'Borg' drinking trend gains popularity on TikTok

A new TikTok trend that promises a hangover-free drinking spree appears to be gaining in popularity, particularly on college campuses.

The borg — short for “blackout rage gallon” — is an alcoholic drink made by filling a one-gallon jug about halfway with water and then adding up to a fifth of vodka, a caffeinated flavor enhancer and some powdered electrolytes.

Some harm reduction advocates have suggested the trend may help reduce some of the risks that come with campus drinking, according to Today.

Because people are personalizing their own borgs, they can control how much and what type of alcohol they’re consuming. Some on TikTok have pointed out there’s less chance of someone drugging your drink when it’s in a sealed gallon jug, and it’s more sanitary than sharing a communal drink with others at a party.

Other health experts have pointed to the dangers given the sheer amount of alcohol contained in a standard borg, according to Boston 25 News.

A standard borg is made with up to a fifth of vodka, the equivalent of about 16 shots. When people are pressured into drinking that much, the binge-drinking can lead to negative health effects.

Dr. Gus Colangelo, an emergency medicine physician at Tufts Medical Center, told Boston 25 News that the majority of patients who come into the emergency room on weekend nights are there because of binge-drinking. Some of those hospital visits are borg-related, he said.

Still, students across the country are taking to TikTok to share their borg stories.

One of the earliest TikTok videos was posted in March 2020. The video demonstrates how to make a borg and hails the concoction as a way to “get drunk while staying hydrated for a low price.”

TikTok videos show people customizing the drinks with varying amounts of alcohol and different add-ins, ranging from Kool-Aid to Mio and even Liquid IV, which some people say prevents hangovers.

Some people even name their borgs, according to Her Campus. Creative names such as Ruth Bader Gins-Borg, Certified Lover Borg, Heisen-Borg, Sponge-Borg, Borg-an Freeman, All A-borg and Our Borg & Savior have made appearances on TikTok.