OK, I am a beer man. I have always been. I confess that I drink because I like catching a buzz. BUT, I have always been a beer drinker. I like the taste. I have met so many people who have said that they had to “learn” to like it. I’m not one of those people. I was snagging a sip of Dad’s beer ever since I can remember. I just like beer. (some better than others, obviously.)
Unfortunately, due to a stomach operation, I may no longer drink fizzy stuff. No beer, no soda, nothing like that.
And so I am looking for a new drink. I have tried several mixed drinks and wine and so far, nothing is working for me. Right now, if I go out, I drink Vodka and XXX. Sometimes Vodka and lemonade, or cranberry. But I confess, I don’t like it like I like beer.
So, what do you guys like? Tell me your favorite drinks. I’ll go try them.
Both. As I said in the OP, I drink 'cause I like catching a buzz. But I also always genuinely enjoyed my beer. I could just pound down a wine or mixed drink without tasting it, but I want to enjoy the drink too. It is part of the night out.
How about whiskey sours? My bf likes those and I’ve found them not too shabby (it depends on the whiskey, I can’t stand bourbon whiskey.)
I like vodka and cranberry/vodka and lemonade, it kind of grows on you, but you’ve tried that. Gin and lime juice are not bad either, also if you use one of the flavoured vodkas or gins like the Citron or lime-twisted it changes the taste some.
One of my favourite drinks for right before bed when I need a little something to help me sleep is an amaretto sour. You’re supposed to use lime juice and lemon juice and such, but I’m lazy and usually tired, so I mix about 1/2 whatever size glass (filled with ice) sweet and sour, and the other half amaretto. Amaretto has is kind of almond-caramely tasting, and it really mixes well with the lemon taste. It’s not a terribly alcoholic drink, but I’ve found a decent 8-12 oz glass of it about as effective as a dose of Nyquil for helping me off to sleep (sometimes I get pretty wound up and have a hard time calming down enough to sleep.)
Everything else I ever drink has carbonation… rum and diet coke, etc… You could try slipping some whiskey in your coffee if caffiene isn’t a no-no for you. I’m not a big martini drinker, but there are a ton of differenct kinds out there, some with stuff like chocolate in them… plus most of those blended drinks like you can get at restaurants usually don’t have caffiene. I like one at Bennigan’s they have, called a Bellini… it’s ah, Peach Schnapps and vodka and cranberry and orange and some other stuff. And you can’t go wrong with margaritas, and depending on where you get them those can pack a bit of a punch.
Be careful if you switch over to martinis…don’t be trying to knock back one after the other like you would with beer, unless you like lying under tables.
Some of my former co-workers “discovered” martinis when they were in their mid-thirties, and tried to drink them the way they used to drink beer, wine, and highballs…as in, sitting around a bar all afternoon after work was over for the day. Three cocktails in, we had to carry them up to their hotel rooms.
This may seem like an odd suggestion to a beer drinker, but try sherry. You can drink it chilled, it has slightly more of a “punch” than regular (unfortified) wine, and the finos and manzanillas are fresh and bone-dry and taste great with food. Tapas-eaters in southern Spain have been washing down the bread and olives with it for centuries.
And my brother-in-law, a big beer guy who thinks all wine drinkers are sissies, polished off about four bottles of manzanilla within a week over the holidays, after I introduced him to it.
I think hard cider might be the beverage for you. I never liked the taste of beer, so our tastes might not be the same, but hard cider delivers the same buzz as beer, and I do not believe it is carbonated in any way. And it is delicious, much better than “soft” apple cider, which is way too sweet for my tastes.
Let’s see, drinking mostly for the buzz, a little for the taste.
I would suggest Long Island Iced Teas. They’re not fizzy, but they do have the teeniest splash of coke for color. If a shot or less of cola in your drink is against the rules, then that’s out.
Margaritas are always good—tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. They are doubleplusgood if the bar uses freshly squeezed lime juice. They are doubleplusungood if the bar uses sweet & sour mix.
A similar idea is the gimlet. Usually made with vodka & lime juice.
There’s always the Bloody Mary, too, but I only order those on flights for some reason. (Which brings me to a tangent. Has anyone else noticed the disproportionate amount of people who order tomato juice on planes? I swear, I almost never see people ordering it in restaurants, but on a flight it seems every third person does. Anyhow…)
If you want to feel sophisticated, drink good whiskey/scotch/or bourbon. That’s my drink of choice if I’m not doing beer.
I could be wrong about hard ciders not being carbonated. I read that they are just left to ferment longer than soft ciders. Don’t know if that produces bubbly or not. I know regular ciders are not bubbly. Guess I’ll have to buy one and try. My fave – can’t remember the name – is the one that has the old-timey pen and ink picture of an apple on the side.
Beer is my normal drink but margaritas are my favorite mixed drink FWIW. The sourness of the margarita is a good replacement for the bitterness of beer IMHO. But a nice scotch can be good too.
You will never want to drink anything else once you have tried this. Baileys milkshakes. So good. Take Baileys, some milk, some vanilla, and some vanilla & chocolate swirl icecream & blender it up. So, so good.
I do not like beer at all but my suggestions would be: cider (if it’s not carbonated… I can’t remember either), margaritas, amaretto sours, or sangria to drink and get a buzz from.
If you just want to get hammered, jagermeister or tequila.
You might try, if finances permit, stepping gently into the world of fine liquors, whether they be whisky (or whiskey), brandy, fine tequila, liqueur, or what have you. Liquor includes some of the greatest-tasting substances known to man, and I promise you that you will walk away from a scotch- or brandy-drinking session with a pleasant buzz (but not drunk – if you’re getting drunk off these nectars you’re just wasting them).
If you’re just looking to get hammered, you can’t beat vodka for versatility. And, drunk plain, it is an excellent method for a quick stupor, especially if combined with some good bread, various cold cuts and pickles, and a friendly set of individuals equally committed to drunken bonhomie – an art form the Russians perfected centuries ago.
Beefeater gin is good stuff, but obviously you can’t drink that as you would beer. Or perhaps you could, but it would certainly be ill-advised.
If you want something tolerable that’s as cheap or cheaper than beer, there’s always the old collegiate standby: bottom-shelf vodka mixed with powerade.
As I said in the OP, I drink 'cause I like catching a buzz. But I also always genuinely enjoyed my beer. I could just pound down a wine or mixed drink without tasting it, but I want to enjoy the drink too. It is part of the night out.
You could try slipping some whiskey in your coffee if caffiene isn’t a no-no for you. I’m not a big martini drinker, but there are a ton of differenct kinds out there, some with stuff like chocolate in them… plus most of those blended drinks like you can get at restaurants usually don’t have caffiene. I like one at Bennigan’s they have, called a Bellini… it’s ah, Peach Schnapps and vodka and cranberry and orange and some other stuff. And you can’t go wrong with margaritas, and depending on where you get them those can pack a bit of a punch.