Pour me another

Today's Topic: Alcohol Culture

The pint, the bubbly, the fizz, the booze. Getting tipsy, getting hammered, getting tanked, getting wasted, getting annihilated, getting sh*tfaced, getting f*cked, getting drunk. The most common denominator of all social gatherings. As Homer Simpson once put it, Alcohol can be the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems. Yes, getting that liquid courage at the bar to talk to that cute girl is an ego booster. Some say that Jack Daniels real name is actually John...if you know him well enough. The wine-os in the crowd will tell you that class is the mask underneath the bottle.

We all experience it, especially in this day and age. There are so many emotions mixed into the culture of alcohol. Anger, sadness, happiness, love, depression and a sense of self worth. All of these emotions play to our personality and the slip of our tongue. It's true what they say, you really find out a person's core when you get a few pints or shots into them. We all have our so called "kryptonite" in alcohol that makes us go wild and lose all intuition. For some, it's the gin or the rye. Maybe it's the wine or martini. Maybe even that golden tequila. Some types of alcohol just have our number. I find it fascinating to be a sober person at a bar or pub and watch how people interact with a drink in their hand. The stereotypical jock picking up the hottie, the loud girl who hasn't had "girls night" in months, the one dude who has more drink on his shirt then in his glass, and the play it cool bar star who knows everyone.

It's almost as if you take on a new identity when you take a drink. People everywhere have their reason for drinking. Some say that alcohol becomes the ice breaker in getting to know your surroundings. It is the most frequently asked question: "Can I get you a drink?" A simple sign of courtesy. Who says no to that? Give me one good reason. If someone is polite enough to ask you, SAY YES. Even if the drink is just the water. Let me get you a drink is code for I want to have a conversation with you. Very rarely will someone just get someone a drink and then say "Okay... well, see ya!" The stories I could tell from the days at the bar would have you rolling on the floor laughing. We all have them. I love to get into some shenanigans and tom foolery when I get a few into me. Nothing extreme (usually) but those who know me, know I love to go out and party with two drinks in my hand. I don't do it often, but when I do, I do it like anything else in my life-all the way.

Our culture lives in a unique situation with alcohol. Unique in the fact that you have to be nineteen to do it legally and twenty-one in the united states. I remember so many people always arguing about the legal age, why it is so high. The answer- we punish ourselves with alcohol. Nine times out of ten, we don't drink just for the sake of drinking. We drink to drink. We drink to party. We drink to take the edge off. No matter how you look at it, it is dangerous in what we are doing to our bodies. In a place like Europe, the legal drinking age is in the teens. It's a whole different world across the sea. Most people don't get why you can buy a beer out of a vending machine. It's because people over there are brought up on alcohol. Parents sit down, have a glass of wine with their kids and enjoy food with their beverage. Sip vodka and eat bread. Sip vodka and eat handfuls of almonds and nuts. For North Americans, most would just love to have an intervenes tube hooked into us, as to not delay the inevitable of being drunk. Now I'm not saying ALL people go out and get completely wasted ALL the time. Even I don't do that. Some people just love to go out and dance or listen to live music, sipping on a beer or as the party animals put it "nursing" their drink. You know what, nothing wrong with that. Some people enjoy the gin and tonic with a good conversation. One or two is sufficient enough. Regardless of the drink, people always want the "cheap drink." In my opinion, I think that's mainly because we don't have a strong appreciation for alcohol. We don't care about the process, we just want the product. And we want it for as cheap as we can get it. Just remember that someone serving you is a cost in itself. Include that in the drink next time you order. Remember that alcohol is a service being rendered. I am currently taking my bar tending course to get my mixology degree and I am amazed at my new found appreciation for alcohol. Bartenders who get schooling on this stuff discover not only what mixes well with what, but why it does. Learning the fine art of alcohol is pretty invigorating. When you learn about what alcohol actually is and why we consume it, it becomes a whole new game to play.

It's everywhere. On every street corner, in every home, on the radio, the billboards, the t.v, you can't deny or hide from it. I think the important thing to keep in mind with alcohol is that yes, it is a drug. Know the limit of how much you put into your system. Also, try not to drink alone. It's just common sense that beer tastes so much better when you have someone to drink it with. We all have that memory (or lack of) of that one night when it got the best of us. Or we look back on the best times with friends to the nights we don't remember. The poison just tastes so good, that we do it all over again.

Raise your glass and propose a toast.