I hold the crown out of all my friends for downing five shots of Aftershock in the quickest time. Whilst most were choking on their third, I'd downed the last with a big smug grin on my face.

I'm actually a newcomer to this spirit. My housemate introduced me to it. It's got quite a reputation and many think it's vile stuff. There are two versions of this drink which is the red and the blue: the red being the 'hot' variety, and the blue the 'cold'. How clever!
Anyway sarcasm aside, most people have their preference of the two flavours- and mine is the cool blue one.

The blue one tastes quite cinnamony (if that's a word!) but doesn't burn your throat as much as the hot one. This means I can drink more of it without losing my voice the next day! ;-)

The red one tastes like the aniseed sweets that you can can get. I like it but not neat - I'd rather drink Sambuca. I do mix it with other things when I'm making one of my lethal cocktails. So be warned if you're used to having shots of the blue then be prepared for a burning sensation (not pleasant) if you opt to try the red one.
Shots cost around £2 of the stuff, and trust me you don't usually need more then 4 or 5 to get hammered. My housemate gets tipsy after two. The bottle isn't cheap and costs about £25 but it's worth it as its 40% and should last you some time. Just keep it hidden otherwise people will finish it in drinking challenges.

I like the fact that Aftershock is vamping up the boring image of most spirits. Apart from Vodka- Whiskey, Brandy and similar spirits just make me think of my grandparents. Also I'm bored of drinking Vodka, and there's not much choice if you avoid Vodka.

On the serious side- be careful when drinking as Aftershocks are strong and it hits you after a while how drunk you are. Don't do what I did, it's a good idea to drink some water to stop your self gett
ing dehydrated- specially if you're in a club.

The 'proper' way to drink Aftershock is by gargling it for a minute before swalling. This is harder then it sounds. After about 20 seconds of swilling the deadly stuff it becomes harder to move your mouth. Your mouth almost feels deadened, your tongue will burn then the burning gets worse.
Next your eyes start to water and your whole mouth will still keep on burning. I DON'T do this gargling thing! I prefer downing it quickly, therefore getting drunk with minimum pain.

I've created cocktails by mixing Aftershock with Vodka, Sambuca, Archers with Red Bull/ Pineapple juice/lemonade as mixers. Needless to say these concoctions are quite infamous among my friends. If you haven't tried Aftershock yet then go for it! You have to try everything once.