Top 10 Alcohol Brands That Dont Exist Anymore

There have been a number of Budweiser products that have gone the way of the dodo over the years. Budweiser Malt Liquor didn’t survive the 70s, and Bud Dry was discontinued in 2000. The company’s attempt at an IPA, Budweiser American Ale, disappeared in 2015. However, Bud Ice, which debuted in 1993, was a fairly popular brand that still exists today. The Light variant of Bud Ice, however? Not so much. Turns out that Bud drinkers appreciated the extra alcohol content in original Bud Ice, but balked at its ‘less filling’ alternative. It left store shelves in 2010.

The Bacardi Breezer possesses a complicated release history, with some variants becoming discontinued, while other countries still stock some manifestation of the beverage. These fruit-flavored rum drinks are known as “Alcopops” in some countries, and have enjoyed major popularity around the world. The original run of Bacardi Breezers thrived in the U.K. throughout the 90s and beyond, but eventually fell out of favor and were discontinued in 2015. Customers in Canada, Israel and India can still source the OG versions of these drinks, while a new iteration from Bacardi, titled the Breezer Spritzed, returned to the U.K. in 2019.

We’re sticking with the U.K. for our next entry, a strong and pungent cider by the name of White Lightning. Apple was the primary flavor profile behind White Lightning, but the real reason it initially became successful was its high alcohol content and comparatively affordable price tag. As a result, White Lightning quickly became negatively associated with alcohol use disorder and under-age drinking, and it was discontinued by the Heineken group at the end of 2009. However, 2021 did see a spiritual relaunch of sorts with the Inch’s Cider brand, named for White Lighting’s original manufacturer. This new version isn’t nearly as cheap, though, nor does it possess the same punch.

Was there anything as capital N NINETIES as Aftershock Liqueur? This garishly colored stuff was heartburn in a bottle, yet its sugary flavoring and wicked alcohol content helped make it the party drink du jour. All gross things must come to an end, however, including Aftershock’s Thermal Bite. This mint-flavored drink basically tasted like mouthwash, but it could get you wrecked in an instant…if you were willing to suffer the sharp bite and punishing aftertaste. Today, the Aftershock brand lives on, but Thermal Bite was given the axe in 2009, and we’re honestly not sorry to see it gone.

We’re not sure if the siblings of any modern American president would want to market a beer today, but we’d sure like to see one try! Billy Beer was a blink-and-you-miss collaboration between President Jimmy Carter’s brother Billy and the Falls City Brewing Company. The lager was brewed up in the summer of 1977 and discontinued before 1978 had come to a close. Interested in finding out what it tasted like? Unopened cans of Billy Beer have been known to pop up on sites like Ebay, but we definitely don’t think ingesting it would be a good idea.

Introduced in 1997, Tequiza was Anheuser-Busch’s attempt at grabbing a bit of the popular Mexican lager market cornered by other beers like Corona. However, this tequila, lime and agave flavored beer never really seemed to connect with American consumers. Those customers probably would’ve just rather enjoyed a real slice of lime with their Corona or tequila, but hey, what do we know? Anheuser-Busch tried to support Tequiza for over a decade before their Bud Light Lime brand finally gave them the success they’d been seeking.

Speaking of Bud Light Lime, who remembers the Lime Beer Wars of the Late 2000s? Miller Chill was first out the gate in 2007 with their salted lime lager, but its retail success was quickly overtaken by its competitor, Bud Light Lime. The reason? Well, for many, Budweiser’s lime beer simply tasted better. Miller Chill was discontinued in the mid-2010s, but if you’re heading down under, the brand is actually still available in Australia! Might not be worth planning a trip for, but hey, if you’re already there, why not?

Skyy Blue was another marketing failure for the Miller Brewing Company, a malt alcoholic beverage with a packaging that mirrored that of the successful Skyy Blue Vodka brand. This variant, however, didn’t take, despite an aggressive ad campaign that tried to make Skyy Blue the hip and cool new drink for the twenty-something set.. Ths beer and liquor buying public simply weren’t interested in a citrusy malt beverage back in the early nineties. But if there are any Skyy Blue fanatics out there, we have good news. It’s still available in Mexico!

A lot of things come up when one watches a nostalgic retrospective about the 1990s. Tamagotchis. Frosted tips. Bill Clinton playing the saxophone. Oh, and Zima. Lots of Zima. This was a Citrus-flavored cooler somewhat similar to Smirnoff Ice that marketed itself as the drink of choice for people who don’t like beer. It worked for a while, but that initial curiosity soon waned into disinterest, and Zima officially bit the dust in the United States in 2008. The brand did enjoy a brief revival in 2017, and it never went away in Japan.

It wasn’t called “blackout in a can” for nothing. Combining an energy drink with malt alcohol, the original Four Loko was introduced in 2005, and attained popularity within just a few years. The alcohol content ranged all the way from 6% to 14%! After a series of blackouts and injuries in colleges, Four Loko came under fire in 2010, and ended up facing bans in several states. This was the death knell for the original Four Loko. A reformulated version was launched without caffeine, guarana, and taurine, and it’s no longer marketed as an energy drink.