BuzzBallz

BuzzBallz is an American brand of pre-mixed cocktail drinks.

History

The drink was invented by Merrilee Kick and her sons Alex and Andrew in 2009, who was then a high school teacher, in Dallas, Texas. The idea for the cocktail started with a spherical glass that Kick owned.[1]

In a 2016 interview with Forbes, Kick described her difficulties raising money for her business, stating that she was told that she was unlikely to survive in a male-dominated industry. She said she "wouldn’t label [herself] as a feminist because [she] loves guys" and that women have "special skills that men don’t".[2]

Reception

Matt Merkin of Liquor.com described the cocktails as "strong, cheap and ... a lot of fun" and the line of products to have created "an underground drinking phenomenon", stating that they have "colorful containers and equally colorful names".[1] Albert Burneko of Deadspin described BuzzBallz as "the sad cocktail grenades you always wanted".[3] Katie Orlady of the website Spoon University described the drink as a "blinding elixir" and "boozy orbs".[4]

Marcie Seidel of the Drug Free Action Alliance, an Ohio-based substance abuse prevention group, described the 20% alcohol content of the cocktails to be "really scary" and said that the packaging, which targets young people, is concerning for them.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Merkin, Matt (22 September 2014). "The Strange, True Story Behind BuzzBallz". Liquor.com. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  2. ^ Adams, Susan (5 December 2016). "How A High School Teacher Turned BuzzBallz, A Single-Serve Cocktail, Into A $20 Million Business". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  3. ^ Burneko, Albert (24 September 2014). "Hey Look, It's The Sad Cocktail Grenades You Always Wanted". Deadspin. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  4. ^ Orlady, Katie (27 October 2016). "The Unofficially Official Ranking of BuzzBall Flavors". Spoon University. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  5. ^ "'BuzzBallz' Sending Conflicting Messages To Consumers". 10TV. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 2017-08-21.