On the demise of Four Loko

I'm embarrassed that it took me this long to write this.  Not because I'm a huge fan of Four Loko or anything, but because I believe they were wrongfully made the scapegoat for some stupid college kids that don't know what they're doing.  If they're in college, odds are they can do math.  12% ABV x 24 oz = 5-6 beers worth of booze.  You better be ready.
I think there's a key difference between me and the other jaggoffs that are chastising Four Loko like it killed their father.  I have actually had it before.  More than once for what it's worth.  I threw it an unofficial going away party by drinking 2 cans (actually half of four cans, shared with a buddy) and building Legos for New Years Eve.  Bad decision?  Definitely.  Awesome time?  Hell yeah!  It tastes like death, but it's crazy colored, high in alcohol, and (used to be) caffeinated, the perfect New Years drink.  It's also really good at kicking food out of your belly the next day.  Anyway, being wide awake while drunk didn't impair my ability to realize that drinking an additional 2 cans would be a terrible decision.

The main point I want to put out there is that it is not up to the FDA to police the booze habits of college kids.  Yup, caffeinated alcoholic beverages give you a different kind of drunk.  The failure here is not with the companies for not adequately labeling the cans (Four Loko was obviously proud of their 12% ABV), it's with the kids for being, pardon my language, retarded.  Throw some blame at the parents too, basic math skills and alcohol knowledge are not too hard to impart.  We don't need neo-prohibitionists trying to tell us what is and what isn't safe to drink.  Yup, drinking 4 cans of Four Loko will not be good for you.  Neither will drinking 4 double vodka Red Bulls, but I can still buy those.  Spend my tax dollars elsewhere.

I'll end this rant before I get too irritating, but join me in raising a glass to Four Loko.  They were taken from us before their time.  Bottoms up.