If I only drank alcohol to get drunk, I’d keep a bottle of 190-proof Everclear around to maximize efficiency. But drinking alcohol is largely about the huge palette of flavors and experiences that are available. When it comes to affecting my brain with a chemical, I’d much rather relax with a cocktail or a nice beer than popping a pill or paying $20 for a piece of funky-tasting marijuana candy.
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Mix it up and surprise people.
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Remember when eggs were bad for you, then good for you, and then bad for you?
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Yep, about butter too. And Coconut oil.
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What about the studies that show one glass of beer or wine everyday prolongs life?
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I’ve seen sentiments like this a couple times now in similar conversations.
The problem with it is that an alcoholic in denial will be prone to saying a lot of things that sound like things that non-alcoholics would also say.
“Where’s your bathroom?”
“Wow, you sound like me when I was in denial of being an alcoholic!”
According to the linked (misreported) study, the negative health effects of light drinking are extremely minor.
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I wouldn’t doubt it for an instant.
“Although the health risks associated with alcohol start off being small with one drink a day, they then rise rapidly as people drink more.”
Keeping in mind that by “one drink” they mean “a shot”, and that anything that people usually drink counts double or worse.
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Wait - there are other reasons?
Seriously, I don’t really ever drink for pleasure. Other than fruity drinks, nothing really tastes good. I used to like Scotch with cigars, but that was acquired and partly liked it due to the social interaction that came with it.
I am the very model of a social drinker. I think I can count on one hand the times I have drank anything alone. Now I just drink about 4-5 hard ciders or vodka/7-ups at concerts and thats it.
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No longer a young person who drank to get drunk, I never drink it on its own anymore.
For me now, certain types go great with certain foods.
Beer and Indian food? Yum!
Good red wine and good chocolate? Yummmmmmmmmm
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I truly enjoy a nice Old Fashioned, Manhattan, or Negroni, and am also fond of ridiculous rum-and-pineapple-juice Tiki drinks. When I’m at a nice cocktail bar or restaurant with a good bar program, I find myself wishing there was a way to drink more than, say, two strong cocktails without being drunk, because I love their complex flavors. I enjoy the whole experience, not just the aftermath. And I’ve learned from experience that the older I get, the worse the after-effects are from sugary fruity drinks.
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My ex-got headaches from sugary drinks. Never been a problem for me. I am wondering if it is less “sugary drinks” and more “I don’t realize how much I am drinking because this tastes like rainbows and sunshine instead of booze.”
I do still like a good margarita now and then.
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I’ve long held a theory that one of the many variations in people’s tastebuds (genetic, or whatever) is the one that makes them perceive alcohol as bitter and extremely unpleasant. I know a few people who can only drink alcohol if any taste of the actual booze is obscured, and to whom beer and wine are bitter and nasty because there’s alcohol present. Personally I’m happy to sip a small glass of straight bourbon or very nice rum, which is about as boozy as you can get 
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I recall in one of Bukowski’s books the doctor telling him when he was a young man he would be dead in 6 months if he didn’t stop drinking, and he lived into his 70’s.
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The study had at least one other interesting fact.
At one point, alcohol use in Russia led to 75% of deaths among men aged 15–55 years.
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…and when he retired from the postoffice, they were all amazed that he had never taken a sick day. Fit as a stallion!
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This. Wine man. Wine destroys my head so easily. Just a half glass of the wrong red wine and a migraine is heading my way. I have to be super careful with what I have.
To @Mister44 I normally drink alone. A small pour of bourbon or an old fashioned on the deck a couple times a week. It’s relaxing and destressing from work or the week. I cannot recall the last time I drank with the intent to get “hammered”. I think that’s a young persons game.
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Weirdly, same here. I used to have it every once in awhile (usually at restaurants when someone ordered a bottle), but these days wine is bad news. I had two glasses of Riesling yesterday at a German restaurant – someone bought a carafe to share – and have been regretting it ever since.
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