On the way back from Splash in the Boro (again!), we, our party of 11 (!), stopped at a convenience store for overpriced drinks. When I got back in the truck, Eddie said, “I got you some material for your blog.”
Naturally, I have some remarks. Well, questions really.
1. This is a selling point for the convenience store?
2. What would make anyone buy anything Billy Dee Williams is selling? He hasn’t been relevant since 1980.
3. Colt 45? Really? This is what the great Lando Calrissian is reduced to hawking? (Maybe his quote from “Empire Strikes Back” explains it: “I’ve done all I can. I’m sorry I couldn’t do better, but I got my own problems.”)
I took an informal survey of the four adults in the vehicle and none of us had tried this beverage. One had tried Mad Dog 20/20 (Ida, I’m still amazed!).
I’m not above purchasing and consuming Colt 45 in the name of science, but I want to know what I should expect. Anyone care to give me a preview?
Observe and report 
Billy Dee Williams was the epitome of cool and signed up to hawk malt liquor to the urban masses. That was at the time a controversial move and remains so to this day. That convenience store was clearly trying to capitalize on an old – albeit successful- marketing campaign.
Having consumed my share of malt liquor as a youth and in my early 20s, I can tell you it’s a strong, potent beer with an acquired taste. According to urban legend, malt liquor is the dregs of what’s left over after regular beer is brewed. Various forms of this liquor has appeared under a myriad of names (colt 45, St. Ides, Crazy Horse,etc) and it’s often sold in the African-American communities. That’s why the BDW ads are so controversial.
Over the years, malt liquor came under fire by urban activists who alleged it was a means of poisoning black men. That remains to be seen, but what is true is that those beverages are not often sold in white communities.
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Some other points I forgot to make:
* The BDW ads were in the mid-80s, hence the old packaging/image that you saw in the convenience store.
* The alcohol in malt liquors is supposed to significantly higher than that of regular beer. That’s yet another reason urban activists were strongly advocating for the removal of this beverage from urban communities.
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Well, you are a regular Wikipedia entry! Thank you for the information.
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By the way, this was a new convenience store in a very pale neighborhood.
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