With Four Loko's danger past us, the NYPD is back to worrying about Nutcrackers. Last year the 34th Precinct in upper Manhattan declared war on the guys who peddle Nutcracker—a sweet homemade cocktail illegally sold to legal and underage drinkers—and this year they are planning on redoubling their efforts. "We want to get this off the street, especially when they are selling this garbage to little kids," Captain Jose Navarro of the 34th Precinct told DNAinfo.
The potent potables are made by mixing fruit punch with boozes including vodka, white rum, cheap wines or tequila and are then sold on the street (as well as in delis, convenience stores, barbershops and even out of vans) in styrofoam cups for between $5 and $10 bucks a pop. And the drink's peddlers do make a few bucks bucks off them: Last year one Nutcracker man reported making $20,000-a-year off the illegal drink in its liquid and frozen state (frozen Nutcrackers are apparently called "Finding Nemos" or just "Nemos").
With the weather warming up the sweet and cooling Nutcracker becomes a more and more attractive drink for the underage kid looking to get their booze on and that is why the NYPD is looking to nip the drink in the bud this season. "These drinks are dangerous, they’ll fuel a fight," Navarro said. Because if they don't, apparently the bodegas where the drinks are sold will, he says, "transform themselves into 'after hours nightclubs.'" Which, wait, wasn't that the winning restaurant on the Top Chef All Stars restaurant wars episode last season?
