this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2025
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I've always hated how alcohol commercials play up like a cool beer is the best thing in the world, or a glass of whiskey is what will put hair on your chest. It's a disgusting narrative that ruins people's lives.

On social media, there's a huge variety of it. People posting how they were sober on NYE. Folks sharing before/after as they've gone cold turkey. I see people share tips of what type of mocktails to get at bars, and alternatives to having a fun night over getting drunk.

I appreciate that.

And this is not bashing alcohol. Moderation in everything.

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[–] cerement 88 points 5 days ago (1 children)

when you’re old enough to get a hangover just from staying up late

[–] schizo@forum.uncomfortable.business 31 points 5 days ago (22 children)

Listen, I can't deal with my sore back, bum knee, AND a hangover all at once.

[–] ZDL@ttrpg.network 4 points 4 days ago (9 children)

I've never actually had a hangover in my life, despite drinking since I was 16.

What does it feel like?

[–] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Like someone didn't hit me in the face with a crowbar.

[–] jws_shadotak@sh.itjust.works 11 points 4 days ago

It feels like being sick with a horrible cold with nausea and vertigo but without a fever or runny nose.

[–] ByteOnBikes 5 points 4 days ago (8 children)

Headaches. Vomiting. Like the flu.

I learned a few tricks to avoid hangovers. Drinking water in-between drinks, ramen noodles before sleeping(or whatever your favorite soup is) and avoiding getting to a point where the world spins when your eyes are closed.

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[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I remember being this. I also remember everyone telling me to enjoy it while it lasts... and they're aboslutely right.

One day it just goes away. Suddenly you have a hangover for the first time, and then that's it. You're no longer the "I don't get hangovers" person.

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[–] DarkDarkHouse@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 4 days ago

Like being poisoned.

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[–] kandoh@reddthat.com 5 points 3 days ago

I really want a drink right now but i dont want to get shit faced. The problem is, once i pop the fun dont stop, ya know

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I don't know why drinking alcohol has to be a binary issue, but maybe my propensity for addiction is lower than normal. Does it seem like the majority of human beings have to just not drink at all or they binge out and wake up in the bushes?

[–] PraiseTheSoup@lemm.ee 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

One of the primary functions of alcohol in humans is lowering inhibitions. It stands to reason then that the more one drinks, the more one will drink.

I've been there myself. I spent my entire 20's at the bar. It was fun and I regret nothing. But now I can count on one hand the number of alcoholic drinks I had in 2024.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

It stands to reason that people are individuals. Simple "if A then B therefore C" logic would have you drink yourself to death, which didn't happen.

[–] Resol@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

I've never touched alcohol in my life outside of cleaning purposes (I mean isopropyl alcohol, or as I like to call it, icy prope). And to be honest, you've convinced me to remain teetotal.

However, I always have the feeling I wanted to try out some drinks just for that taste but can't because it's got some of that الكحول in it. And there are very few non-alcoholic alternatives for these drinks. The only one I've tried is a virgin mojito (in my country it's sometimes referred to as just "mojito" because it's the only one we know). And honestly, it tastes great. And then there's the fact that I can't make my own vanilla extract. You need ethanol for that, and I just have this fear of putting it in my body because I don't wanna get addicted to it.

I've always treated alcohol like drugs and tobacco. They feel fun, and you want more, but it will knock you out when you least expect it.

[–] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 16 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

I'm really glad that more and more places are offering fun mocktails. Sometimes you want the social aspect of drinking but not the alcohol

I just wish they wouldn't charge alcohol prices for them

[–] peregrin5@lemm.ee 10 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I hate that mocktails are as expensive if not more expensive than literal alcoholic drinks despite having no expensive alcohol in them.

[–] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I've seen mocktail "shots" that cost more than an actual shot. It's basically a ginger shot (not even a fresh one) with extra shit in it. Not worth the $12

[–] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

Their lack of alchol is specifically makes them cost more. Flavorants can't be watered down as much as alchohol can. So the only way to get similar profit margins is to charge more.

[–] CafecitoHippo@lemm.ee 3 points 4 days ago

I'm just happy that there is finally some good NA beers. I realized I had a problem drinking where I would just want to keep drinking once I started but I had such a connection between beer and sports that it became hard to watch sports without wanting a beer which would then turn in to me wanting 12 beers. Just being able to have a good NA beer which tricked my mind into thinking I'm having a beer. My brain didn't get the dosage of alcohol that I needed to keep drinking booze so I could just have 2 of them during an Orioles game and not worry about it. I've only had 8 total drinks since election night. Never more than 2 in a day but I've decided that I'm totally off booze since those 8 drinks.

[–] Nerrad@lemmy.world 14 points 4 days ago (3 children)

I wish I could stop drinking. Save yourselves.

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)
[–] Quadhammer@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Man I haven't "quit" but a couple months back I just decided it was more work to go get a beer from the fridge than it was worth. Because then after a few I had to then get up and piss. More effort. Now I'm out of beer at the house and it's more effort to drive to the store and get it and then it would repeat that cycle. So, pure laziness has more or less sobered me up.

I actually do have a nice bottle of whiskey hidden but it's not open and I've been saving it for an occasion(ive had it almost a year). I do have to entertain guests coming up so I think I'll just get a small case of nice beer and leave it as an option and once it's gone it's gone.

So anyway what I'm saying is, maybe try just being lazy.

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[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 27 points 5 days ago (9 children)

I have a zero tollerance policy for alcohol when I know I will be driving the same day or early the next.

It is far easier to just say "no" from the start than trying to calculate and estimate what would be an acceptable ammount at what time to be able to drive.

Yesterday when I drove home from NYE at my parents, road conditions were terrible, it snowed, the council had not cleared it as I drove home (understandable), and I felt my car loose grip a few times. On roads with a limit of 70km/h I drove 35-40, and on a road with a limit of 90km/h you could not drive any faster than 60, I have excellent winter tyers, but it took all my stone sober concentration to get home safely, if I had had any alcohol, trying to drive home would have been utterly reckless, to be fair, it was borderline reckless when as I drove home sober, but it was doable.

[–] ByteOnBikes 4 points 4 days ago (2 children)

RESPECT.

I have the same rule. No alcohol 24 hours prior to driving.

It's easy for me though, since I can take a bus, Uber, or even walk. And I have no urgency in my life where a car is required like that.

[–] toynbee@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago (2 children)

24 hours seems like more than necessary, but I agree with the gist: I don't drink if I'm not where I'm planning to spend the night.

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[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 16 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'm a heavy drinker but screw it, sharing my non-alcoholic version of Irish cream here:

  • 100ml whole milk; boiling hot
  • a cinnamon stick
  • some pieces of orange skin, just the yellow part
  • drinking chocolate powder; I use 3tbsp
  • instant coffee powder; I use 2tbsp
  • 400g dulce de leche [see note]
  • 200ml half-and-half
  • vanilla extract
  • 300~500ml whole milk, again; keep it cool
  1. Simmer the cinnamon stick and orange skin in the whole milk for 10 minutes or so. Then throw them away, they're just to add flavour to the milk.
  2. Add the other ingredients, in the sequence listed, making sure to incorporate well one ingredient before adding another. Taste it and add more or less milk as you want, if it tastes too strong add more milk.
  3. Transfer to a bottle, chill it. Serve it on the rocks.

NOTE: you can buy the dulce de leche if you want, but it gets more expensive than just making it at home with the same amount of sweetened condensed milk.

[–] ByteOnBikes 4 points 4 days ago

My stupid ass read this as a non-alcoholic Irish Whiskey and got confused when I saw milk.

This is still great! Thank you!

[–] tal@lemmy.today 10 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

I see people share tips of what type of mocktails to get

I like blended virgin raspberry margaritas on the sour side, and will generally order one if I see one on a menu.

Honestly, I should probably just figure out a recipe to make them myself, as they're nice to slowly sip, and they'd be nice to have at home too. Never did get around to making one myself.

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[–] HelixDab2@lemm.ee 4 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Is that the way whiskey is advertised? Huh. I don't see commercials anymore, so IDK.

I drink single-malt Scottish whiskey occasionally because I enjoy the flavors. Same with most bourbons and ryes. But Kentucky whiskey? Bleah. Sadly, I am poorer than my preferences.

[–] Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Just FYI, Scotch is whisky without an 'e'. American and Irish are whiskey with an 'e'. Japanese varies.

[–] HelixDab2@lemm.ee 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

From what i can find, it seems like the spelling is pretty arbitrary, like much spelling in English.. While there are certainly articles claiming that it's always Irish whisky, without an e, some very old Irish distilleries use the older/other spelling. It's a matter of law in Scotland--without the e--and seems to be largely grammatical inertia otherwise.

English is weird.

[–] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

When discussing alchohol, pretty much everything is arbitrary.

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[–] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I wouldn't say I "appreciate" it as it leans towards being subjective, but I'd say it seems to make more sense for alcohol to be refused. What goes on in a person's mind when they're using the world's oldest form of psychiatry to reduce their faculties which are themselves implied to be the issue as a response to the weight of life?

[–] ByteOnBikes 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

I like drinking alcohol or taking legal substances during certain events. Feeling a bit of floatyness while watching the sunset is a great feeling (in moderation).

If that feeling doesn't mean anything to you, thats cool and no judgement.

I think about how some cultures eat dessert as a closure to their favorite meal, and thats the only metaphor I can think of.

Edit: found a meme I relate to: https://slrpnk.net/post/16826864

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