When it comes to the burgeoning category of alcohol beverages with caffeine, we think Sparks is one of the oldest, and Jett is one of the newest. Sparks is under fire from this lawsuit alleging it’s dangerous to mix alcohol and caffeine. As the bigger companies and brands come under attack and ease away (as in the case where Tilt removed the caffeine), this leaves a big, high-risk, high-reward opportunity for smaller brands such as Jett. Does anyone know of a brand approved for US-sale prior to Sparks (with alcohol and added caffeine, pre-mixed)?
Caffeine
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Robert C. Lehrman is the principal attorney at Lehrman Beverage Law, PLLC. Robert founded the firm in 2001 after 12 years at the Washington, DC office of a larger firm that specializes in federal and state administrative law. From 1998...... Read Full Bio
Sparks still appears to be the first with added caffeine, but Oxtails is only a day late and caffeine short (it does have guarana and ginseng).
The first Sparks approval looks to be from 7/25/01 (when it was known as “Sparks Ignition System”).
The first Oxtails approval is from 7/12/01, but is not viewable on the TTB database. The next earliest Oxtails approval is from 7/26/01, one day after Sparks.