The borg, “blackout rage gallon,” has become the drink of choice on college campuses across the country.
Made with half water, half vodka, a caffeinated flavor enhancer, and a dash of powdered electrolytes, the drink has been hailed by many students on TikTok as a hangover-proof party staple.
Binge drinking, which involves consuming an excessive amount of alcohol over a short period of time, remains a pervasive problem that many university administrators have struggled to control. But as the borgs go viral, some harm reduction advocates, who don’t condone binge drinking, have said the trend may actually mitigate the dangers of college drinking culture.
“When it comes to substance use prevention, harm reduction recognizes that people are going to make their own decisions when it comes to alcohol and other drugs,” Erin Monroe, a credentialed substance use prevention creator, told NBC News. substance use in New York. in a message “But there are strategies we can use to reduce some of the risk.”
By borging, drinkers gain “total control” over what they’re drinking and can pace themselves appropriately, Monroe said. She described the borgs as “really solid damage reduction”, when combined with other tactics like taking a ride with a trusted Designated Driver.
One of the first tiktok videos about the borg dates back to March 2020. The drink, which has become more common in the wake of social distancing and other Covid prevention measures, is especially popular for tailgates and outdoor parties.
“Post covid, the whole ‘community drink’ thing just went out the window for us,” a TikTok commenter said in a post. video about the drink “The borgs arose out of necessity.”
College students started posting more about the drinks last year, just as their spring semesters were ending. It gained popularity during the fall semester when students posted tutorials and videos showing off their mugs, which are personalized to the taste of the drinker.
in a video posted in October, for example, a TikTok user made a borg out of a bottle of Skyy vodka and Kool-Aid. Another TikTok user made a borg snowy day with MiO, a packet of Liquid IV and a can of Celsius fizzy energy drink.
The Borg complete themselves by labeling the jar with a spiky name. Showing borg names like Soulja Borg and “Our Borg and Savior” it has become its own TikTok trend. Other clever borg names include “Brown vs. the Borg of Education”, “Sponge Borg” and Borgingham Palace.
Monroe noted that harm reduction advocates are not promoting alcohol consumption by endorsing the borgs.
“Harm reduction does not promote abstinence or alcohol use. Harm reduction is completely judgment free,” she said. “My goal is always to help empower people to use harm reduction tools that work for them to reduce risk.”
She and other experts have used TikTok to point out that borg drinking appears to be less dangerous than other forms of binge drinking in college.
in a recent videoMonroe compared the borgs to drinking when he was in college, when he said his classmates drank “buckets of gin and jungle juice” from “garbage cans in the basement of frat houses.”
He also approved of students tailoring their borgs to their own alcohol tolerances. in a follow-up video, he made his own borg (called “Ruth Bader Ginsborg”) with more water than vodka. Contrary to the drink’s name, she said in a comment, “You may be swooning, but not everyone wants to.”
Creator Leigh Beez, a crisis response educator who works with college students, said in a Tik Tok that the borgs are among the “fantastic damage reduction strategies I’m seeing.”
TikTok creator NarcanMan, who creates damage reduction content, described the borgs as “the smartest way to get drunk” in a video.
“It’s not about accidentally getting an alcohol that you have a lower tolerance for or that doesn’t sit well with you,” he said. “There’s no chance of someone slipping something into his open cup because he has a sealed mug. And everyone stays hydrated!”
Meanwhile, many millennial TikTok users have also praised the borgs in the comments.
in a videosaid one TikTok creator while in college, she recalled seeing pieces of hair floating in frat house bathtubs, which were used to store party concoctions. Another user commented: “How we as a generation don’t collectively die of sepsis is amazing.”
Others have commented that the drink appears to be a more hygienic alternative to the communal tubs of “jungle juice” that have long dominated college parties.
