A long standing one for me. Pernod. I went to Lloret De Mar in 1989 and after getting to our hotel room in the Fanels area i clocked an Offy from our balcony so i sauntered down to browse their wears..... A litre bottle of Pernod for (around) six English pounds you say.....Bargain. I even treated myself to the deluxe version of a box of Ritz biscuits, you know the ones with the cheese in the middle.

I then took them back to our room and sat on the balcony in the heat of the afternoon sun and got my book out and proceeded to eat and drink the entire contents of the box of crackers and the contents of the bottle (neat)....... I was pi55ed for three days ( without a word of a lie)

I only found out years later what an evil drink Pernod (Sambuca) really is after reading a Peter Hook book. Apparently if you add water to the said beverage it regenerates in your stomach and although when you have a thirsty hangover then last thing you need when imbibing these drinks excessively is liquid!

over to you lot and your horror stories

My first ever encounter with alcohol was consuming an entire bottle of Harvey's Bristol Cream in about 30 minutes aged 13.
To this day, now in my 60s, even the merest whiff of it makes me wretch.

Anything with alcohol in it. Coming up for 18 years. Medical reasons.

I know exactly what you mean Cricketfield. Many years ago think I was 9, I used to watch Grandstand on a Saturday afternoon. This one particular Saturday, must have been close to Christmas cos the drinks tray was full, I thought I’d try the Cinzano Bianca. This is nice I thought, so I drank the bottle. Also had a sip of whatever else there was. My dad drove me around for hours with my head out of the car. All I remember is watching ‘The Eagle has landed’ very late that night. I can’t be in the same postcode as Cinzano Branco now.

Drank nearly a full bottle of Bell's Whisky about 35yrs ago up in Dingwall.
I've never, ever felt so drunk or ill.
Was on my deathbed for about 2 days followed by 1 week of an exceptionally unpleasant feeling.

Not had it since but can still taste it today.

Avoid.

HollandsPies wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 12:53 am

Drank nearly a full bottle of Bell's Whisky about 35yrs ago up in Dingwall.
I've never, ever felt so drunk or ill.
Was on my deathbed for about 2 days followed by 1 week of an exceptionally unpleasant feeling.

Not had it since but can still taste it today.

Avoid.

No Manager of the month awards for you then!!

Southern comfort.

Walloped a full bottle at 17… fell asleep on my bed. Woke up 2 days later, having ****** my self and puked everywhere. I was absolutely caked in it, and as a result I can’t even look at the bottle let alone smell it.

Carling. No horror stories of drinking gallons of it and waking up in a foreign country wearing only my underpants and my own vomit. It's just awful.

Years of drinking Jager in the Bridge and Sambuca in town have put me off having either ever again.

Dark rum.
Drank too much of it at someone's funeral in 1975 & felt awful.
Never touched it since.

"Unicum". Popular in Hungary. Absolutely vile stuff!

Red Bull after a long night and longer hangover in Magaluf in 2000 as a 17 year old. Woke up outside a nightclub with my shoe laces tied together and decided to try and walk back to the hotel. I turned left and it took me about an hour to get back. If I’d turned right I’d have been back in two minutes!

Pernod is the easy one.

Similar story to the OP, never touched a drop since.

Tequila. Smell of it makes me gip

Grappa!

nonayclaret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 8:58 am

Grappa!

Ha ha, I love Grappa!

THEWELLERNUT70 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 12:19 am

Apparently if you add water to the said beverage it regenerates in your stomach and although when you have a thirsty hangover then last thing you need when imbibing these drinks excessively is liquid!

I’m a fan of pastis drinks in a hot climate but I’m not convinced about the drink ‘regenerating’.

All sounds a bit Dr Who to me. My own experience is that when it’s gone, it’s gone.

Absinthe.

Pernod and Jack Daniel’s for me.

A group of us went into the Sanctuary bar in Burnley 2007ish, I got a jd and coke and I swear to god, the next thing I remember is sitting in the corner of room shivering. Cannot stand the smell of the stuff now.

Mezcal (like a stronger tequila) went all Inclusive in Mexico one holiday . The waiters were taking great pleasure in plying me with this stuff then all laughing at me trying to walk back to my room afterwards. Swear I was bog eyed for a full day after

Irn Brew WKD.

Bundaberg rum. I was fortunate to visit the actual distillery in Bundy many years ago and bought a bottle of the premium version. Several of us on the ship did the same and had a bit of a session and did a few bottles. In doing so I lost about 24 hours of my life as I had no recollection of the lost time. Never again

Fernet Branca.. . End of discussion

Absinthe makes the heart grow stronger, apparently

THEWELLERNUT70 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 12:19 am

Apparently if you add water to the said beverage it regenerates in your stomach and although when you have a thirsty hangover then last thing you need when imbibing these drinks excessively is liquid!

Apparently is the key word. It’s an old wives’ tale with no grounding in science. Think it’s based on the fact it goes cloudy if you add liquid to it - like Ouzo

nonayclaret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 8:58 am

Grappa!

Probably the only drink in our cupboard that no one bothered with even in an ‘emergency’.

Ouzo42. As a 16/17 yr old my mate was on his first leave from the army. After polishing off my beers we moved onto his dads Ouzo. Can’t remember much more other than blocking his kitchen sick with vomit and another mate spewing up and getting a baked bean stuck in his nose 🫤

pauliopaulio wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 10:44 am

Apparently is the key word. It’s an old wives’ tale with no grounding in science. Think it’s based on the fact it goes cloudy if you add liquid to it - like Ouzo

It's a nice idea though, isn't it? Food or drink that "regenerates" itself.

The only way I've found of "regenerating" kebabs and pints isn't particularly pretty and they're never quite as appealing the second time they appear.

Anything Blue:
Having reached my beer capacity I once finished the night at a party in Spain drinking some blue cocktails and I was trashed for the next two days; I've no idea what they contained, so I've subsequently played safe and don't drink anything blue. I have a similar relationship with cheap whisky too, though that's not quite so heavily embargoed as I'm prepared to concede that on the night that decision's based on, the quantity involved was equally and perhaps more, significant than the cheap whisky itself

Following a similar discussion at a Round Table meeting some years ago, we held a 'holiday booze' party: The host provided pizza and lots of mixers while all the guests had to bring a bottle of 'Something I drank/liked so much on holiday that a I bought a bottle of it to bring home and save for one glass-full it's been sat in the cupboard ever since.' Everybody has at least one of those... The day after that party was a grim day too.

AfloatinClaret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 12:09 pm

Following a similar discussion at a Round Table meeting some years ago, we held a 'holiday booze' party: The host provided pizza and lots of mixers while all the guests had to bring a bottle of 'Something I drank/liked so much on holiday that a I bought a bottle of it to bring home and save for one glass-full it's been sat in the cupboard ever since.' Everybody has at least one of those... The day after that party was a grim day too.

Which Round Table were you in? Presume it wasn't Arthur's

Anything with gin. I've tried many times; with tonic, bitter lemon, Pimms or any of the myriad of fancy gin drinks. Just cannot stomach it.

Like Weller, it’s Pernod for me as well.
Couple of days before my 17th birthday, my mates took me to the Hop in Burnley, and 15 pernods later, feeling very much the worse for wear, my mates took me outside where I keeled over and split my head open. After a visit to Burnley General, I remember coming round in the ambulance outside our house with a concerned mum fussing over me. My hangover was horrendous and just smelling anything aniseedy almost 50 years later still turns my stomach.

pauliopaulio wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 10:44 am

Apparently is the key word. It’s an old wives’ tale with no grounding in science. Think it’s based on the fact it goes cloudy if you add liquid to it - like Ouzo

Brilliant so I was just "leathered" then after drinking a bottle of the stuff then

Potcheen. Absolute fire water. Never again.

Raki.
Worked out in Turkey a good few years ago. The locals were very friendly, often invited out for dinner at their homes.
One night they cracked open the Raki
I don't remember much of the next two days.

Red Bull, absolute shite.
Not judging but lost count of the number of overweight people I see buying this to give them energy. This ramps blood sugar to ridiculous levels and then causes a huge crash in blood sugar, which guess what, feels like no energy and the cycle repeats itself. Its this drink that's contributing to their weight problems.

Jaegermeister

The Aussie White Liqueur wine that Yates' wine lodge used to sell was pretty lethal after a session on the beer. There were a couple of occasions where I don't recall how I got home....

BobbyBoucher wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 2:00 pm

Red Bull, absolute shite.
Not judging but lost count of the number of overweight people I see buying this to give them energy. This ramps blood sugar to ridiculous levels and then causes a huge crash in blood sugar, which guess what, feels like no energy and the cycle repeats itself. Its this drink that's contributing to their weight problems.

I drink the sugar free one, but tbf I probably spend more time in a gym than 99.9% of people, weight problems aren't something I need worry about at the moment

Red Bull is no more of an "energy" drink than water.

If it's a caffeine stimulant you want, pre-gym, you're just as well to have a strong cup of coffee which will taste infinitely nicer and do the trick just as well.

RMutt wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 10:58 am

Probably the only drink in our cupboard that no one bothered with even in an ‘emergency’.

Having spent a couple of weeks last summer driving round vineyards in the Lake Garda / Verona area, I can confirm that my views on grappa are now very positive

jake102556 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 9:08 am

Absinthe.

I one had an Absinthe Hemingway in the jazz bar behind the main cathedral in Prague ( absinthe/champagne), you actually feel yourself getting p!ssed as you drank it !

AfloatinClaret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 12:02 pm

Anything Blue:
Having reached my beer capacity I once finished the night at a party in Spain drinking some blue cocktails and I was trashed for the next two days; I've no idea what they contained, so I've subsequently played safe and don't drink anything blue. I have a similar relationship with cheap whisky too, though that's not quite so heavily embargoed as I'm prepared to concede that on the night that decision's based on, the quantity involved was equally and perhaps more, significant than the cheap whisky itself

Back in the day Panama Joe's used to do a cocktail called a fish tank. Blue Bolls and a few other ingredients thrown in with a quart glass of lager thrown in for good measure

THEWELLERNUT70 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 3:16 pm

I one had an Absinthe Hemingway in the jazz bar behind the main cathedral in Prague ( absinthe/champagne), you actually feel yourself getting p!ssed as you drank it !

Me and my mate did a bottle of the stuff between us in Benidorm. Surprised I made the plane back.

Southern Comfort - you can have way too much of a good thing...I did once never again!

Seven teaspoons of sugar in a small 250ml can of Red Bull. Like Rowls said, people who buy this drink for energy would be better off shovelling a load of sugar into a strong cup of cheap instant coffee.

As for alcohol. I once got trashed on Greek Raki. This was years ago, and I vowed to give up on 'shorts' and I've near enough stuck with it to this day. No loss though. I've always preferred the taste of good, well-kept, ale.

THEWELLERNUT70 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 23, 2025 3:16 pm

I one had an Absinthe Hemingway in the jazz bar behind the main cathedral in Prague

Think we've been in there. Do you go down some steps into the cellar to get to the bar?

Breaker malt liquor a mate in the 70’s lived in an off licence in brierfield ,one night he nicked a case and 2 of us drank it in the park ,never thrown up as much in my life my first ever massive hangover at 14 ,I’m 62 now and remember it well

Licor43. Landlord of The Stork brought it back from Spain back in the 80’s. Fed it to us on a “lock in”.

Never felt so rough and even the smell of it now makes me want to throw up……….