

‘four loko’

courtesy of ‘ghostdad’

One has to admire how a student living in “dry” campus housing at American University would brag to the Washington Post about stockpiling the soon-to-be-banned Four Loko beverage and use his actual name and major. That’s Greg Gerlach (see below, the Post’s identification may be incorrect), according to the article, a sophomore econ major from the class of 2013 (on the five year plan? That’s a surprise.) who’s stockpiling the beverage in advance of the ban. What’s more fun is that from a little research, it appears that Gerlach (see below, the Post’s identification may be incorrect) has yet to reach the age where purchasing liquor is legal, as his birthday on social networking site Facebook is listed as 1990.

We asked if any of our authors had tried the controversial beverage, and one review was granted on the condition of anonymity:

“I bought Four Loko because I was interested in checking out what all the hype was about before they banned it. After trying it, I can see why they’ve started banning it and why they should continue to do so. It took me two hours to finish an entire can out of fear that the caffeine would be too much for me. I started things off slowly drinking the Loko from a plastic solo cup, one cup at a time. The entire can came out to about three solo cups. I wasn’t even half way through the first cup when the first rush of caffeine infused adrenaline came over my body. I felt invincible.

“I eventually passed out not due to the drink but due to physical exhaustion. My body ached for the entire next day. It was full-body hangover that wasn’t worth the crash and burn the drink put me through. Had I been a college freshman with access to this drink in my dorm not only would I have probably abused it because of it’s tasty flavors and the intense buzz but because I didn’t know any better. Kids shouldn’t be able to drink this. Hell, adults without proper supervision probably shouldn’t either. If one thing’s for certain this Four Loko is legit loco. Does it taste good? Heck yes. So be warned.”

While I have to wonder if banning this means we also have to ban Irish Coffee and Red Bull and Vodka, it’s interesting to hear about people drinking this stuff from a personal experience.

Updated, 12:50pm: A person claiming to be Gerlach has sent us an email, and we feel it’s best if we post it in full:

To whom it may concern-

There is a story about me on your website which is 100percent inaccurate. I was one of the kids with my friend buying the 4loko but was not the one buying them. I am not an Economics major, I am not 21 yes and my friend who was buying told the reporter he lived in the Avalon, I live on campus. I have already e-mailed the post, but I would strongly suggest you alter your story or remove it as I said none of this and was not even spoken to by the reporter except when he asked how we knew our friend being interviewed. If you would like more information please contact me and again I am very unhappy, as clearly this puts me in a negative light for something I did not even say.

Thank you

Gregory Gerlach

Updated, 1:20pm: Gerlach has confirmed his identity as an AU student. We have requested clarification from the authors at the Post, but have yet to talk with either of the authors of the original story.

Tom Bridge I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.