Predrinking, prinking, or as my Dad seems to think it’s called, preloading (?!) is not to be confused with a social occasion. It may well be the gathering of your closest pals in one place, but this is no time for a catch up; this is your precious few hours before hitting the club to get to that perfect level of trollied so that you don’t have to buy a single drink whilst out (not that being at the perfect level has ever stopped you before). Also, it’s of the utmost importance that you spend minimum on predrinks to account for the generosity of your drunk self once you arrive at the bar, because it’s never a bad idea to buy a shot of vodka for everyone within touching distance just to reach the minimum card spend, right?
- Remove the word ‘shame’ from your vocabulary
While the Tesco Everyday Value logo may make your liver weep upon sight for the rest of your life, don’t deny your bank account such exceptional bargains. Realistically when you wake up the next morning feeling like the Seven Dwarves are ‘hi ho’ mining inside your skull, are you going to care whether it was the result of Own Brand or Bacardi? You may not be able to shake the feeling that you have shamed your entire family, but at least your wallet isn’t feeling too empty in the sober light of day. (NB. If you’re going for beer or wine, remember: you can’t hide your choice of brand. If you feel you have an image to maintain you may want to consider spending a bit more to keep face.)
2. Mixers make or break the drink
£10 vodka wasn’t made for sipping, that’s the beauty of mixers- it’s best to choose something disgustingly sweet to avoid the bitter aftertaste of your own stinginess – and looming alcohol dependency – when mixing with cheap spirits. If you find you have leftover spirits and nothing to mix them with (as student houses so often do), no need to waste 17p on lemonade- get creative and go for whatever you find in the house! Milk, tea, the dregs that weird peach squash you can’t remember why you bought… and people pay for cocktail-making classes?!
3. Don’t be a (drink sharing) hero
If you’re at a predrinks with people you don’t know so well, or you just really don’t trust your mates, you need to have a plan of action for those disorganised muppets who think it’s acceptable to rock up to pres without any of their own drinks. Practice some excuses on your housemates before you arrive as to why, no Heather, you can’t ‘borrow’ a bit of vodka. “Sorry, my Grandma got me this for the anniversary of the last Harry Potter coming out, so it has sentimental value to me” or something like that should do the trick.