Now that Four Loko is unpopular and "this close" from being banished to liquor stores forever, The Fix decided it was time for its creators to tell their side of the story. For instance, did you ever wonder where Four Loko got its name? For that we take you back to the late '90s, when Red Bull and vodka was the rage, and three guys decided to make their fortune by ripping off Sparks.
While they were in college, creators Jeff Wright, Jaisen Freeman and Chris Hunter began making money selling a Thai version of Red Bull to their frat brothers for $5, telling them it was "imported" when in fact they were just getting it at the Asian market down the street. Then Sparks, the nation's first caffeinated alcoholic drink, hit the stores and the three saw a chance to capitalize. So they called their beverage Four, after the fourth ingredient they would add to Sparks recipe of caffeine, guarana and taurine. That ingredient? Wormwood, they key ingredient in Absinthe.
Unfortunately, that plan didn't work. “Nobody wanted this thing,” Freeman said. “Nobody cared about wormwood. They didn’t even know what wormwood was." So they scrapped it and decided to focus on flavor and alcohol content. Thanks, uncultured America! The "loko" was added to the name once they decided to make it 12 percent ABV; Freeman said, “Let’s call it Four Loko. It’s a loko blend of fruit flavors.” And now you know.
Regarding the accusations that their drink has caused injury and death to consumers, Hunter said, “If you consume something responsibly you’re fine, if you don’t you’re not fine, and I don’t care if that’s Bud Light, Smirnoff vodka or Four Loko." Freeman also hints that they've been unfairly targeted: "Belvedere IX has caffeine in it, there are craft brews with coffee, with chocolate, Kahlua, Bailey’s, all the vodkas, Patron XO with coffee in it. If caffeine and alcohol were the issue, we figured all of caffeine and alcohol would go away." Shhh, don't remind them! If they take that away, we'll all have to get drunk and caffeinated separately.
