Over the past 12 to 18 months (official legal drinking time), there have been many drinking challenges, both completed and failed with various degrees of completion in between. If you include the two or three years before we could legally purchase a pint of lager or a bottle of The Famous Grouse from Thresher at 11pm after leaving the pub, then there have been even more.

The majority of these which have stuck in my memory have rather unsurprisingly occurred in the last few months, the backend of my first year at university. Out of the lecture theatre and into oblivion, or something beautiful and poetic like that. This article is a compendium of a select few challenges that stand out amongst all the small bets, wagers, one-off comments and insults that have resulted in the competitive consumption of alcohol.

1. Campus 14 (Nottingham, UK)

Competitors: James Davey
Drink volume: 14x2 shots = 28 shots + optional mixers
Unique Selling Point: 14 different bars, one drink in each.
Further Notes: This fantastic evening takes place at Nottingham University, and is best attempted (we assume, since all accounts so far are of immense failures) in the company of a close friend, or handful of friends, or large group of trained medical professionals. The single biggest danger in attempting to complete it is the unavoidable complacency or fear you will experiencing going into it. Surrounded by stigma, it may at first be like that situation when you're sitting at home on the sofa watching "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" shouting out the answers and telling everyone in range that you could do better. That mentality won't fly with Campus 14, it will cut you down to size and send your measurements to the undertaker, it's a harsh mistress and taming it is truly an epic challenge. 14 drinks doesn't immediately sound an achievable aim, but it's time and movement that work against you from the word go. Depending on how hastily you start the challenge you will have only 15-25 minutes in each of the bars, which doesn't even take into account the time it takes to walk between them. Campus 14 is notorious at Nottingham uni and for a good reason. You can read the account of Jameson's attempt here.
Difficulty Rating: 10/10

2. David Randall’s Community Centre Shots Challenge (Kesgrave, UK)

Competitors: David Randall
Drink volume: 25 shots
Unique Selling Point: 1 of every drink on the “Liqueurs” and “Spirits” menu.
Further Notes: I've only ever seen one man attempt, and indeed complete this challenge. I can't imagine I will see that day again anytime soon. Much like the challenge below, it doesn't always hit you as you do it. This particular success was all smiles and climaxes at the time, but was later found to cause extreme disorientation, potential memory loss and passing out on the bathroom floor. It will comes highly recommended though.
Difficulty Rating: 9/10

3. Community Centre Spirits Challenge (Kesgrave, UK)

Competitors: James Davey, Justin King
Drink volume: 11 shots + optional mixers
Unique Selling Point: 1 of every drink on the “Spirits” menu.
Further Notes: This is the little brother of the above challenge. It takes you through a couple of whiskys, a vodka, a bacardi, a gin and tonic, and so on - nothing tricky. This is a good challenge to begin with if you don't have much experience with the bad boys. No danger of passing out, throwing up, or acting the fool.
Difficulty Rating: 5/10

4. The Big Lebowski Night (No location)

Competitors: Iain Rawson, Thomas Bevan, Alan Miller, Laura Morris, Justin King, Chris Double
Drink volume: 8 White Russian cocktails
Unique Selling Point: Same amount of White Russians as the character ‘The Dude’ drinks in the film “The Big Lebowski”.
Further Notes: One word: volume. Oh, and milk. Yes, milk, drinking a lot of it is never a good idea especially in warm conditions, or mixed with alcohol. One White Russian tastes pretty good, two is generous but eight is pushing back boundaries that only the best challenge-generated enthusiasm can justify. So far, no tactics have been developed for this film-related event, although it is by no means unachievable. Finishing it isn't the problem, but understanding and dealing with the repurcussions is the real heart of the beast.
Difficulty Rating: 7/10

5. The Farmhouse Challenge (Kesgrave, UK)

Competitors: James Davey, Justin King, David Randall
Drink Volume: 29 shots + mixers
Unique Selling Point: It includes every single drink hanging on the wall behind the bar in the pub “The Farmhouse”.
Further Notes: Unlike all the previous quests mentioned, there isn't really a time factor affecting any competitors in the Farmhouse Challenge. This gives it a much more laidback feeling and is really centered around volume rather than speed. That is, of course, unless your name is James Davey, who decided to enter the challenge 3 hours after it had begun and then proceeded to catch up by drinking must faster than the established pace. This challenge can take anything from 7 to 11 hours, or if you really wanted it to, from pub opening to last orders. It's flexible, and it's satisfying (you can see yourself moving along the line of bottles) but that doesn't mean that it's easy. Drinks are singles instead of doubles, so it's initially less dangerous but will come back for revenge the next day, or all through the night if you stay awake. Is known to cause substantial memory-loss if any activity is undertaken post-completion.
Difficulty Rating: 8.5/10

Written by Ace.