MORE LOKO
Saving America with the Organic, Free-Trade Cinco Four One Loko
It was just over six years ago that three college
friends from Ohio State took out a loan and launched
Phusion Projects, the Chicago-based company that
brought us all Four Loko. Affectionately referred to as
“blackout in a can,” Four Loko, a beverage combining
the ever-popular energy drink with malt liquor, since its
birth has been under fire — from politicians, law
enforcement officials, concerned parents and, in gen-
eral, most people who disagree with the notion of
alcohol consumption as a recreational sport.
This concern and public disapproval came to a head
in 2010, when nine students at Central Washington
University were hospitalized for excessive consumption
of Four Loko. Shortly after, most colleges issued official
warnings about the danger of the drink. The CWU inci-
dent led Phusion Projects to mail roughly 300 letters out
to college presidents and campus alcohol counselors,
stressing the need to use Four Loko responsibly. States
including Michigan, Oklahoma and Utah banned the
sale of Four Loko altogether. Eventually the folks at
Phusion Projects opted to pull Four Loko from store
Japanese Pub Food ⋅ Whiskey Bar ⋅ Open Late
Dive Into Our FLAK
36 Pilsner Cocktail
-created by Elliot Martinez,
Boozeweek Magazine
IZAKAYA
345 VAN BUREN
12 THE STATE OF SUDS 2011
⋅
MEIJI
shelves and replace it with a new, less potent version that
is no different than standard malt liquor.
IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
It is unfortunate that people unable to use alcohol
in a responsible manner ruined such a good thing for
this nation. As the saying goes, “One bad apple can
spoil the whole batch.” Four Loko was an icon of
American freedoms, a brazen attempt to pursue hap-
piness in blatant Generation Y fashion. The existence
VOTED NUMBER ONE
B B E e S s Best 20 200
t T B 0 a 7
H BA a r 7
p R py Foo
FO H O d
o D u
r
A BRIEF HISTORY
WORDS BY DANTE ZUÑIGA-WEST • PH OTOS BY TRASK BEDORTH A
BY EUGENE WEEKLY READERS
Bes B
t E l ST 20
at HA 0
e-n PP 7
ig Y h H
t O e U
a R t
s
201
0
COMPANY
4pm-1am nightly ⋅ izakayameiji.com
541-683-3154
99 West
W EST B Broadway
ROADWAY
99
541-683-3154
Scan for menu
www.eugeneweekly.com