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An alcopop (or cooler, spirit cooler n_South_African_English.html" ;"title="South_African_English.html" ;"title="n South African English">n South African English">South_African_English.html" ;"title="n South African English">n South African English or malternative [in American English]) is any of certain flavored alcoholic beverages with relatively low alcohol content (e.g., 3–7% alcohol by volume), including: # Malt beverages to which various fruit juices or other flavorings have been added # Wine coolers: beverages containing
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
to which ingredients such as fruit juice or other flavorings have been added #
Mixed drink A mixed drink is a beverage in which two or more ingredients are mixed. Types * List of non-alcoholic mixed drinks -- A non-alcoholic mixed drink (also known as virgin cocktail, boneless cocktail, temperance drink, or mocktail) is a cocktail- ...
s containing
distilled alcohol Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard l ...
and sweet liquids such as fruit juices or other flavourings The term ''alcopop'' (a
portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordspop'') is used commonly in the United Kingdom and Ireland to describe these drinks. In English-speaking Canada, "cooler" is more common but "alcopop" may also be used. Other terms include flavored alcoholic beverage (FAB), flavored malt beverage (FMB), "pre-packaged" or "premium packaged" spirit (PPS). In Australia and New Zealand "premix" and
ready to drink Ready to drink (often known as RTD) packaged beverages are those sold in a prepared form, ready for consumption. Examples include iced tea (prepared using tea leaves and fruit juice) and alcopops (prepared by mixing alcoholic beverages with frui ...
(RTD) are both commonly used terms. "Malternative" is exclusively an American term.
Hard seltzer Hard seltzer, adult seltzer, mature seltzer, spiked seltzer and hard sparkling alcohol water is a type of highball drink containing seltzer (carbonated water), alcohol, and often fruit flavorings. In the US the alcohol is usually made by fermen ...
is a related category of alcoholic drinks based on flavored
seltzer water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...
.
Hard soda Hard soda, also referred to as flavored beer, adult soda, fermented soda, mature soda and alcohol soda, is a type of alcoholic beverage and craft beer that is manufactured in the style of a soft drink. It has gained recent prominence in the United ...
, meanwhile, is specifically related to soft drinks. Hard lemonade, which could be considered an alcopop, has been around for some time.
Hard cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...
, on the other hand, is a fermented beverage similar to wine or
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
.


Description

There are a variety of beverages produced and marketed around the world as well as within each market which are described as coolers or alcopops. They tend to be
sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketone ...
and served in small
bottle A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal stop ...
s (typically 355 ml (the normal size of a soda pop can) in the US, 275 ml in South Africa and Germany, 330 ml in Canada and Europe), and between 4% and 7%
ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
. In Europe, Canada, and South Africa coolers tend to be pre-mixed spirits, including vodka (e.g.
Smirnoff Ice Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff prod ...
) or rum (e.g.
Bacardi Breezer Bacardi Breezer is an alcoholic fruit-flavoured drink made by Bacardi that comes in a variety of fruit flavours: lemon, peach, lychee, pineapple, apple, ruby grapefruit, lime, orange, blackberry, watermelon, cranberry, coconut, raspberry, blueb ...
). In the United States, on the other hand, alcopops often start out as un-hopped
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
s, depending on the state in which they are sold. Much of the malt (and alcohol) is removed (leaving mostly water), with subsequent addition of alcohol (usually vodka or grain alcohol), sugar, coloring and flavoring. Such drinks are legally classified as beers in virtually all states and can therefore be sold in outlets that do not or cannot carry spirit-based drinks. There are, however, stronger ones that ''are'' simply pre-mixed spirits (e.g. Bacardi Rum Island Iced Tea), often containing about 12.5% alcohol by volume, that can be sold only where hard liquor is available.


History

Wine coolers gained popularity in the US market in the 1980s when Bartles and Jaymes began advertising their brand of wine coolers, which were followed by other brands, including when
Bacardi Bacardi Limited (; ) is one of the largest privately held, family-owned spirits companies in the world. Originally known for its Bacardi brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 an ...
introduced the Breezer. A growth in popularity occurred around 1993 with Two Dogs, DNA Alcoholic Spring Water, Hooper's Hooch and
Zima Zima may refer to: * Zima (drink), an alcoholic beverage * Zima (town), a town in Russia * Zima (surname) * '' Zima Blue and Other Stories'', a collection of short works by Alastair Reynolds * Zima, a character in the anime series ''Chobits ...
, which was marketed under the title of "malternative beverage."
Wine coolers A wine cooler is an alcoholic beverage made from wine and fruit juice, often in combination with a carbonated beverage and sugar. Traditionally home-made, wine coolers have been bottled and sold by commercial distributors since the early 1980s ...
were on the decline due to the increase in the US federal wine tax, and using a malt-beverage base became the new industry standard. Later, Mike's Hard Lemonade was released in the United States, with humorous commercials depicting what they called "violence against lemons".
Smirnoff Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff prod ...
also came out with another
citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...
- flavored malt beverage in the United States in the late 1990s called
Smirnoff Ice Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff prod ...
, which promoted itself with flashy commercials, usually involving trendy young people dancing in unlikely situations and places. (In the UK, Smirnoff Ice is marketed by Diageo as a PPS.) Through its Alcopop-Free Zone® campaign, "
Alcohol Justice Alcohol Justice is a San Rafael, California-based non-profit advocacy, research and policy organization describing itself as "the industry watchdog." The Marin Institute was renamed and re-branded as Alcohol Justice in 2011; it was originally ...
has sought to ban alcopop sales entirely since the sweet and brightly colored alcoholic drinks may appeal to children. Many cooler advertising campaigns have been criticized as trying to make alcopops appeal to young drinkers. In the United Kingdom, a media outcry during the mid-1990s arose as the tabloid press associated alcopops with under-age drinking which damaged sales and led to British
liquor store A liquor store is a retail shop that predominantly sells prepackaged liquors – typically in bottles – usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (i ...
s withdrawing them from their shelves. In response to a complaint from the
Center for Science in the Public Interest The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group that advocates for safer and healthier foods. History and funding CSPI is a consumer advocacy organization. Its ...
(CSPI), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) conducted an extensive investigation in 2001. The agency "found no evidence of intent to target minors with FMB products, packaging, or advertising. Furthermore, after reviewing the consumer survey evidence submitted by CSPI in support of the proposition that FMBs were predominantly popular with minors, the FTC concluded that flaws in the survey's methodology limited the ability to draw conclusions from the survey data." The Federal Trade Commission again in 2003 investigated FMB ads, product placement, and internal company marketing documents after a directive from the conferees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. "The Commission's investigation found no evidence of targeting underage consumers in the marketing of FMBs. Adults 21 to 29 appear to be the intended target of FMB marketing" and found that "the majority of FMB drinkers are over the age of 27."Alcohol Marketing and Advertising: A Report to Congress
Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission, 2003. p. 5
In December 2003,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
raised the tax on flavored malt beverages to equal that of spirits, the second-highest in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
.
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
has imposed an extra duty of 0.80 to 0.90
euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
per bottle effective August 1, 2004. To circumvent higher taxation, some German producers have switched to
wine coolers A wine cooler is an alcoholic beverage made from wine and fruit juice, often in combination with a carbonated beverage and sugar. Traditionally home-made, wine coolers have been bottled and sold by commercial distributors since the early 1980s ...
, which are being marketed the same way. Some bottles now carry a warning stating that they are not for consumption by people under the legal drinking age (under 18 in the UK and 21 in the United States). On May 11, 2008, the Australian Government increased the excise tax on alcopops by 70%, to bring it in line with the tax on spirits. There is the concern this tax will encourage consumers to buy straight spirits and mix the drinks themselves, possibly resulting in drinks with a higher alcohol concentration than the premixed alternatives. This tax was revoked during March 2009 meaning the government had to pay back the 290 million collected on the tax. The Federal Trade Commission report states, "Further, industry-conducted research on consumers over the age of 21 who use FMBs shows that these consumers generally view the FMBs as substitutes for beer, ... This research also concludes that consumers are not likely to consume more than two or three FMBs on any occasion because of the products' sweetness. In March 2018, Coca-Cola announced it would be launching an alcopop product for the first time, a ''
chūhai , an abbreviation of "shōchū highball" (焼酎ハイボール), is an alcoholic drink originating from Japan. Traditional chūhai is made with barley shōchū and carbonated water flavored with lemon, but some modern commercial variants ...
'' beverage in Japan.


Brands

Brands of coolers are numerous and their alcoholic base vary greatly. Some notable brands include: VK Vodkakick,
Smirnoff Ice Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff prod ...
, Mike's Hard Lemonade,
Bacardi Breezer Bacardi Breezer is an alcoholic fruit-flavoured drink made by Bacardi that comes in a variety of fruit flavours: lemon, peach, lychee, pineapple, apple, ruby grapefruit, lime, orange, blackberry, watermelon, cranberry, coconut, raspberry, blueb ...
, Palm Bay, Skyy Blue,
Jack Daniel's Jack Daniel's is a brand of Tennessee whiskey. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee, by the Jack Daniel Distillery, which has been owned by the Brown–Forman Corporation since 1956. Packaged in square bottles, Jack Daniel's "Black Label" ...
Hard Cola and, in the UK,
WKD Original Vodka WKD also known as ‘Wicked’ is a brand of alcopop produced by Beverage Brands. It is sold and heavily marketed in the United Kingdom and Ireland with the slogan ‘Have you got a WKD (for "wicked") side?’, and also in many countries in mainl ...
.
Garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...
is an alcopop produced by the
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
brewery
Sinebrychoff The Sinebrychoff Brewery () is a Finnish brewery and soft drink company. It was founded in 1819 in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, by the Russian businessman Nikolai Sinebrychoff, and it is the largest brewery in Finland today. By the end of 19 ...
.


Attempts to discourage


Australia

The Australian government increased the tax on these drinks under the 2008 budget to the same rate as spirits, volumetrically, in an effort to stop binge drinking. The tax was criticized by the opposition as a tax grab, and voted down in the Senate on March 18, 2009. Before its rejection, the tax had already raised at least A$290 million after April 2008. In April 2009, some Labor party MPs planned to resubmit the tax to the Senate,Government to try again with alcopops tax
, news.com.au, 15 April 2009.
and it was finally approved in August 2009, increasing the tax on the drinks from $39.36 to $66.67 per litre of alcohol. A 2013 study concluded that the tax had no impact on binge drinking of the drinks by teenagers.


Germany

On 1 July 2004 the German government increased the tax on mixed drinks based on spirits (e.g. vodka, rum) by roughly one Euro per 275-ml-bottle in order to discourage teenagers drinking excessively, although those drinks were already prohibited for those under the age of 18. This had two implications: The most common alcopops, such as
Smirnoff Ice Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff prod ...
or
Bacardi Breezer Bacardi Breezer is an alcoholic fruit-flavoured drink made by Bacardi that comes in a variety of fruit flavours: lemon, peach, lychee, pineapple, apple, ruby grapefruit, lime, orange, blackberry, watermelon, cranberry, coconut, raspberry, blueb ...
, were nearly taken off the market, while other manufacturers changed the recipes of their drinks to replace spirit alcohols with wine or beer, but with the same
ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
, enabling these mixed drinks (which are not "alcopops" under German law) to be sold legally to minors 16 and 17 years of age.


Philippines

In 2019, some senators including Pia Cayetano and former Special Assistant to the President Bong Go called for pullout of alcopops from the market due to "deceptive packaging that resembles fruit juices usually bought by young consumers". Alcopops also have seven percent alcohol content, which is slightly lower than that of local beer brand Red Horse Beer.


United Kingdom

In June 1997, Co-op Food became the first major retailer to place an outright ban on the sale of alcopops in its shops. This has since been rescinded.


See also

* Chuhai * Comparison of alcopops *
Hard seltzer Hard seltzer, adult seltzer, mature seltzer, spiked seltzer and hard sparkling alcohol water is a type of highball drink containing seltzer (carbonated water), alcohol, and often fruit flavorings. In the US the alcohol is usually made by fermen ...
*
Hard soda Hard soda, also referred to as flavored beer, adult soda, fermented soda, mature soda and alcohol soda, is a type of alcoholic beverage and craft beer that is manufactured in the style of a soft drink. It has gained recent prominence in the United ...
*
Jello shot A jello shot, colloquially, or Jell-O shot, is a gelatin and alcohol mixture consumed as a shot. The shot is commonly made with vodka or other hard liquors. Shots made with non-branded or unflavored gelatin rather than Jell-O are sometimes kn ...
*
Jungle juice Jungle juice is the name given to an improvised mix of liquor that is usually served for group consumption. There are countless recipes and even websites devoted solely to jungle juice. The term has also been used for similar less-than-reputable al ...
* Nutcracker (drink) * Purple drank *
Queen Mary (beer cocktail) A Queen Mary beer cocktail is a mixture of grenadine and beer, which is commonly garnished with maraschino cherries. This mixed drink is typically served in beer glassware, leaving room for a generous amount of beer head which can take on a pin ...


References

; Sources * Bloomberg News
FTC Says Alcohol Type Not Aimed at Minors
''Los Angeles Times'', June 5, 2002. * Melillo, W

''Adweek'', June 6, 2002. * American Medical Association

December 16, 2004.
California boosts tax on 'alcopops'
Associated Press, August 15, 2007.


External links


Portman Group
(a UK alcoholic beverage industry trade advocacy group with a code of marketing practices)
New wave of 'sophisticated' alcopops fuels teenage binge drinking
The Guardian, 14 December 2002

The Independent, 29 June 2013
The quiet death of the alcopop
BBC News Magazine, 31 July 2013 * {{Alcoholic beverages Premixed alcoholic drinks