- Colleges are warning students about the "borg" trend, which involves mixing alcohol in a water jug.
- College kids can end up drinking the equivalent of 17 to 40 shots while partying.
The borg — or "blackout rage gallon" — is a cocktail of water mixed with a fifth of vodka, electrolytes, and sometimes energy drinks in a gallon-size water jug that's become popular with college students. Videos of students drinking borgs are trending on TikTok, feeding its popularity on college campuses.
Borg, a mix of water with performance-enhancing drinks promising brain-boosting energy, gives Gen Z partygoers the illusion of a better-for-you way to drink alcohol. Some believe the hydration supplied by the water might slow intoxication and prevent a morning-after hangover, but health professionals warn it's just unhealthy binge-drinking wrapped in a new package.
I'm a doctor and a parent of two college and high-school-aged kids who are regularly reminded to make good choices as they head out for parties. In addition to keeping their Solo cups safe from spiking, I'll be warning them that caffeine and energy drinks mixed with alcohol can promote unsafe drinking. Last weekend, off-campus parties fueled by borg drinking led to 28 ambulance calls at the University of Massachusetts.
Kids should understand they need to keep track of both the volume of alcohol and the time it takes to consume it to avoid overdosing.
The risks of drinking 'borgs'
In one viral TikTok recipe, a cheery young woman ready to tailgate makes a borg with water and vodka mixed with Mio flavor enhancer. She tops off her colossal concoction with the sparkling energy drink Celsius, and a beverage called Liquid I.V., which is mostly pure cane sugar and electrolytes.
Some borgs contain a fifth to a half gallon of vodka, or the equivalent of 17 to 40 shots. That's far more than the what National Institute of Alcohol estimates can bring blood-alcohol concentration to 0.08% — five drinks for men or four for women consumed over two hours — the definition of legal impairment.
Caffeine and stimulants like guarana, the highly caffeinated extract in Celsius, can mask the body's cues to drinkers to stop. Sugars and taurine, other common energy-drink ingredients, drive a dopamine high, making it even easier to drink past one's limits. Dopamine is the "feel-good" chemical released in the brain's reward center, triggering alcohol users to want more.
Most borg recipes add fruit-flavored powders or drops to mask the taste of alcohol. When sweeteners are used, inexperienced drinkers new to self-regulation are more likely to outpace themselves.
With names like Red Bull and Monster, performance drinks are branded to signal invincibility. They've gained appeal with younger people new to drinking, the age group targeted in marketing campaigns, to counter some of alcohol's negative effects like feeling depressed and fatigued. A 2018 nationally representative survey from the University of Michigan revealed that nearly half of college students and a quarter of 12th graders had mixed alcohol with energy drinks in the prior year. Mixing energy drinks and alcohol is more likely encourage binge-drinking and taking risks like drunk driving, fighting, or having unprotected sex.
With names like "Ruth Bader Gins-Borg," there's also the fun of ceremonially naming of your jug with a Sharpie. Videos on TikTok point out that your personal capped container will keep your drink safe from tampering, which is a real risk and may be one of the very few benefits of borgs. Some believe that the extra hydration and electrolytes will offset hangovers, but there's no clear evidence of that.
As a harm-reduction strategy, I would recommend kids switch their gallon jugs for a HydroFlask. Their smaller size will limit drinks — ideally a few shots and water — and what kids put in each refill may help them think more carefully about how to stay safe.