Gargle Blaster: Difference between revisions

== [[Comics]] ==

* In ''[[Knights of the Dinner Table]]'', during a [[Hackmaster]] campaign, a particular bar requires first-time patrons to order ''Gut Busters''. They use it to weed out low-level characters; drinking a drink of it does 1d10 damage, which is more than most first-level characters have. Bob's character, after being assaulted by certain patrons, gets a double, forgetting both that he's been injured and that each shot does 1d10 damage. He dies from the drink, to the shame of his party members.

* Subverted in one old ''[[Hagar the Horrible]]'' strip: told that "You gotta be tough to drink in this place" at the bar he's frequenting, Hagar downs something that creates the typical effects... but when he asks for a glass of water afterward, the bartender tells him, "That ''was'' a glass of our water!"

* In ''[[Nodwick]]'', we have "Skullwhomper Ale". The effects are rarely shown in the comic itself, but its consumption almost invariably leads to some sort of [[Noodle Incident]]. The destruction of the local tavern it is served in is a frequent component to these, and when a local Elven/Dwarven war takes over the town, the invaders end up classifying the ale as an incendiary weapon.

* ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' featured a just-barely Gargle Blaster on the episode "Relics", where James "Scotty" Doohan was a guest star -- it was apparently the only real alcoholic beverage on the entire ship. Data tasted it several times to try to determine its composition, was perplexed, and finally settled for describing it (accurately) as "... green."

** The big surprise at the end of this sequence -- intended to showcase the hard-drinking Scotty's contempt for the weak, pampered, synthehol-drinking inhabitants of the 24th century -- is discovering that Picard knows it as Aldebaran whiskey and, in fact, was the one responsible for stocking it on the ship.

** "Up The Long Ladder" featurs Worf ordering a syntheholic Klingon drink called ''Chech'tluth'' for a [[Space Jews|Space Irishman]] who is looking to get drunk. Despite being a champion drinker, one sip of the stuff makes the man tipsy and renders him unable to communicate except in desperate gasps for several seconds.

** ''[[Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'' features a bar regularly, but the mix that most evoked this trope is the (implied to be [http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Warp_core_breach aptly-named]) [http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Warp_core_breach_(beverage) "warp core breach"].

* A ''[[Lost in Space]]'' episode where Doctor Smith is mistaken for a lookalike gunslinger and plays it to the hilt, ordering the gunslinger's favorite drink in a saloon on a Western Planet, inspiring awe among the crowd. IIRC, the bartender actually has to assemble the ingredients wearing heavy gloves.

* Granny's "tonic" on ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]''.

** Yes, because obviously TV characters in a comedy show aren't allowed to exaggerate for comic effect!

** In series 6, when the crew were without the ''Red Dwarf'', Kryten brewed up an opaque liqueur which might fool the unwary into believing it looked like margaritas. It was in fact ''urine recyc'', and left stains that needed removing with turpentine and no happy drinkers at all.

** There's a special Contract only they can get that [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|lets them do this without even touching the drink in question...Which doesn't sound too useful, until you realize that you can do this with ANY Drink you're close enough to (Faerie healing elixirs, a Hunters Buffing Potions). Need to get a guy to spill a secret? Sit across the room, wait for him to take a drink of just about anything, and BOOM, he's spilling his guts.]]

* The D20 Guide to Alcohol (a third-party AD&D book), has an entire section composing largely of these. One of note is Minotaur Malt Liquor, a beer that can literally put hair on your chest, and horns on your head. Get smashed off the stuff and fail your save? Congratulations, you'll be a minotaur by this time next month.

* [[Shadowrun]] features Hurlg, a beverage described as "a dark, thick ale the consistency of soup, swimming with hops and nutmeg". Humans and elves without special implants or toxin resistence spells suffer from painful stomach cramps when they drink it.

 

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* In ''[[Girl Genius]]'', Theo's idea of a good home-brewed liquor can be expected to be at least 200 proof, and have other... interesting ingredients. [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20081006 "Hey, he's breathing again!"] One cup of Lingonberry Snap will apparently give you hallucinations. "Ah. I'd wondered why they were playing the music backwards."

** Note that 200 proof is pure alcohol.

* The 'Dirty Shot'. Absinthe, tequila and chili powder.

* "Strawberry Surprise": grain alcohol and ''pepper spray''. The surprise is that it tastes nothing like strawberries and everything like ''PAIN''.

* The "[[Horsemen of the Apocalypse|Four Horsemen]]" normally consists of one shot each of Jim Beam, Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels, and Jose Cuervo. Some people choose to replace one of the three whiskies with Captain Morgan, which doesn't agree with the tequila in most people's stomachs. To quote an experienced drinker, who was holding a buddy's head up over the toilet at the time:

{{quote| "You idiot! Captain Morgan is a racist! ''HE HATES MEXICANS!''"}}

* Tequila and tabasco are not an uncommon mix, an ounce of each in a shotglass is known in some places as 'The Devil's Piss'. There are variations with a third ingredient, such as Falun Snakebite (Tequila, tabasco and really cheap bourbon), or Flatliner (Layer sambuca and tequila in that order, add tabasco).

* Most instances of homemade hard liquor -- "Moonshine" -- fall under this trope, being as it is generally not only stronger than an irritable rhinoceros but tastes like a combination of industrial cleaners and whatever vessel it was cooked up in.

* Chinese peasant liquor certainly falls under this trope. It can best be described as smelling of death, and the experience of a half-shot was not unlike an aluminum baseball bat across the eyes. Due to poor brewing and distilling techniques, it often contains high concentrations of toxic methanol.

* A franchise bar called "The Hub" in Japan has a drink on its menu that's similar to this. It was a shot that is 3/4 rectified spirit and 1/4 absinthe.

* Jeremiah Weed, a bourbon whiskey sold in the United States, might seem tame compared to some of the very-lethal drinks on this page with its mere 100 proof--[http://www.check-six.com/lib/Drinks/JeremiahWeed.htm but it's also an icon] of [[Yanks With Tanks|American fighter pilot culture]]. Despite how awful it tastes.

** As implied in the lyrics of the [[Dos Gringos]] song by the same name (see Music, above), Jeremiah Weed's popularity with American fighter pilots is probably ''because'' of how awful it tastes ("something in between Lysol and alcohol, with a touch of gasoline," according to the song...)

* Tactical Nuclear Penguin is one of the world's strongest beers, at 32% alcohol by volume. It's brewed in Scotland and sells for £35. The Brewery also produces Sink the Bismarck, at 41%, in an attempt to reclaim the world title from Germany. It is also £40 for 330ml. Or for the really suicidal, the brewery does a multipack with Tactical Nuclear Penguin. Seriously.

** Beers beyond 25% ABV tend to be technically either "ice beers" (freeze-distilled after brewing) or fortified (stronger spirits added). When it comes to the strongest all-fermented beer, the current champ is Samual Adams Utopias (about 25% ABV).

** And in Russia, denatured alcohol frequently contains neither denatonium nor toxic additives, but rather the bitter and slightly toxic castor oil. However, this can be relatively easily removed, leaving only a trace amount of castor oil--enough to add a slight bitter flavor and require that you hydrate a bit more than usual (castor oil is a laxative).

** There are multiple [[Blatant Lies|supposedly safe]] methods of "purifying" denatured alcohol. For example, adding a common bathroom cleaner, decanting, and filtering through a loaf of bread cut in half. [[Don't Try This At Home]], [[Schmuck Bait|seriously]]. Similarly, some novel included such a line as: "Did you drink denatured with chicken shit?"

** In real life, mixing a [[Gargle Blaster]] with a [[Klatchian Coffee]] has been shown to be dangerous because the two buzzes conflict with each other, preventing your body from knowing when it's time to stop.

* ''Baijiu'' ("white liquor"), the primary native alcohol of [[Useful Notes/China|China]]. The weakest ''baijiu'' is allowed to be is 40% ABV, or 80 proof (standard proof for most Western liquor); ''maotai'' (one of the more renowned forms) often clocks in at 53% (106 proof). Many other forms are 60% (120 proof), and a few forms, such as ''fenjiu'' and ''gaolangjiu''<ref>If you've seen [[Zhang Yimou]]'s first film, ''[[Red Sorghum]]'', this is what they're making at that distillery</ref> can get up to 63% or 65% (126-170 proof), at which point they are literally flammable. Westerners have [[It Tastes Like Feet|compared the flavor to that of jet fuel]] (although if said Westerners had previously visited Kenya and sampled the local ''changaa'', they might have a point). Suffice it to say that when it comes to drinking, the Chinese do not play games.

* Most military functions have their own version of "The Grog." Simply put, each unit brings a different type of alcohol (or other addition) and the various ingrediants are poured into a large pot. Ingredients have included such things as sand from Iraq (along with the boot it was brought home in) and shredded paper.

* The Cheap Date: fill a large glass half-way with juice, then add a double shot of everything that's behind the bar.

** Interestingly, wormwood is one of the classic Swedish vodka flavorings, The bitter flavor complements the traditional Swedish cuisine, which is usually quite heavy in fat and salt, very well. The Yanks drink it to prove how tough they are, the Swedes drink it because it goes well with food. Also, in Scandinavian folk medicine, wormwood vodka is considered a panacea for ailments of the stomach.

 

[[Category:Hard Drinking Tropes]]

[[Category:Food Tropes]]