Here is the tale of two Tilts. One was approved in June of 2007, and the other was approved a bit over a year later. The lower, older (orange) one claims caffeine, ginseng and guarana as ingredients. The upper, newer (green) one claims none of these things. Why? Lyke 2 Drink and The Syracuse newspaper reports:

Anheuser-Busch Inc. will stop producing caffeinated alcohol beverages under an agreement reached with attorneys general in 11 states, including New York, said Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said today. … Under the agreement, Anheuser-Busch will reformulate its Tilt malt beverage and Bud Extra beer to remove caffeine and guarana, a caffeine-bearing berry, company officials said.

This change seems to be well under way.

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)?

Camper English wrote a great post about Cachaca, at Alcademics a while back. But he showed only small pieces of the label, leaving some room for us to come in with the labels and approvals. Alcademics said:

Of all the competitions between all the spirits brands, there is no more heated battle than the one for dominance of the cachaca market. Cachaca, Brazilian rum made from sugar cane (instead of molasses) is the ingredient in the Caipirinha … there are thousands of cachacas in Brazil, and most Americans don’t know what cachaca is.

He points out the leading brands, at this point, are Sagatiba, Cabana and Leblon. The Cabana label and its racy ad is above. We hesitate to categorize these products as rum, because the cachaca producers tend to insist it is not rum. But for now, TTB classifies it as rum, and requires “rum” on the label, as on each label here.

Here is Kelpie Seaweed Ale, made in Scotland and imported by Legends Ltd. of Baltimore, MD. The back label explains that the ingredients are:  malted barley bree, hops and seaweed. The late and noted beer aficionado, Michael Jackson, described it this way:

The new product has a mahogany color; a slightly ash-like aroma; and some sour-and-sweet seaweed notes over the fruitiness and maltiness of a Scotch Ale. The seaweed, harvested in the Western Highlands, is used in the mash tun. The idea is to replicate the flavors that might have arisen when island crofters used seaweed to reinforce the soil in which they grew barley. The beer is not intended to have the medicinal, iodine-like, seaweed character of an Islay whisky like Laphroaig.

Many thanks to Tracy F. Several readers suggested this label but she was first.