# I like spirits, but I (almost) never drink them. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2002, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-spirits-but-i-almost-never-drink-them/141988 "2002-12-11T13:29:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-spirits-but-i-almost-never-drink-them/141988/1 "2002-12-11T13:29:40Z")
A nice glass of Laphroaig single-malt scotch. Some brandy warmed in the hand. An ice-cold shot of good vodka. It’s good stuff! But I rarely drink any of it. I have a bottle or two of 10-year-old Laphroaig around here, and a 15-year-old bottle as well. There’s a bottle of decent Stolichnaya in the freezer. I have a bottle of pretty-good V.S.O.P too. The trouble is, there is no occasion to drink it! I don’t like to drink alone, and no one ever comes over. I could share a drink with my mom and her husband when I visit, but it’s a long drive home. (Although I’m hoping they’ll finally crack open that bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label I got them last year!) My best **fiend** stopped drinking last summer, so I won’t have a glass with him. When there _is_ an occasion to have a glass, it never occurs to me. I know there are people who struggle with alcohol, and that it takes some of them every fibre of their beings to avoid drinking. But for me it takes a conscious effort to even have a glass of wine. I don’t drink nearly enough. Is there a :shrug: smiley? ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-spirits-but-i-almost-never-drink-them/141988/2 "2002-12-11T15:11:36Z")
If you don’t want the Laphroaig, I think I might be able to find a home for them. It’d be some work, making room and all … but that’s a price I’m willing to pay. I want to help _you_. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-spirits-but-i-almost-never-drink-them/141988/3 "2002-12-11T18:39:00Z")
There’s a big difference between drinking when you happen to be alone, and drinking BECAUSE you’re alone. I really don’t understand where the “drinking alone” stigma comes from. My husband doesn’t drink, but if I have a drink in the evening while he watches TV, is that drinking alone? Do you feel guilty about buying the “party pack” of pizza rolls or whatever and only heating up a few for yourself? Is having a glass of wine with your TV dinner a red flag of some sort? If you feel like having a drink, have a drink. (If you can handle it, obviously.) If you don’t feel like having a drink don’t torture yourself about it! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-spirits-but-i-almost-never-drink-them/141988/4 "2002-12-11T21:05:05Z")
I don’t have a “drinking alone” stigma. It’s just that I like to socialize when I have alcohol. On the other hand, I don’t have to have alcohol when I socialize. It just happens that I prefer company with spirits. (I do remember to have some red wine with dinner occasionally though.) ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-spirits-but-i-almost-never-drink-them/141988/5 "2002-12-11T21:24:00Z")
My sister and I (we live together) always joke that we are the worst alchoholics alive because we always forget to drink, I like the idea of “spirits” but I buy the stuff and it just sits there (except the captain morgans spiced rum, she drinks it all). unclviny