Billy Dee Williams is reprising his role as the Colt 45 spokesman, but this time his signature smirk and mustache are emblazoned on the can!! Billy Dee faced heavy criticism when he first signed on to promote Colt 45 back in the ’80s. Back then, he responded with …

“I drink, you drink. Hell, if marijuana was legal, I’d appear in a commercial for that too.”

Higher Alcohol Content

Malt liquor's container size and higher alcohol content, combined with its marketing campaigns, have also been criticized. It's got higher alcohol content than other beers, thanks to a process that uses very little hops plus rice and corn to bolster the alcohol in the drink. Colt 45 weighs in at 5.6% alcohol content, while Miller Lite has about 4.2% and Budweiser has 5.1%. Other malt liquors, such as Colt 45 High Gravity, have 8.5%.

Williams shrugs off any suggestion that Colt 45 has bad intentions. “You are always going to have people criticizing, in one way or another, for their own personal reason,” Williams said. “But I had never felt that Colt 45, or any beer for that matter ,was anything that was detrimental to anyone’s well-being.”