Alcohol

Kim

Kim

Well-known member
Thought we could continue this side discussion that went on in this thread... http://xenforo.com/community/threads/pricey.21591/page-3

Sooo... One thing I have observed is that people from the USA generally drink significantly less than those from the Commonwealth countries, or from Europe.. and they seem to have a major issue with drinking in general.

I have heard dozens of stories of things like...

Aussie couple go to a restaurant in the USA, and order dinner and wine, the waiter brings a GLASS of wine lol not the bottle... and that asking for the whole bottle is met with raised eyebrows.. like OMG you want to drink a whole BOTTLE :eek: Whereas same couple would probably happily down two bottles of said wine here in Australia, more if they were in a big group having a lot of fun.

The story above I have heard lots of times, and it does seem to indicate there are major differences in attitudes towards Alcohol in different countries.

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According to a stat I just found.. Australians consume 4.x litres of pure alcohol per capita, per year.. which equates to an average of 2.2 standard drinks per day per person aged 15 years and over.

Obviously not everyone over 15 years of age is drinking 2.2 standard drinks a day, so there are some big drinkers around!

What's your take on alcohol?

Do you indulge?
 
That's just nonsense. They offer bottles and glasses on the menus. And they often ask if you would like them to bring the whole bottle out. I drink like a fish and so do a lot of my friends, family and acquaintences. Oh, and I prefer a good beer, not that weak light beer sh!t.
 
Well it's certainly been the experience of many of my friends and family, similar stories from all of them, about how they have felt judged for drinking a fair bit. Mostly in California though. NYC doesn't seem to care if you drink yourself into oblivion, same with places like New Orleans, but the feedback I have had is overwhelmingly that people drink wayyy less and are shocked by how much others can consume.

Glad to hear you are keeping the faith though jmurrayhead :D hehehe
 
Really? I've always known people in California to drink more than anywhere else. At least the people I know there do.
 
I've ordered bottles of wine for over 25 years and have never once been met with raised eyebrows. Its no different than ordering a pitcher of beer vs a pint. Can't say that I've ever been to a restaurant or bar that serves wine only in a single glass. Maybe I just haven't been to the weird parts of the US that raise brows over a bottle of vino lol All the places I've been expect people to order wine by the bottle and more than one lol.. Not sure where the heck they were, but ordering a bottle of wine certainly is very common here (if that's what yer getting at). Hell, most wine lists have the price per bottle first and then per glass. Same with beer.. they lists the beers with price per pitcher, then per pint (or glass).
 
Haha.. well funny, maybe those groups have just been unlucky with where they went, or their waiters etc.

So do you guys drink? if so how much how often etc, at home, out to dinner?

We have had to make a concerted effort not to drink during the week and to contain it to only Friday and Saturday night, but on those nights we do tend to drink a lot I have to confess.

PS.. I wasn't suggesting there weren't plenty of drinking going on or drinkers in the US, merely relating the experiences of several of my friends with drinking in up market restaurants. (NOT bars or those big Eat and Booze type restaurants.
 
Kim said:
...Aussie couple go to a restaurant in the USA, and order dinner and wine, the waiter brings a GLASS of wine lol not the bottle... and that asking for the whole bottle is met with raised eyebrows.. like OMG you want to drink a whole BOTTLE I wish I didn't need to worry about driving home! :eek:
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Maybe?
 
Dean said:
Maybe?
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Maybe, I dunno ;)

I usually don't drink anything if I am driving, as I can't have just one drink, and we have had breath alcohol testing here for a very long time, so we're well used to not drinking and driving.

None of these folks were driving as they were all on vacation and taking taxis... but anyway, seems like they had an uncommon experience, even if it happened to a number of them over a number of years LOL.
 
Here is Wisconsin we have no problem consuming alcohol...heck our former attorney general got a DUI while driving a state vehicle and today a former Senator got a DUI, we were also voted the drunkest state in the U.S.
Personally I prefer something a little more "kind"..;)
 
mcrider said:
Here is Wisconsin we have no problem consuming alcohol...heck our former attorney general got a DUI while driving a state vehicle and today a former Senator got a DUI, we were also voted the drunkest state in the U.S.
Personally I prefer something a little more "kind"..;)
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lol Oooo kkkay :p

In the news here not long ago was a story about a 90 year old lady getting busted for DUI, her blood alcohol was 4.6 x the legal limit :o OMG lol silly old duffer, I do hope they took her license off her!

Not braggin mind.. that is scandalous, she is very lucky she didn't kill anyone!

Drink Driving is one thing I cannot stand, and won't allow anyone in my presence to do.
 
I don't drink, for my own reasons, but am definitely not typical of friends & family. For the wine drinkers in the circle they usually bring their own bottles to BYOB places rather than ordering bottles out because it is cheaper and they prefer their own selections.
 
I used to drink a fair bit "back in the day". That was over 25 years ago.
Now my strongest drink is a frozen strawberry margarita, which is only once in a great while when I go to the best mexican restaurant in town, for lunch.
Other than that, it's coffee and ice water for me.
 
Kevin said:
I don't drink, for my own reasons, but am definitely not typical of friends & family. For the wine drinkers in the circle they usually bring their own bottles to BYOB places rather than ordering bottles out because it is cheaper and they prefer their own selections.
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We generally BYO too, it is just so much cheaper, and you can get a better selection, but here restaurants do charge "corkage" which is quite a bit, sometimes as much as $10 per bottle, which kind of puts a dampner on it :(

I heard the funniest thing the other day at a birthday lunch at a restaurant, apparently they are now charging "cakeage" if you bring a birthday cake they can charge you up to $8 per person :o to serve it!!! Scandalous!
 
Kevin said:
For the wine drinkers in the circle they usually bring their own bottles to BYOB places rather than ordering bottles out because it is cheaper and they prefer their own selections.
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FWIW, there are no BYOB restaurants in Canada.
Note: maybe a few but I've never seen one. They are definitely not common.
 
I never actually touch a wine bottle in my entire life. I live in NYC and all my friends have drinking habit. Is drinking alcohol something I should do? :unsure: :D
 
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