Alcohol consumption in 21st-century Britain is of significant interest to government, media and academics. Some have referred to a ‘new culture of intoxication’ or ‘calculated hedonism’, fostered by the drinks industry, and enabled by a neoliberal policymaking context. This article argues that the ‘carnivalesque’ is a better concept through which to understand alcohol’s place in British society today. The concept of the carnivalesque conveys an earthy yet extraordinary culture of drinking, as well as ritual elements with a lack of comfort and security that characterise the night-time economy for many people. This night-time carnival, as well as being something experienced by participants, is also a spectacle, with gendered and classed dynamics. It is suggested that this concept is helpful in making sense of common understandings of alcohol that run through the spheres not only of alcohol consumption but also production and regulation.