Four Loko have received an exceptional amount of attention lately as more and more stories surface about the incredibly powerful drink. The drink is properly nicknamed ‘blackout in a can.’ With the alcohol equivalent of five beers, a couple of Red Bulls and a small dose of gasoline packed into one 24 oz. can, the drink can produce some serious results for better or worse. It is priced at only three dollars, which has made it my drink of choice as a poor college student.
The drink is perfect for so many situations. If you happen to get a late start on the night, chugging a Four Loko is the best way to catch up. Maybe you’re tired on a Tuesday night, and since you only have so many Tuesday nights left where it is totally acceptable to get inappropriately drunk, Four Loko can give you the extra energy boost you need to make it out. After a long afternoon of drinking on Lantern Point and listening to house music the hangover begins to set in. Four Loko is the drink that can save Saturday night.
Some young drinkers have even gone as far as to make ‘drinking challenges’ that incorporate consuming more than one of these drinks. In one particular instance, a group of students drank two Four Lokos in under an hour.
Brian Flynn ‘11 has a firsthand account of the experience claiming that he “felt like a werewolf,” or at least what he thought a werewolf would feel like. I believe he is referring to the innate animalistic nature of humans. The alcohol allowed him to lose all sense of social boundaries, while an unhealthy amount of caffeine drastically increased the effect.
This being said, I’ve seen many experienced drinkers fall hard while drinking Four Loko, myself included. While Four Loko can be the key ingredient in a college senior’s night, it can mean a ride in an ambulance for an overambitious freshman.
Rob Belfiore ‘11 explains, “Four Loko is awesome, but if I had been introduced to it as a freshman, I’m not sure if I’d still be here.”
The drink packs a powerful punch, and it is not for the faint of heart. Inexperienced drinkers should stay away.
A major defense mechanism of the drink is the awful taste. It can keep many drinkers away, which is probably for the best. If you can’t handle the taste of the Four Loko, you can’t handle the effects either. Brendan Flaherty ‘11 compares the taste of a Four Loko to that of rat poison.
Jennifer Haskell ’11, an aspiring nutritionist, is a harsh critic of the drink. “I’ve heard news reports about how Four Loko is dangerous to consume. I really don’t like when I see my friends drinking them. It is a terrible thing to be putting in your body,” she said.
This is certainly a good point, but nowadays everything gives you cancer anyway.
If you still haven’t tried a Four Loko and think you can handle it, act quickly because Four Loko could easily be banned very soon, especially in the state of Connecticut where they don’t sell alcohol past dinnertime. It has recently been banned in Michigan due to safety concerns. I have a feeling that the FDA is going to produce groundbreaking results revealing a surprisingly high amount of cocaine present in the drink so get it while you can.
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