Don't you miss those days when you'd tell your mom you are sleeping over at a friend's place, but you were actually having the worst hangover from drinking too much vodka?
What if we were to tell you that the alcohol you've been blacking out on, since your teens, is FAKE NEWS? Okay, maybe not fake, but definitely immensely mellow in comparison to some spirits available in the larger world out there! Don't believe us? Let us paint you a picture. Current license standards in India allow for maximum alcohol content of 45.5% in distilled spirits, while the lowest in this list starts at 75%, so, yeah.
Here are 10 of the world's strongest drinks, for all those who enjoy a real challenge. Scroll down to make your choice.
Number 10 - King Of Spirits, Absinthe (70% Alcohol)
Origin: Czech Republic
What you will get in this bottle of alcohol, is the closest to the experience of guzzling absinthe. The taste of this liquor is exceptional, making it immensely likely to induce the blackout of a lifetime. Although it is reputed to induce hallucinations and convulsions, this insanely strong alcoholic beverage has a myriad of loyal fans who claim that drinking it makes colours brighter, your mind sharper and the world better. Talk about rationalisation, ammm I rightttt?
Image Courtesy: The Spruce Eats
Number 9 - Devil's Springs Vodka (80% Alcohol)
Origin: New Jersey
With a clear, bold warning of "do not drink at full proof" slapped across the bottle, this vodka is notoriously known for wiping your memory slate absolutely clean. Usually used to make extremely potent cocktails, this alcohol lives up to its name of being derived straight from the Devil's spring. Suffice it to say, this is one brand of vodka that means business, and Russians wouldn't have it any other way!
Image Courtesy: Arthur Cantina Wine & Liquor
Number 8 - Sunset Very Strong Rum (84.5% Alcohol)
Origin: Caribbean island of St Vincent
When we address this bottle of liquor, we are talking firewater, white lightning and some serious overproof. Faithful fans of this drink claim to experience their head spinning just at the memory of taking a few sips, and that comes as no surprise considering the alcohol content. If you go to your medicine cabinet and take a whiff of rubbing alcohol, congrats, you just got a preview of drinking this dangerously strong rum. Aye, aye, floor!
Image Courtesy: Uncommon Carribean
Number 7 - Good ol' Sailor Vodka (85% Alcohol)
Origin: Sweden
The first thing you'll notice when you get your hands on this intense vodka is the absolutely rad bottle designed by tattoo artist Mattias Broden. The second thing you'll notice is nothing because you won't be awake. One of the first organically grown and produced vodkas in the world, Good Ol' Sailor Vodka has a clean and fruity flavour, which masks the adventure lurking inside this elixir. While this vodka might be known for being eco-friendly, its effect on your body will be far from that of a buddy.
Image Courtesy: Pinterest
Number 6 - Balkan 176 Vodka (88% Alcohol)
Origin: Serbia
Balkan 176 comes in a bottle with 13 different health warnings, and we wonder why. The strongest vodka available in the UK (you can find it at the duty-free shops at the international airports), this drink starts burning the second it hits your lips and doesn't stop until every trace of sobriety is long gone from your body. The biggest dichotomy that crops up with this vodka, is that one drink is never enough and two drinks are always too much. Long story short, this vodka does not play around.
Image Courtesy: Pinterest
Number 5 - Pincer Shanghai Strength (88.88% Alcohol)
Origin: Scotland
Often featuring in the list of the top 5 most potent drinks in the world, Princer Vodka is an extremely strong (understatement?) herbal vodka made from elderflower and milk thistle. At 88.88% proof, Princer is the strongest vodka in the world, and the perfect recipe for a stage 5 blackout.
Image Courtesy: Drinks & Co
Number 4 - River Antoine Royale Grenadian Rum (90% Alcohol)
Origin: Grenada
This thrilling concoction is made from locally grown, hand-cut sugar cane, and the tears of everyone consuming it. Just kidding about the tears part (or are we?). The production process of this potent rum has barely changed over the past 230 years since it was originally manufactured. The taste of this alcohol is fresh, fruity and overpowering, but at 138 degrees, it is not meant to be messed around with!
Image Courtesy: Drinks Enthusiast
Number 3 - Bruichladdich X4 Quadrupled Whiskey (92% Alcohol)
Origin: Glasgow
Don't worry, we can't pronounce it either. And that doesn't matter, because once you've tasted it, you can’t pronounce much anyway. At a whooping AVP of 92%, this alcohol is akin to liquid dynamite. There is a popular local myth surrounding this whiskey, "One sip, and you live forever, two sips, and you go blind, three sips, and you expire on the spot". Yeah, we suggest you stop at one sip.
Image Courtesy: The Old Barrel House
Number 2 - Everclear (95% Alcohol)
Origin: United States Of America
Arguably the most infamous alcohol on this list (why? Cause' its’ American), Everclear is widely recognised for creating wonderful experiences like fatal alcohol poisoning and strong addiction. This vodka made it to the Guinness Book of World Records in 1979 as the "most alcoholic drink in the world" so suffice it to say, Everclear is not that one drink that you can leisurely sip on after work to unwind. This grain alcohol is banned in 14 states in the USA, and one-shot of it has 285 calories, along with the ability to knock you out, forever.
Image Courtesy: Lucky's Liquor
Number 1 - Spirytus Rektyfikowany (96% Alcohol)
Origin: Poland
This is an alcohol, used to prepare other alcohols, and if that doesn't bear testimony to its potency, we don't know what does. Visit any alcohol blog, and you'll see flashing warning signs advising you against drinking this spirit neat. This rectified alcohol is the strongest drink in the world (obviously) and is prepared by recurrent distillation. However, it is also extremely versatile and can be used as a solvent to give your cocktails that extra kick.
Image Courtesy: Arthur Cantina Wine & Liquor
Now, as to how you can get your hands on the strongest drinks in the world, well, that's another read coming up soon.