Pick Your Poison.

[Roscar Palidyne]

I like beer. Yes. I know, perfect topic starter. But, it's leading up to my topic, I've noticed that in college, the growing and ever present rage of the social culture seems to be to go out, party, get wasted, and still go to school after another Thirsty Thursday. And, although I wasn't a part of this back then, apparently there's an ever-growing population of high schoolers who decide that they'll start drinking. Heh, I guess I was never invited to the parties, but I never drank til I got to college.

When it comes to drinking, beer is definetely my choice. This is probably horrible for my body, as beer's got shit loads of calories that'll blow me up like a cancerous zeppelin, but it just tastes ...so good. Now I'm not talking about the cheap-ass beers they have around....Miller Lite, Budweiser, Red Dog (GAG!). I like darker beers, Guiness, and pale ales and whatnot. And if I feel like liquor, I go with Goldschlauger. Tastes just like that candy, Fireball. Mmmmmm mmm.

Anyway, I'd like to hear your views on alcohol, underage drinking, and if you have one, why don't you throw in your favorite alcoholic beverage?

[Dissinger]

Vodka. Its a real man's drink and kicks your ass if you don't respect it.

As for underage drinking, I feel it shouldn't be done. Its not that hard to wait, just do it for christ sakes.

[Storm Veritas]

Beer, definitely. Much more flavored, and good beer is outstanding. It also can be controlled much more than some other drinks, as any adult can get a good "feel" for beer and know when to stop. Other drinks, not so easy.

The drinking age is MUCH too high, the driving age a little too low. How we delegate certain responsibilities in this country is crazy.

[Damion Shargath]

Beer: Stiegl or Becks, Beer is simply the best. Nuff said.

Then come...

Sambuca
Champaigne
-> White Russian (Wodka, Cahlua, Milk)

Drinking is legal here from 16 on, and...well...lots of people do it earlier too - although I only had one beer when I ever did - didn't and don't like the taste of all that other stuff out there much anyway.

[Falcon Darkflight]

Strongbow, Magner's or a good old fashioned pint of Mindfuck. (My own creation, too! Shot of Bols Blue in a pint of Cider. You'll only need one...)

[Yamihara]

Nothing less that vintage Chardonnay. OK, maybe a bit of herbal cordial, but that's the bottom line.

Then again, Master Raven rarely drank at all.

[Daggertail]

I don't drink, I'm old enough but alcohol is too much trouble and not worth it. Beer is gross and fatening, most wine's I'm alergic to and the flavored drinks can be ok but I might as well do a soda or some other flavored drink. Not to mention every time I go anywhere, I'm the driver so I stay sober.

[Witchblade]

I prefer vodka, be it in a straight shot or mixed into some kind of concoction. Smirnoff Ice is my favourite. Beer is also a favourite for me, I mean c'mon, I'm Canadian. Alexander Keiths all the way, Thirsty Thursday's down at Slainte's, yay!

As for underage drinking and the drinking age, legal age is 19 here, which I think is fine. I've been getting into bars since I was 16 without ID though, it's really not that hard. And I'm not a huge stickler for underage drinking, hell, I made my 13 year old cousin do a shot of vodka at the Canada Day party this year. She didn't drink for the rest of the night, he he he he.

[AsukaStrikes]

Raven: I don't condone, or support, underage drinking. But no one cares in Thailand. Hell, kids as young as 13 chug down entire flats and still drive drunk. The trend over here is to drink to get drunk, which in my mind is just plain idiotic. Stupid's too watered down for this kind of behavior. Oh, yeah. Legal drinking age is 20, by the way. Driving age is 18 but the motorcycle permit is 16.

Oh, and I only drink light. Good wine and nothing more. I don't think I'll ever drink beer or anything with more than 5% alcohol, though. I drink for the flavor. And rarely more than a single glass at all.

Murakama: Whatever you say, Master. All I need is a soothing keg o' Lavinian to calm my soul. Bwahahaha.

[Lisean]

I'm a vodka person, and I second my mistress' vote on Smirnoff Ice. Probably following that, I'm more into the wine/champagne. Beer isn't really on my list, because since I am underage, I'm not open to every single beverage (that's gonna change on my 19th birthday come February.. mwahaha). Like, I can't stand Lakeport. I hate it, with an undying passion. I'll stick with my Smirnoff Ice and Mateus :p while playing chess at my bro's.

[Arvis]

Underage drinking isn't as bad in Quebec since the legal drinking age is 18. I drank a few times on occasions like new years even and such at around 16-17.

I'm not a huge fan of beer. I wish I was, since it's so cheap and such, but I just don't like it =/ Maybe it's because the first time I drank it i got really wasted, up all night throwing up, didnt remember things, that sort of thing....

I used to like Vodka, until i had like 18 shots in one night, got sick again, since then I can't drink a lot of it. Then I moved onto tequila, yum! But, of course, got sick off of that too one night, haven't liked it since...

So i'm a fan of Rum now.

[Roscar Palidyne]

I'm starting to see a pattern here, Arvis........

Oh, Tequila and me met one mysterious night. Yes, it was a cast party for a show well done, and my parents had actually bought me a bottle of Jose Quervo and 6 shot glasses. Yeah, they're pretty liberal about that stuff. Anyway, I woke up the next morning to realize that I had filled up a sink. With what, I refuse to say. Me and tequila are now arch enemies.

What strikes me about underage drinking is why most people seem to do it. They'll pop back a few beers before heading to late-night astronomy labs or whatever, and think that's cool. It's that whole "forbidden fruit" complex: doing something that is illegal's a rush. I'm still underage by US law but I drink, but that's because I enjoy the taste and when I'm at big parties, I like it as a social loosener because I'm cracked in the head. I think if the drinking age is lowered, there will in the end be less people throughout colleges that drink every other night. For those of you who went to college, how was the experience when it came to social drinking?

[Empyrean]

I've never had any sort of alcohol or drink aside from wine once or twice, and I have no desire to. Like Daggertail said, I think it's too much trouble and I don't see what the big deal is about it. My view on drinking as a whole has made my friends pick me as their future designated driver when we're old enough.

I don't condone underage drinking, either, especially because I know so many people who drink and they're underage, and have even gone driving while drunk. The whole idea of it is just stupid, and if people aren't smart enough to at least wait and drink responsibly, they shouldn't be drinking at all.

[Krugor]

I've never drank when I was younger than the drinking age. Well, that doesn't mean a lot since you can drink/buy the light stuff, like beer, when you're 16 and the harder stuff, like vodka, when you're 18.

And I guess I finally developed a drinking style now. I've drank most of the common stuff, like beer, vodka, whisky, tequila, wine and all other sorts of fruity, girly mixtures. My favourite being beer for a very long time until I recently rediscovered wine. It has a better taste than the golden liquid and a wide variety which is a pretty cool to mix with dinner. And mostly, after the long, extremely hot summer we had here I've come to love wine, as the perfect drink to drink with tons of friends, laying down under the glowing sun in a crowded park. Wine has class and style.

As to underage drinking; I don't really care. If people think it's cool to do it than they should go ahead. I think they'll learn it the hard way. But maybe that's just me, most people at my former school learned it like that. I do think 16 is the right age for drinking though. I'm more against 16 being the age to drive...

[Anteni]

Hmm, this is a tough question. I suppose if I had a choice of all alcohols, I would choose something entirely new. Really, of all that I've tried, I like it all. Why? Because I still get drunk. Each has its own situation, its own type of party, ya know? If I was forced to choose from what I know: my sentiments lay with Rubinoff Vodka. Sure, it's like drinking petroluem (it's not called Rubbingoff for nothing), but my last year at college wouldn't have been the same without this cheap, bliss-in-a-bottle booze.


For those of you who went to college, how was the experience when it came to social drinking?

I went to really small school, so there wasn't a wide variety of stuff going on, but still there was usually a party every other night. If not a party, usually a few friends getting together to just relax and sip on some sort of alcohol, maybe watch a movie or play cards. It can be a lot of fun - but that same old drama shit from high school still goes on in rooms full of drunken people. College drinking has its ups and downs, essentially. Personally, huge parties with random intoxicated people aren't my scene; I enjoy relaxing with a few familiar faces.

As for underage drinking... it is hard to say. I'm in the United States, where the legal age is 21; I'm 19, and I've been drinking for at least three or four years, with differing frequency. The way I see it, it doesn't matter how old one is: it just comes down to responsible people and irresponsible people - of course, older people tend to be more responsible than younger people. Still, I'm sure there are underage drinkers out there who can handle their themselves much better than some legal drinkers.

No matter the law, there will always be younger people that want to drink even though they are told it is "wrong," just as people will continue to drive drunk despite the public campaigns and statistics about it. Why? Because alcohol can be fun, of course! For kids just discovering it, it's an entirely new state of mind. It's a "social lubricant," it gives you "beer balls." Insecurities and caution are thrown to the wind when enough booze is running in your blood, and it feels good to be so worry-free; some take the initiative to provoke fights, others become peacemakers. It is up to the individual to learn his or her limit, to figure out how much feels good and how much can ruin your night (or day, I suppose). Some people discover that any alcohol at all is not for them, others become enslaved to it, which is truly a tragedy to see.

All in all, alcohol is a strange drug. Like all drugs, it affects people differently, and some don't have the willpower to fight an addiction to it. Just the fact that it is legal gives rise to a discussion about the age at which we can "legally" use it - if marijuana was legal, would we have the same discussion?

[Yamihara]

I believe it's all in the Mental Maturity department here when we talk about "legal" to use things. Heck, I see plenty of examples where adults do plainly idiotic things despite having 100% legal rights to do so.

Like cheat to win a nation-wide election.

[Dissinger]

I believe it's all in the Mental Maturity department here when we talk about "legal" to use things. Heck, I see plenty of examples where adults do plainly idiotic things despite having 100% legal rights to do so.

Like cheat to win a nation-wide election.

If thats not a political commentary what is?

ANyways I still feel just wait, makes it a bit better when you do. In the end you can enjoy it and theres none of those new fangled cop thingy's to ruin the fun...

[Yamihara]

Point taken, Diss. I'll keep that out of this thread before it diverges. =P

Waiting is best because it comes with taste.

[Ithermoss]

Anything.

Seriously. Anything. If it's got an alcohol content to it, I'll most likely drink it (or at least try it).

Beers: Warsteiner Dunkel, Bitburger, Newcastle Brown Ale, +++. If it has a tent in Munich's Oktoberfest, it has my full support. :)

Wine: Shiraz or Merlot. Whites generally give me heartburn. Don't know why, but they do.

Liquor: Scotch. Straight, no ice. Scotch + glass. I swear by the stuff. Why? Because it tastes better than vodka (vodka doesn't taste like anything, imho), and it burns like hell when it goes down. Great stuff. After the third or fourth shot in a row, when you can't feel your face, it won't burn anymore. It tastes like candy. :)

I also like rum and tequila. But mostly scotch. Never the "smooth" stuff either. Fuck that. If I wanted something smooth, I'd eat butter.

I started "drinking" when I was 13. I was undergoing cancer treatment, chemotherapy and all, and I could never sleep. I would take a swig of scotch (only thing in my parents' liquor cabinent that they didn't let go sour) to help me crash. I've only been drunk to the point that i threw up, twice. I can handle liquor, and I know my limits. Responsibility is important for pretty much anything you put in your body, or do with it, and drinking is no different, I feel. I'd give a 14 year old half a beer (if he was my 14 year old), if I knew he wasn't going to fly off the handle.

[Sanctus]

Amen, Yamihara.

And I must admit to having a taste for good wine. I think it's really the stuff -- and I just spent ten days in ITALIA, drinking some of the best wine EVER. The stuff seems to flow from the taps in that country.

I must admit, too...absinthe wasn't that bad.

[Sheex]

Scotch for me. Although, if I feel like earning myself a headache I'll go with the infamous jagermeister. However, were I to chose my favorite between the two, scotch all the way. On the rocks.

And as far as underage drinking goes, as long as people can do it responsibly without causing accidents, I really don't care. Sadly, it's the morons who do it and cause the accidents that are the problem.

[Arvis]

Wow, how could I forget wine!

Red Wine is one of my favorites. It can be really cheap, or really expensive, whichever you're looking for, and has great taste. It also mixes well with meals.

The only thing that bothers me about Wine is that it doesn't really quench your thirst...

[Lucien]

Cyanide. Man do I love that tang of bitter almonds.

I don't drink because I don't like the taste of most liquors. I also've seen the affects of its influences of family and friends.

However, I think the drinking age should be lowered from 21 and the driving age raised. The forbidden fruit isn't as sweet, or some bullshit like that. Countires with lower drinking ages usually don't have such trouble with it, or at least I hear that.

[grim137]

Vodka mixed with pretty much anything (espescially orange juice) usually does it for me, which is surprising because I think straight vodka is one of the worst tasting drinks ever. I'm also a fan of various mixed drinks, and wine coolers are pretty good.

Honestly I don't drink that much. I've been really drunk twice, and gotten slightly drunk a few other times. It's not a big deal, even being underage (of course getting sick and pukeing my brians out once did a lot to really lessen the joy of the experiance).

Overall I don't really give a fuck about underage drinking just be smart about it, and don't over do it. Like I said going out and getting wasted is a highly overrated experiance.

[Sighter Tnailog]

New favorite!

The B-52. On fire, dangerous, and with a taste like no other!

[Ithermoss]

Scotch for me.

Cheers.

[Ashiakin]

I'm a big fan of White Russians. Like drinking candy. Mmm.

PS - I don't care, saying beer is your favorite drink is like saying a ham sandwich is your favorite food.

[Sheex]

Amen Ithermoss. Amen.

[Breaker]

Am I seriously the only person in the world who likes whisky? Jack Daniels!

I like both whisky and fireball straight, or mixed with coke. Fireball mixed with coke is one of my favourite mixed drinks ever.

Also, Paralyzers, whether made with tequila or vodka, are excellent.

[Damion Shargath]

I'm a big fan of White Russians. Like drinking candy. Mmm.

PS - I don't care, saying beer is your favorite drink is like saying a ham sandwich is your favorite food.

White Russians are only good, if they're made good, and if that's the case, they're most certainly the best.