How many of you don't drink alcohol?

[Stark]

Yeah, 'actual' Champagne isn't a hangover factory like 'sparkling wine'.

Regarding the discussion about 'manly drinks', it's interesting that when I worked at a bar, low-income men wouldn't drink things like sparkling wine (or even sparkling water), preferring beer and disgusting spirits. However, at the high-income end, men have no problem drinking champagne or perrier. I don't really like champagne, but if it was a choice between champagne or some lager piss, I'm not going to base the choice on 'what will make me look manly to poor people'.

[Singular Intellect]

I can't stand beer either. I'll always pick some sort of flavoured alcholic drink. The construcion guys I work with like to joke about them having a beer while I, if I bother drinking, will have a breezer or something else with actual flavour.

Overall, I drink very rarely. I might have something every couple of months, if that. I'm not strongly opposed to getting a bit drunk for the fun of it, but I have to plan for it (like being prepared to stay somewhere and not drive, for example).

[FSTargetDrone]

I will drink in some social situations or when my girlfriend and I might have a glass of wine in the evening, but I don't go out of my way to drink. I'd rather spend my money on other things. Getting drunk was never a goal of mine, not when I was younger and it isn't now.

[phred]

I always figured most people equate sweet = girly. Which is pretty hilarious considering the alcohol content of some of these "girly" drinks. I'm not sure I'd call vodka "crappy", though. It's not really sweet tasting, but it's superior to beer in almost every respect.

Given the sugar content of rum and coke, which is considered an acceptable "manly" drink, I don't think it's the sugar. I seriously think it's more that if they find out a woman might like it, then they recoil and decide they must not like it.

I always thought it had something to do with the color of the drink. "Manly' drinks(beer, whiskey, rum) are all some sort of brownish color. while "girly' drinks can be pink, green, orange,etc.

[General Zod]

I always figured most people equate sweet = girly. Which is pretty hilarious considering the alcohol content of some of these "girly" drinks. I'm not sure I'd call vodka "crappy", though. It's not really sweet tasting, but it's superior to beer in almost every respect.

Given the sugar content of rum and coke, which is considered an acceptable "manly" drink, I don't think it's the sugar. I seriously think it's more that if they find out a woman might like it, then they recoil and decide they must not like it.

I always thought it had something to do with the color of the drink. "Manly' drinks(beer, whiskey, rum) are all some sort of brownish color. while "girly' drinks can be pink, green, orange,etc.

I don't think the color scheme works; does anyone really consider screwdrivers 'girly'?

[Superboy]

does anyone really consider screwdrivers 'girly'?

Yes. I think most of the guys at my regular drinking hole would consider that a very girly drink. The color = girly theory isn't 100% correct (a lot of "girly" and "manly" drinks are both clear. Other brown drinks like Amaretto are considered girly), but it holds true a lot of the time.

Alcohol content also plays a role. Last week I ordered a fruity drink while at the bar and got a laugh from some of my friends at the table. The waiter played along and recommended adding an extra shot of rum to it to make it manlier.

And like many things, drinks that are very expensive are often considered un-manly by those men who can't afford it.

[Darth Wong]

does anyone really consider screwdrivers 'girly'?

Yes. I think most of the guys at my regular drinking hole would consider that a very girly drink. The color = girly theory isn't 100% correct (a lot of "girly" and "manly" drinks are both clear. Other brown drinks like Amaretto are considered girly), but it holds true a lot of the time.

Alcohol content also plays a role. Last week I ordered a fruity drink while at the bar and got a laugh from some of my friends at the table. The waiter played along and recommended adding an extra shot of rum to it to make it manlier.

And like many things, drinks that are very expensive are often considered un-manly by those men who can't afford it.

I've been around the kind of guy that would try to give you grief for ordering the wrong drink before, but let's be honest: it really only happens when you choose to tolerate it.

If somebody tries to insult my masculinity because of my drink selection, I always go right back after him, starting with the fact that he must be secretly lacking something if he thinks he needs to prove his masculinity by drinking. There's always some excuse to attack a man's masculinity if you need one: if he's scrawny, he's trying to cover for the fact that he's a male Kate Moss. If he's fat, he's trying to cover for the fact that he hasn't seen his dick since the Clinton administration. If he's a jock, he's trying to cover for the fact that steroids have shriveled his balls. If he's single, he's trying to cover for the fact that his he's been having a torrid affair with his left hand. If he's married but bitches constantly about his wife (which I find to be usually true for this sort), then he's trying to cover for the fact that he obviously lacks the skills or equipment to keep his wife happy in the bedroom. If he's well-dressed, he's a metrosexual. If he's a slob, then you can tell him that someday if he wins the lottery or gets a big raise, he can buy expensive drinks too. And if all else fails, just let the smile fade from your face slowly, and ask him what the fuck his problem is.

I know you're supposed to just sit back and take that kind of bullshit in good humour instead of going after them for their various sexual or intellectual or financial inadequacies, but I honestly don't feel like it. Why shouldn't I point out areas where their entire class of human being tends to come up short?

[Qwerty 42]

I don't drink. I've got a fairly addictive personality, so I'd rather not chance even starting down that path.

[PeZook]

And like many things, drinks that are very expensive are often considered un-manly by those men who can't afford it.

To explain it to people who wondered why I classified champagne with "girly" drinks: that's why. I used to hear it a lot, that champagne is "girly" because it's too expensive. I have no fucking idea why: it's a beverage of diplomats, royalty, rich snobs and CEOs. Why the fuck should I feel emasculated for liking it?

Note that I'm talking about actual champagne, as in the expensive kind of sparkling wine, since it's the only kind I actually like the taste of. The difference between an el cheapo bottle of sparkly wine and a 150 zloty premium champagne is just...I don't know how to describe it, but I can't stand more than one sip of the cheap stuff. As I said before, I seem to be genetically predisposed to be a snob, since most of my friends have no trouble drinking cheaper brands

[Superboy]

I know you're supposed to just sit back and take that kind of bullshit in good humour instead of going after them for their various sexual or intellectual or financial inadequacies, but I honestly don't feel like it. Why shouldn't I point out areas where their entire class of human being tends to come up short?

Well I think it depends on the situation. I've had guys who honestly tried to embarrass me because of the type of drink I ordered and I agree that that sort of attitude shouldn't be tolerated with a smile. Most of the time though, it's just guys having a laugh in good fun with no actual intent to insult or embarrass. For instance, one of the guys in our group is gay and I know that nobody would insult him for ordering a girly drink because we all know he get's called girly by people who really do mean to be hurtful and nobody would want to hit a nerve.

It's possible that I just have limited exposure, but I haven't met many guys above the age of 20 who still care how manly a drink is. It's mostly just something to laugh about with friends, not something to take seriously. It's like the guys that brag about who has the fastest car; it's usually just young morons or a few very immature individuals.

[Solauren]

I drink at the initial celebratory toasts as weddings or other events of that nature.
As in 'sip at little, then let the glass sit their all night'.

That includes my own wedding. I think I've dranken a net total of of half a beer so far in my adult life.

I also drank the equal of a shot Malt Scotch (or whatever it was) at the post-wake wake (i.e just family) for my step-grandfather's funeral. (That stuff tasted like paint remover smells.)

[Alferd Packer]

I've found that, as I've aged, I've lost my sweet tooth, and this is triply true when it comes to alcohol. When I first started trying booze, I found myself attracted to sweeter stuff. This probably because sweet stuff goes down easier, and the taste is at least partially familiar. Over the last seven or so years, however, I've come not like excessively sweet foods and beverages. At birthday parties, I'll usually beg off having cake or take the tiniest piece possible, because I don't like my taste buds being saturated with sweetness anymore.

I suspect that this changing of my palate has a lot to do with me liking beer. With a few exceptions, there are really no sweet beers, at least, when compared to malt beverages like Mike's Hard Lemonade or sugary cocktails.

Similarly, when I do have cocktails like a rum and coke, I made them very strong, relatively speaking. I might build a rum and coke at a 1:1 rum/soda ratio. Same would be true for a vodka cranberry, or a gin & tonic. Otherwise, they're just too sweet, and they taste gross. And what's the point of drinking the stuff if you're not enjoying it?

[ArmorPierce]

I found being somewhat buzzed on occassion adds some spice to sex.

[General Zod]

I found being somewhat buzzed on occassion adds some spice to sex.

I guess that depends on whether or not you consider whisky dick "spicing" things up.

[ArmorPierce]

I found being somewhat buzzed on occassion adds some spice to sex.

I guess that depends on whether or not you consider whisky dick "spicing" things up.

That should not be a problem with a buzz. It's not like you're trashed.