more than 1/3 ethanol by mass. Wouldn't it be more weight-efficient to store alcohol as a high-concentration solution, like Everclear?

Why would you dilute Everclear?

 

[dasmiller]

so, if it's 38% alcohol by weight, then this powder is as concentrated (by mass) as regular vodka. But more bulky.

 

[Howie Felterbush]

[*]Hospitality Applications: Because powdered alcohol is so light, airlines can reduce the weight on an airplane by serving powdered vs. liquid alcohol and save millions on fuel costs.

Wouldn't you still need to carry water on a plane to re-hydrate the stuff?

It would be less weight to just take a bottle of Johnnie Walker instead of a bottle of water and a packet of instant Johnnie Walker, wouldn't it?

Or can you eat this stuff dry, like Pop Rocks.

 

[Yalius]

Seems almost pointless to me, what is the dilution you're supposed to use to turn it into a cocktail?

Even if you're doing a 1:1 palcohol:water solution by weight, you've dropped to a whole 19% alcohol. Where's the weight savings there? How convenient is it to carry a beer-can sized packet of powder to make 2 decent sized cocktails? And if the density of the powder is less than that of water, that's a darned inconvenient way to carry alcohol.

Yeah, I lump this idea in with Gerber First Foods Tobacco Puree.