The title of this article is the entire poem titled “Reflections on Ice-Breaking” by Ogden Nash from 1931. It’s also a quote from the Willy Wonka movie of 1971. Some people believe liquor (or any form of alcohol) can be used to convince other people to do something. That’s partially true, but I won’t get into it.
The best thing about consuming alcoholic drinks is that it allows you to relax. Too little isn’t enough, and too much is simply too much. The trick is to find the balance between the two extremes. I have found that balance.
Liquor vs. Beer and Wine
A lot of people like beer and a lot of people like wine. More power to them. I can drink beer and I can drink wine, but I usually prefer liquor. It takes a lot of beer or wine to get me to the level of intoxication I want to reach. Drinking that much of anything can make me feel worse than not drinking at all.
My wife, Josie, likes two particular drinks, and it depends on the occasion: Sweet red wine or tequila. Neither of them can be just any brand. She likes Carlo Rossi and Riuniti wine (and a few others), and she likes tequila with brand names like Jose Cuervo and Patrón. She’ll drink a local beer when nothing else is available, and the beer gets to her faster than anything else. Strange.
If I drink beer, which goes well with pizza and spaghetti, I prefer the stronger and darker beer brands. In the past, I’ve enjoyed Dos Equis Ambar, Yuengling, Sam Adams Boston Lager and even Michelob Classic Dark. I don’t drink beer to get intoxicated.
Whiskey is My Drink of Choice
As I’ve mentioned before, whiskey is the form of liquor I prefer these days. I spent several years with rum and cola drinks, and now I drink whiskey. On ice, preferably. There are various brands and flavors I like, but for the most part, regular bourbon is the best.
I like honey whiskey (bourbon infused with honey liqueur) made by Evan Williams and Jim Beam, but I rarely want to drink it. It’s sweet and way too easy to drink quickly. I can only sip on regular bourbon, and that’s the way I like it. Two or three drinks is usually enough to put me where I want to be, in a total state of relaxation.
Josie doesn’t like it when I drink too much, and most of the time I don’t. If I slip up and have too many drinks (typically at a party), I’ll fall asleep quickly and snore more than usual. She can’t sleep when I’m like that unless she falls asleep first.
The Risk of Alcoholism
In the past and in certain situations, I’ve been called an alcoholic (typically by recovering alcoholics). I guess that term would apply to just about anyone who drinks alcohol, depending on the perspective of the person making the accusation. I don’t think I’m an alcoholic and at my age, I don’t think it matters.
When I was young, between the ages of 17 and 25, I did a lot of social drinking. Then I stopped drinking completely while my children were growing up. I drank once when I was 26, while I was stationed on Okinawa. There were a lot of single drinking incidents like that (away from home) until I was already in my fifties.
I started drinking more often while living here in the Philippines. Most of the men living around me drink more than I do and more frequently. I’m over 62, and I’ve already outlived a lot of my peers, after surviving a 20-year active duty stint in the military. At this point, I really don’t care what anyone thinks of me.
Image by Decatur Wine & Spirits, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons