# What is your relationship to alcohol? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692 "2018-02-12T16:19:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/101 "2018-02-13T14:42:43Z")
I’m basically a 2. Even a small sip of alcohol makes me sick, so I don’t drink at all, but I have no objection to anyone else drinking. I wouldn’t say that drunk people bore me: Someone who’s interesting sober will probably still be interesting drunk, but alcohol certainly won’t make them any more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/102 "2018-02-13T14:44:23Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > 333 years ago I gave it up. Haven’t touched a drop since. Target located. Van Helsing unit has been dispatched. ---
**Author:** ![chaika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chaika/32/405_2.png) [@chaika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaika)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/103 "2018-02-13T14:47:26Z")
None of the options really apply to me. I usually have a glass of wine on Friday and Saturday but not as a “social lubricant/catalyst.” I haven’t drunk to excess in ages; the last time was probably when I was a grad student (15 or so years ago). I enjoy alcohol and wouldn’t want to give it up completely, though I think I could if I had to (health reasons or similar). However, if I ever had to give up tea, that would be a true sacrifice and I’m not sure life would be worth living. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/104 "2018-02-13T14:48:32Z")
I used to be a 7. I held off all day, but got drunk every night. I’ve been sober almost 12 years, so now I’m somewhere between 2 and 3. If other people want to drink, that’s their business. My wife likes to have a glass of wine now and then, and having it in the house doesn’t bother me in the slightest. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/105 "2018-02-13T15:26:47Z")
I enjoy well-made beers of all types and well-aged scotch of the peaty type. What I don’t do is drink to the point where I can’t sense those subtle nuances that I enjoy when I drink either one. I will have my Friday Beer, which is always a beer I haven’t tried before and is picked out by My Beloved, I will try out homebrews made by my friends, and if someone gifts me with a bottle of Bruichladdich Octomore I’m not going to insult them by letting it collect dust, unopened. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/106 "2018-02-13T15:56:21Z")
I guess between 2 and 3. The problem with the scale is that is mixes somewhat separate issues: how often you drink, how often in excess, whether you care about other people’s drinking. I drink lightly but mostly at home with meals, not in outside social settings. But it’s not that I ‘don’t often get shit faced’, I basically never do (haven’t been drunk in 35+ yrs). But since drinking problems run in my family I’m somewhat uptight about my grown kids’ drinking habits which causes tension sometimes. I don’t specially care about the drinking habits of people outside my family (drinking per se, I care about drunk driving etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Celidin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Celidin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celidin)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/107 "2018-02-13T15:59:08Z")
I generally also fall about a 5 or a 6. I enjoy a good scotch now and then, or a well made Old Fashioned, and believe my life would be worse the wear for it. I also enjoy a beer a couple nights a week for dinner, with **maybe** a second on a Friday night. More than that and I think the “get sleepy” effects outweigh anything else and I sometimes find it a useful sleep aid. Once in a while I’ll drink enough to get a decent buzz going. These are almost always social occasions with family, and I always make sure it’s in a safe location with a safe way home (if I’m not hosting at my house). My wife and I used to trade off family occasions to “not worry about drinking”, but she’s run into some health problems and can’t have more than one without really paying for it, so I usually luck out there. Which is nice because my family likes getting together for holidays and my one uncle has a superlative whisky(/scotch/rye if you want to be specific) cabinet and its nice to try a couple different things. But by the same token I have gone for long stretches (months) without drinking, just because there isn’t really a reason to. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/108 "2018-02-13T16:27:59Z")
1. I’ll have a cider after a game at the curling club, or if I’m eating at a pub. I never developed a taste for most alcoholic drinks, although I still try different ones from time to time. Beer is all too bitter for me. I saw something on Wikipedia about the original six cocktails and decided to try them all. A Jack Rose isn’t bad, but very few bars stock applejack. > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Just last week, I dumped the remnants of 2 bottles of wine down the drain - one was from 2011 and it was still halfway full. I never drank any of it - just used it for cooking a few times. How long does wine keep, and still be good for cooking? My pasta sauce recipe uses 1/4 cup, and I’ve got some in the fridge, but it’s been there for a while. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/109 "2018-02-13T16:33:23Z")
I’m more or less a 3 on the OP’s scale. I’m usually the only one not drinking at an event where there is alcohol, but I will take a drink now and again, especially at a live music show where I know that’s the main subsidy for the band. I’ll also imbibe if we’re visiting a winery, or if someone is up for a quality tequila tasting. I’m closer to a 2 than I am to a 4, though. ETA: I’m with Robot Arm on worrying about alcohol going bad. If a bottle of vodka comes into my house, it’s going to last a while. I do go for a good screwdriver now and again, but I haven’t mixed one at home in at least a couple of years. And, yes, I’ve wasted a bit of wine. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/110 "2018-02-13T17:56:53Z")
I think I’m a 5 or a 6 but that really doesn’t capture me. Booze is my life. My job is building and designing distilleries and in a lot of cases, I also do recipe development both for spirits and cocktails in the evenings lately I’ve been working on a vacuum still design for a custom still I’m building a client and working on the recipes that I’m going to kick the still off with to impress them which woke me up the other night for about 3 hours thinking about how I’m going to make a honey-mango vodka and what cocktails would highlight it. That being said I haven’t had a drink since the super bowl where I did get a nice buzz and I’m two beers into a six pack I bought at the beginning of January as my only non-super bowl drinking. I keep lots of booze in the house mainly that my friends or I have made but I rarely will have even one drink a week. I’m a huge snob and only drink good booze so it’s expensive to drink when I’m not drinking for free/cheap with my friends. Also, I burned out a couple of years back when I was running my distillery and I made booze all day and slung drinks all night and went home smelling like it every day for two years. So, I’m a social drinker who occasionally drinks too much and thinks about booze constantly and whose life would be much worse off it is disappeared from the world. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/111 "2018-02-13T18:56:10Z")
1. I like drinking; I could do without it, but my life would be less rich. I rarely go a day without drinking, but if someone bet me $500 I couldn’t go a month without, I’d collect on the bet. I prefer weed to alcohol, but a bit of each is the cat’s ass. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/112 "2018-02-13T19:02:46Z")
I’d say about a #6. I drink every day, 2 or 3 glasses of wine in the evenings. I believe if I was sitting around by myself, or doing something that required all my faculties, I could skip it without regret, but I haven’t tested that theory. I’m not really interested in testing it either; I look forward to my daily relaxation. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/113 "2018-02-13T19:16:25Z")
I’m between a 1 and a 2. I don’t drink, and I don’t really care that other people drink. I do, however, care if other people act like irrational imbeciles, and one seems to follow the other. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/114 "2018-02-13T19:36:39Z")
Grew up 2, now 3, but slowly turning more into 4, since I’ve discovered the joys of infusion. I tend to like things more that I have had a hand in making myself. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/115 "2018-02-13T19:45:45Z")
Solid 5. Like **kayaker** , I drink most every day but could do without at will, and have. I also have been and will be again a quite active homebrewer. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/116 "2018-02-13T19:50:34Z")
#2 basically. I’ve never even been interested enough to try alcohol, much less get drunk, and find drunk people boring. But if people want to drink \*and \*avoid hurting anyone else, that’s their business. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/117 "2018-02-13T20:16:38Z")
I’m somewhere between 2 & 7, depending on the circumstances. Alcohol is just a thing, like oranges, salmon, toast, chocolate milk… Sometimes I seek comfort in its specific properties and sometimes I don’t. With things like beer, wine, and absinthe I find intoxication to be an unfortunate and inconvenient side effect of an otherwise enjoyable beverage. And sometimes I am aiming to get high for any number of reasons so just stay out of my way if you’re not coming with me. I just assume anyone I encounter who isn’t where I’m at on the scale just has different values and needs at that particular time. None of my busy. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/118 "2018-02-14T00:03:18Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > 1. I like drinking; I could do without it, but my life would be less rich. > > I rarely go a day without drinking, but if someone bet me $500 I couldn’t go a month without, I’d collect on the bet. I prefer weed to alcohol, but a bit of each is the cat’s ass. Same here, but without the weed (too illegal around here). So I’d say a 5. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/119 "2018-02-14T00:10:47Z")
Solid 3. ---
**Author:** ![LiveFree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@LiveFree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveFree)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/120 "2018-02-14T00:16:21Z")
Between 1 & 2. I have much more respect for people who refrain from alcohol. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692.md?page=7)