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Warning about BORG Health experts have issued a warning about dangerous BORGs, also known as “blackout rage gallons,” which have become a popular drinking trend among Gen Z college students. According to the National Capital Poison Center, BORG alcohol is typically consumed during the day in what are known as “darties,” where participants drink from a gallon-sized plastic jug that has been spiked with alcohol.
Containing vodka or some other distilled alcohol as well as water, flavor enhancers and electrolyte powders or beverages, the jugs typically contain more alcohol than other ingredients, so much so that experts have called them “life-threatening.” “Drinking alcohol is life-threatening; drinking too much can lead to alcohol poisoning,” Dr. Anna Lambke, a professor of psychiatry and addiction medicine at Stanford, told CNN.
Unlike its long-reigning Jungle Juice counterpart, which typically has party-sized mixes for everyone, BORG is meant for personal use. However, the end goal is ultimately the same – to get you extremely inebriated.
‘A borg often contains a fifth of vodka or other hard alcohol, which is equivalent to 3.2 cups, which is about 17 standard drinks, a huge amount of alcohol.’ Dr Lambke believes alcohol consumption in borgs has increased due to “societal changes”, made worse by the ubiquity of social media such as TikTok.
'Kids see other kids doing it and want to try it themselves,' he said. 'Another danger here is adopting dangerous deviant behaviour and normalising it by spreading it on social media.'
Sabrina Grimaldi, 24, creator and editor-in-chief of The Millennial Gene, said she first heard about the trend when one of her interns, Kelly Jeong, 21, told a story about its popularity. As someone who hadn’t been to the “college party scene” in five years, she was surprised by how much it had changed in such a short time. “Even though Kelly and I are very close in age, it’s weird how these microtrends move.”
Xiong became aware of the growing popularity of drinking BORGs when she walked into a St. Patrick’s Block darty and noticed that nearly everyone was walking around with a gallon filled with their own concoction. She told the outlet that BORGs were especially popular during “special occasion darties,” which typically celebrated holidays or outdoor events.
The popularity of BORG has become widespread, often making headlines due to hard-partying students being hospitalized. In 2023, dozens of students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who had allegedly taken BORG were hospitalized after an off-campus event.
BORGs have not only become popular from the college party scene but have also reached the high school set, with students said to be drawn to the creative aspect of making their own BORGs. All over TikTok, Borg videos are filled with various jugs bearing inspired nicknames, including Captain Borg, Borg Donner, and even Borg Wallen.
“You have to name your BORG and be creative by writing the name on it with a Sharpie,” said a high school senior named Virginia. However, she said she knows how difficult it is to control alcohol consumption, especially since so many people drink too much. “No one really decides how much they will drink.”
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the average drink in the U.S. consists of 1 to 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits, 5 ounces of wine, or 12 ounces of beer. Drinking standards differ for men and women, with experts saying that if a woman drinks more than four standard drinks and a man drinks more than five in a two-hour time frame, it's considered binge drinking.