AWOL: Alcohol Without Liquid vaporizer
By Katie Fehrenbacher 
posted Aug 23rd 2004 3:38AM
posted Aug 23rd 2004 3:38AM
We're not sure we want to inhale anything these three are selling, but AWOL, or Alcohol WithOut Liquid, debuted their liquid-free alcohol vapor machine in New York this past weekend. AWOL mixes an alcohol like vodka or whisky with pressurized oxygen which you basically suck down for 20 minutes for a hangover-free alcohol hit. The machine looks ultra shady and the mouth pieces look suspiciously like recycled asthma inhalers, but the AWOL site insists that it's all very legal and safe and so forth. Nevertheless a state senator is already introducing legislation to ban the thing and bars and night clubs are decidely uneasy about it. We sure wouldn't feel confident accepting a puff from this smoldering-stared ladies man.
Inhaling alcohol vapors just doesn't seem safe to me. I enjoy breathing, so I think I'll take a pass on this one.
If only they could figure out way to combine cigarette smoke with the alcohol -- that would be so much more efficient. Oxygen? Who needs that?!
Speaking of which, with this device give rise to a new "drunk on second-hand fumes" excuse?
... a new phrase will be heard at bars:
"So THATS what rufies taste like... Wow, I never knew."
Sitting at the bar and casually sipping your martini, or sitting at the bar and sucking down fumes from a large plastic dick?
"hangover-free alcohol hit."
show me the dick.
Hmmm, I wonder if they put cannabis in a drink, if they'll make it legal...
when i was in college, my friends and i once snorted vodka. one of them had heard that that was the cool thing to do amongst japanese businessmen. you take just a little bit, put it in a bottle cap and snort it. hurts like hell for a second, but the alcohol goes directly into your bloodstream and right to your brain. a half-teaspoon gets you crazy drunk for a couple minutes and then you're totally sober again. since the actual amount of alcohol in your system is much less than from drinking, you don't end up with a hangover. it's pretty easy to see the appeal, but the actual act of snorting the vodka was unpleasant enough that once was enough for us (one of my friends ended up with a nosebleed). this sounds like a much easier and safer way to achieve the same thing.
....will be my next startup bus. venture.
I can see here that most of you people are just basing your opinions on what you've read. I have personnally seen and experienced this at a trade show. I'm not much of a drinker myself, but this reminded me of the oxygen bar craze that I never got around to trying. I would compare this to that craze, just with a twist.
I found it was actually more enjoyable to 'sniff' it rather than suck on the disposable breather tubes. Think smelling the liquor from the bottle, but REALLY getting a good sniff. It does seem to hit you quicker - the whole bypassing the digestion part. And, yes, that secondhand fumes is right on, at least within a 3 foot radius. I should point out that they did have 3 of them going nonstop though.
Maybe people don't realize that this is only new to the US - it's already debutted in Europe and Asia successfully. So many americans are so arrogantly ignorant of the happenings going on in the rest of the world.
(for the person who doesn't think inhaling alcohol vapors is safe - if you think that's a bad idea, then definately don't DRINK any booze!)
About the senator trying to ban it... on what grounds? Damn for everything that can be enjoyable, there's a person out there trying to ban it...