How Much Alcohol In Four Loko?

A: The alcohol content of Four Loko varies by state, but is typically available in 8%, 10%, 12% or 14% alcohol by volume (ABV).

How many beers is a Four Loko equal to?

New text box on label says: “This can has as much alcohol as 4 1/2 regular (12 oz, 5% alc/vol) beers.” Phusion Projects hide caption toggle caption Phusion Projects New text box on label says: “This can has as much alcohol as 4 1/2 regular (12 oz, 5% alc/vol) beers.” Phusion Projects The maker of Four Loko has agreed to make the alcohol content of its big cans a lot easier to figure out. Soon the alcohol inside will be expressed in the equivalent number of regular beers.

The equation: A 23 1/2 ounce cans of Four Loko = 4 1/2 beers. The new labels, plus a resealable opening so the alcohol-laced drink doesn’t have to be consumed in one sitting, came as the Federal Trade Commission alleged that Phusion Projects had understated the amount of alcohol in some of its products.

The FTC says Four Loko had claimed the cans had the same amount of alcohol as one or two 12-ounce beers. And, further, that a consumer could drink an entire can safely at “a single occasion.” The result encouraged binge drinking, the regulator alleged.

• In a statement emailed to Shots, Phusion Projects says: Even though we reached an agreement, we don’t share the FTC’s perspective and we disagree with their allegations.
• We don’t believe there were any violations.
• However, we take legal compliance very seriously and we share the FTC’s interest in making sure consumers get all the information and tools they need to make smart, informed decisions.

Under pressure from regulators, Phusion Projects agreed almost a year ago to drop the caffeine from Four Loko drinks. A flurry of reports of hospitalizations and deaths among young people who allegedly consumed the drinks, sometimes called “blackout in a can,” led to campus bans of the stuff around the country.

• The Food and Drug Administration told Phusion Projects and some other beverage makers last November that caffeine constituted an ” unsafe food additive ” when incorporated in an alcoholic beverage.
• Days before the letter hit, the company decided to change the Four Loko recipe.
• No products containing caffeine, taurine and guarana were shipped after Nov.17 last year.

None of the stuff already on the market was recalled either, the company said. More recently the University of New Hampshire announced a ban of even the alcohol-free energy drinks. But the university’s president reversed the decision a few days later.

Why are 4 Lokos strong?

The controversy – The real trouble for the company came in 2010, when drinking Four Loko was linked to a series of injuries and deaths in young people. Mixing caffeine and alcohol can be extremely dangerous, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as caffeine masks the depressant effects of alcohol and can cause people to become much more drunk than they realize.

1. The Legal Examiner states that the infamous four ingredients in Four Loko that caused the drink to be such a dangerous blend were alcohol, taurine, caffeine, and guarana, which are three stimulants and one depressant.
2. Each 24-ounce can contained as much alcohol as four to six beers and as much caffeine as four to six cups of coffee.

In 2010, the Federal Trade Commission sent out a letter warning energy alcohol manufacturers that they may come into legal trouble for deceptive marketing, as the products posed a safety risk to those drinking them. In response to this letter, Four Loko decided to reformat its blend to remove the stimulants from its drinks.

Will one Four Lokos get me drunk?

One can of Four Loko contains as much alcohol as four to five 12-ounce cans of regular beer and is not safe to drink on a single occasion.

Does Four Loko have more alcohol than beer?

October 3, 2011 / 5:08 PM / CBS New York NEW YORK (AP) – The makers of the alcoholic drink Four Loko have agreed to change its labeling and packaging to settle Federal Trade Commission charges of deceptive advertising. The FTC says Phusion Projects falsely claimed that a 23.5-ounce can of Four Loko, at 11 or 12 percent alcohol, had the same amount of alcohol as one or two typical 12-ounce beers and a consumer could drink a whole Four Loko safely in its entirety on a single occasion.

Actually, according to the FTC, a 23.5-ounce Four Loko contains about as much alcohol as four or five 12-ounce cans of regular beer and is not safe to drink in a single sitting. Phusion Projects took caffeine out of Four Loko last November after the drink became a target of consumer groups and regulators.

Four Loko’s label already disclosed the percentage of alcohol in the drink. The new labels will name the amount of alcohol a can of Four Loko contains and compare it to the amount in regular beer. So a 23.5-ounce can of Four Loko that’s 12 percent alcohol by volume will now carry a label that states, “This can has as much alcohol as 4 regular (12 oz.5 percent alc/vol) beers.” Chicago-based Phusion will also have to package the drink in resealable containers.

1. In November, the FTC issued warnings to Four Loko and three other companies saying their caffeinated alcohol drinks can be dangerous.
2. Warning letters were sent to Phusion Projects, Charge Beverages Corp., New Century Brewing Co.
3. And United Brands Company Inc.
4. Phusion said it decided before receiving those letters that it would reformulate Four Loko to remove caffeine and the common energy drink additives guarana and taurine.

Phusion co-founder Jaisen Freeman said Monday that his company still feels the product was marketed without deception. “Even though we reached an agreement, we don’t share the FTC’s perspective, and we disagree with their allegations,” Freeman said. “We don’t believe there were any violations.

However, we take legal compliance very seriously and we share the FTC’s interest in making sure consumers get all the information and tools they need to make smart, informed decisions.” The label never asserted that one Four Loko equaled one or two beers and always showed the percentage of alcohol that was in a 23.5-ounce can, he added later Monday through spokeswoman Caroline Friedman.

The agreement is subject to a 30-day comment period before it can receive final approval and become effective. The company said distributors and retailers will begin receiving the new resealable cans with the new labels in late spring, Friedman said. (Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

How do you drink Four Loko?

Mix equal parts orange juice and any Four Loko flavor in a small glass. Stir gently and add a lime wedge for garnish. Enjoy! FACT: Four Loko launched in 2008 and gets its name from its 4 main ingredients: caffeine, taurine, guarana and alcohol.

What is one Four Loko equivalent to?

A can of Four Loko contains less alcohol than a bottle of Champagne and less alcohol than some big bottles of craft beer. In terms of intoxicating power, it is equivalent to a few cocktails —or, as the FTC prefers to put it, ‘4.7 regular beers,’ by which it means beers with an alcohol content of 5 percent.

Is Four Loko illegal?

A: Four Loko is NOT banned or illegal. In fact, it is available in 49 US states.

Is 4loko hard alcohol?

Four Loko’s Hard SeltzerIs Finally On Shelves Update, May 12, 2020: The time has come, everyone! Four Loko’s new are here and ready for us to consume at will. The brand confirmed its stride into the hard seltzer game last November, and its cans have now officially hit shelves. Unlike most hard seltzers that have a four or five percent ABV, Four Loko obviously had to take its product to the next level with a 12 percent ABV. The hard seltzers come in sour mango and black cherry flavors. They’re available in liquor stores and gas stations, and you can use on its website to find one near you.

How many shots are in a Four Loko gold?

Doghouse: Four Loko Gold –

” onclick=”window.open(this.href,’win2′,’status=no,toolbar=no,scrollbars=yes,titlebar=no,menubar=no,resizable=yes,width=640,height=480,directories=no,location=no’); return false;” rel=”nofollow”> Print Email

In a prime example of alcopop producers’ youth-focused social media promotion with intensive user engagement, Phusion Projects recently launched Four Loko Gold. The new mystery-flavored supersized alcopop was marketed solely on social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) for for the first several months of its release.

At 14% ABV and 23.5 oz., Four Loko Gold contains 5.5 standard drinks in one single-serve container, the highest alcohol content of all Four Loko products. Initially released in just a limited number of states, young drinkers flocked to social media sites in attempt to locate retailers selling the new product.

In the meantime, Four Loko sponsored parties and contests for users to find out where the elusive Gold was served. To gain access to the location of the parties, users had to RSVP through social media channels. Currently Phusion Projects is sponsoring Four Loko Lokoween 2015, a contest where users can enter via text message or Facebook app for a chance to win a three-day trip to the Voodoo music festival New Orleans over Halloween weekend.

Which Four Loko is the strongest?

The Four Loko Hard Seltzer Is Very On-Brand, Boasts 14% ABV, a company known for its (dubbed by some as a “blackout in a can”, is staying on brand with making a hard seltzer with an ABV that surpasses that of not only most other hard seltzers, but also beers on the market.

Four Loko announced on Tuesday via Twitter that they would be releasing their own hard seltzer, a drink that’s quickly become a popular libation this summer due to its relatively low calories and carbs. The brand self-proclaims that its blue raspberry flavored bubbly will be “the hardest seltzer in the universe,” and at 14% ABV, it appears that it’s definitely the strongest seltzer yet on the market.

It has nearly three times the alcohol of White Claw, one of the most popular spiked seltzer brands. Four Loko isn’t the only potent potable brand looking to get into the hard seltzer game; people can switch to spiked seltzer without disrupting their brand loyalty, thanks to PBR and releasing their own versions this summer.

How much alcohol is in 2 4 Lokos?

Supersized alcopops—such as Four Loko—are sugar-sweetened beverages with as much as 14% alcohol-by-volume (abv) or 5.5 standard alcoholic drinks in one 23.5 oz.

Are Four Lokos unhealthy?

Long answer – Four Loko is a popular malt beverage offered in a variety of fruit flavors. The original Four Loko formulation was sold as an alcoholic energy drink, and by 2008 had gained popularity across the United States on college campuses. After its consumption led to several highly-publicized hospitalizations and deaths, the FDA released a statement late in 2010 citing caffeine in alcoholic beverages as a “public heath concern” and mandated the product be changed.

Subsequently, all caffeine was removed from the drink. Even though the FDA doesn’t consider the new Four Loko formula to be unsafe for human consumption, it still isn’t good for you. Four Lokos contain between 6% and 14% alcohol by volume depending on the maximum allowed by local regulatory authorities.

This alone indicates that Four Loko is a beverage exclusively aimed at helping consumers get as drunk as possible, which definitely isn’t healthy. Furthermore, the high sugar content of Four Loko is also cause for concern. In addition to contributing to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, the sugar in Four Loko will exacerbate any hangover.

Because alcohol is already very high in sugar, consuming alcoholic beverages with sugar added puts additional strain on the body. The other ingredients in Four Loko are Red 40, natural and artificial flavors, and carbonated water. Red 40 is a petroleum or coal by-product and has been known to cause allergic reactions in some individuals.

It is also believed by the Department of Health and Human Services to be carcinogenic to humans and contribute to cancer development. Drinking in excess is never safe, but indulging in even one Four Loko is a bad idea.

Why is it called Four Loko?

A small crowd gathered in New York City’s Union Square with candles for the vigil, Some brought their guitars and bongos to play in tribute, and others shared stories about the good times. It was November 17, 2010, and earlier that day it had been announced that after months of legal headaches, Four Loko would remove the caffeine and other stimulants from its controversial beverage formula.

And so a small but mighty band of New Yorkers came together to mourn their blackouts, pukes, and raging hangovers together. It’s been a decade since that fateful day—a decade of tamer drunken adventures, a decade of having to mix vodka and Red Bull yourself, a decade that enabled the rise of the zero-sugar-added hard seltzer.

Four Loko, of course, is still available, but the original formula—lovingly dubbed “blackout in a can,” and frankly, a menace to society—has been off shelves for ten years now. And while the rise and fall of the original Four Loko happened in less than two years, few products have made such a lasting impression on the American drinking consciousness.

• In 2005, Ohio State frat bro alumni Jeff Wright, Jaisen Freeman, and Christopher Hunter decided the world needed a super caffeinated, high-ABV alcoholic beverage, seemingly because people didn’t already do enough stupid things on their own.
• Inspired by the popularity of an energy beer called Sparks, they set out to produce a cherry-flavored, vodka-esque malt beverage, which they called Four, because it contained four notable ingredients: caffeine, taurine, guarana, and wormwood (the stuff absinthe is made from).

It was a flop. But you know what they say always does the trick when your product flops? Add camo. In its second, 2008 iteration, the one that would lift the beverage to notoriety, Four gained its “Loko,” grew to tall-boy size, cut the wormwood, and got a flashy neon camo look.

The alcohol content also doubled, taking the can from six to a whopping 12 percent ABV. Freeman told Grub Street that once the new cans hit New York bodegas, “it was pretty immediate.we couldn’t make it fast enough.” The drink, with as much alcoholic impact as roughly four beers and as much caffeine as roughly a cup and a half of coffee, tasted horrendously sweet, like rotting Fruit Gushers.

In completely non-scientific terms, it fucked you up so badly because the caffeine masked the effects of the alcohol for a time, leading you to drink more than you might otherwise. Arguably the most insane beverage to hit the market since there was actual cocaine in Coca-Cola, Four Loko’s revenue doubled from $45 million in 2009 to at least $100 million in 2010, Wright said.

There are tales of accidental nude break-ins and hallucinations attributed to Four Loko. There is an entire genre of Four Loko rap music on YouTube from the summer of 2010, a website devoted to Four Loko stories, and Reddit threads full of people’s craziest nights. But the fun couldn’t last. Colleges across the country began banning Four Loko after student hospitalizations were connected to the drink.

Several lawsuits were filed by families claiming their children’s deaths were caused by or linked to drinking Four Loko. (Four Loko’s statements at the time cited issues of “alcohol abuse and underage drinking.”) In November of 2010, the Federal Trade Commission sent a warning letter to several caffeinated alcoholic drink producers—including the makers of Joose, Max, Core High Gravity, and Moonshot—urging them to “take swift and appropriate steps to protect consumers.” All this prompted several states, including New York, to seek out bans on Four Loko, which brings us to the tale of a legendary act by an elected official. Pre-backlash, Four Loko contained alcohol, caffeine, taurine, guarana, and wormwood. These days, it just has caffeine. PAUL J. RICHARDS // Getty Images Felix Ortiz, New York State assemblyman, introduced legislation to ban Four Loko and other caffeinated alcoholic drinks in his state in the fall of 2010.

• Shortly thereafter, NBC News asked if he might drink some himself to see what exactly the drink did to one’s body.
• Don’t knock it till you try it, as the old adage goes.
• He agreed, “to show exactly how detrimental and dangerous this was for the health of our children.” And so, under the supervision of doctors, Ortiz proceeded to drink “one or two” Four Lokos, watch his blood pressure spike wildly, and violently throw up.

“I think they gave me two or three pieces of pizza, trying to bring me back again,” he said of the experiment. (Imagine all the fun we’d have if politicians were not allowed to ban things without first having to publicly try them.) But with several lawsuits pending against them and the FTC threat looming, the creators of Four Loko got out ahead of the trouble and announced, on November 17, 2010, that they would be removing the caffeine, taurine, and guarana from their recipe.

New Yorkers took to Union Square to mourn. The company was stuck with $30 million of unsellable inventory that we can only presume some warehouse rats had a couple wild nights with. But the inventory that was already out in the world when the ban was announced.that’s a different story. The distributors had until December 10 to stop selling their existing stock, and the stockpilers didn’t take long to strike.

New York University students bought entire bodega stocks to resell to friends; cases were going for unheard of prices on eBay and Craigslist. Eddie Huang’s bar Xiao Ye, which was hosting Four Loko all-you-can-drink happy hours on the Lower East Side, was shut down after it’s third Four Loko raid in a matter of weeks.

What does a 4 Loko taste like?

Julia Collins/Tasting Table Known for containing more than five alcoholic beverages in one can, Four Loko has a unique reputation in the canned alcoholic beverage world, notes George Mason University, It’s carbonated, has a beer-like taste, and yet can be very sweet.

That interesting combination of experiences has led many a college student to try one of these, but be warned: Drinking an entire Four Loko by yourself is probably a dangerous idea unless you have the tolerance of Frank Gallagher from “Shameless.” Four Loko is an interesting brand, with a history that includes college controversies, FDA warnings, and, at one time, its own black market.

And since we know these drinks fascinate many and don’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, we took it upon ourselves to try (almost) every flavor the brand has to offer. After all, if you’re going to take a stab at this funky carbonated drink, you should choose a flavor that is less offensive than the others.

Is 4 Loko a beer?

Then, in 2005, Phusion Projects designed their prototype ‘energy beer’ which would soon become known as Four Loko.

How many shots are in a Four Loko gold?

Doghouse: Four Loko Gold –

” onclick=”window.open(this.href,’win2′,’status=no,toolbar=no,scrollbars=yes,titlebar=no,menubar=no,resizable=yes,width=640,height=480,directories=no,location=no’); return false;” rel=”nofollow”> Print Email

In a prime example of alcopop producers’ youth-focused social media promotion with intensive user engagement, Phusion Projects recently launched Four Loko Gold. The new mystery-flavored supersized alcopop was marketed solely on social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) for for the first several months of its release.

• At 14% ABV and 23.5 oz.
• Four Loko Gold contains 5.5 standard drinks in one single-serve container, the highest alcohol content of all Four Loko products.
• Initially released in just a limited number of states, young drinkers flocked to social media sites in attempt to locate retailers selling the new product.

In the meantime, Four Loko sponsored parties and contests for users to find out where the elusive Gold was served. To gain access to the location of the parties, users had to RSVP through social media channels. Currently Phusion Projects is sponsoring Four Loko Lokoween 2015, a contest where users can enter via text message or Facebook app for a chance to win a three-day trip to the Voodoo music festival New Orleans over Halloween weekend.

Is one Four Loko bad?

Long answer – Four Loko is a popular malt beverage offered in a variety of fruit flavors. The original Four Loko formulation was sold as an alcoholic energy drink, and by 2008 had gained popularity across the United States on college campuses. After its consumption led to several highly-publicized hospitalizations and deaths, the FDA released a statement late in 2010 citing caffeine in alcoholic beverages as a “public heath concern” and mandated the product be changed.

Subsequently, all caffeine was removed from the drink. Even though the FDA doesn’t consider the new Four Loko formula to be unsafe for human consumption, it still isn’t good for you. Four Lokos contain between 6% and 14% alcohol by volume depending on the maximum allowed by local regulatory authorities.

This alone indicates that Four Loko is a beverage exclusively aimed at helping consumers get as drunk as possible, which definitely isn’t healthy. Furthermore, the high sugar content of Four Loko is also cause for concern. In addition to contributing to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, the sugar in Four Loko will exacerbate any hangover.

Because alcohol is already very high in sugar, consuming alcoholic beverages with sugar added puts additional strain on the body. The other ingredients in Four Loko are Red 40, natural and artificial flavors, and carbonated water. Red 40 is a petroleum or coal by-product and has been known to cause allergic reactions in some individuals.

It is also believed by the Department of Health and Human Services to be carcinogenic to humans and contribute to cancer development. Drinking in excess is never safe, but indulging in even one Four Loko is a bad idea.

How much caffeine is in a 4 Loko?

Over the past few days, I’ve gotten plenty of angry e-mail from people critical of my defense of caffeinated alcoholic beverages like Four Loko, Joose, and Hard Wired, Typical claims are that, “if it was son or daughter ending up in emergency with a (sic) overdose of alcohol it wouldn’t be opposition to ban it,” and that “Your disgusting and your barely disguised right wing industry front is pathetic”.

My favorite, though, is, “I hope one of YOUR kids or family members dies from it, see how you feel.” You might think that, boy, these products must really be awful to elicit that kind of a response — a message that the prohibitionists very definitely want you to get, But just how potent IS a typical Alcohol-Energy Drink like Four Loko? Let’s have a look.

A 23.5 oz can of Four Loko has 156 mg of caffeine, You might think, “Wow! What kind of caffeine-induced buzz is that going to get you?” About the same as in a small/tall (8 oz cup) Starbucks coffee (160 mg), By 7:30 this morning, I had already had nearly twice as much caffeine from my daily coffee.

The prohibitionists also like to point out that a 23.5 oz can of Four Loko has twice the caffeine as a can of Red Bull (76 mg), But what they neglect to say is that Red Bull comes in 8.2 oz cans, which means that they’re just 1/3 the size and have about 50 percent more caffeine per unit volume. Of course, there’s also the alcohol.

Four Loko is 12 percent alcohol by volume, which amounts to the equivalent of four to four-and-a-half typical American-style pilsner beers, such as Budweiser, Coors, and Miller, with approximate 4.8 to 5 ABV, Still, ounce for ounce, you get about 50 percent more caffeine and about the same amount of alcohol in a vodka and Red Bull cocktail (8.2 oz of Red Bull plus a 1.5 oz shot of 80 proof spirits).

And you get about three times as much caffeine and about the same amount of alcohol in a cup of Irish coffee made by mixing a tall Starbucks coffee with a 1.5 oz shot of 80 proof spirits. In order to conclude that AEDs are worse, you have to buy the notion that your typical partying teenager or young adult would stop at just one or two vodka and Red Bulls.

But actual observation of the wild college partier or young professional in his natural setting indicates that that’s a pretty far-fetched assumption. So, it’s not remotely clear that there is anything uniquely unsafe about AEDs. Nor do I believe that a ban on AEDs will do anything at all to stem the genuine problem of alcohol abuse among teenagers and young adults.

Indeed, to the extent that some AED consumers may revert to the vodka and Red Bull alternative, the AED ban could have negative public health consequences because the far higher level of caffeine in those self-mixed or bartender-mixed cocktails would be more likely to mask the effects of intoxication.

Perhaps more serious, in my view, is the fact that many of the activist organizations intimately involved with the movement to ban AEDs ( led by the Center for Science in the Public Interest ) began this fight to regulate caffeine, long before there was an AED market, by attacking non-alcoholic energy drinks like Jolt Cola, Red Bull, Monster, and Rock Star.

They’ve even been highly critical of Starbucks coffee for its caffeine content, And the exact same legal rationale that the FDA used to ban AEDs (i.e., that FDA has not approved caffeine used as a food additive as GRAS for any use but in “cola type drinks,” making the addition of caffeine to malt beverages presumptively unsafe) could just as easily be applied to non-alcoholic energy drinks.

I fear, and with good reason I would argue, that we haven’t seen the last of FDA’s enforcement activity against caffeinated beverages. Image credit: The Wisest Wizards’ flickr photostream,

How much is in a Four Loko can?

However, a can of Four Loko is 23.5 ounces and 12% ABV, which is nearly double the standard serving size and alcohol content for a beer or flavored malt beverage. So, a 12-ounce serving of Four Loko Watermelon is closer to 330 calories, which is pretty reasonable when you consider the alcohol content and flavor.