I’m not usually one of the “Ban it!” brigade, but this is a product that needs to be suppressed with Extreme Prejudice. Is there any product that could be more abused? I’m sure the Teeming Masses can come up with some legitimate use for this product…can’t you?
Although it would make backpacking trips a little lighter. 
This gets approved but the FDA has a fit over bulk caffeine? Bizarre.
Hoax!
Alcohol is a liquid, if you make a powder you will have a substance with 0% alcohol.
I doubt the ATF is that easily fooled.
From Wiki.
I agree, however I also agree with the agency:
You are absolutely right.
Now maybe someone can make some VIP.
“VIP” turns out to be an intoxicating candy, one serving having the same effect as a triple martini.
It’s the same way you would make something like powdered olive oil. This isn’t new technology.
It’s not any lighter or volumemeterically smaller so not much better then a bottle if distilled spirits for backpacking. Also too much is needed to let’s say sort it up. So I don’t see the abuse angle either.
It’s alcohol, so it would regulated as any other type of alcohol. The underaged are still prohibited from buying the product. Glass bottles of liquid alcohol do not set off metal detectors and can still be illegally smuggled into schools, or sporting events.
I would like to know what the maximum proof of this product could be. Can it be used to run an internal combustion engine tuned to burn alcohol? It would be cheaper to bulk transport a powder than it would be to transport liquid.
There is very little useful information available about this product.
Is the potency of powdered alcohol different from something like Everclear?
Regards,
Shodan
I’ve heard concerns that it could be snorted. I’m not sure if it would work or not.
The creators of the stuff put out a video a while back trying to refute the various concerns. Regarding snorting, they said it would be wildly painful and no more effective than drinking.
The basic pitch of the video was that powdered alcohol is fairly low-proof, requires a somewhat lengthy process to reconstitute, and is less convenient for smuggling than a flask. And also considerably more expensive per serving than existing drink. They did a pretty good job of showing that their product is probably pretty harmless. And also somewhat pointless. The only scenario it seems to be useful for is camping / hiking, simply because it can fit into a backpack easier than a bottle.
I don’t know what size cyclodextrins they’re using, but my guess is it’s weight percent alcohol is lower than normal 80 proof vodka.
I’m wrong if the wiki article is correct. If the cyclodextrin absorbs 60% of its weight of pure ethanol, that’s 37.5 weight percent, whereas vodka is 31.6.
INSTANT ASSHOLE
Just Add Water
Considering it’s heavier they a non starter for backpacking. Distilled (liquid) spirits would be preferred even given the container weight.
It seems to be kind of a useless product. Their marketing people will try to mislead people about convenience or something and maybe that will work; but I can’t see anything beyond novelty value.
The only use I can think of would be smuggling onto a cruise ship.
The LD50 for caffeine is between 150 and 200 milligrams per kilogram of body mass for most people. At the lower level of toxicity (200 mg/kg), the LD50 dose for a 70 kg person would be 14 grams. The density of caffeine is 1.23 grams per ml, so the LD50 dose would be about 11.4 ml. This is about 2.3 U.S. teaspoons. A 70 kg person could easily kill himself by stirring a tablespoon of pure caffeine into a drink and downing it.
The LD50 for pure ethanol is about 7 grams per kilogram of body mass. For a 70 kg person, the LD50 dose is 490 grams. The density of ethanol is about 0.789 grams per ml, so the LD50 dose is about 621 ml. This is about 21 fluid ounces, or a little over two and a half U.S. cups. That’s a lot of pure alcohol. The LD50 dose of powdered alcohol would be more than two and a half cups, since powdered alcohol isn’t pure.
Based on this, I’d say that pure caffeine is a lot more dangerous than powdered alcohol.