Latest news with #MerrileeKick
Scottish Sun
05-07-2025
- Health
- Scottish Sun
I tried ‘dangerous' Buzzballz cocktails loved by Gen Z – just a couple would leave me on the floor
Scroll down to find out why a nutritionist says the premixed beverages are 'the worst' drinks for your health she has ever come across BUZZING FOR BUZZBALLZ I tried 'dangerous' Buzzballz cocktails loved by Gen Z – just a couple would leave me on the floor Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IN a kaleidoscope of colours and fruity flavours, BuzzBallz are fast becoming the alcoholic tipple of choice among Gen Z this summer. But experts warn the Instagram-worthy orbs are misleadingly boozy, with staggeringly high sugar and carb contents. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 BuzzBallz are fast becoming the alcoholic tipple of choice among Gen Z this summer Credit: NNP The snazzy cans are small enough to fit into a handbag and available for as little as £2.99. However, nutritionist Rachael Gray warned the premixed beverages were 'the worst' drinks for your health that she had ever come across. She told the Sun on Sunday: 'Drinks like these affect the body in all kinds of ways. 'They cause inflammation and dehydration and over time will damage the liver and eyesight. 'They look so appealing. 'You can see how they would appeal to children, which is really worrying. 'The carb and sugar content of these drinks is extremely high. 'For such a small drink, they are very alcoholic. 'That's dangerous as, if you are young, you might not think to look at the volume. 'They don't even look particularly like they're alcoholic. Brits reveal their most underrated parts of a night out with pals 'They could easily be mistaken for an energy drink.' BuzzBallz contain up to 288 calories and 26g of sugar per 200ml drink, making them among the least healthy on the market. They are also a boozy 13.5 per cent proof — as strong as wine. The sugar content, however, means it is much easier to knock them back. There are seven flavours, including Tequila 'Rita, Chili Mango and Pornstar Martini, and their unique packaging makes them stand out on the supermarket shelves. The cans are available at mainstream shops such as Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Asda, but are cheapest at Aldi, where they cost £2.99. In the past year, sales have tripled due to their affordability and social media presence. TikTok is full of 'before and after' videos demonstrating their effects. One woman, who sank just two of the sugary blends, revealed: 'I have never had a hangover like that in my life. 'I was paralytic.' Another claimed: 'I felt like I'd just drank gasoline.' And a third said: 'I actually don't think those are fit for human consumption.' Snow globe Teacher Merrilee Kick, from Texas, came up with the idea for BuzzBallz while marking papers by the pool in the mid-2000s. It was a baking hot day and the 62-year-old fancied a cocktail in a plastic container rather than a fragile glass. Her inspirations for the eye-catching cans were the spherical shape of a snow globe and some tennis balls. Merrilee, who has two adult sons, got a loan to finance her business and enlisted the help of her family to launch it. BuzzBallz are now sold across the world and, in April 2024, the company was sold for around $500million. Here, we taste test some of the flavours and hear from two women with very different opinions on the tipple. Tequila 'Rita (18g sugar, 219 cals) 'This citrusy cocktail tastes like a toxic Sprite. It's refreshing, but gulp it too fast and it's in danger of taking the skin off the roof of your mouth.' 6 Victoria Williams said: 'This citrusy cocktail tastes like a toxic Sprite' Credit: NNP Strawberry 'Rita (18g sugar, 220 cals) 'I could easily neck the entire drink in less than a minute. It's sweet, potent and delicious. A few more of these and I will be on the floor' 6 Victoria said: 'I could easily neck the entire drink in less than a minute. It's sweet, potent and delicious' Credit: NNP Choc Tease (26g sugar, 279 cals) 'This tastes like a slightly low-rent Baileys. It's creamy, sweet and incredibly boozy. I just want to pour it into an ice-filled tumbler.' 6 Victoria said: 'It's creamy, sweet and incredibly boozy. I just want to pour it into an ice-filled tumbler' Credit: NNP 'PERFECT FOR BEACH AND FESTIVALS' COLLEGE student Izzy Lopez, 19, reckons BuzzBallz are the perfect boozy refresher on long, hot days. Izzy, who lives in Ealing, London, and is studying IT, said: 'BuzzBallz are the must-have drink for Gen Z this summer, especially at festivals and on beach holidays, and they're easy to carry and drink. 6 Izzy Lopez reckons BuzzBallz are the perfect boozy refresher on long, hot days Credit: Olivia West 'The containers and colours are cool and you can pop them in your bag and enjoy one when you're out. 'I like the sweet taste and in some shops they're less than £3. 'It's a cool cost-of-living-beating cocktail for Gen Z. 'All my friends are talking about them. 'They evoke a sense of fun, they're great as a party starter and you can keep the balls afterwards for candle holders. 'They don't taste like alcohol but still give you a fun party buzz. 'My mum loves them too. 'We have a giggle because we're not really drinking we're 'buzzing'.' 'JUST TWO DRINKS KNOCKED ME OUT' MUM-OF-TWO Cindy Powell knows all too well just how dangerous the drinks can be. The 22-year-old said she was 'knocked out' by just a couple of cans at a family party. 6 Cindy Powell said she was 'knocked out' by just a couple of cans at a family party Credit: Roland Leon She explained: 'Just two hit me hard almost immediately. 'I was knocked out and slept for hours. 'What stunned me was how fast I felt the effect – I hadn't even been tired. 'I'm not a big drinker, but two small drinks having such a dramatic impact was scary. 'I woke up feeling dizzy and disoriented. 'Don't be fooled by fun names like Strawberry 'Rita or one looking like chocolate milk. 'Just because they look like toys, you still need to be safe. 'When I found out they had over 13 per cent alcohol, I was shocked.'
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
On a roll: the snowballing success of BuzzBallz pre-mix cocktails
A trip to a dive bar over the weekend has left me riddled with despair. It was the first time in quite a while that I'd left a house party to Go On Somewhere Else™, and when I arrived at 3am, I noticed that all the other customers were so young. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. None of them was even alive for the millennium bug, yet they all wear low-rise jeans. While my friends and I sing Avril Lavigne's Complicated with eye-watering sincerity, they join in ironically. Hell, they even show their top and bottom teeth when they smile. And, at this party, they were also all drinking BuzzBallz, curious little single-serve drinks that are becoming as prevalent as tonic wine in that small category of bottles you regularly see balanced precariously on windowsills on a Sunday morning. A buzzball is a cocktail in a rotund little can or plastic container that fits rather ergonomically into the palm. Sealed with a ringpull at the top, and made with opaque or transparent recycled plastic, they have a pleasing y2k vibe. The company was founded in 2009 by one Merrilee Kick (a fabulously American name), a teacher who wanted the welly of a cocktail but without the fragility, or ceremony, of drinking it from a cocktail glass. It's little wonder that BuzzBallz have picked up pace with gen Z. I've written before about the tinnification of booze, and its implications for the drinking habits of the younger generation, but these ones are designed specifically for those among them who actually enjoy drinking. BuzzBallz come in 200ml measures, and are all at 13.5% ABV, which puts them at the same strength as a medium/large glass of wine. That said, with the help of their high sugar content, I daresay you'll get to where you need to be a lot quicker. There are various flavours, from Chili Mango and Lotta Colada to Tequila 'Rita and Pornstar Martini. (Incidentally, does anyone know why we started calling the latter passion fruit martinis? If you're old enough to drink one, you're old enough to know what a porn star is, surely?) So, to the off-licence! My local in east London had five varieties in stock, so I bought one of each. And, on the whole, they're actually fun and really rather delicious – not as strong as I'd have hoped (it's only 13.5% ABV), and lacking the acidity of a cocktail made with freshly squeezed lime or lemon. If you're comparing BuzzBallz with a fancy cocktail from a glitzy bar, you quite obviously shouldn't. This is a completely different ballgame, for when you're after something you can pull from a box of melting ice as if you're diving for pearls, when it's hot out and all you want is something cold, simple and sexy to drink. Strawberry 'Rita £3.99 (200ml) Drink Supermarket, 13.5%. A lurid cherry red, but the strawberry doesn't taste too artificial. Add a squeeze of lime. Choc Tease £3.99 (200ml) Drink Supermarket, 13.5%. I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. Like a boozy Chocomel. And it tastes strong. Pornstar Martini £3.99 (200ml) Drink Supermarket, 13.5%. Super-sweet, but good if you like your pornstars more vanilla. Chili Mango £3.99 (200ml) Drink Supermarket, 13.5%. Really, really good. If a picante margarita is your thing, you'll get a lot out of this.
