Drinking on a budget: the definitive guide

After the splurge of freshers’ week where, armed with the seemingly enormous student loan, a hundred pound drink shop in Tesco seems like a great investment, until you wake up the next morning to find it all gone. Week four is around the time most freshers realise that to continue to fund their booze fuelled first year adventure they are going to have to get a little bit more imaginative.

Before going any further I should probably say that I am not promoting (nor would like to) excessive drinking in any way, shape or form. Think of it in the same way as my previous article on the NUS Extra card, I may tell you that you can save a lot of money going to Warwick castle, but by no means would I suggest it.

Anyway, with that aside let’s begin. Pre-drinking, pre-lash, pre-gaming, or whatever it is called now is a ritual to be found in many a fresher’s kitchen which is essentially designed to save money at the bar. I don’t know the detailed history of how and when this phenomenon emerged to become a weekly staple of student life, but I would imagine that a combination of increased alcohol consumption and the proliferation of supermarkets with extremely low prices have been the two major factors, bringing with it the decline of the pub.

After some arduous research scanning the online supermarkets, we have produced our guide to drinking on a budget. Using a unit of measurement perhaps invented for student drinking (price/unit) we have compared some of the most popular drinks on campus to see which come out as the most cost-effective before that big night out.

The data in its full format is frankly pretty boring, so here are some highlights:

1. Malibu is a massive rip off. For fourteen quid not only is it rammed with sugar which will mess with your blood sugar and give you a big dose of calories, but also tops our poll for the most expensive drink per unit, at a colossal 95p per unit.
2. Other notable student staples to be found in the 60p plus category include Jagermeister, Jack Daniels, practically every branded alcopop, Jose Cuervo tequila and any beer that costs near a pound per bottle (the Sols and Coronas of the world).
3. The cheapest lagers on the market (the Carlings, Calsbergs and Fosters of the world) typically come out near the 50p mark, making them about as average as their taste.
4. Your average £4 bottle of wine comes in around 43p, which considering there are often half price deals is probably the best way to drink under that 50p barrier without risking damage either to your palette or digestive system.
5. Unsurprisingly the Sainsbury’s and Tesco basic spirits come pretty near the bottom of the pile with an average of roughly 35p. I would exercise caution with these, either buy a lot of mixer or at least pop an indigestion tablet or two before punishing yourself in this way.
6. Coming bottom (or top depending on how you want to look at it) by quite some distance are the perries (yes me neither, it’s Lambrini and Country Manor). At 29p and 27p respectively they are the cheapest by quite some way and three times cheaper than the most expensive drinks
7. Don’t resort to White Lightning or any of the spin offs no matter what. I don’t care how much they are and neither should you.

Whilst this research is far from exhaustive, being based on supermarket websites at current RRP prices and without taking any offers into account, it can help give a sense of perspective of what you get for your money the next time you look to stock up. Don’t go too crazy.