Gargle Blaster: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Star Trek]]'': Romulan ale.

* In ''[[The Great Escape]]'', Americans Hilts, Hendley and Goff celebrate the Fourth of July by [[Military Moonshiner|distilling some homemade booze]] and sharing it with the others. It appears to be powerful stuff.

'''MacDonald''': (''mildly'') Well, I think it's rather good. }}

 

* ''[[The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy (novel)|The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy]]'' has the Trope Namer, the Pan Galatic Gargle Blaster. The sixth book, ''And Another Thing...'', written after Adams' death, includes a drink made from dragons' souls.

* "Scumble" from the ''[[Discworld]]'' books is a particularly potent form of hard cider (it's frequently described as being "made from apples... well, mainly apples" and was said in the ''[[GURPS]] Discworld'' to have "some qualities of fresh apples in autumn and some of dimethyl hydrazine before liftoff"); typically sold in tiny thimbles because overindulging can cause all sorts of horrible side effects, including seeing horrible green hairy things bursting through the walls. Nanny Ogg's specific version is sometimes known as "Suicider". The following quote details some of the mythology which is typical of a good Gargle Blaster:

** As everyone knows, there's no danger of encountering watered-down scumble -- because scumble reacts explosively when it contacts water.

** There's one humorous scene in ''[[Discworld/Mort|Mort]]'' where, due to his naivety and duties as substitute Death, orders a ''pint'' of the stuff (to considerable surprise), downs the whole thing without being affected (to even more surprise), and then walks straight through the door without opening or damaging it (leaving everyone positively stunned).

** 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.

** Another ''Red Dwarf'' example: in the episode "Gunmen of the Apocalypse", Kryten asks for "the stuff where you get your eyesight back in three days -- guaranteed." Later, Lister, Rimmer, and Cat presumably try the same stuff, causing Rimmer to throw up in somebody's hat.

'''Cat:''' I was expecting something with a little more kick to it. }}

* On ''[[Cheers]]'', Carla is known for making strong drinks with names such as "Leap Into An Open Grave" and "I Know My Redeemer Liveth." The former gets Diane hammered, to which Sam comments, "Oh, Carla, you made her an Open Grave, didn't you?" The latter gets everyone hammered, resulting in Cliff and Norm getting [[Embarrassing Tattoo|embarrassing tattoos]] and Carla sleeping with Paul.

* On ''[[Greek]]'', the Honors Engineering students whip up a batch of "Aerosol Death Juice" for their party, and have one of the wildest parties ever to grace the Kappa Tau house. And if you consider that Kappa Tau is the [[Animal House|Delta House]] of CRU's Greek Row, that's saying something.

* ''[[Top Gear]]'' has made what James May dubbed the '[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDlMLqdvHzI Bloody Awful]' (Jeremy Clarkson, who came up with the recipe, called it "a man's V8 smoothie", while Hammond suggested "A Desperate Shag in a Skip"). It consists of several pounds of beef (raw, with bones), a dozen chillies, a half-gallon of bovril, what looks to be about two cups of Tabasco sauce, and, for extra bite, a BRICK. It was all mashed together with a V8-powered 'blender' of Clarkson's design. James May drank some down, because he is A MAN. Apparently, it wasn't particularly pleasant.

'''Hammond:''' It's put hairs on my eyeballs! }}

* In the Australian soap opera spoof ''[[Let the Blood Run Free]]'' one character's "friends" are trying to corrupt him before his wedding night. After all else fails they resort to a glass of PURE ALCOHOL! (which is steaming ominously). He takes a swig, immediately declares that he's going to get his rocks off with a nearby prostitute, then collapses unconscious.

* ''[[Black Books]]'' has "Life Cry". Fran shows it to her friends and they fall silent, awed by what is apparently the most potent drink in the Black Book universe. As Fran remarks: "You know you're in for a good night when there's a picture of a polar bear bleeding on the label".

* In one episode of ''[[Bottom]]'', Eddie, asked if he has any alcohol, produces a bottle apparently containing a mixture of Brandy, Meths, Pernod, paint stripper, Mister Sheen, brake fluid and Drambuie. ("You've got to put something in for the birds, haven't you?") Richie takes a sniff, recoils, and asks...

'''Eddie:''' ''(tapping side of nose)'' I may very well not be. }}

** In another episode, they combine Pernod, Ouzo, marmalade and salt to create a cocktail Eddie eventually dubs "The Esther Rantzen" on the grounds that it pulls your gums back over your teeth.

* On ''[[Parks and Recreation]]'' the Swanson family makes their own moonshine 'whose only legal use is stripping paint off of speedboats'. April has a fit after drinking one sip of it and everyone is amazed that Leslie can drink a few glasses as part of a [[Drinking Contest]]. Ron's mother and ex-wife are able to drink it without much effect and Ron ends the drinking contest by consuming half a jug in one gulp.

* One episode of ''[[ER]]'' has Dr. Susan Lewis ordering drinks, and when the bartender gives them to her, they're in martini glasses a ''foot wide'' with multiple paper umbrellas.

'''Bartender:''' Enough to make you forget you're being thrown into a volcano. }}

* [[1000 Ways to Die]] has the "USSR-Dead" 'case': A Ukrainian immigrant joining [[The Mafiya|the Russian Mafia]] accidentally drinks sulfuric acid (the same one used [[Fingore|to burn his fingerprints]] so no one could link him to any crimes) while celebrating his initiation. So do his "patrons". They all die when their innards freaking ''dissolve''.

== [[Music]] ==

* [[Filk Song|Filksinger]] [http://www.tomsmithonline.com/ Tom Smith] is particularly well-known among science fiction fans for his song "[http://www.tomsmithonline.com/lyrics/307_ale.htm 307 Ale]", about a beer accidentally brewed in a tesseract and named for its resultant proof level. (This song probably inspired "357 Vodka" and the other beverages from the example above.)

''And what it did to test equipment frankly was obscene...'' }}

** A Seattle-based filker created an answer song called "307 Hell," about what happens to the drinker under the influence of said ale. It involves puking on a cop, getting tossed in the drunk tank, and having to raise "307 Bail"

* The title brew of George Jones's song "White Lightning" is implied to be about one of these.

''And I heard him a-moaning as he hit the ground...'' }}

* ''[[The Two Ronnies]]'' as Jehosaphat and Jones:

''And three hours later he came to and cried...'' }}

* ''[[Dos Gringos]]'' (a [[Yanks With Tanks|USAF]] fighter pilot band) gives us ''Jeremiah Weed'':

''Does it make you smarter? [[Biggus Dickus|Will it make your penis grow?]]<br />

''It won't bring you women, and it won't bring you luck<br />

'''Every fighter pilot in the room:''' ''''''CAUSE IT TASTES LIKE FUCK!''''' }}

* The Poxy Boggards have a song called [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZhinyam4mY "Happy Jack's Undrinkable Ale"] (here covered by the Wild Oats):

''He tried to fly with the wind -- but he ended up dead! }}

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzDkzX0pcoU That good ol' Mountain Dew] probably qualifies, given that the fumes from the still in which it's made intoxicate any birds flying over it.

* In ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'', the Dark Star bar on the Citadel serves the Commander "batarian ale". The bartender has never seen anyone drink it and remain standing. Shepard, of course, orders another one.

** Then there's "ryncol", the krogan drink of choice. Said drink is said to have the effect of paint thinner on non-krogan. Shepard is knocked out by it. Then again, Shepard [[Cyborg|isn't quite human]] [[Back From the Dead|anymore]].

*** The aftermath of Shepard's binge-drinking in the Dark Star is undoubtedly the most amusing part, with the Commander waking up on the men's room floor sometime later while a turian relieves himself at one of the urinals. Doubly hilarious if your Shepard is female.

*** Grunt's recommendation on ryncol is "Don't try to act tough -- that stuff'll go through a human's insides like broken glass."

* [[Questionable Content]] has Faye's brew of choice, Midnight Hobo.

** Another time the group asks for a liquor store's "finest whiskey" and gets it. The bottle glows and singing angels can be heard, and just one sip was enough to allow [[Bottle Fairy|alcoholic Faye]] to see quantum mechanics. [[Power Glows|It also glows]].

'''Dora:''' It doesn't say anything about relativistic time dilation. Maybe we should call the hospital. Or a physicist. }}

** An unidentified alcohol in [http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2051 a later strip].

** Don't forget the effect the drink has on Nasty Canasta (it makes his cowboy hat lift off his head and spin around, but that's it) versus Daffy and Porky (it makes them bend their hats into bonnets and prance around giddily while reciting "Mary Had a Little Lamb").

*** It also causes Daffy's guns to [[Bullethole Door|shoot a hole in the floor]], which he falls into and then rockets out of.

** The preparation of many dangerous drinks in ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoons usually ends with the mixer withdrawing a spoon whose bowl has been [[Ate the Spoon|melted (or burned!) off]] while stirring.

** One similar, but not quite the same, ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' scenario, "Show Biz Bugs", has Daffy, tired of being consistently one-upped by Bugs in a vaudeville act, pull together the most incredible drink ever; ingredients include nitroglycerin, gasoline, and gunpowder, and topped off with uranium 238. He drinks it down, jumps up and down to shake, then drops in a match.... After the ensuing explosion, an impressed Bugs tells Daffy that the audience wants more, to which Daffy's ghost replies "I know, but I can only do it once!"

* In the Scandinavian countries people drink "Turkish Pepper" shots, which is vodka mixed with crushed [[wikipedia:Tyrkisk Peber|"Turkish Pepper"-candies]] (pepper and salmiak). The [[wikipedia:Salmiakkikoskenkorva|Finnish retail version]] was removed after (false) rumors of fatalities, and the version currently sold has less alcohol content. You really should mix it yourself though, and in this case it can apparently be [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFI0vfCY23g&t=9m50s too strong for Vince Neil.]

* 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:

* The "Bear Fight," which is a Jager Bomb followed immediately by an Irish Car Bomb. So called because after drinking one, it feels like there are bears fighting in your stomach

* The [[Non-Indicative Name|"Aunt Roberta"]], which has caused at least 34 deaths, definitely goes here. It contains:

* 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.

* Absinthe is distilled multiple times during its creation, which results in a concoction that ranges from 50% to 70% alcohol by volume, depending on the variety. As such, it's usually drunk after being diluted with ice water three to five times over with sugar. The hallucinations are a myth, as well as the other rumored evil side-effects (blindness, insanity)...unless you drink about 200 glasses in one sitting. It is not, in fact, ''meant'' to be set on fire, though lighting the sugar, dropping it into the glass and dousing it with water is the "bohemian" method. It ''does'' have the interesting effect of sneaking up on the drinker- to the point where someone can drink several glasses of absinthe and legitimately not realize how drunk they are, until they try to walk away and suddenly find out that their legs don't feel like going anywhere. This is most likely an effect of the ingredients, which have amounts of natural stimulants and sedatives.

** Absinthe was originally made with wormwood, which caused the hallucinogenic effects and also shortened the drinker's life even more than the alcohol itself. This version of the drink was eventually banned, and the ban was lifted when the toxic component was left out.

* A chemistry trick is to drink 96% alcohol very slowly with an open mouth. Due to the high alcohol content, which is on the absolute border of what is possible under normal atmospheric conditions, the alcohol will evaporate in one's mouth. The trick is to breathe out while drinking, or it will have the reverse effect: alcohol vapor that enters the bloodstream directly through the lungs, skipping the stomach. This is not very healthy, to say the least. But, done properly, one could down an entire bottle of 96% while still reasonably sober.