Matt PichtRemember that story a few days ago about how the federal government approved the sale of powdered alcohol, or "Palcohol", and everyone on the Internet kind of freaked out about it? (Via Newsy)
Yeah, that actually might not happen — at least, not for a while. The U.S. Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB, is now saying they made a mistake when approving Palcohol.
The TTB originally approved seven different Palcohol labels on April 8, including margarita and cosmopolitan flavors. According to the TTB's website, those labels have now been "suspended."
Palcohol's official website, which has been heavily reworked over the past few days, offers a bit more clarification: "There seemed to be a discrepancy on our fill level, how much powder is in the bag. There was a mutual agreement for us to surrender the labels. This doesn't mean that Palcohol isn't approved. It just means that these labels aren't approved."
The company's new site also sheds light on the man behind Palcohol, Mark Phillips. He's a veteran wine enthusiast who, according to the site, wanted to come up with a more convenient way to carry alcohol around.
In an exchange with the beverage law blog which first broke the news of Palcohol's approval, Phillips said he'd been working for a long time to get Palcohol on the market. "The TTB was cautious. It took us nearly four years to get the approval." (Via Lehrman Beverage Law)
Despite their caution, Palcohol's approval was met with backlash from groups concerned about the product's potential abuses. "It's easy to hide, it's easy to take into places, and it's undetectable." (Via NBC)
Palcohol says it plans to re-submit its labels to the TTB for approval, but it's still not clear when — or if — Palcohol will see the light of day again.
If you don't want to wait on regulators for your powdered booze, Popular Science has a recipe for home-made powdered alcohol. Enjoy responsibly, people.
