5 Choices for the Newbie Sipper
Opinion ed by: Mack
Don’t be a lame when you go out on the town with some friends. Skip the shots and make some sassy mixed drinks, you’ll be able to pace yourself better that way. Ditch the Natty Light and step it up with these top choice budget beverages.
Barefoot Wine: White Zinfandel (>$5)
At around %10 abv and for the price, it’s hard not to choose this value wine. This obviously has a better taste over that Franzia crap all the sorority hoes are chugging and mixes very well with sprite. The best thing about wines is that they ussually provide a more chill buzz than a rumbling and raging alch attack. Also, it just looks really classy to be sipping on this at a party. Nearly every middle-tier store in your town will have this on sale.
Boone’s Farm Wines (> $5)
These are something to mix and match around with. The abv varies from flavor to flavor, but if you have $20 to blow, I’d seriously recommend buying a variety to find what’s right for you. They are sweet, succulent, and (sometimes) a bit too boozy. This is also a great stockpiling wine, use it for snow days and movie nights. PROTIP: You can’t go wrong with Fuzzy Navel.
UV Blue/UV Cherry ($12)
UV Blue is a delicious raspberry flavored vodka that’s 30% abv. Cherry is, well, cherry flavored. They both mix amazingly well with sprite (as does any flavored vodka) and surprisingly well with Dr. Pepper. The bottle goes rather quickly because everyone has heard things about it. Use this for shooting, mixing, and swigging. You can’t go wrong with this solid pick.
Everclear (about $15)
This is the stuff of nightmares, folks. There is no such thing as a boring night when Everclear is involved. Mix a shot into any drink and you won’t need to refill for a while. A good rule of thumb is that every shot of this stuff equals about 3 shots of vodka (leave a very heavy margin) and you do not want to forget how many drinks you’ve had with this bad boy. A great recipe is a tall glass of OJ, a shot (maybe a bit more) of EC, and some strawberry margarita mix to flavor. Mix it, sip it, and dance. DO NOT TAKE SHOTS OF THIS.
Burnett’s Vodka ($10)
Burnett’s isn’t all that terrible. If you use the right mixers and refrain from taking too many shots, you’ll never have a bad night. It is very bitter, but the burn is significantly less than that of lower quality vodkas (Skol; Aristocrat). It’s possibly the top choice for college students due to it’s amazing price-to-taste ratio.
