My friend Wolf Starr sent me an email introducing me to Columbus entrepreneur Dave Colina’s latest project. The email was a sentence long.
Cheryl, Get a case it will change your life.
Well damn. OK.
Dave showed up at my office on a Friday with a couple bottles in hand and proceeded to share some background about the product with me – he and some friends, accustomed to the party life but not particularly accustomed to the morning-after feeling that so often accompanies it, decided to create a cure for the common hangover. After spending a couple years researching the subject, they uncovered studies that indicated that oxygen was a key ingredient in jumpstarting your liver’s ability to process all the potent potables you previously poured in it. Add to that some electrolytes to absorb the hydration (the “water” part) and some caffeine to keep your eyes open, and you get formula AM.
Intriguing.
When I finally tried it on a random weekday morning, I found that the taste wasn’t really for me – to be fair, I think most Gatorade/Powerade-type drinks are icky. Maybe I’m allergic to electrolytes. Is that a thing? Regardless, I couldn’t drink a lot, so I didn’t get to experience the rejuvenating effects for myself. I’ve been meaning to give it another shot, though, because if it really does work, Wolf was right – it will change my life.
While I can’t speak to the effects of the drink, the Facebook fan page for this product has some early hardcore believers in the power of fAM. They have been producing, bottling and distributing fAM for a few months now, but you haven’t been able to get in stores or bars – the ONLY way to obtain a bottle was to text the phone number (614) 500- fAM1. Now, you can get it at Da Levee, Betty’s, and Jury Room, with more coming soon.
A few Facebook fan testimonials:
I thought, “Here we go again”, when I was told about this “hangover cure”. Hangovers are just hangovers, no getting around it. There is no magical cure, I just need to accept that this feeling of bluhh should be expected after a night of boozin.
Man was I wrong! I don’t think that anyone will believe how amazing this stuff truly is until you try it.
2 Miller Lites, 6 Black & Blues, 2 Vegas Bombs, 1 beam and coke shot, 6 shots of Jameson = $100+
2 formula AM = delicious
Being able to drink all night with a**hole friends buying me rounds of whiskey = nice
Not waking up with a horrible hangover, nausea or a headache = awesome.
Being able to remember every moment of 8 hours of drinking for my 30th birthday = priceless.
Formula AM will be celebrating their official launch next Wednesday, October 19, from 5-7pm at the Jury Room. Jury Room will have appetizers from their new menu, Nina West will be giving away two tickets to her upcoming Heels of Horror show, We Are Glitterati will be on the scene with a photo booth and formula AM cocktails will be on special all night. You can try it for yourself and let me know if it works.
5 Comments on "formula AM – The Cure for the Common Hangover?"
I’d try it for the electrolytes and water if it’s not expensive, but the oxygen part? Not sure when our digestive system somehow was able to absorb oxygen and get it into our bloodstream without causing issues. Like, you know, lungs.
I’m sure opening it would release a lot of the oxygen, and your stomach would hold/burp out the rest (gas in your stomach usually doesn’t make its way DOWN into your intestines but back up out of your mouth).
Plus I’m pretty sure one or two breaths will give you more oxygen than could be pressurized in a bottle like this.
Anyway, I’m all for re-hydrating products, since that’s mostly what you need after drinking, so I’ll keep an eye out for it, but I’m not paying extra for air 🙂
Yeah, I don’t get the science of it, but it sounded like it had potential when it was explained to me, lol.
Bryan, it’s a good question and a common one. I don’t want to bore you w/ the details, but basically your liver needs oxygen to process alcohol, and it gets it through the blood supply. Your liver gets blood from two sources – 25% of it comes from the systemic system, which is your heart pumping blood into your lungs which then feed the organs, etc. All that blood is fully oxygenated b/c it went to your lungs. The remaining 75% of blood your liver gets goes through the portal venous system, which is essentially through your stomach and intestines. That blood is NOT fully oxygenated (only about 2/3 to 3/4 oxygenated), so we’re boosting the O2 level in that blood supply by delivering it through the stomach. Does that make sense? Either way, give it a shot and let me know what you think, we’re always looking for feedback to help us improve.
Any chance that there might be different flavors in the works for the future? My only criticism would be in the taste arena. Mixed with a juice = good. As a stand-alone…I might as well be washing my mouth out with toilet bowl cleaner. It was really difficult to finish that bottle on its own. Because opinions are a dime-a-dozen and taste is so subjective, I wouldn’t bother leaving a comment like that if I didn’t REALLY mean it. Cheers to growing and improving the product, I love the packaging and of course…the idea! I’d like to try it again while drinking as opposed to the morning after.
Ne’er mind…got my answer! Interesting!
http://columbus.neighborhoodr.com/post/11109387809/columbus-based-company-hopes-to-cure-hangovers