by cowdery » Sun Dec 05, 2010 8:24 pm
The FDA drew a distinction between beverages to which caffeine is specifically added as an ingredient and beverages, such as a coffee liqueur or a bourbon and cola pre mix, in which the presence of caffeine is incidental. A cola doesn't have to contain caffeine, of course, and most contain very little. Jolt Cola was one that went to a higher dose of caffeine, bringing it up to about the caffeine in coffee.
I don't think there has been a Jim Beam bond sold in the U.S. probably since the 1960s. They make Old Bourbon Hollow, which is BIB, but it doesn't carry the Beam name.
Bourbon and Cola pre-mixes are very popular down under but they've never been popular in the U.S. because high taxes on spirits make them uncompetitive price-wise and restrictions on where spirits-based products may be sold put them at a distribution disadvantage compared to malt beverages. Instead of pre-mixes we have the flavored malt beverages, like Smirnoff Ice or Jack Daniel's Black Jack Cola, which are just flavored beer and contain no spirits.