What does alcopop mean?
An alcopop is a sweet, carbonated, fruit-flavoured alcoholic drink, usually packaged in small single-serve bottles and sold ready to drink. The name is a blend of 'alcohol' and 'pop', reflecting how deliberately these beverages mimic the flavour and appearance of soft drinks. Alcopops emerged as a distinct commercial category in the 1990s, when brands such as Two Dogs, Hooch, and Bacardi Breezer achieved rapid popularity, particularly among young drinkers. Their candy-like taste, bright colours, and playful branding sparked considerable public controversy, especially in Britain, where critics argued they encouraged underage and binge drinking; this debate eventually contributed to regulatory measures, including higher excise duties often referred to as the 'alcopop tax'. Today the category has broadened into what the drinks industry calls ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, including canned cocktails and hard seltzers. The word remains informal in register and is used most frequently in British English, where it evokes both criticism of youth drinking culture and a certain 1990s nostalgia.
nounA sweet, fruit-flavoured carbonated alcoholic drink, typically sold in small bottles and marketed to appeal to younger drinkers.
- A sweet, fizzy, fruit-flavoured premixed alcoholic drink sold in single-serve bottles.
"The corner shop was fined for selling alcopops to teenagers."
"She picked up a couple of alcopops on her way to the party."
"Public health campaigners argued that alcopops were deliberately designed to mask the taste of alcohol."
Standard plural; commonly used when referring to the product category as a whole.
"The ban covered the sale of alcopops to anyone under eighteen."
In the 1990s, brightly coloured alcopops like Hooch and Bacardi Breezer caused such a moral panic in Britain over underage drinking that regulators stepped in — coining the very term 'alcopop tax' years later.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of alcopop
The word 'alcopop' arose in the early 1990s as a blend of 'alcohol' and 'pop', coined to describe the new generation of sweet premixed alcoholic drinks then entering British and Australian markets. Its first element derives from 'alcohol', which itself traces back through Arabic ('al-kuḥl', originally a fine powder) into European scientific vocabulary, while 'pop' refers to carbonated soft drinks. The term spread from Britain to other English-speaking countries and remains in active use, though the industry increasingly prefers the label 'ready-to-drink' or RTD.
How alcopop is actually used
Informal register; the term is especially common in British English, where it also carries connotations of youth drinking culture and 1990s nostalgia. In industry contexts it overlaps with 'ready-to-drink' or RTD beverages.
Easily confused with alcopop
Soda pop is a non-alcoholic soft drink, whereas an alcopop is a sweet carbonated drink that contains alcohol.