Powdered alcohol will now be legal in the U.S. -- guess it's a St. Patrick's Day miracle?
A federal agency has approved the product, called Palcohol, to be sold in the United States, the AP reports. The granulated spirits were briefly green-lit in April 2014 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, but the agency quickly revoked approval citing errors in label approvals.
Now, bureau spokesman Tom Hogue has confirmed to the AP that "the issues were resolved" and "four varieties of Palcohol were approved," including cosmopolitan, margarita, vodka and rum (a "lemon drop" flavor is awaiting approval).
Palcohol will be sold in pouches, and water can be added to them in order to create an alcoholic beverage. See the process in the video, below.
The website for Palcohol states the product will "hopefully" be available this summer, but it still faces several hurdles with states, including Colorado, regulating the product's sales.
A statement on the Palcohol website attempts to quell powdered alcohol naysayers, who are concerned about the product being snorted or easier to sneak into venues that ban alcohol consumption, stating, "We believe that powdered alcohol is actually safer than liquid alcohol."
"It's painful to snort due to the alcohol. Second, it's impractical. It takes approximately 60 minutes to snort the equivalent of one shot of vodka. Why would anyone do that when they can do a shot of liquid vodka in two seconds?" Palcohol founder Mark Phillips writes.