It seems that mega-star rapper Snoop Doggy-Dog did not get the memo about the danger of putting high octane alcohol with fruity flavors in colorful cans. According to Reuters, Snoop is backing a new beverage called Blast by Colt 45, which is being manufactured by Pabst Brewing Company, with a planned release date of April 5, 2011. It is somewhat surprising that PBR is going forward with the product considering all the controversy occurring over alcohol infused energy drinks like Four Loko. Nevertheless, despite the danger of attracting minors to their product, not only does Blast come in grape, raspberry watermelon, strawberry lemonade and blueberry pomegranate flavors it also has 12 percent alcohol and comes in a 23.5 can. The good news is you can see Snoop Dog in a promotional video with scantily dressed young women at a photo shoot.
"You look at this product, and you think it's a fruit drink," said John Challis, senior vice president of a treatment facility. "They (breweries) are creating a demand, and then offering the supply." Fortunately, there are already talks of banning the product before it even hits the shelves with New York City Councilman Robert Jackson recently calling for a ban in New York. "Blast, along with similar drinks, is specifically targeted to younger people," said Jackson's aide, Martin Collins. "In the short term, a drink like this masks and shrouds the effects of alcohol. That's dangerous for our young people."
A comforting comment from Jon Sayer, the chief marketing officer of Pabst, said: "Blast is only meant to be consumed by those above legal drinking age and does not contain caffeine." Over at Pabst they are clearly ignoring the potential of their labeling the fact that the alcohol content is as high as it is because the drink has one purpose: to get drunk as fast as possible. Blast will probably make it to the shelves due to the fact that there are a number of fruity flavored alcoholic beverages being sold across the country despite the danger drinks like these pose.
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