Norway. Rich on oil, blondes and ice bears. The tax on cigarettes and alcohol are among the worst in the world. This results in a bottle of beer easily costing $8/€6 at a cheap bar while it can cost as much as $15 on the more fancy places. For englishmen: You should consider yourself extremely lucky if you find a pint of beer for less than £5.

For the norwegians a pre-party is not only a pleasant way to start the evening. It is a necessity in order to afford to party.

Possible locations:
It is not legal to drink on public places and police are eager to fine people for drinking in the city streets. The best locations for a pre-party is therefore a hotel room or a private house. In the summer you may want to consider breaking the law and going to the seaside for your pre-party. As long as it is far away from a city it should be possible to drink without interference from the police.

The costs of being the boss:
The cheapest 0.33l beer in a Norwegian supermarket is likely to set you back 10 NOK (€1.2 $1,8). 80% of the costs of this beer will be taxes. The beer will be a cheap private label type of drink. If you are willing to spend a bit more you can buy the local brands like Hansa, Christiansands Bryggerier, Mack and Ringnes. These beer costs 12-14 NOK each (€1.4/ $2 USD).

There is usually not possible to buy bags of ice cubes in Norway, after all it is so cold that they do not need it. In the biggest cities you may be able to buy a bag of expensive ice at 7-eleven.