Why Mixing Boozer With Diet Coke Gets You Drunk Faster
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Doctor Explains Why Mixing Your Booze With Diet Coke Will Get You Drunk Faster Than Regular Coca-Cola

Diet Coke

Diet Coke sits on a store shelf on Dec. 9, 2013, in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A TikToker by the name of Loryn Powell recently put a hypothesis to the test by experimenting to see whether mixing liquor with the diet version of Coca-Cola will get you drunk faster than using standard Coke as your mixer.

Powell drank four glasses of Jack Daniel’s mixed with Coke and on did the same with Diet Coke on (presumably) a different day and measured her innebriation with a breathalyzer 30 minutes after consuming the drinks.

After drinking Jack and Coke, she had a 0.061% BAC, while the Jack and Diet Coke elevated her to 0.086%. After waiting an additional 30 minutes, her BAC showed up as 0.051% BAC after the Coke drink — a 0.01% decrease — but after waiting that second half-hour period of time on the Diet Coke day, her BAC had actually increased to 0.088% BAC.

TikToker and doctor Karan Raj posted a video to shed light on the phenomenon:

@dr.karanr DIET COKE V REGULAR COKE @lorynpowell ♬ Cornfield Chase – Hans Zimmer

Raj, the English National Health Service surgeon with 5 million TikTok followers, explained that the difference comes down to the contrasting sugar contents of the sodas.

The sugar in regular Coke, Raj said, slows the absorption of alcohol, a concept simiar to how you’ll get drunk less quickly if you eat on a full stomach. Diet Coke doesn’t have that same sugar concept, so the alcohol gets into your bloodstream faster.

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David Morrow is the managing editor of Whiskey Raiders and has been with the company since September 2021. David has worked in journalism since 2015 and has had bylines at Sports Illustrated, Def Pen, the Des Moines Register and the Quad City Times. David holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Saint Louis University and a Master of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. When he’s not tasting the newest exciting whiskey releases, David enjoys spending time with his wife and dog, watching sports and traveling.