A liquid buffet is exactly what it is -- all-you-can-drink alcoholic beverages, though with a time limit.

Liquid buffets are gaining popularity, particularly among the younger *broke* folks who want to go crazy but not empty their already thin wallets.

There are now more liquid buffet options in the city area, the newest being right in the heart of Clarke Quay:

We’ll illustrate our points with an actual trip to a liquid buffet at RedTail Bar by Zouk.

At the liquid buffet

1. Stick with one drink

The idea is that if you stick with just one type of drink (drink, not spirit), you are likely to drink less than if you were to order different types of drinks. If you wanna keep trying things, you’ll probably chug every drink faster than you should.

At RedTail, you’d have to get up and walk to the bar for a refill, so that gives you a shoooorrrt break. Plus you get to feel how drunk you really are.

But I’m at a buffet, I want to try everything!

2. Okay then, stick only with light-coloured drinks

Congeners, which are impure alcohol compounds produced during the fermentation process, can contribute to intoxication. They are also known to intensify your hangover, because your body struggles to process the impurities.

Generally speaking, darker-coloured alcohol (wine, brandy, whisky) contain higher levels of congeners, as compared to light-coloured alcohol (beer, gin, vodka).

Naturally, liquid buffets like RedTail offer a range of spirits, so pick your (lesser) poison to last the night.

Walao, then out of that menu, you mean I can only order 2 types of drinks? No leh where got worth it?

3. Fine, if you’re going through the menu, start with a drink with the lowest alcohol content

It’s a simple logic of trying to stay sober for a longer period of time. Starting with a drink of higher alcohol content means your inhibition will disappear quickly -- before you know it, you’ll be throwing back drinks and crash-landing. Ouch.

Then how, I want to try everything at the buffet what.

4. Pace yourself

Duh, the best way to not get high fast is to not drink fast. Pace yourself. No amount of food and water can beat that.

Don’t down everything in one hour and toh.

5. Slow down with games

The idea is to occupy yourself, so you won’t be chasing drinks needlessly. Go with a group of friends to have fun with.

Liquid buffets at RedTail are extra fun, with giant beer pong, giant snakes and ladders, and other bar games available.

Before the liquid buffet

6. Hydrate yourself

You’ve probably heard this before. But why?

Being hydrated is said to slow down the rise of your blood alcohol concentration -- hydration doesn’t reduce your blood alcohol concentration. Essentially, the amount of alcohol entering your body is what you put in, but being hydrated might help you feel sober a little longer.

Also, alcohol is a diuretic which increases urine production, and all the electrolytes and water lost while peeing will contribute to you feeling like sh*t the day after.

7. Eat

Blah, blah, you’ve also heard this. Having food in your stomach slows down the processing and absorption of alcohol, which determines how fast you get tipsy. Drinking on an empty stomach could get you tipsy in 30 minutes -- once you start drinking, water and food does little to decrease the rate of absorption.

30 minutes is how long you took to get to the bar. So eat something substantial before drinking, if you don’t want your night out to last a grand total of 2 hours.

The star of the bar snacks at RedTail is the Crab Rangoon Wanton -- crispy wanton skin topped with chunks of creamed crab -- that will keep your mouth occupied.

8. Prep with a hangover drink

In an ideal world, nobody wakes up with a hangover. In reality, most of us do. And it feels horrible if you have to work, so take a hangover drink before hitting the liquid buffet. If you must.

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No matter how much food, water or preparations you take, the only thing that really determines how high you get is how much alcohol you put into your body. And how fast you do it.

So think twice before you try to be a hero. What’s the fun if you don’t remember the fun?

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RedTail Bar by Zouk

Liquid Buffet @ $38++

7pm - 10pm

Tip: Be on time to maximise your time at the buffet, and make a reservation to get the best seats in the house.

Still thirsty?

If you need more drinks after the liquid buffet ends at 10pm, there’s a 1-for-1 promotion when you use a DBS card.

Mothership promotion

Flash this article at RedTail to get a portion of Shoestring fries (with a min. order of 2 liquid buffet sets). This promotion is available throughout the month of March 2019, from Tuesday to Saturday.

This sponsored post by Zouk made this writer drunk.