What exactly is in alcopops?
Around 200 calories, unless artificial sweeteners are substituted for sugar solution. But it’s impossible to be sure in most cases because alcoholic drinks of above 1.2% by volume are exempt from the relevant UK food labelling regulations. (Some products do list their ingredients and give ‘nutritional’ information, principally those also marketed outside the UK.) So if you’re diabetic, or allergic to gluten, or concerned about animal-derived products then you can’t tell whether you’re safe (though nut allergies are unlikely to be provoked). Kudos to Coors Brewers for including calorie counts in their product information page. An interesting query is the kosher status of alcopops. I’m grateful to correspondents who have informed me that Skyy Blue is kosher, Doc’s Hard Lemonade may be, while Smirnoff Ice and Mike’s beverages currently lack kosher certification.
