Probably been done a million times before: Your thoughts on ALCOHOL!

[daftalchemist]

I drink a bit for the taste. I only drink at home, only one drink a night, and not every night.

I don't have a reason for why other than I wanted to experience what drinking is like. And then I discovered that I really, really like the taste of vodka mixed with flavored and regular lemonade, and various cranberry juices. And then my co-worker turned me on to this vodka fusion drink called X-Rated, and the rest was history.

 

[Mauso88]

I used to drink a lot, now whenever I do, my hangovers are coupled with bad anxiety. So, I'm seriously contemplating quitting altogether.

 

[zehydra]

I've often wondered why one chooses to smoke or drink personally. I made the choice not to early on because I've never felt the need to slowly poison myself to death(I know it seems harsh to put it that way but that's how I've always viewed it). Alcohol only causes health problems so why do it?

This is pretty much the view I hold.

I don't want to ever get to the point where I need to consume poison to make myself feel better.

 

[ElectroJosh]

Cachaça is good stuff. Sort of a rum made from sugar cane instead of molasses. It's used to make the national drink of Brazil. The Caipirinha.
You basically put some sugar at a bottom of a glass, muddle some cut up limes into the sugar, and fill the rest of the glass with cachaça. It is absurd how good that is.

I love Caipirinhas - one of the few cocktails that I order at bars (most cocktails are too sickly, which is the issue I have with spirits mixed with softdrinks).

Anyway I love a lot of alcohol but my top three:

1) Beer (beer is one of my main hobbies, I try most beers I can find but I have some favourites, which I won't list here as that would get boring).

2) Whisky (or "Whiskey" if its Irish. I don't like mixing spirits with other drinks so it has to be good enough to drink neat).

3) Sake (I love this stuff warm or chilled)


I don't drink to excess (well, probably once or twice I year I do) because it isn't healthy. But I enjoy getting to the "a bit buzzed" level (around 4 to 6 drinks depending what they were).

Because I drink for how good it tastes I don't understand why people, who don't like the taste of alcohol, would drink anyway just to fit in. Seriously guys; don't worry! If you don't like it there are two possible reasons: 1) Its a bad quality example of the type of drink or 2) Its a taste you don't actually like.

For newbie drinkers I would suggest doing some research first. Don't just grab the nearest or easiest to find beverage try to find something regarded as a good example of the drink in question. That way, if you don't like it, you know you didn't like something that drinker of that beverage tend to enjoy and, therefore, can eliminate it. You don't need to purchase a $100 bottle of scotch but, if sampling Whisky for example, try to order something better than a Johnny Walker Red

Personally I tried several types of Gin and none of them did it for me. Therefore I can eliminate Gin as a drink to order. I made sure, however, that they were a decent Gin and not the cheapest example.

 

[LuckyClover95]

Cachaça is good stuff. Sort of a rum made from sugar cane instead of molasses. It's used to make the national drink of Brazil. The Caipirinha.
You basically put some sugar at a bottom of a glass, muddle some cut up limes into the sugar, and fill the rest of the glass with cachaça. It is absurd how good that is.

I love Caipirinhas - one of the few cocktails that I order at bars (most cocktails are too sickly, which is the issue I have with spirits mixed with softdrinks).

Anyway I love a lot of alcohol but my top three:

1) Beer (beer is one of my main hobbies, I try most beers I can find but I have some favourites, which I won't list here as that would get boring).

2) Whisky (or "Whiskey" if its Irish. I don't like mixing spirits with other drinks so it has to be good enough to drink neat).

3) Sake (I love this stuff warm or chilled)


I don't drink to excess (well, probably once or twice I year I do) because it isn't healthy. But I enjoy getting to the "a bit buzzed" level (around 4 to 6 drinks depending what they were).

Because I drink for how good it tastes I don't understand why people, who don't like the taste of alcohol, would drink anyway just to fit in. Seriously guys; don't worry! If you don't like it there are two possible reasons: 1) Its a bad quality example of the type of drink or 2) Its a taste you don't actually like.

For newbie drinkers I would suggest doing some research first. Don't just grab the nearest or easiest to find beverage try to find something regarded as a good example of the drink in question. That way, if you don't like it, you know you didn't like something that drinker of that beverage tend to enjoy and, therefore, can eliminate it. You don't need to purchase a $100 bottle of scotch but, if sampling Whisky for example, try to order something better than a Johnny Walker Red

Personally I tried several types of Gin and none of them did it for me. Therefore I can eliminate Gin as a drink to order. I made sure, however, that they were a decent Gin and not the cheapest example.

Do you live near any local brewery's? You seem like you'd like that sorta thing, I dunno, but we have one hear in Norwich. And I was introduced to a south african beer recently (with cocoa in it!) and it's only brewed here in Norwich i think. Which is nice if horribly hipster of me.

 

[IrradiatedFish]

I actually thought I'd never be interested in any form of alcohol, and while I really don't like most alcoholic beverages, I have actually come to quite enjoy red wine (for the record, I'm 20). It seems I've basically inherited my parents taste in this regard, and I seem to be liking Australian and Italian red wine a lot!

Drink responsibly folks!

EDIT: Oh, and to answer those questions more carefully, yeah, it's usually very casual & social. I started drinking at 19, and it's usually with my parents or close friends. More often with my parents though, because friends tend to drink alcohols I don't like (I don't drink for the sake of drinking, I actually LIKE red wine quite a bit! Gives a nice warm feeling, and it's kinda tasty too).

Funny drunken stories eh? Well, I never really get that drunk. One of my first times drinking though, I was at a nice restaurant with my parents, and since I wasn't used to drinking, I swallowed back my wine a bit too quickly. We all found it pretty hilarious when I was uncontrollably swaying around in my chair in the middle of a fancy Itallian restaurant :3!

 

[ElectroJosh]

Do you live near any local brewery's? You seem like you'd like that sorta thing, I dunno, but we have one hear in Norwich. And I was introduced to a south african beer recently (with cocoa in it!) and it's only brewed here in Norwich i think. Which is nice if horribly hipster of me.

I live in Auckland New Zealand (which is a small country) so we have access to some pretty good beer brewed at micro-breweries even if we don't live near them. On top of that there are some fine ones in Auckland (I would recommend fans of good beer check out Galbraith's or Hallertau for a nice microbrewery or go to Brew on Quay if you just want a bar with a massive range of beer - especially if anyone here is coming over for the rugby world cup).

I also like a range of imported beers. Particularly Stouts and Ales - we have decent local ones but I love Young's double chocolate stout and no local stout has matched that yet.

 

[Vault101]

Id probably drink more if I was soical..but yeah

otherwise I rareley drink at all, which is probably good because I dont need the added health problems

plus its usually drink=drunk=vomiting in the morning

not fun

 

[ilspooner]

At the moment, it is quite illegal for me to drink alcohol. Um, it can taste nice in desserts!? Thats my only real experience with alcohol at the moment.

 

[Mr.Incognitus]

I don't drink. it just has no appeal to me at all, the stuff in my country tastes foul and its a lot more expensive than soda. I have no problem with people drinking as long as they don't try to peer pressure me into it. You can go on about how much fun it makes everything until the cows come home, I prefer to be capable of coherent thought thank you very much (Not making a statement about all who drink, just some of my friends)

 

[trollnystan]

Just wondering. Do you drink alcohol, or not? If you don't, why not? If you do, is it a casual drink or do you get drunk? Do you only drink socially? Funny drunken stories please as well. What do you drink? When did you start, and for the youngsters like me are you of legal age to yet?
I'm just curious because as a teenager (16) alcohol, while not being a MASSIVE DEAL is quite a big thing. I like parties with alcohol, and I like having people to acquire it through (am I allowed to talk about illegal things on here?). I will admit, even though I know some Escapist members consider it and uncouth and unclassy activity, I like to get drunk with my friends. However, while I see the appeal of having a beer on my own, I do not feel the need to get drunk alone. I drink vooodka, cheapy Tesco value vodka with coke. And, even though I'm not a regular smoker, I like smoking when drinking (unless I'm so wasted I burn myself or something).
ANYHOO, your thoughts please.

I never drank as a teenager, except for a drink on special occasions and when supervised by adults. Exceptions to this was sneaking some from my father's bottles of schnapps before I moved out.

Obligatory drinking story: Back when I was still active in the local Catholic church, I went to Rome the year 2000 for the anniversary with the youth group. My brother-in-law was one of the leaders. One night we ended up in an "authentic" Irish pub and there I was, 17 years old, drinking a Tequila Sunrise beside my brother-in-law, who at one point handed me his Corona beer and asked, "Does this taste like piss to you?"

He denies memory of this to this day. =P

I don't drink now for a few reasons.

¤ I get headaches while I'm drinking.
¤ I have an iffy stomach and I got gastritis a year ago, which was when I decided to give up on the little drinking I did. (I'd have like a glass a year.)
¤ My father was an alcoholic. If I hadn't moved out at 15 I would probably have become one too.
¤ The smell of beer nauseates me.
¤ I don't enjoy getting drunk; I dislike not feeling in control.
¤ I don't enjoy being around drunk people; they make me uncomfortable.

Quite frankly OP, I think you shouldn't drink until you're at least legally old enough to. Not only could you and your suppliers get into serious trouble if caught, but drinking during puberty could mess with you physically. Not to mention I read recently of scientific findings that depending on your diet when you are young, your kids could be predisposed to certain things like obesity and addiction.

But hey, it's your life. As long as you keep it to a social drinking level - i.e. don't drink until you puke and have memory loss, only until you have that supposedly pleasant buzz - and don't do it too often, I suppose your future kids will be all right if the findings I mentioned are correct.

I just don't see the point of it. To me drinking isn't fun and it doesn't look fun either; drunk people always look pathetic to me. But then I'm admittedly a bit warped by my childhood experiences... [sub]I am damaged. Hear me rant.[/sub]

/rant

 

[Arachon]

A lot of people's attitude in this thread reminds me of something I read on Erowid:

Spoiler: Text

Take some of my high-school friends, for example. The operative terminology here is "getting fucked up". When you drop acid or do mushrooms you're "all wasted", you've got a "buzz", you're "getting off". Psychedelics are treated like a stronger version of alcohol. And its got the same macho self-destruction attached to it. You all know it; how much can you drop, how much can you munch, how many bowls/joints/buckets/bots can you take before you pass out or puke blood (yes, I know of people who have vomitted blood doing oil buckets, for whatever reason). When I sent word home about DXM, a bunch of them ran out, popped 3 boxes each (in addition to sucking up vast amounts of THC) and then "died a few times". One guy just sat in his apartment for a week doing DXM, and eventually tried to pay another friend of mine $20 over cost just to go and buy him more.

A night in the life here is about 6-8 hits of *good* blotter, sitting in a dark smoky apartment, unable to move, with Pantera, Machine Head, White Zombie, Fear Factory, Sepultura and various other thrash/death maestros cranked to 10. No Brian Eno or worldbeat in their CD racks I'm afraid .

They take pride in being able to hold it together. They'll try to freak each other out, do things which deliberately take their minds as close to the edge as possible. If someone starts to get a little edgy they jump on it and take it to the limit.

Fun activities are driving fast along dark roads, smashing in television screens with your bare fist, fighting. Thinking is prohibited, of course; the whole experience is just a dose, a feeling, a kaleidoscope sense show, a chance to freak.

Now that text is about Psychedelics, but I find that the same applies to Alcohol. There are *many* types of Alcoholic beverages that offer a distinct experience in taste and smell, yet people choose to drink the cheapest, most uncomplicated alcopop or lager they can find, just to get "fucked up".

As with the Erowid poster's high school friends, the "journey" (in alcohol's case; appreciation of the beverage, the tastes and aromas) is ignored in favour of getting as shitfaced as possible.


[small]Disclaimer: Even though I have quoted a text from a very drug-liberal website, I do not endorse the use of LSD, Psilocybin or other drugs mentioned or not mentioned in the text. Doing them is illegal, and might get you into serious trouble with the law, or other similar beings of shady nature.[/small]

 

[Brandon237]

No, I have never had more than a small glass of champagne on any day. I never plan to get drunk (loss of control and health repercussions kinda scare me) and can't understand why you would. Unless you like loss of self-control.