Can Whipped Cream with Alcohol Tempt Young People like Four Loko?

Just as the controversial Four Loko beverage - high in both alcohol and caffeine - is being banned, a new alcoholic product is poised to be the new craze among young drinkers. Several companies have introduced cans of flavored whipped cream laced with alcohol.

With names like Cream and Whipped Lightening, these unique products are catching the attention of consumers in a number of states, and are reportedly gaining popularity in college towns.

The cans of whipped cream are sold in liquor stores, like any other consumable alcoholic product. Manufacturers, distributors and retailer all say it is intended for a more mature audience than partying college kids.

"Whipped Lightning is really going into that 30-year-old person into their 50's. Two totally different demographics," distributor Gary Mazzarella told NBC.

Four Loko caused a stir that resulted in the federal Food and Drug Administration banning the use of caffeine in highly-sweetened alcoholic beverages. States such as New York and Michigan banned the sale of Four Loko, which had come to be known as "blackout in a can" by young people, completely. Media outlets reported a brisk online market for those looking to stock up on Four Loko ahead of the ban.

Now products that combine whipped cream and alcohol in a spray can may be moving up the list of must-have products at college parties.

A New Jersey liquor store owner reported selling hundreds of cans of alcohol-infused whipped cream every day. Other stores reported being sold out of every flavor and repeatedly having to reorder, even with a retail price of over $10 per can.

Cream comes in six flavors - cherry, orange, raspberry, chocolate, vanilla or caramel. It is 30 proof, meaning the whipped cream contains 15 percent alcohol by volume.

Whipped Lightening comes in nine flavors with decidedly upscale names - german chocolate, caramel pecan, hazelnut espresso, amaretto, white chocolate raspberry, spiced vanilla, tropical passion, coconut and strawberry colada.

At 15-to-18-percent, the alcohol content of these whipped cream products is similar to that of their liquid relative, Bailey's Irish Cream. Sellers say that dessert-type beverages are a much better comparison than Four Loko.

"Unlike Four Loko, this is such a sweet product that if you took three or four shots of it in your mouth, you'd be like, 'That's enough. I can't eat any more of this stuff.' So, there's no real way you could get a buzz on this like you could get with Four Loko," Max Pendolari, the general manager at the Wine Emporium in Boston told TV station WHDH.

The cans of whipped cream infused with alcohol are similar to Four Loko in one manner, however. They are seen as a novelty - especially by college students and young people - and they are surging in popularity very quickly.