ASo I've been commissioned by the booster club of a local high school to make some cupcakes for their first football game next week

I'm thinking of coloring the frosting red.[B]but wondering if this color has that after taste,if I end up having to use alot of it?[/B] If it does I am going to think of another way to incorporate the school colors...maybe a fondant circle. But coloring the buttercream is my first choice.

Wilton makes a No Taste red however, you are going to have a lot of red teeth and tongues walking around because of amount of colorant it takes to make red.  i would consider using a fondant topper to make the school colors.  The only other thing I can think of is to spray the color on after the butter cream is crusted - Mind you, I have not done this and would do a test first or maybe someone else will jump in. 

Jeanne

AWould the same go for Blue JWinslow?

When ever you use a lot of dark colors to make all your butter cream dark, you risk having colored teeth and tongues.  Have you ever tried the color mists?  They are worth playing with.  I have used them for decorations but you should know I am a fondant girl and my cupcake frosting is generally SMBC with decorations on top or slightly colored/flavored.

The Americolor Super Red is actually pretty good in terms of after taste - it has little to none at all. But, as previous posters have said, it does take a lot to colour BC red. I would perhaps use white BC but paint a streak of red gel colouring on the inside of the piping bag to give the BC that little swirl of red. Then make red fondant discs or whatever you like as a topper. That way people have the option of removing the really red part of the cupcake. HTH!!

AThanks you all! I will definitely NOT be coloring the buttercream red. Ill just do a white with a fondant disc of red.

You're welcome.  Sounds like you have a good plan :)

 This is  something that I saved from a unknown source a long time ago, the koolaid works great!               Red has got to be one of, if not THE hardest colors to come up with. Never, ever start from white (assuming you are working with b'cream). Instead, tint the icing a bright, bold pink before adding any (Wilton "no taste red" available @ Micheals) red gel/paste.
Then it will take much less and should not get that bitter taste many complain about.
IF you can tollerate (sp?) flavoring I recommend you add about 1/4 tsp UNsweetened KoolAid powder (per 1 cup of icing). (I have never actually measured how much KoolAid I add,) Any flavor that is red will work....personally I prefer black cherry. I've had people tell me strawberry has more color to it but I don't really think so When using KoolAid it really needs some 8-12 hours for the color to develop so color the icing the night before. Let sit on counter overnight, the next morning .....there might be many black specks - which are undissolved KoolAid granuals -but don't panic.....just give it a good stir & they will disappear
 

What a Kool idea - always struggle with deep colours for buttercream

ASoooo. I shared my concerns about the stained teeth to the customer, she didn't care lol. She's insistent on the icing being red or blue. So since I've already put in an order of edible images of the school logo and they are blue, I guess the icing will be red.

Ooookay then. Lol! You've done the right thing and given your opinion, but if it's what the customer wants and they're aware of the stain transfer, so be it! I'm sure they'll look fab, be sure to post pics!