Rarely has a group of drinks provoked as much controversy as energy drink cocktails have these days.
These combinations of sweet ingredients that include stimulants such as taurine, glucuronalactone, caffeine, guarana, and L-carnitine, are regularly mixed with alcohol, a known depressant, which can produce frightening results.
The stimulants mask the ability-impairing effects of the alcohol and also allow consumers to drink more because they’re not sleepy.
This can lead to dangerous situations, says George Creal Jr., a lawyer in Atlanta who handles cases involving impaired driving, and points to a University of Florida study that says consumers are three times as likely to get drunk and four times as likely to drive drunk if they drink energy drink cocktails than if they don’t drink them.
But that being said, energy drinks are a good business opportunity for restaurants: They keep people there longer, buying more, says Tom Pirko, president of BEVMARK, a company based in Santa Ynez, California, that advises food and beverage industries.
He doesn’t expect anything to change regarding energy drink cocktails.
“I think we may have passed the point at which the controversy tipped to action. I think there will be educational efforts, but I don’t think the government will spend their money going out there to try and curb people from drinking energy drinks.
“So I think energy drinks will continue to grow, especially energy shots, and the alcohol tie-in is still alive. That’s how the business started so we’re just continuing along with what started the drink in the first place. We are a medicated culture that wants to be stimulated—with beer or marijuana or caffeine.”
Regardless, energy drinks are the hot ticket among the 20-somethings who are eager for new flavors, trendy drinks and something that will allow them to party all night.
The Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar chain in Dallas has been serving energy drink cocktails for several years.
At first, they were popular late at night, says spokesman Randy Steinbrenner, but they’ve migrated toward being an anytime drink.
