# Alcohol: How many drinks to get you to your happy place? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139 "2016-03-25T16:34:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/21 "2016-03-26T07:15:47Z")
No idea. Never had enough to get there. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/22 "2016-03-26T07:34:23Z")
I checked one, but I can actually get buzzed off half a Woodchuck if I haven’t had much to eat, and I have to be careful about drinking, because it can trigger migraines. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/23 "2016-03-26T07:39:31Z")
About four, which is why I never get drunk - I’m too cheap. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/24 "2016-03-26T09:37:37Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > What did I eat and how long ago? I answered 5, but this is the real answer. If I haven’t eaten anything, one or two can actually make me pretty fuzzed and happy. I work nights, and I’m usually just getting out of bed when other people consider it martini time, so that can happen with alarming regularity. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/25 "2016-03-26T10:44:39Z")
My answer also depends on what I’m eating, and what I’m drinking, but not necessarily how you’d think. Around 2, _if_ I’m drinking good wine and I _am_ eating good food after not having eaten in awhile. The combination of gustatory pleasure, alcohol, and caloric intact makes me happy quickly. Heck, once I was so happy after a good meal when I was in a caloric deficit that I wasn’t sure I _hadn’t_ been drinking. At the opposite end of the scale would be drinking beer on an empty stomach. Sure, I might get dizzy after a couple drinks, but my body would still be craving nourishment and it would also punish my mind for drinking this bitter-tasting, and thus possibly poisonous, concoction by making me sad. Straight liquor is almost as bad tasting. I’d say that 6 shots of straight liquor on a _relatively_ empty stomach would be required to make me as happy as 2 glasses of wine with good food. Mixed drinks and cider are in between. I haven’t had much of them in a long time so I can’t really compare. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/26 "2016-03-26T11:20:10Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > But how many to get you to that just right state of mind where all is right with the world. Alcohol doesn’t seem to have that effect on me. I can feel alcohol affecting me, but not in that way. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/27 "2016-03-26T11:32:38Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Zero. I can get to my happy place without it. Yeah, I start from a happy place and drink to fine tune/modify that happiness. The number is elusive. It also depends on wether I’ve enjoyed some cannabis. I drink fewer drinks if I’m high, a bit more if I’m not. Plus, the number of drinks depends on the ABV of the beer I’m drinking. Maybe six pints of a session ale, versus two of a 13% Imperial Stout. Cheers!! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/28 "2016-03-26T11:53:44Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Zero. I can get to my happy place without it. Is there kleenex there? Because it sounds kind of snotty. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/29 "2016-03-26T12:16:30Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Zero. I can get to my happy place without it. > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Is there kleenex there? Because it sounds kind of snotty. That’s not where I thought that would be going. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/30 "2016-03-27T01:50:33Z")
[quote=“Grrr, post:1, topic:750139”] Not asking how many to get you drunk. But how many to get you to that just right state of mind where all is right with the world. Not sure everyone has the question down right. For me, one. Not one drink, actually. One swallow. Long day at work. Finally free of encumbrances. Sit down at the bar. Cold beer arrives. Bliss ensues. Of course there is still more beer to, uh, refine the situation, and I may or may not get drunk. But getting off work, and having my first cold one. I’m there, baby. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/31 "2016-03-27T02:31:41Z")
Depends – what kind of booze, and what I’ve been eating. I’ve gotten nice and buzzed on beer if my stomach’s empty, and I’ve been pretty sober after drinking moonshine on a full stomach. Not to mention how much I’ve been drinking and how much over a period of time. (I will say that I’ve just had glass of sherry and I’m good and mellow. All I had was some pizza earlier today, so I’m nicely buzzed.) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/32 "2016-03-27T04:35:05Z")
Type of alcohol and food in my stomach do matter, but so does the situation I’m in. Sitting at home with my wife, I can have three glasses of wine and feel normal. One beer in front of my mom and I feel like I’m a giggly, slurring idiot. For the sake of the poll, I’ll go with three. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/33 "2016-03-27T10:51:13Z")
Two drinks usually suffice. A bit more if I’m drinking wine or beer & there’s substantial food available. Caution is advised! One pretty good local Tex-Mex chain serves a margarita which I’ve learned never to follow with another–and there is always serious food on the table. And I finally tried a local bar called “Poison Girll.” A pretty cool place; but if I go back I’ll have a couple of beers. \*Never \*more than one mixed drink. Getting there is fun. Going beyond is not. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/34 "2016-03-27T13:02:36Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > 3 or 4 is the start of my window…then the goal is to slow down and maintain that for the rest of the time I’m awake. So if do it right, I can be in said window all day and end up drinking 12+. If I do it wrong and drink too quickly, then I just go to bed. I said three but your answer describes me pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/35 "2016-03-27T13:13:55Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Alcohol doesn’t seem to have that effect on me. I can feel alcohol affecting me, but not in that way. This. I’ve wondered what alcohol feels like to people who enjoy getting drunk, because it’s obviously objectively different than what it feels like to me. Booze doesn’t make me feel bad, but it doesn’t make me feel good. Just sleepy and a little anti-social. And dizzy and woozy if I really over-do it. So I don’t drink much at parties, because if I drink too much, it ruins the party for me, I just want to curl up in the corner and block everyone out. Caffeine is my party-drug of choice. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/36 "2016-03-27T13:14:58Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Less than one. First sip of beer at the end of a long day and all is right with the world. But I completely understand this sentiment! ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/37 "2016-03-27T13:22:10Z")
Today? It’s 4. In my 20s? It was 14. I went to UCSB, where I built a high tolerance to alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/38 "2016-03-27T13:31:32Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > This. > > I’ve wondered what alcohol feels like to people who enjoy getting drunk, because it’s obviously objectively different than what it feels like to me. Booze doesn’t make me feel bad, but it doesn’t make me feel good. Just sleepy and a little anti-social. And dizzy and woozy if I really over-do it. So I don’t drink much at parties, because if I drink too much, it ruins the party for me, I just want to curl up in the corner and block everyone out. Caffeine is my party-drug of choice. Alcohol is my drug of choice, and I enjoy it so much I had to give it up. It feels awesome, I become more active, not less, I enjoy other people more, and generally just feel awesome, until I reach the point of staggering stupor. Then I fall asleep. The most accurate description of how I feel towards alcohol is summed up by fellow alcoholic Leo McGarry, from The West Wing: > [@](#): > > I don’t understand people who have one drink. I don’t understand people who leave half a glass of wine on the table. I don’t understand people who say they have had enough. How can you have enough of feeling like this? How can you not want to feel like this longer? My brain works differently. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/39 "2016-03-27T13:40:57Z")
And the answer is probably often, “because that wine won’t make me feel like that.” I enjoy many alcoholic beverages in small doses, but I drink extremely cautiously to avoid feeling like _this_. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139/40 "2016-03-27T15:47:54Z")
And there are different reactions. Many lose inhibitions, are more boisterous and get obnoxious. Some get louder. Some get quieter and more introspective. Some get braver and bolder. It is important, if one drinks, to know how you are affected. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-how-many-drinks-to-get-you-to-your-happy-place/750139.md?page=3)