# Should flavored alcoholic beverages be banned? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 1, 2010, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952 "2010-05-01T07:44:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kassamai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea5d25/32.png) [@Kassamai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kassamai)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/41 "2014-04-29T05:21:26Z")
I was 13 years old when I started drinking because everyone said it tastes like kool aid and it did. Everyone my age was drinking and I was a hardcore alcoholic by the time I hit 15 and had to quit school and it ruined my life. Alcohol also started me onto harder drugs and smoking cigarettes. I finally got off of all the alcohol and other drug habits and just when I was about to quit smoking they decided to ban e cigs. :mad:☹ ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/42 "2014-04-29T05:29:35Z")
Wow. Human brains taste like Kool-Aid. Now we know. If something makes you start drinking hardcore, maybe that’s you, there is no gateway. And where are ecigs illegal to own/buy, even if you can’t smoke in public? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/43 "2014-04-29T05:49:06Z")
> [@Kassamai](#): > > I finally got off of all the alcohol and other drug habits and just when I was about to quit smoking they decided to ban e cigs. :mad:☹ Not yet they haven’t. As far as the other stuff is concerned, [you’re just behind the curve!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmW-ScmGRMA) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/44 "2014-04-29T06:25:01Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Why stop at only sweet flavors? Straight Whiskey has a distinct taste. Maybe we should only legalize injections of straight ethyl alcohol into the blood stream? (In government approved quantities, of course) Exactly. Whisky, brandy, gin etc are all essentially flavoured vodka. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/45 "2014-04-29T06:26:47Z")
Oh FFS. it’s a zombie. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/46 "2014-04-29T09:55:17Z")
Just to make the point that not all flavored beers and wines are low status and low class. Last night I had an extremely interesting Banana Beer- a Pale Ale brewed with Banana Mash as added sugars. I have had Coffee, Treacle Molasses, and Toffee flavored beers. Many local beers in the UK used to throw in local herbs into the final bres- that is still recognised in the universal process of hopping for bitterness which is a hangover from other local specialties. Belgium specialises in fruit beers- cherry beer called lambic or kriek is the most common, but you get raspberry, strawberry and pear as well. The French enjoy Kir (cheap white wine and crème de cassis (or kir royale with bubbly). Germans shoot fruit or herb infusions into beers Berliner Luft with woodruff, Berliner Weiße with fruit. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/47 "2014-04-29T10:31:11Z")
There is a decent Belgian strawberry beer called Früli. Worth a taste.[Low alcohol, but very fruity.](http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/van-diest-fruli-strawberry-beer/24970/) ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/48 "2014-04-29T12:51:15Z")
I know it’s a zombie, but I do think it’s a bit wrong-headed. [Sure, the Boone’s Farm does poorly in a taste test and is probably not being drunk by sophisticated 40 year olds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=840waOfQ50o). But I do like the lambics, and as\*\* Pjen\*\* noted, a banana mash added to beer is a unique and delicious experience (maybe we had the same one?). Bans against consumer products so rarely work I’m surprised when people still consider them. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/49 "2014-04-29T14:40:09Z")
You can have my sloe gin when you pry it from my cold, dead hand. ---
**Author:** ![Calatin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Calatin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calatin)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/50 "2014-04-29T14:54:34Z")
Forty-nine posts and not a single specific mention of “Four Loko” yet? I’m surprised. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/51 "2014-04-29T16:05:23Z")
Oops. Zombie. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/52 "2014-04-29T16:28:10Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > Bans against consumer products so rarely work I’m surprised when people still consider them. One of the first laws the Messiah signed was a ban on flavored cigs. His apostles are often completely ignorant of this. When they learn of the law they tend to think it’s ridiculous, until they find out he supported it’s passage. Revealing, huh? ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/53 "2014-04-29T16:32:31Z")
prohibition; sounds a good idea and obv. the way forward. What could possibly go wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/54 "2014-04-29T17:07:24Z")
Jesus banned flavored cigarettes? What a bastard. > [@Calatin](#): > > Forty-nine posts and not a single specific mention of “Four Loko” yet? > > I’m surprised. Four Loko doesn’t need to be banned (not that I would); they are being sued into insolvency. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/55 "2014-04-29T17:38:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Four Loko doesn’t need to be banned (not that I would); they are being sued into insolvency. Cite? I see that stuff in every gas station, mini mart, and liquor store I go in. It doesn’t appear to be going away just yet. Just because some crybaby sues doesn’t mean they’ll win. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/56 "2014-04-29T17:43:48Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > One of the first laws the Messiah signed was a ban on flavored cigs. His apostles are often completely ignorant of this. When they learn of the law they tend to think it’s ridiculous, until they find out he supported it’s passage. Revealing, huh? Strawmen are often revealing. Yes, a ban on flavoring cigarettes is silly, whoever signed it. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/57 "2014-04-29T17:47:14Z")
> [@Kassamai](#): > > I was 13 years old when I started drinking because everyone said it tastes like kool aid and it did. Everyone my age was drinking and I was a hardcore alcoholic by the time I hit 15 and had to quit school and it ruined my life. Alcohol also started me onto harder drugs and smoking cigarettes. I finally got off of all the alcohol and other drug habits and just when I was about to quit smoking they decided to ban e cigs. :mad:☹ On the other hand, I started drinking at 15 or 16, and drank anything I could steal from my parents cabinet. Some really foul stuff like gin and bourbon. (sometimes mixed together). Kids that want to drink will drink. No reason to start banning things. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/58 "2014-04-29T18:41:47Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Cite? > > Just because some crybaby sues doesn’t mean they’ll win. [Cite](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/03/25/four-loko-maker-agrees-not-to-sell-caffeinated-booze/). That’s quite apart from the numerous private suits that Phusion is paying to defend itself (as its insurers are [not liable](http://cookcountyrecord.com/issues/307-insurance/260562-7th-circuit-insurers-not-liable-for-defense-in-four-loko-lawsuits) for their defense or any judgments.) ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/59 "2014-04-29T19:31:59Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > [Cite](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/03/25/four-loko-maker-agrees-not-to-sell-caffeinated-booze/). That’s quite apart from the numerous private suits that Phusion is paying to defend itself (as its insurers are [not liable](http://cookcountyrecord.com/issues/307-insurance/260562-7th-circuit-insurers-not-liable-for-defense-in-four-loko-lawsuits) for their defense or any judgments.) That’s extremely old news. 4 Loko hasn’t had caffeine in it for a couple of years now. And 400K for a nationwide brewer like that ain’t shit. The company even is quoted as saying they’re not going anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Ayebaw](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darth_ayebaw/32/9870_2.png) [@Darth\_Ayebaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Ayebaw)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952/60 "2014-05-01T21:46:57Z")
So… people are collectively trying to decide that all our booze and smokes should taste like shit? Because if it tastes good, kids might get into it? I don’t understand why we need to drink stuff bad enough to need chasers, why our beers can’t be as refreshing as our Cokes, why the second you suggest that you’d enjoy it even better if it didn’t taste like piss people start to make fun of you. And yes, beer (all beer) tastes like piss, it’s an acquired taste, something your brain learns to like once it’s trained to know what it means. But no one likes it from the start, because it _doesn’t taste good_. IMO everything you consume _should_ taste good. Anyone who insists it needs to taste bad to feel manly needs to let me throw some rotten fish in their next burger, that’ll show how macho you are. There are other, significantly more effective methods to reduce teen alcohol consumption. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-flavored-alcoholic-beverages-be-banned/537952.md?page=4)