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Gaf-men advice: I don't drink. at all really..

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Shadownet said:
I'm like the only one in my group that doesn't drink. I don't usually like the taste of alcohol, so bars aren't usually where I go. Tonight I went to one with a couple of coworkers and the boss. I took a shot of whisky, and paid for some blue drink the bartender gave me. The whiskey wasn't bad. The blur drink was ehhh...

Is it weird that I feel less like a man for not wanting to crack open a beer but a soda instead?
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In fact, it takes quite a man to say "no" buddy.

For me, i like to drink and i like to get drunk (to a certain level) ...
 
Don't feel like you need to drink tons, but there are occasions where alcohol is nice.

Really though just start with beer, it might take a long time to enjoy it (I've been drinking it for over a year and only now do I like the taste) but it's the safest way to enjoy alcohol.
 
I've never drank alcohol. I'm 29. Just a personal choice. I always feel like I have to explain that it's not a religious-based choice when it comes up in social situations because it seems many people assume that's why and then feel like they need to step more lightly around me.

When I was nearing 21 I was more concerned with what people would think and there were a few times at parties or whatever that I got some pressure to drink but almost everyone lets off it quickly and the older you get the less you have to really worry about it. And honestly I got way more compliments for choosing not to drink than otherwise. Of course those people were typically smashed and were slurring their compliments but I'll accept it.

Now that I've been more active in dating and going on a bunch of first dates not drinking has seemed a little more awkward but if you can carry yourself confidently with it and be aware that it's No Big Deal that's really the best thing.
 
No shame in it, I'm the same way. I hate hangovers and the feeling of being drunk in general.

I'll stick to caffeine, e-cigs, and the occasional THC.
 
I hardly drink, and boy do I wish I did sometimes. When I'm in a social situation where everyone is drinking, the only way I can loosen up is to drink myself. Unfortunately I usually find the idea nauseating, and just end up leaving. It made trying to network when I was in a band extremely difficult, and is one of the reasons I'll probably never attempt my secondary dream of doing standup comedy.
 
KiwiLannister said:
Don't feel like you need to drink tons, but there are occasions where alcohol is nice.
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This is another important thing to realize. You don't have to get smashed. There's nothing wrong with going out and only having a single drink. I like to drink both socially and for my own enjoyment, and I haven't gotten drunk in years. Haven't had to suffer through a hangover, either.
 
Shadownet said:
I guess the peer pressure around me is pretty great.
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If it gets real bad and you just really need an out, call fall back on alcoholic "uncle" or "grandpa" and refuse to talk about it. If people think you've seen some shit or are worried about it running in the family, they'll usually respect that and/or back off. One of my college buddies did this. Sucks to lie to your friends but sometimes you just gotta shut shit down I guess.
 
Shadownet said:
I'm like the only one in my group that doesn't drink. I don't usually like the taste of alcohol, so bars aren't usually where I go. Tonight I went to one with a couple of coworkers and the boss. I took a shot of whisky, and paid for some blue drink the bartender gave me. The whiskey wasn't bad. The blur drink was ehhh...

Is it weird that I feel less like a man for not wanting to crack open a beer but a soda instead?
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If anything you are more of a man because you didn't fall for peer pressure. Solidarity my brother.

You don't need to make any excuses either man.
 
I'm 26 and I'd barely ever drink nowadays. I used to a lot more, a few years ago, but feel like I kind of got it out of my system. I'd just have a cold beer or two at social events now, every few months I guess. A lot of my close friends very rarely drink too, so it's something that's just normal to me.

Just do whatever you're comfortable with, and ignore anyone saying you should force yourself to try something. As far as feeling less of a man, I think avoiding peer pressure and doing what you want means the opposite.
 
I don't drink and I've never felt any social pressure to do so at bars/parties/etc. The very notion of feeling compelled to drink in social settings seems bizarre to me.
 
Im going to be honest i dont drink and i dont judge some one if they drink but a drunk person is the most terrifying thing to me. lot of bad childhood memories.
 
JBourne said:
This is another important thing to realize. You don't have to get smashed. There's nothing wrong with going out and only having a single drink. I like to drink both socially and for my own enjoyment, and I haven't gotten drunk in years. Haven't had to suffer through a hangover, either.
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This presupposes you can enjoy an alcoholic beverage solely on it's merits as a beverage. Personally, I don't enjoy drinking alcohol; it's a means to an end, like coffee. If I want to have a tasty, refreshing drink, coffee and anything alcoholic will never be my first choice.
 
I worked as a bartender for almost 2 years, and my experience has been that in 95%ish cases the people who drink at bars and especially at clubs, tend to only do so, to get rid of any inhibitions they may have. Especially toward the opposite sex.

So if you have a outgoing personality and you arent shy around people you dont know well, then you dont really need the booze. You circumvent the middle man and save a ton of money by doing so.

The idea that "real men" drink a lot makes me snicker, when it actually seems more like the opposite, you need alcohol bumping in your head just to talk to a girl you dont know, seems the exact opposite of "alpha male" or whatever label you want to put on it.

So do not feel bad about it. Alcohol can also be enjoyed in other venues where its not used as a tool for getting laid, a nice drink with a SO, a glass on the beach, white vine with some BBQ, i can enjoy all of those.
 
No one gives me shit when I drink a diet soda or sparkling water while they have their own drinks. I'm in my late 30s though, so that probably explains the difference in observed behaviors. :p
 
If you like fruity flavors you should try cider and beers from your local microbrewery, they usually have beers brewed with fruits and all that stuff. Also, see if any of your friends homebrew and ask them if they make any kind of special beers (ie: I brew beer with honey and it's awesome). Also, try scotch, single malts are very tasty and it's very fun trying to find out every different flavor in it.

No you should not feel any less of a man for preferring soda.
 
Stopped drinking just at the end of being 22. Now nearly 24.

Still go out regularly to pubs and bars (stopped with clubs tho), as and doesn't stop me from having a good time with my drunken friends. In fact its a great way to develop your social skills and meet people.

Its fine OP. Eventually your friends will get of your back and if they're not then just buy a small coke and pass it off as a rum/whiskey with coke. Works like a charm every time.
 
Whisky and dry is pretty delicious. Try a jameson and dry and see what you think.

But really, don't feel obliged to drink. As you get older it matters less and less.
 
A good rule of thumb for enjoying life is to not really let others dictate how you should live and what your interests are.

There's plenty of resources on the net for drinking and getting started if you're interested in that. If you don't really care to bother and would just rather continue enjoying sodas instead, then go for it. People who think less of you for doing so aren't worth your time.
 
I always get a cranberry juice and just say "Im on my period" to say it before they do. To me, I can have the same amount of fun drunk or sober. People who need beer to let loose are foreign to me. Im always loose.
 
Scofield94941 said:
I always get a cranberry juice and just say "Im on my period" to say it before they do. To me, I can have the same amount of fun drunk or sober. People who need beer to let loose are foreign to me. Im always loose.
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That's pretty much it. Dont hold back in what I say sober or drunk.

Being drunk just makes me talk faster, race people and makes me waste the entire following day in bed haha.
 
I always hate hearing the "drinking helps me talk to girls/guys more and allows me to be social" routine. There is a problem if you seriously need it to socialize.

That said its not for everyone but I enjoy it a lot in a laid back relaxing way at times.
 
If you're insistent on having something alcholic, try a cider if you're into more sweet drinks. Some of them pretty much taste like soda, they're so sickly sweet. And if you've only ever tried cheap beer, then stop, cos it is usually always nasty. Try some good boutique / craft beers instead.

Or more simply, if you don't want to drink, then don't. Who cares what others think. My group of friends is made up of people who drink and people who don't and we all still go out together, no one gives a shit.
 
There are too many different kinds of alcoholic drinks to hate them all unless you don't like getting drunk and even then you don't need to drink enough to get buzzed. Some wine with your dinner or beer at a BBQ goes a long way. Try new things, you'd be surprised to find what you might like.
 
Most alcholic drinks taste disgusting to me. I used to drink a few beers when I went out with friends just to be sociable, but as I've gotten older I can't be bothered. I don't think I've had anything with alchohol in it for over a year now.

I do feel less social when I have a coke though, especially as the night goes on and everyone else gets more inebriated, but I've never felt "less of a man" OP.
 
davepoobond said:
beer is definitely an acquired taste. i think you should force yourself to drink some lighter beers and then drink some darker beers and see if you like any. each kind of beer is a bit different, you may just not have found what you like.
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yep
i used to like light beers like qingtao
now i like guinness

i remember really hating guinness when i was a child
 
Drink cider to get a buzz on, order redbull or coke later and just act like it has vodka/rum in it. If everyone is doing shots then participate, it's fun and it's easy to down shots.

Edit: there might be other girly coctails that you might enjoy.
 
i dont know too many hard alcohol drinks that i would actually like, but whiskey sour is pretty good, too.

i had a Liquid Cocaine (i think thats what its called) once, and that was very painful to drink, but it got me buzzing almost instantly. i think it was 151 and jaeger
 
The way you called it a blue drink is rather what I'm like. If it isn't ales or lager I honestly don't know what it is. I look at a cocktail menu and it might as well be in Chinese because most of the alcohol names mean nothing to me. I just look for names of fruit because I assume there will be at least one ingredient I know and like. Then again the banana based one I once had almost made me sick just from the taste. So yeah, I'd rather stick to my ales but most places that are not a pub don't sell them. I also like to have a water in between but good God some people make it out like I'm committing a cardinal sin ordering a glass of water at a pub. Well jokes on them since I never wake up with a hangover.

Never drank too much to be super drunk. The idea of not being in control is scary to me. I think the worst I've been was at a relative's birthday where someone kept topping up my wine. It didn't help that I hadn't had a good night's sleep for a while as a result of sleeping on the floor so being a bit tipsy and tired resulted in my having a kip in the warm toilets. The problem was the wine didn't agree with me and I puked in the first thing I saw which was the sink and I guess it was a bit to much for the plughole to take thus when I was found there was a sink full of puke. If I had just managed to hold on a fraction of a second longer and puked down the toilet all evidence would have gone. Life lesson that. Honestly, I'd say that was the last time I did drink too much. Now I stick to one glass.
 
There was a time when I drank, but the first time I blacked out in a bar and lost my memories of most that night I stopped getting drunk. If I'm out with friends, I may have a few drinks early on. Once I hit a buzz though, I'm done for the night.

The main reason I almost stopped drinking entirely is because my father, while I was growing up, was an irresponsible drunk. I can't forget the times that he had to drive me back from a sporting event, concert, or company parties after drinking the entire time. Staring out the window and watching him swerve around the lanes, and then I'd try to fall asleep so that I wouldn't have to see an accident happen. He would do the same thing when driving me to my mom's after the weekend's I'd spend with him. Hell, when my parents were together, and I was younger, my mom had to wake me up in the middle of the night to go with her to pick him up from the drunk tank. I saw myself going down this road, including driving drunk, and I stopped. If I ever have kids, I don't want them to see what I had to see.

If you don't want to drink, don't. Peer pressure is stupid, and not worth giving into. If you are going to drink, please do it responsibly and get a DD/call a cab if you're too drunk to drive home.
 
I really like some beers, but I can't drink anymore because of medical reasons. I've had maybe 20 alcoholic drinks in my entire adult life (I'm 34 now). Never been drunk before.
 
I recently quit drinking completely cos I'm an alcoholic and I feel pretty excellent. I've quit before and had some decent runs, and going out and stuff when I'm committed to not drinking generally isn't a problem. It can be a little awkward in clubs cos I have to really be in the right mood to dance at all, and everyone's tipsy and into it and trying to egg me on, but generally the self-respect I wake up with still intact the next day (not to mention friendships!) more than outweighs any minor awkwardness.

If people are egging you on to drink when you've made it clear that isn't your thing, then maybe it's just not the right social environment for you. Some people don't like it, some people can't do it without taking it way too far, and then some people do it but don't take it too far and don't get weird about forcing you to join in on their drinking. There are plenty of groups you can be a part of without drinking - although I suppose workplace nights out might be a bit of an issue if they're really insistent about you joining in and you won't. But I guess that's life! I suppose you can only rest on the idea that you've made your own choice and live by that.

Honestly, I think people who "don't drink" are making a bigger deal out of alcohol than those who do drink.
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Only if people around them won't let it rest and act like it's a bizarre choice to make, which it isn't at all. I guarantee no-one beyond attention seekers is going out with people thinking 'I hope everyone tries to force me to drink tonight so I can make a big deal about how I don't do that.'
 
I don't (or very rarely) drink. If I ever do, it's like... a big party and I'll have like one drink. Nothing hard, usually like a screwdriver or something. But that's about it.

It's not something you should feel you have to defend or whatever. If you don't want to drink, don't drink.
 
I have one or two drinks of Kopperberg on a given night out just so it looks like I'm actually doing something. Helps that it tastes pretty decent, most alcohol tastes like shit. Doesn't get me buzzed unless I go for four or five drinks, but I don't need the buzz to be social anymore.
 
real_slime said:
Only if people around them won't let it rest and act like it's a bizarre choice to make, which it isn't at all. I guarantee no-one beyond attention seekers is going out with people thinking 'I hope everyone tries to force me to drink tonight so I can make a big deal about how I don't do that.'
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See, a lot of times I've gone out and the conversation goes

"Ok, I'm going to the bar, who wants a drink"
"Not me, I don't drink/I'm not drinking tonight"

Just find that weird, why wouldn't people just say "nothing for me thanks" or "I'll have a coke please"

Same with people who give up alcohol for a set period of time, but need to tell the world about it.

If I stopped drinking orange squash for a month I wouldn't feel the need to tell anyone.
 
Hours Left said:
Edit: Drinking just because everyone else is doing it is a huge mistake.
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And yet, that is why everyone starts. LOL.

Ciders are a good gateway "beer". Angry Orchard or similar, most bars with a decent selection have it.

Somebody suggested Blue Moon; that's a good one too. Really any wheat beer with some flavor added. Bell's Oberon, if you can get it, is king after you've gotten a taste for it.

If you really don't like that stuff though, there's no shame in Miller Lite if you really want to start from the ground up. That's the type of beer nearly everyone starts on, because it's so weak.

Good luck with your drinking quest. No shame if you don't like it, but especially for those of us with social anxiety, it's a godsend.

Red Liquorice said:
You should get blacked out, waking up covered in vomit drunk at least once just to see how miserable it feels.
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Do not do this. I actually stick to beer almost exclusively, because I know where my stopping point is. Wasting an entire day hung over and feeling like shit is not cool.
 
Shadownet said:
Really? Are martini that bad? It seem like that's what the women on tv drinks all the time. It can't be that disgusting than half the stuff I tried.
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Martinis are basically straight gin, which to many people is the hardest spirit to drink. It's got higher alcohol than is typical in a hard liquor. Some people like them "dirty" which can slightly soften the gin. Martinis are for people who want to get fucked up, for the most part.

Now, there are all kinds of fruity cocktails serves in martini glasses. Those are more common among women.
 
Don't really like the taste of alcohol that much (well long drinks are pretty good) but along the years I have gotten used to it more and more and can drink pretty much everything except beer (when I am totally drunk beer also goes lol). Also I never drink alone. It's just too much fun with friends so never seen a reason to stop. Might be as I am rather timid person sober so alcohol kind of frees me socially.
 
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