Boozy drinks that you can mix like instant lemonade? The internet was abuzz this week with reports that a company called Lipsmark had received US government approval to sell a form of “powdered alcohol” called Palcohol. Shortly after the company’s announcement, however, the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau said that it was withdrawing its approval.
So while we can’t immediately try out a powdered mojito, we can do as the internet folk do, and talk about it. Apparently, the idea of powdered booze has been around for decades, and versions of it are already for sale in parts of Europe and Asia.
Larry Greenemeier at Scientific American talks about the concept and the chemistry with chemist and blogger See Arr Oh, who notes that the alcohol isn’t so much powdered as encapsulated in a form of sugar. Paul Adams at Popular Science provides instructions on making your own “fluffy” powdered booze. And everybody everywhere warns you not to snort it.
The Finch & Pea is a fairly traditional pub, so we’re planning to stick with liquid alcohol for the forseeable future. We’re more interested in the product shown above, which could allow people to take lolcats on plane trips or bike rides, or even send them through the mail. This exciting development could bring a whole new meaning to Chemistry Cat.
The Finch and Pea 