Help me out here - I am currently living at home. I respect Mom's wishes of not drinking in her home. I've never really had the opportunity to drink, but I'd like to try it.

Next week I will be taking a 5-hour driving trip up north and will be staying in a hotel for my 3-4 day stay. I have friends up there I will be meeting up with, but I figure that I might as well discover alcohol while I'm there. The problem is where to start...

I've thought perhaps just picking up a 6-pack of Mike's of some variety, or maybe a decent vodka and some OJ, but I need some help. I will likely be enjoying this experience alone in the evening. [edit: I may be enjoying this experience with a good friend of mine - I didn't even think to ask before, but it would be a great opportunity for both of us]

Any ideas? It should be simple and not beer.

By the way, I am aware of how alcohol affects the body and I know my legal limits. 15 mL of pure alcohol (one standard drink) should set me over 0.017%. I do not plan on exceeding 0.05%.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2011 12:47AM by koolman2.

Orange juice and vodka is a good beginner's drink. Rum and coke is good too. My favorite is a gin fizz. It's ginger ale, a jigger of gin, and a squeeze of lemon. If you want a good straight up drink try a black russian or kamakazi.

Seagrams Escapes are a low alcohol content drink for a first-time nervous experiment. They are good, and because of the low alcohol content, they only give you a relaxed feeling. One four-pack lasts me a whole month.

This plan seems weird, and it's probably not the best way from a social health perspective. Drinking alone is usually not a good idea. I think it's better to start out in the company of responsible drinkers -- those who drink with meals, or drink slowly, as opposed to those who pound down drinks with the sole goal of getting wasted.

But if you want to start this journey alone, the simplest way is to go out to dinner and order a drink with your meal (assuming you'll be somewhere normal, where you can order alcohol with dinner). A margarita at a Mexican restaurant, for example. Then just have that one drink. You won't be left with the rest of a six pack or a nearly full bottle of vodka you might feel obliged to finish. Then, the next night, have a different kind of drink with dinner, and so on. No need to rush.

I agree with Stray Mutt about drinking alone as an experimenter - and even though you said you "are aware of how alcohol affects the body and I know my legal limits," drugs affect people in different ways and you might react differently than others. Starting out with a six-pack seems a bit much to me; I think the drink-out-at-dinner is a good way for you to start out. But please please please be careful about driving afterward.

And atleast half of the fun with alcohol is socializing. Don't worry about only one drink it won't make you completely drunk. But don't ever drink and drive. You could go to the hotel bar where you stay and try a drink before you go to bed.

brefots Wrote:
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> You could go to the hotel bar where you stay and try a drink before you go to bed.

That's a good idea as well. You can sit at the bar or at a table and people-watch, or shoot the breeze with someone, or play with your smartphone.

Be cautious with the first experiments, especially in regard to driving. Some people are more sensitive to alcohol than others - especially people who don't have a lot of experience. Even though they say a certain number of drinks will give you a certain blood alcohol level, that's not necessarily the end of the story. I'm VERY sensitive to alcohol and I know that if I'm driving I can have exactly NONE.

For me I drink if I don't have to drive AND my DH is with me AND it seems like a good idea. Those occasions have turned out to be few and far between. Although I had a great time tasting the wines of Europe last summer!

I suggest a rum and coke....tall. Why will it be alone that you have a drink or two? Why don't you have one in a restaurant or a lounge somewhere. Regardless, have some food around. This is imperitive. Also drink water if you have more than one drink. Don't drive and only have one or two at first. Do not think it will be fun the next morn. if you have 4 or 5. YOU will be miserable.

I like Stray Mutt's idea of having one drink with your dinner. If you can't do that however (are your friends Mormon?) then a Vodka/OJ would be fine. You can also buy pre-made Margaritas with the tequila already in the bottle -- that would be my suggestion. Ask someone in the liquor store to show you where they are (don't confuse them with the margarita mixers which *don't* have the tequila in the bottle.) Pour some into a glass with ice, maybe dab a bit of salt around a wet rim, and voila! You are good to go.

When you are new to alcoholic beverages, don't go over two drinks, and don't drive after drinking.

Stray Mutt:

That sounds like good advice; thank you. The problem is that I will be in an unfamiliar city, and if I go out to a meal, I will be stuck with how to get home. I will not drive after drinking anything, and I don't want to put someone else in the position of driving me back to my hotel. I'd rather not have to deal with a cab for just one drink.

duffy:

This is why I want to experiment near the end of the day where I won't be in the position to drive. If I am alone in my hotel, I can find out how alcohol affects me so that I know what signs to look for when I inevitably drink socially. I want to know when to say "No, I've had enough." Like I said before, I absolutely refuse to drive after drinking any effective amount of alcohol, and I don't want to get plastered. Taking it at my own pace is imperative! :-) I have provided myself with the 0.05% limit so that I know beforehand where the stopping point is, if I haven't reached it by feel first.

summer:

Nah, my friends aren't Mormon. One of them might be willing to help me out, though. I'll bring it up when I talk to him next; perhaps he'll be willing to host me for a night? He is a responsible drinker.

---

I've got some good ideas now - I'm thinking vodka and OJ, the premixed margaritas, or the Seagram's Escape (how much alcohol do they have, anyway?).

Besides, the intoxication formula also involves TIME. It's the number of drinks over a given time that gets you drunk. Body mass is also taken into consideration. One mixed drink (assuming you finish it) with food, in the time it takes to eat a meal, is probably not going to impair you. If you feel light headed (and chances are, that's all you'll feel), have dessert, go pee (bye bye alcohol), hang around, go sit in your car with the seat cranked back and nice music playing, take a nap, let some time pass.

The wife has too much champagne, can't get ahold of her hubby, and decides to take a nap in the driver's seat with the music turned on. She was arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence.

Don't take a nap in the car- You can be charged with operating a vehicle under the influence. And I agree with what everyone said above- Have a drink with dinner- A nice wine or champagne, a whisky sour, Cape Cod, Gimlet, Cuba Libre...Ask your server for suggestions and he or she will be very accomodating.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/2011 04:12PM by Itzpapalotl.

You could have dinner at the hotel or nearby and walk home

Vodka and Sprite are pretty good together too.

ginger Wrote:
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> Vodka and Sprite are pretty good together too.


Or vodka and Fresca.

If you want to try it on your own, go ahead, but I agree with the posters who have suggested a social element. I don't think you're in any danger, but something like this is better shared with friends. I just think you'll have more fun treating it as a normal social experience than some sort of personal science experiment.

Baileys is nice.

very nice indeed.

I wouldn't suggest premixed margaritas.. They are pretty gross tasting. If you do end up going to dinner I would suggest going to chilis and getting a margarita. They have the best margaritas! Another good drink is jäger and redbull. :-)

Not gonna do the alcohol and energy drink mix, sorry.

Waiters and bartenders are very knowledgable. In European culture, especially France and Italy, older children have a bit of wine with meals. This develops their palates and they have a long time to figure out what they like.

The rules of chicken or fish -have white wine, beef -red wine, well that's become old school.

A wine will complement the flavor of the meal, and that's when I ask the waiter what might go well with the dish.

The first time I tasted the complexity and flavor of a really good chardonnay, that was it. It wasn't an expensive wine, even. It was the "house white," and I wrote down the name so I could find it in a store. I use less expensive wine for cooking.

Socially, such as a party or get-together I'll have something sugary, like a strawberry margarita or mai-tai. The more sugar involved, the more it can make you feel sick if you have too much.

On a hot afternoon like this and after I finish a project, me and BF will have a rum and coke on the deck with some cheese and crackers. have fun with the discovery...

I've been drinking for 7 years and in my experience the redbull doesn't do much when you are already drinking alcohol..

You may find out you don't like it. I tried red wine about a year ago. I hated it and could hardly drink any of it. I have also tried white wine with the same result. I drank a bottle of Octoberfest beer and hated every ounce of it. The most success I have had with alcohol is a screwdriver (half orange juice and half vodka). I have done that a couple times and getting hammered one of the times until I felt like I was going to die. Also I have tried (chick) drinks and they don't seem to taste too bad either. I may try some hard lemonade or different beers but I am about to the point of giving up on alcohol. Although getting drunk can be a little fun I can't stand the taste. But that is just me. And from the looks of it, it may JUST be me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/2011 06:50PM by thebrianguy.

How Beer Saved The World. Interesting info and a great presentation. There are 3 parts. Here's the link to part 1:

http://youtu.be/yf3YvXM9j5o

I could understand if you wanted to try a drink socially, with friends, but this scenario is a bit weird.

I would prefer trying a mind-altering drug for the first time in a safe environment away from people that may cause me to go further than I had planned.

I am 24.

I respect your sense of responsibility, but really, the point is supposed to be to have fun. Doing math by yourself isn't fun. You make it sound like you're dropping acid or something. Millions of college students survive this experience every day.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2011 12:48AM by Pista.

Don't worry, I sent off a text to the responsible friend earlier today. I haven't heard back, but I'm sure he won't mind taking me in for a night. :-) Before I made this thread, I hadn't even thought about asking him - it just didn't cross my mind.

I'm just saying that having a friend or friends with you - IN a safe place - is actually safer and more fun than drinking alone.
And, if you've ever taken Nyquil, OR an antihistamine of any kind, you have already experienced a mind-altering substance.

That's the only way to go.