There’s no ritual quite as precious as scouring your local Off Licence shelves for the nicest tasting booze, with the highest alcohol percentage for value.
But it would seem the latest contender is a newcomer from the US – which makes drinks that look more like colourful Christmas baubles than cocktails.
BuzzBallz have been all over social media, as Gen Z’s latest experimental beverage of choice.
A flurry of flavours – from Strawberry ‘Rita to Espresso Martini – are available to sample, packaged in cute, globular 200 ml containers.
But be careful – as they pack quite a punch with 13.5 per cent alcohol by volume.
It’s comparable to a famously pungent MOTH Margarita can (14.9 per cent) or Whitebox’s Classic Cosmo (16.8 per cent) – contrasted with a gentler offering such as Smirnoff’s canned Vodka & Diet Cola Can (5 per cent) or a tinned 19 Crimes Chardonnay (10.5 per cent).
Young people in the UK have branded the whimsical imports ‘dangerous’, claiming a few sips will have you feeling ‘tipsy’.
‘One of these have me really feeling it, ngl,’ influencer @nikitavmehta said in a taste test.
‘One of these have me really feeling it, ngl,’ influencer @nikitavmehta (pictured) said in a taste test
Elsewhere, sampling the Tequila ‘Rita flavour, clad in a lime green bottle, @megnealeee and a friend remarked that it smelt like ‘honey’.
‘That’s actually quite nice,’ they said. ‘It’s limey. Zesty.’
In the caption, they added: ‘Confused how something this small can make you so drunk… Two of these and @freyaevans2901 lost the apartment key hahahaha.’
In another TikTok, @venusandme documented ‘every sip’ of her BuzzBall – often wincing at how strong she found the alcohol.
‘It’s like drinking straight vodka,’ she reflected.
The brand, which has been a hit across the pond as well, was invented by Texan school teacher Merrilee Kick.
In another TikTok, @venusandme documented ‘every sip’ of her BuzzBall – often wincing at how strong she found the alcohol
According to the website, she was battling the heat while grading papers by the pool and ‘had a craving for a cocktail that she could sip from a plastic container rather than a fragile glass’.
‘Inspired by the spherical shape of a snow globe bought on a family trip to Sweden and a can of tennis balls she saw in a sporting goods store, her innovative idea for BuzzBallz began to take shape,’ the story continued.
‘After graduating with a MBA, Merrilee tirelessly researched and developed her concept, taking out a loan to launch the company and enlisting her family to help get the business of the ground.
‘Fast forward to today, millions of BuzzBallz are sold across the United States and internationally.’
The cocktails – which are made with ‘real fruit juice or cream’ and ‘premium spirits’ – are contained in 100 per cent recyclable packaging.
Merrilee sold her company to Sazerac, D Magazine reports, and gifted $30 million to her alma mater, the Texas Woman’s University (TWU).
‘I was a teacher, my parents were teachers, and their parents were teachers,’ she told the outlet.
‘So, to me, educating people is the difference between poverty and wealth. Education is the key to freedom. If you’re not educated, sometimes you can succeed through grit and willpower, but many times people without an education cannot get out of this disparity.’
Elsewhere, sampling the Tequila ‘Rita flavour, clad in a lime green bottle, @megnealeee and a friend remarked that it smelt like ‘honey’
According to the website, she was battling the heat while grading papers by the pool and ‘had a craving for a cocktail that she could sip from a plastic container rather than a fragile glass’
Young people in the UK have branded the whimsical imports ‘dangerous’, claiming a few sips will have you feeling ‘tipsy’
It was at TWU, while doing her MBA, that Merrilee developed the business plan for her brand – then called PartyBallz.
For the next four years, she’ll stay on as the CEO as her company ‘slowly integrates as a Sazerac brand’.
The trendy booze brand taking over the UK’s corner shops comes despite new research claims that Gen Z believe Dry January has become outdated, with 20 per cent already giving up drinking for good.
Young adults think people should move on from the fad because many have already adopted a flexible relationship with booze which sees them stay sober for longer.
A fifth of 18 to 24-year-olds are teetotal, which is 12 per cent higher than the national average, according to a study conducted by pub and brewer Greene King.
Around 22 per cent of British adults took part in Dry January this year but those in Gen-Z do not understand the point in quitting for just one month.
The Greene King survey also found that Norwich is the most sober city in the UK with 26 per cent of residents not drinking.
It is followed by Portsmouth where a fifth of locals have given up alcohol while 17 per cent of people in Southampton are tee-total and 14 per cent of those in Liverpool are alcohol-free.
Around 12 per cent of people in Leicester, Wolverhampton, Cambridge and Birmingham are also sober – while 11 per cent of residents in both Brighton and Leeds do not drink alcohol.
A third of people also believe there are more options for sober people on a night out than there were five years ago and one in four said they feel less pressured to drink.
Elsewhere, more than 80 per cent think their friends and family would be supportive if they decided not to have any alcohol.
Andrew Gallagher, brand and marketing director at Greene King, said: ‘There’s no doubt that the UK drinking culture has seen a notable change in recent years.
‘Pubs are more than just a great place to enjoy a drink and perfect for socialising with family and friends all year round, whether you’re drinking or not.’
