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Never drink any drink with a paper umbrella in it, never drink any drink with a humorous name, and never drink any drink that changes colour when the last ingredient goes in.
A drink so potent, the whole room hushes when someone orders it. The bartender pales and asks, "Are you sure?", and then, after putting on a welding mask and asbestos gloves, takes the bottle out of a locked safe and pours it with tongs. When the stirring spoon is removed, it's been melted away, and the ice cubes jump out with a yelp when dropped into it. And that's just the beginning of the fun...
Consumption often results in a Fire Breathing Diner, Lemon Wacky Hello or the Mushroom Samba.
A common scene involves a character downing an entire Gargle Blaster, suffering no ill effects, causing everyone else in the room to be thoroughly confused. Someone else tries it, because, obviously it must be weaker then it's supposed to be, and usually ends up unconscious.
Named after the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.
Examples:
Radio
- The aforementioned "Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster" from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy is described as the best drink in existence. It also says that the effect of a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick, and it sums the entire drink up as the alcoholic equivalent of a mugging. (That is to say, expensive and bad for the head.)
- Hitchhiker's Guide also features Old Janx Spirit. An old Orion mining song describes is side effects as: "my head will fly, my tongue will lie, my eyes will fry and I may die". Naturally, it's an ingredient in the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.
Live Action TV
- The cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 once invented a non-alcoholic Gargle Blaster in the form of the Killer Shrew, a drink that combined about twelve different types of sugar in a blender (chocolate ice cream, Sweet Tarts, vanilla cake frosting, Good'n'Plenty, Marshmallow Peeps, etc.). Joel had one taste and passed out; Frank had one sip and went hyperglycemic, singing "Ladies' Night" and attempting to dance with Dr. Forrester.
- Star Trek The Next Generation featured a just-barely Gargle Blaster on the episode where James "Scotty" Doohan was a guest star — it was apparently the only real alcoholic beverage on the entire ship. Data tasted it several times to try to determine its composition, was perplexed, and described it (accurately) as "...green."
- The big surprise at the end of this sequence — intended to showcase the hard-drinking Scotty's contempt for the weak, pampered, synthehol-drinking inhabitants of the 24th century — is discovering that Picard knows it as Aldebaran whiskey and, in fact, was the one responsible for stocking it on the ship.
- This was a Shout Out to an episode of Star Trek The Original Series where Scotty engages a
Klingon Alien Of The Week in a drinking contest, and the only description he can give of the final beverage he brings out is, "It's grrrrrrreen".
- The reappearance of Scotty, and of that line, give the TNG episode its name - Relics.
- Done straight (insofar as it can be) in a Lost In Space episode where Doctor Smith is mistaken for a lookalike gunslinger and plays it to the hilt, ordering the gunslinger's favorite drink in a saloon on a Western Planet, inspiring awe among the crowd. IIRC, the bartender actually has to assemble the ingredients wearing heavy gloves.
- Granny's "tonic" on the Beverly Hillbillies.
- Maxwell's Illegal Hooch on Red Dwarf. In Rimmer's words, "That stuff is like 300 proof. A bottle of that will get the whole Greek Navy drunk!"
- At 300 proof, by the by, the drink is 150% alcohol.
- It pulls alcohol from another dimension when drunk.
- In series 6 when the crew were without the Red Dwarf, Kryten brewed up an opaque liquer which might fool the unwary into believing it look like margaritas. It was infact called urine recyc, and left stains that needed removing with turpentine and no happy drinkers at all.
- 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 tattoos and Carla sleeping with Paul.
Anime
- Sadaharu Inui from The Princeof Tennis is *infamous* among his peers for making disgusting vegetable juices. He often uses them as punishment for players that fail their training exercises. One drink was even called "Penal Tea".
- In Martian Successor Nadesico, Megumi's opening gambit in winning Akito's heart through his stomach is an "energy drink" that's one of these, made from a nonsense list of horrible ingredients. She gives it to him as he's begging for something to wash the taste of Yurika's equally horrific Lethal Chef fare out of his mouth. It really, really does not help.
- In Japanese, the ingredients list is a combination of folk "potency" remedies.
- The ungodly "energy drink" seems to be a fairly common trope in anime, and even Super Robot Wars uses it, going so far as to include it as an item with very unusual effects.
- In Kanon, Akiko Minase's infamous Jam. It's potent enough that serving it to other characters is one of her supers in Eternal Fighter Zero.
Film
- The Nutty Professor featured the "Alaskan Polar Bear Heater", a drink invented by the lead character and dictated to a barman. Although Buddy drinks it without any noticeable effect, the barman takes a sip and loses consciousness.
- Back To The Future III has perfectly ordinary alcoholic drinks, but it's established that Doc just can't take his liquor, so the bartender's apprehension is similar. Sure enough, he downs a glass and drops like a brick, at the most inconvenient time. The "wake-up juice" they arrange handles the "elaborate mixture of death" side of things.
- The alcoholic drinks are perhaps not so ordinary; Marty hesitates before downing a shot of Authentic Frontier Whiskey when he notices spilled droplets are causing the bar to smolder.
- Like Doc, Roger in Who Framed Roger Rabbit just can't handle his liquor. An ordinary shot of whiskey sends him into elaborate convulsions, turning different colors and finally shooting up into the air, shrieking like a steam whistle.
Literature
- Scumble from the Discworld books is a particularly potent form of hard cider (it's frequently described as being "made from apples... well, mostly 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:
"A lot of stories are told about scumble, and how it is made out on the damp marshes, according to ancient recipes passed down rather unsteadily from father to son. It's not true about the rats, or the snakes' heads, or the lead shot. The one about the dead sheep is a complete fabrication. We can lay to rest all the variants of the one about the trouser button. But the one about not letting it come into contact with metal is absolutely true..."
- There's one humorous scene in 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 effected (to even more surprise), and then walks straight through the door without opening it (leaving everyone positively stunned).
- Discworld also includes the polar opposite of a Gargle Blaster, in the form of Klatchian Coffee, which is so potent that it takes you right through sobriety and out the other side, into a state of horrifying hyper-awareness known as knurd ("drunk" spelled backwards). In order to offset its effects, Klatchian Coffee enthusiasts typically drink Desert Orakh, another example of a Gargle Blaster made by mixing scorpion venom and cactus sap, to make sure they're safely drunk.
- Although not a drink, Mustrum Ridcully's Wow-Wow Sauce (a condiment which contains scumble, the essence of a particularly pungent vegetable, and two of the primary ingredients in gunpowder) fits the trope, and is occasionally used as a weapon. An illustration in Nanny Ogg's Cookbook shows Ridcully preparing it in metal gauntlets, padded leather apron and welding mask, with the sauce bottle behind a cast-iron shield.
- Another anti-Gargle Blaster shows up in Hogfather, where the wizards of Unseen University prepare the most potent hangover cure imaginable for Bilious, the Oh God of Hangovers. After adding every hangover cure they can think of (including a whole bottle of Wow-Wow Sauce), they end up with a glowing, effervescent beaker containing "the essence of pure sobriety". And since Bilious gets his perpetual hangover from the drinks consumed by Bibulous, the God of Wine, Bibulous ends up getting the "humorous side effects" of the hangover cure.
- In Monstrous Regiment, the troll equivalent of a Gargle Blaster, the Electrick Floorbanger, is prepared by dropping silver and copper coins into vinegar; the resultant crude battery temporarily shorts out the troll's silicon brain.
- Trolls also have a drink called luglarr, or "Big Hammer", a variant of Troll beer made by adding certain metallic salts to the drink that manages to make it even more dangerous—very hard to do. The effect is roughly the same as scumble, to the effect that anyone who can't simply be pushed over minutes after drinking some is considered almost preternaturally resistant to its effects, even by other trolls.
- To sum up: this stuff etches pavement.
- Then there's 'Splot', briefly featured in Making Money, a drink that has been outlawed in several places despite not being alcoholic... it said that's because alcohol couldn't survive in it. It is made entirely of natural ingredients and herbs, in the same way that "Arsenic is natural and Belladonna is a herb". It apparently speeds the brain well beyond the point where the mouth can keep up, just for starters.
- Also not a drink, but a throwaway passage in Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age mentions a bottle of sandwich sauce containing "imported habanero peppers", "butts of clove cigarettes", "uranium mill tailings", "nitrates, nitrites, nitrotes and nitrutes, nutrites, natrotes..." and a long list of similar items.
- Yet another anti-Gargle Blaster shows up at the start of a The Stainless Steel Rat story. It's a small round pill that will make you absolutely stone cold sober seconds after swallowing it… it's completely black except for a skull and crossbones on each side.
- The description of its effect includes the words "fire hose".
- Harry Harrison must have felt the world needed this; it shows up again in Bill,The Galactic Hero with a Yes But What Does Zataproximetacine DO listing.
- Maple mead from Lois Mc Master Bujold's Vorkosigan series is always discussed with trepidation by the main characters. The Dendarii mountain folk, who are backwards even for a backwards planet like Barrayar, don't mess around with their alcohol.
- This Troper recalls reading a short poetic story in a tourist trap giftshop in his native Australia, involving a culinary version of this trope called 'Feral Mixed Grill', made of virtually every kind of iconic Australian wildlife in the book (which leads to questions about its legality, as many ingredients are endangered species). And when it's eaten... let's just say Hilarity Ensues.
- The Yahtzee novel Fog Juice is named for the Gargle Blaster prepared by the protagonist to solve problems. It is said to be a recipe passed down through generations of university students, which can be summed up as every bottle in the kitchen plus a large mixing bowl. Its main advantage is that when you come round, whatever unfortunate situation you were in will definitely have resolved itself - however, you may have a few new problems, the least of which is working out where you are and how you got there.
Western Animation
- The above mentioned asbestos gloves and welding mask were used in a Daffy Duck Looney Tunes cartoon with the outlaw Nasty Canasta ordering "the usual" from a saloon bartender: a drink made with such ingredients as "cobra venom", "hydrogen particles", and "Old Panther whiskey". He then drops two ice cubes in it...which immediately jump out as if on fire and head for the coolness of the fire bucket...
- The preparation of many dangerous drinks in Looney Tunes cartoons usually ends with the mixer withdrawing a spoon whose bowl has been 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!"
- Yet another Daffy example occurs in the cartoon Mexican Joyride. Daffy enters a Mexican bar, and, after an encounter with some of the local cuisine demands something to put the fire out. The bartender hands Daffy a drink, which he quickly downs-and then stiffens into a rigor mortis like state. The bartender picks Daffy up and chucks him into a nearby pile of similarly frozen patrons.
- In an episode of The Simpsons, Bart and Milhouse drink a Slushee "made of pure syrup." It is treated exactly like a Gargle Blaster, and even leads to a Drunken Montage.
- In The Rescuers, Luke the muskrat is always toting a jug of "swamp juice" which he charitably gives to anyone who looks a little tired ("It's good for what ails ya."), leaving the poor drinker with fire and smoke coming out of his mouth.
- In Tex Avery's The Shooting of Dan McGoo, a character drinks a shot of straight whiskey and promptly shoots up to the ceiling like a rocket. When he lands, he complains, "This stuff's been cut."
Video Games
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City features the "Love Juice", the favorite drink of the band Love Fist: 3 fizz bombs, 1 part boomshine, 3 parts trumpet, and 1 liter of petrol. Boomshine itself could be considered a Gargle Blaster. It's potent enough to intoxicate someone on the fumes alone, and if put too close to an open flame, will detonate like a weapons-grade explosive.
- The Adventure Game Quest For Glory featured "Dragon's Breath", which could actually make your character spontaneously combust if he drank it at too low a level.
- Actually showed up in two games, the first and the last. In the first game, consuming it was good enough for Have A Nice Death. In the last game, well, a little drink isn't go to stop you!
- Not a drink in this instance, but the barber's reaction to being asked for a "Cyber Razor Cut" and the various surgical instruments and implements of torture he prepared before giving it in the old Sega ads on British T.V. all add up to a similar feel.
- The Monkey Island series of computer games does this to grog. Instead of plain-ol' watered-down rum, it's a drink made with a variety of bizarre ingredients, which may (or may not) include kerosene, propylene glycol, artificial sweeteners, red dye no. 2, rum, acetone, battery acid, scumm, axle grease, and/or pepperoni. Needless to say, it's capable of burning holes through reinforced pewter mugs in a matter of seconds. This apparently doesn't stop it from being sold in familiar-looking red-striped soda vending machines, despite the games being set in the 17th century.
- Neverwinter Nights allows the player to engage in a drinking contest, with the final round (before the opponent passes out) being a beverage known only as scurrd. It is, from a game-rules perspective, statistically impossible for any normal human being to imbibe scurrd without losing consciousness—it requires a Constitution score one point higher than what a first-level character is capable of having.
- A character with magically-enhanced or dwarven constitution can safely drink the scurrd, which results in the opponent passing out, and earns the PC massive respect from his buddies.
- Kusuha Mizuha from Super Robot Wars: Original Generation is famous for her "Health Drinks". The exact ingredients are unknown, but what is know is that a single sip is enough to knock adult men unconscious. However, once you recover you feel absolutely amazing. There exists a select few (mostly aliens) who actually enjoy the taste. Most other people run in terror the moment Kusuha offers them a drink.
- World of Warcraft has you construct several of these on various quests. How potent they truly are really depends on what level the quest is, although the quest giver will always act like it's the strongest stuff out there.
- Dragonbreath Chili is one of the few foodstuffs in the game that can directly damage your enemies after you eat it.
- Gemstone IV introduced a blackout-inducing drink called Eldreth's Death-rum, based on a real player-made concoction served during a gaming convention room party. Several employees watched as a brave attendee offered to try the stuff, pronounced it "not that bad" and started to walk away with no ill effects—before suddenly dropping to his knees five steps later.
- The potion maker in The Wind Waker uses a welding mask as described above when mixing up new potions. The process also involves small explosions and clouds of colored smoke. Link burps up a small puff of colored smoke after drinking one.
Web Comics
- In the webcomic Freefall, John Jones Monroevian Moonshine: Fine sipping whiskey and high explosive. According to the ingredients list on the bottle, it contains "muskrat squeezings, nitroglycerin, and other additives both natural and unnatural." Also on the bottle it a statement of quality: "If you drink this, you will die."
- This is, of course, a Shout Out to the Kickapoo Joy Juice in Lil Abner (made from ground up dead skunks and old shoes among other things).
- In the Girl Genius webcomic, set in a Gaslamp Fantasy/Steampunk universe where Mad Scientists called Sparks can liberally break the laws of physics, the central protagonist, Agatha Heterodyne, rebuilds a coffee shop's coffee making engine
 , distilling the Essence of coffee, with mindblowing results.
- Another webcomic example: this strip of Planescape Survival Guide has the drink being handled with tongs, and the hilarious aftereffects of the drink itself.
- Cadbury Egg Cereal. Skips over the entire wild bender and shows us only the result, to great comical effect: The victim has been elected to Congress.
- The coffee at the Google offices in User Friendly is so powerful it does this.
- Stickman And Cube has Una Muerte Con Mucho Dolor, which comes with several hours of warnings and disclaimers and must be served in a diamond glass.
- Francis' twitch-gamer "power drink" from Pv P: "a blend of espresso, Jolt cola, some Pixie Stix, pure cane sugar, Choco Puffs and a splash of Mountain Dew because I'm that @!&$% crazy, man." Oohhh, the colors.
Role Playing Games
- In Dungeons and Dragons, Dwarven Skullcracker is a 400% drink that requires a constitution check just to stay conscious. This troper recalls an incident involving a bottomless mug set to Dwarven Skullcracker, a pirate ship, and a party of "clever" adventurers that didn't turn out well for either side.
- Played with in the description of a bar at a superhero/villain club in the Champions sourcebook Classic Organizations: "The bar itself is stocked with a huge variety of alcohols and extraterrestrial stimulants, and the bartenders have several unique house drinks. (Try the Dark Seraph — and you'll be at GM's discretion.)"
Real Life
- Most instances of homemade hard liquor — "Moonshine" — fall under this trope.
- A certain bar in York used to serve the "Hellshot", an ounce of special reserve absinthe mixed with an ounce of rectified spirit, with an alcohol content of nearly 90%. For those not keeping score, this is a single mouthful of drink with the same amount of alcohol as two pints of beer. Perhaps wisely, there was a strict house rule that nobody was to have more than one of these in a single night.
- 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.
- Usually absinthe verte (green) with about 70% alcohol (to preserve the coloring chlorophyll) is diluted before drinking. A bleue/blanche has usually about 50%. Lighting it came about in the 1990s and is not traditional in any way.
- A trick is popular among chemists to awe non-chemists. The effects of strong hydrochloric acid are demonstrated, as are those of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda). Carefully measured quantities of these are then decanted and mixed in front of the audience. Then the scientist downs the mixture. It is of course just salty water, as the two chemicals neutralise each other. Sensible people give the mixture time to react fully and let it touch the outside of the mouth before drinking any.
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