alcopop is a blanket term, common in the United Kingdom, for mass-produced canned and bottled drinks often with low alcohol content. The sweetened beverages are named for their resemblance to soda pop. These include flavored malt beverages, wine coolers, and spirit-based, ready-to-drink cocktails (known in the trade as RTDs). The category has existed since at least 1981, when E & J Gallo launched Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers, but it experienced explosive growth in the mid-1990s, led in the United States by Zima, released in 1993, and in the UK by Hooper’s Hooch, launched in 1995. Other major brands include Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Breezers, and Mike’s. See Smirnoff and Bacardi.
Alcopops tend to appeal to younger (and often underage) drinkers; one British study found that alcohol consumption among eleven- to fifteen-year-olds increased by 63 percent between 1992 and 2001, led largely by alcopop consumption. This led many countries to increases taxes on, and institute strict regulations about, alcohol content, advertising, and labeling of alcopops, which drove many brands out of business. Brands such as Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey, and Johnnie Walker continue to make such drinks, while newer brands such as Ballast Point, Life of Reilley, Punching Mule, and Hochstadter’s are revitalizing the category. See Jim Beam; Jack Daniel’s; and Johnnie Walker.
Duffy, Jonathan. “What Happened to Alcopops?” BBC News Magazine, November 9, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4419578.stm (accessed January 27, 2021).
Koerner, Brendan. “The Long, Slow, Torturous Death of Zima.” Slate, November 26, 2008. http://www.slate.com/articles/life/drink/2008/11/thelongslowtorturousdeathofzima.html (accessed January 27, 2021).
By: Jason Horn