What is a Borg? The Gallon Jug Drinking Trend Started by Gen Z
Just what is a borg drink? (Photos: Cooky_colin/Redcupnews/TikTok)
Picture this: you’re at a sweaty frat house party at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday and your only options for getting tipsy are light beers or a hot garbage can full of jungle juice. While a mysterious alcoholic soup sure sounds tempting, what if you had another option?
Gen Z appears to have finally solved the conundrum of limited drink options at parties and tailgating events — and it comes in the form of a boozed-up gallon jug called a borg.
So, just what on earth is a borg drink and why is it the new trendy way to get buzzed?
What is a Borg Drink?
Borg stands for “blackout rage gallon” and is a mixed drink made from a gallon jug of water, a flavoring component of choice and cheap alcohol.
Popular flavoring options include Liquid I.V. packets, Crystal Light, Kool-Aid Liquid or MiO water flavoring drops.
Some borg recipes can include ingredients like Sprite, Celsius, Red Bull and orange juice in addition to plenty of water.
How to Make a Borg
A borg is made when you pour out about one-third to one-half of a gallon of water and fill it with a preferred amount of booze. Make sure not to just pour the water down a sink when you could use it to hydrate before imbibing.
Almost every borg you’ll see in the hands of partygoers will be made with vodka, but if you crave a little more flavor, try using gin! Consider making a borg with Seagram’s (one of Snoop Dogg’s favorite gins), Bombay Sapphire, Gordon’s or Gilbey’s. All of these gins are just as affordable as vodka and include botanical flavors, adding a little extra bang to your borg.
After you have your gallon jug full of water and alcohol to your preferred ratio, you then add in your flavoring of choice. Give your borg a good shake to mix up all the ingredients and you’re good to go — just remember to drink responsibly.
A fun optional piece of customization for a borg is writing something silly on it. This could be a pun, a cheeky message or simply your name.
Where did Borgs Come From?
Borgs started in the Gen Z college party scene as an easy way to get drunk with readily available ingredients that taste good and, in theory, hydrate. And since a gallon jug has a handle, a borg is also convenient to carry around at a party.
Another helpful feature of a borg is that it comes with a lid. This means you’ll always know exactly what’s in your beverage. Since it’s always in your hand, it’s difficult for anything suspicious to be put in it.
The Borg Trend
A video that is most likely responsible for popularizing the borg drink on TikTok was posted on Feb. 5 and currently has 3.3 million views. In the video, which is a stitch of TikTok user Bellaaalonzo’s borg recipe, the borg is commended for its water-to-booze ratio, ability to be closed with a lid and Liquid I.V. ingredient.
@singleinla #duet with @bellaaalonzo #snowday ♬ original sound – 🔔uh
Another popular video (883.7K views) posted by Redcupnews in October 2022, shows the various names college student have bestowed upon their borgs.
@redcupnews Full ECU video on YouTube link in bio🔗 #ecu #college #eastcarolinauniversity ♬ original sound – RedCup News
TikTok user Erin.monroe_ also shared her insight on the borg trend by talking about the gallon-jug mixed drink as a harm reduction strategy.
@erin.monroe_ Replying to @yodster42 #borg #genz #millennial #harmreduction #foryou ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim
Thanks to the many Gen Z college students sharing their borg recipes and the millennials who highlighted it as an alternative to dipping a red solo cup into a vat of jungle juice, the borg has become the latest drink sensation (that should always be enjoyed responsibly and in safe moderation). Move over, Negroni Sbagliato.
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