I can easily breeze through a bottle.....or two. (Bacardi Breezer)

Member Name: hypno06

Product:	Bacardi Breezer
Date:	19/08/09 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Refreshing, good range of flavours

Disadvantages: Deceptive - appealing to youngsters.

Alco-pops came onto the scene a few years ago - the likes of WKD and Bacardi Breezer giving teens and early twenty-somethings, an altenative to vodka and coke, and lager.

They have been openly criticised for appealing too much to underage drinkers - being more like soft drinks than anything we have seen before, and at the same time being "pocket money prices", thereby tempting youngsters to indulge (and over-indulge) when perhaps they shouldn't be.

A bottle of bacardi breezer is typically 4% volume - whilst not huge, this is the same as many lagers, and you can get drunk on these just as you could be a little the worse for wear after several bottles of Bud.

The difference between bottles of breezers, and bottles of beer however, is that you really can't taste the alcohol in the breezers - so you have little awareness of the cumulative effect, until it is too late, you are snogging the ugly guy, singing drunken karaoke, and baring your breasts as you stagger down the road declaring "I really really love you" to every random passer by or homeless person.

Yes, these really do give the impression that they are just fizzy drinks. And that can be quite a dangerous thing if you are not "drink aware".......and the advertising campaigns over the years has addressed that somewhat, with the "drink aware" logo in the ads.....for those who want to take any notice of it.

I don't normally drink alco-pops, preferring a nice glass of decent wine instead, but I was given a selection of bottles recently, and with the hot weather, they have been quite nice to drink instead of my usual vino when I finally get to sit down in the evening. Occasionally, when I have been to a pub where the choice of wine is incredibly limited, looking as though it has been won in a raffle at the local fete, I have opted for a breezer as the safe option, when I have not wanted a short drink such as a spirit.

Breezers come in a variety of fruit based flavours, from lemon and orange flavours, through to watermelon and cranberry flavours - with a good choice normally available in clubs, bars and supermarkets the country over. I would guess that I have sampled most flavours over the years, and there is not one that I dislike, although I suppose I like the watermelon one best.

As their name suggests, they are made with Bacardi Rum, which is then mixed with fruit flavours and sparkling water to make a long drink. It is best served chilled.

They are refreshing, and lovely to have on a hot summers day, like those we are experiencing at the moment, but they really don't have that alcoholic "kick" that you get from other drinks.

I am currently sitting here with a bottle of the orange flavoured one, and to be honest, I could be sitting here with a bottle of the orangina that I reviewed earlier today - other than the label on the bottle there is nothing in the taste to distinguish between soft drink and alcoholic drink.

This is, I think, particularly dangerous, not just for those who are under age, but for those who may drink these on a hot day, then forget that they have had two or three, and who get in their car to drive home. Each bottle is equivalent to 1.1 units of alcohol, so you don't need much to be over the limit, and even with just one bottle, there will likely be an effect to some extent on your reactions.

So, all in all, like the drink, I am mixed.......Breezers are nice, and refreshing, tasty and cheap, reliable when faced with dodgy wine as an alternative, perfect for a summer's day........but deceptive.

My rating, therefore, has to be three stars - I like them, but I do worry about the ease at which they can be consumed without people thinking that they are actually "drinking".

Summary: Be Drink Aware.