I can't figure out how "Powdered Alcohol" can be alcoholic. The ethanol would evaporate before the water

They did a thing on that on the local news here last week. None of the testers were much impressed - what it really seemed likely to do was fuck you up if you get stopped on the road because you're not actually drunk but your breathalyzer scores are off the chart.

I was consumed by curiosity as to how you powder alcohol, and finally managed to google this:

FOOD TECHNOLOGY JANUARY 2000

Alcohol in powdered form. Spray-dried alcohol powders (also called “powdered alcohol”) have been developed by Senba San Francisco Food Processing, 291 Geary St., Suite 205, San Francisco, CA 94102 (phone 415-398-4533; fax 415-398-3189) for use as an ingredient in a variety of nonbeverage applications. The powder contains approximately 30% alcohol by dry weight, and is said to maintain a high degree of the original flavor of the alcohol solution. It is available in such flavors as brandy, rum, whiskey, red wine, white wine, and vodka.

According to the manufacturer, the powder is produced in the following way. A solution of water and alcohol is mixed with maltodextrin and then spray-dried at relatively low temperatures. Each molecule of alcohol is encapsulated by dextrin during the spray-drying process and the smaller water molecules are allowed to pass through the surface and evaporate. There is about a 5% loss of alcohol on the surface of each droplet.

The powdered alcohol may be used in such applications as cake mixes, ice cream mixes, jelly and jams, dried soups, cheeses, chocolates, biscuits, breads, hams and sausages, candies, gourmet coffees, and sauces. By adding the ingredient to a dry mix, it can improve the taste and batter consistency of the product, while accentuating flavors.

It offers various advantages over liquid alcohol such as convenience, easier handling and storage, and reduced safety concerns. Furthermore, alcohol powders (with an addition of 1.5% salt) can be handled without having a liquor permit and without paying federal alcohol taxes. The ingredient is labeled as a natural flavor.

I want vodka Pixie Stix!

Oh I see, that's something different. They were testing the vaporizer thing.

Mmmmm. I covered for one of my coworkers while she was on vacation in Canada, and she brought me back some maple syrup. I may have to change my dinner plans from a green salad with grilled chicken to french toast.

So basically the ethanol molecules are physically trapped in a starch cage. Alton Brown should do a show on this. Think of the models he could make.

Hey, is Gud around? I'm on my way back west starting tomorrow (with a stop by the waterpark) so could be through KC Friday evening or Saturday noonish. If it's convenient, I wouldn't mind saying hello to KC-istas.

Ack, bad timing for me. My daughter's birthday party is Saturday and we're booked up Friday.

Hey bon bon, I think that Play! might be my new favorite thing, but I'll let you know for sure later....

Wow!

I wanted to watch Anthony Bourdain's EXTREME travel/cuisine show on Travel Channel afterward, but we were pretty wiped out.

Nora, I've been trying to find that channel. I've got like almost every station you can get but I can't find it in the listings. Do you know what channel number it's at (or approximately)? Or do you have sattelite (I'm on Comcast)?

I haven't seen Tennant play Casanova, but he didn't ping me as hawt in "He Knew He Was Right" even slightly.

That's because that character was supposed to be geeky and flat-footed, not hawt. He is, above all, just a really, really good actor.

But I've no idea what his Doctor will be like.