Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with booze

No, sippy cups are not for scotch

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:57:42 -0800

My kid has a much beloved playdate buddy. Problem is; playdate buddy's mom is a drunk. A clingy, needy, whining, status-symbol addicted, country-club, drunk. I wouldn't mind if she was a fun drunk, or if she only drank after her husband got home, or if she didn't call me and want to come over when she was drunk...but suddenly, I've got this drunken crazy woman in my sphere. I don't much care for her, but our kids adore each other. I don't drink. I used to drink. I used to drink a lot. Then I realized I was probably an alcoholic, and I quit drinking for the most part. (I'll once every couple of months have a glass of wine, or an after dinner port or brandy, but I've trained myself to stop after one. More than one and I'm afraid I won't be able to stop, ya know?)

Anyway, I know all the symptoms of someone who is functionally drunk. The careful enunciation, the deliberate movements, the sort of sloshy head thing, and the overwhelming cloud of breath mint. She hides her drinking, but it's pretty obvious that she carries booze with her, on outings, she'll disappear every 15 minutes or so until she hits that "stage". Anyone who knows a drinker knows what I mean by the "stage".

All of that would be annoying, but tolerable, except for the fact that she wants to drive over to our house after she's called and I can tell she's "staged". Also, when we go places, she wants to always take her car, because she has a very expensive car, and she doesn't want to be seen getting out of my little economy car, when we could be driving in her status-mobile.

Thus far, I've been avoiding the issue by saying "oh, I'm sorry we're doing something" or by bringing my kid over to their house...but tomorrow is a big day. A bunch of neighborhood moms are scheduled to take the kids to see Santa and some other xmas events.

It will be an all day thing, starting very early. How do I tactfully suggest that she ride with me, rather than letting anyone else ride with her?

I despise drunk drivers more than I can express, for reasons I won't elucidate here. But she's kept her alcohol use hidden really well from those people who either aren't or haven't been around alcoholics. So, I can't just come out and say to the other moms "Look, she's a drinker, it's not safe, just take your minivan." I mean, I can, but it's going to cause a huge scene, at xmas, when everyone is already on edge, plus I'm not sure anyone would believe me. She's very good at hiding it, and she intimidates those people who are intimidated by wealth.

But, I'm afraid if I don't say something, then gods forbid, something happens...I can't knowingly put all those other people in danger.

Help me hive mind. How do I keep the drunken trophy wife out of her Lincoln?

Throwaway email: playdatemomdrinks@gmail.com

Hanukkah Booze!

degoao — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 10:09:27 -0800

What would be a good Hanukkah themed cocktail? The drink can include beer, but no wine please.

If I'm going to make mojitos, they better be good mojitos

Juliet Banana — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:58:17 -0800

I'm having a tacotastic dinner party for my boyfriend's birthday. What's a tasty cocktail/punch recipe that goes with the fresh, rich, spicy flavors of Mexican food? Simplicity is a plus; I don't mind making flavored simple syrup or finding juices or fresh ingredients but I'd like to avoid buying 6 bottles of liquor for one drink. At least one gluten-free guest is coming (though she always brings sorghum beer or wine), so the food is a buffet-style free-for-all with tortillas in every incarnation, roast veggies (cippolini onions, beet, potato), black beans & rice, chipotle sauce (chipotles in adobo pureed with pumpkin seeds and chocolate), cilantro crema (enough cilantro to terrify the haters pureed with queso fresco, lime juice, and crema). So, greasy & rich with bright & fresh flavors and a lot of heat.

We like gin, rum, and vodka, I LOVE champagne cocktails, and preferably the drink would either be a little on the girly side or easy to dilute with tonic/juice/mixer.

how do i send booze in the mail

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:41:44 -0800

looking to deck the halls with homemade liquor (infused vodkas, lemoncello, something like that) - but now how to get it through the mail. i'm in oklahoma and i'm sending it to new york. this would be smallish bottles without professional labels.

(anon since these are gifts)

Best Irish Booze?

mtstover — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:02:30 -0800

Heading to a themed dinner event. We each represent a country and bring food / drink from the country. I am Ireland. I'm going to bring booze. What whiskey or other hard alcohol should I bring?

The City That Confuses The Hell Out Of Me

Juliet Banana — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:54:44 -0800

If you've ever lived in or visited Chicago and had a good time without getting hopelessly lost, you are cordially invited to post in this thread. Needed: an explanation of the grid system, tips and tricks on navigation, and recommendations for how to find the underground music scene, awesome beers, weird things to explore, and the best Chicago-focused blogs. THE GRID SYSTEM: Whenever someone explains this to me I hear "It starts at State and Madison and blah blah blah blah blah and then you'll know exactly where you are!" Pretend I am a five-year old who was dropped on my tender infant cranium.

HACKS: I bought the Moleskine city notebook which is really helpful because I can pour over maps on the El without looking like a total tourist. I'm also thinking of buying a small cheap compass because I have no sense of direction and I'm too shy to ask the classic question "Which way is the lake?" My boyfriend is getting handed a dollar so he can get one of the CTA Tracker apps for his iPhone. Any other recommendations?

BLOGS: A focus on music, especially local/weird/electronic, is nice, and so are blogs that categorize/tag posts by neighborhood. I'm currently reading Cream Team, Chicagoist, The Chicago Weekly (I really like the focus on non-mainstream arts&music, and neighborhood catagorization), and Gaper's Block. Is There a Cubs Game Today? is a single-serving site, not a blog, but invaluable for a Wrigleyville resident like myself.

PLACES TO CHECK OUT: Metafilter let me know that Hopleaf existed, so I'm sure there's lots of wisdom to be shared.

BACKROUND: I've spent time in Chicago but never lived here, I live spitting distance from Wrigley Field, I will likely work in The Loop, yes I will be at the meet-ups, I like booze and electronica and lowbrow art and limited-run/old/obscure movies, I really liked this previous question though I am 21+, I do not drive and hence will be reliant on the CTA, I am kind of nervous about not knowing anything about the local underground music scene and how to penetrate it.

Organising a stag do near London

ninebelow — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:28:50 -0800

Organising a stag do near London I am organising a stag do for about twenty people. All we want to is get drunk, play our music loud and not disturb/interact with other people. This is surprisingly hard to do in London.

The original plan was to set up mini-rave (we have a sound system) but the potential hastle of set up, weather and police was considered too much.

To get the isolation we would have to travel out into the sticks and we are keen not to do this as almost all of us live in London and just want a one nighter. Location-wise it would ideally be near London or possibly on the M1 corridor.

Obviously we could hire a bar or a room in one in London but we will want to be naughty. Any suggestions at all because I am not doing very well.

Birthday booze.

kldickson — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:38:34 -0800

My 21st birthday is coming up in a few months. I would like to celebrate this with one well-crafted cocktail at a bar, but I am at a loss as to which one and where to get it. I will be spending my 21st birthday in DC while visiting my folks. Things I have enjoyed before (admittedly, at various house parties):

-Rum and coke
-Whiskey and coke
-Absinthe
-Peach schnapps and a bit of orange juice

Things I do not like:

-Beer
-Wine
-Screwdrivers

I admit I have not had much in the booze area. I am also not one to get drunk.

I like booze where you can't taste the alcohol part of the drink very much but you get to taste the various flavors of the alcoholic drinks. I prefer something that will not burn or get me drunk after drinking it.

Made of cocaine and the tears of child actors

klangklangston — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:31:29 -0800

LA Gourmet Cocktails? What are the finest, most crafted cocktails you've had in LA? High-end genius drinkology? Even just the best-balanced martini? Is there a molecular gastronomy equivalent here? For a story I'm working on—If you're LA based and have nothing going on this weekend/week and you want to meet me for a drink, send me a memail.

nights on earth

yonation — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:08:09 -0800

if i were stranded on a desert island -- or to stray from the cliche, in a postapocalyptic abandoned mall -- how would i make booze? give me the best and easiest recipes for making alcohol on the sly, on the easy, quickly and with a macguyver-esque fetishism for utility. i mean, the world's ending in said location, and what else do you need?

Very Special Ontario Purchase

Frasermoo — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:17:23 -0800

Can you recommend a decent brandy in Canada at a good price? I'm in the process of polishing off a rather splendid bottle which has stars and VS all over it. Unfortunately I am going to have to replace it. I won't have to replace it with anything amazing, just something that isn't bad or going to rape me. I'm in Toronto, so governed by the LCBO dictatorship. If you can chuck in any advice on savings in the province then go for it.

Scotch, an acquired taste?

Silvertree — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:40:43 -0800

How did you acquire a taste for scotch? For some reason I have become curious about scotch. I have no idea why. I think maybe a few threads here put the idea in my head. Or was it Ron Burgandy's genius? Or maybe I watched John J. McCoy drink scotch at the end of one too many Law & Orders. Beats me. I don't even know if I like scotch.

So for those of you who are scotch drinkers, did you just order a scotch one day and fall in love? Was it a taste you acquired over time? Did you purposely set out to acquire a taste for scotch? If so, how? Tell me your scotch stories.

I have already read several AskMeta threads with brand suggestions, so that isn't necessary unless it fits into the above, or you just feel really strong about a particular recommendation.

Where to get Caña Legui in the US?

sergeant sandwich — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:33:41 -0800

About ten years ago, a colleague of mine from Argentina had me try some liquor called Caña (or Canha) Legui that he'd brought with him to the US. It was really good and I want to find a bottle here. Help? It was a sweet, rum-based liquor, that tasted sort of like cream soda. I haven't been able to find it anywhere in the US, so I thought I'd give AskMe a shot. I've seen it for sale on a couple of e-commerce websites, but they are all based in Europe and the shipping charges to the US are pretty steep. I imagine there are import food-and-drink sellers aimed at South American expats and so on, but I fail at finding them.

I'm in southern California; a local source would be great, but an online service that ships to the US for less than an arm and a leg would work too. Any other suggestions would be helpful!

Safe to Drink?

suasponte — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:46:59 -0800

Prescription Drugs + Office Holiday Party = ?? [more inside] I have recently been prescribed two drugs to combat some kind of infection in my throat: Augmentin and methylprednisolone (Medrol). Since then (yesterday) I feel much better, and my throat hardly hurts at all. I know I'm going to get a lot of IANAD, but would it be really bad to have a couple of drinks at tonight's holiday party for my job? Thanks!
(Too late to call my dr. to ask)

Baking with alcohol?

piratebowling — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:35:09 -0800

I have a fantastic cupcake idea, but it involves baking with alcohol, which I'm not familiar with. Help! What I'm going for is cupcakes that are a spice/rum cake with eggnog frosting (there will be a slight splash of rum in the frosting as well).

I know baking is a very careful chemistry, so I don't want to throw off the cake batter by just throwing a bit of rum into a spice cake. I also tried looking up rum cake recipes, most are NOT what I want (they either use pre-made yellow cake mix or call for a rum glaze to give it that rummy goodness). I want a rum spice cake from scratch, and preferably with rum in the batter.

So, my questions:

1) Does anyone have a from scratch spice-laden rum cake recipe?
2) Failing that, how does one compensate for alcohol added to a cake recipe?
3) Failing that, am I really just looking for a rum soak for the cupcakes?
4) Failing that, would a rum glaze + frosting be a sweetness overkill?

What Would Obama Drink?

kevin-o — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:24:25 -0800

I am having a party to watch the election returns. What should I serve? I am looking to serve dishes (mostly small plates and desserts) and drinks that have some relation to the campaign. There will definitely be sweet potato pie, whiskey shots (a la Hillary in Indiana), and six packs. Besides mooseburgers, what else should I have for my guests?

What are the best liquors for the money?

Telf — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:42:30 -0800

What is your favorite price point liquor of a given style and why? I remember when I turned 21, I set out to build up my adult liquor collection. I spent a lot of my hard earned cash on Lagavulin and aged Macallan scotch. I bought Grey Goose vodka, Don Julio and Patron tequilas, cognac and even some port wine. I was very proud of my collection until I realized that my roommates were surreptitiously mixing my scotches with Coca Cola whenever they ran out of Jim Beam.

A few years later, I've given up the pretensions of trying to impress anyone with my liquor collection. At least until a bottle doesn't amount to half of my paycheck.

So here's my question:

What do you drink when you actually enjoy liquor but don't have the cash to get the great stuff? What is your favorite good enough liquor?

Booze + chocolate pairing question

availablelight — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:33:09 -0800

Booze + chocolate pairing question. What kind of alcohol (can be a beer, wine, or liquor--though I'd like to stay away from the complexity/expense of a cocktail if possible) would you pair with a chocolate + bacon cupcake? (Chocolate used for the cupcake = Ghirardelli cocoa powder + butter + buttermilk, etc.; bacon is a smoked Canadian import browned to a crisp).

Bonus points for not costing too much, or being to hard to find.

Drinking on the highrise?

emptyinside — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:35:31 -0800

I'm sure you've seen Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam. (link inside) Is that a bottle of booze in the hands of the guy on the right? Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam

Doesn't seem like the best place to get tipsy.

Drinks near Empire State Bldg?

fillsthepews — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:03:33 -0800

Nice place to have drinks with a client around Empire State Bldg? I'm out on the West Coast, and my boss has asked me to set up a meeting for drinks before a party @ the Empire State Bldg this weekend. Can you suggest anything in the blocks near the building? My google/yelp searching isn't really getting me in the correct area.

If there's no decent proper bars, a restaurant/bar would also be totally ok.

Thanks! Forgive my NYC ignorance!

Has this Tokaji gone bad?

negatendo — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 11:11:18 -0800

We have this bottle of Tokaji since 1999 or so (it's vintage is 1993). According to my girlfriend, during its lifetime and travels (from Hungary to the US and then from Boston to Denver) it's turned to a much darker amber color than when she originally bought it. We're worried it may have gone bad. I know very little about this wine so, if you think it's OK to drink (we're probably going to open it anyway just to see), any serving suggestions would be appreciated. Should it be paired like a white wine, or is it more for desert?

Here's a photo of the bottle.

Does my body need the booze?

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 07:51:12 -0800

You could call me an alcoholic in that I have drunk nearly every day for ten years. I am 34 years old. I am thin and healthy looking. Because I’m asking in part for medical advice I want to be very specific about the amount I drink. Generally I drink 500ml cans of beer. I do drink other things, but if you were to only count my consumption of these other things I would have drunk much less than the average person.

I started in 1998 drinking four 500ml cans of beer at 5% vol = 100ml of alcohol daily.

By around 2003 I was having eight 500ml cans of beer at 5% vol = 200ml of alcohol.

Nowadays I’ve cut down a little bit and drink weaker beer. Six to seven 500ml cans of beer at 4% vol = 120-140ml of alcohol daily.

I only really act like an alcoholic when I’m on my own, in my own home. When I go out, sure I might drink, when others around me are too, but I can have two-three drinks and stop. Sometimes I’ll have no drinks. To be honest, if I go to a party, have two or three drinks, and then come back to my own home, alone, then I will probably have another two or three drinks before bed. Still, if I’m at someone else’s place, if I am not alone, then there’s a good chance I won’t have anything to drink.

I drink because I get bored on my own and I worry about not being able to sleep. It’s kind of ridiculous. I don’t really feel so dependent on alchol or anything, more like someone who just sat around watching TV for a while – I just fell into a bad habit. Nobody knows I do it. I’m never late for work or hungover or anything. I don’t actually get drunk on this amount. By the end of the night I can walk in a straight line, and chat to people on the phone without them realising I was drunk. I have a girlfriend and she doesn’t know about it. I see her three or four times a week: a third of the time we don’t drink; a third of the time we’ll have one or two drinks; the remaining third we’ll share a bottle of wine, maybe more. So I do get a day off drinking quite often. Or, rather, I did, because I haven’t been seeing my girlfriend so often in the last couple of months, which has led to my drinking being truly daily, which is why I’m writing this and wanting to change.

Anyway, my plan was to just stop drinking at home, alone EVER. And carry on drinking like a normal person when I’m in company. I know some people will think this is not possible, but I think it’s the best thing for me to try right now, and I’d be smart enough to realise it wasn’t working if it wasn’t working. Then I might get a new plan.

So I didn’t bother drinking last night and I wasn’t going to bother drinking tonight. Then I read this post: http://ask.metafilter.com/42895/how-to-help-an-alcoholic-stop-drinking, in which suddenly stopping drinking is made out to be quite dangerous.

But the guy in that question seemed to be drinking at least double what I am. And, as I say, I’ve gone whole days without drinking quite frequently in the last year or so, including yesterday. I’m not sure if I’ve gone two days in a row, but certainly I’ll have done a day without, then a day with only one or two drinks before going back to normal.

Anyway, I hope that’s enough background info for this anonymous question. Now onto the actual questions. I am ideally looking for people who have some knowledge of alcohol abuse & how it is perfectly possible to live a relatively normal life in conjunction with it.

1. I drink a lot, I know, and have done for a long time. But do I drink a lot compared to people who drink a lot? I’m thinking not – I feel closer to the bottle-of-wine-a-day guy than the bottle-of-whisky. I’m sort of a lightweight, yeah, for a booze-fiend? But how fucked are my health in general and liver likely to be right now and in the long term?

2. How safe is it for me to stop drinking? In the other thread, the poster was warned:

The first 2 days should see you through the worst of it. Expect to be on edge, nervous, agitated, sweating, maybe headaches or visual disturbances (double vision and the like), perhaps sneezing and skin crawling/itching/disturbed sensation. Perhaps the more intrusive symptoms will be your thinking -- difficult in concentration, short tempered, a depressed and/or swinging mood and self doubts. [I hope you're seeing why having someone around will likely make all of this just a tad easier, if only to take your mind off yourself].

As I say, I’ve gone nearly two days without booze plenty of times. I’m on around 30 hours now. I don’t get any of these symptoms ever. I feel totally normal without the drink. Can’t I just go ahead and stop without telling anyone? Because I’m really not going to tell anyone, and if I can’t just stop on my own I’ll just have to cut down gradually, which would actually be much harder.

I might actually just start drinking two drinks a day until this question appears. I have a doctor’s appointment next week too, so don’t worry about me relying solely on the internet for advice. (The appointment is because I want to start doing some sports. I gave up smoking two weeks ago, now I’m gonna give up the booze, and I just wanna make sure I won’t have a heart attack or something.)

Hot booze in a pot.

availablelight — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:01:49 -0800

Your favorite hot booze in a pot recipe? I've done spiked cider, glogg, chai, and hot buttered rum. What other alcoholic beverages can I make and have simmering on the stove for party guests this winter that you can personally recommend? Bonus points if it's relatively simple, not too expensive to make in a large quantity (to serve 18-25), and not too sweet but still taste-friendly to guests who don't necessarily love the taste of booze.

Sloe Gin = Fast Dunk?

ninazer0 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:22:36 -0800

I'm the recipient of a bottle of sloe gin. While I love plain old G & T's, what else can I do with this interesting purple stuff? While there are many drinks sites out there the problem is that there are too many recipes and I've no idea how to start. This where I rely on you - the wise, the brave, the foolish - to narrow things down. Give me your best recipies involving sloe gin, AskMe! Pretty please?

I have a drinking problem. Now what?

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:48:44 -0800

My girlfriend says that she's going to leave me at the end of the week if I don't attempt to seek help for my drinking problem. Now what? To put it in perspective, I don't know if she'll actually leave me, but she's obviously doing a good job at expressing the fact that she's at her wits end.

I guess I do have a drinking problem, yeah. However, I'm totally in the stage where I'd rather just ignore it and carry on with my life. Is that what's best for me? Probably not, and I know that.

I'm successful in my career, and alcohol isn't interfering with that. My finances are a little bit messed up, but they're getting better and booze isn't the direct cause.

I'm a 28 year old male. I started binge drinking when I was in college. Now that I've been out of college, I still continue to binge (with my friends) about once/week. Sometimes a little bit less. I go out to the bar, and I'm not having a good time until I've had about 4 beers. From there, I'm incapable of stopping. I drink and drink and drink until the sun comes up or we run out of booze. As the years go by, it's getting worse and worse.

My girlfriend is worried about me (understandably so) because of risks that I take when I'm drunk. I get rides from strangers, I end up in strange places with people that I don't know. A few months ago, no one could find me for a few hours because I'd passed out in a neighbor's yard on my walk home. The latest incident, this past Saturday night, I ended up ditching friends to hang out with a stranger. My phone was off so no one could find me, but my girlfriend got in touch with my friends who told her that I'd left the party more than an hour ago. Essentially, I was missing. This is not uncommon.

So, yeah, I have a problem. I know it. I don't really want to stop drinking. Scratch that. I can't bear the thought of having to quit drinking. I keep thinking that if I can just learn to ride the buzz after a few drinks then I'll be fine. So far, that hasn't been possible. As soon as I start drinking I have no off switch.

Another thing to keep in mind is that I just get it into my head that I'm going to binge, and then I do so. At work and family functions, I'm always totally ok to go out and just have a drink or two. It's when I'm with my friends, where binging is acceptable, that I lose control.

These aren't just drinking buddies. They are my dearest friends from way back, and not hanging out with them anymore isn't an option. And it's not just their fault. If there's a band playing in town on a Saturday night, and friends don't want to come with me, I'll go out and binge by myself and end up hanging out with strangers. They're not as bad as me, by the way. They tell me that I drink too much too.

I'm very busy with work during the week, and taking a few hours off to go to a therapist is extraordinarily inconvenient. I might be able to find someone in the evening, but I dunno. This whole thing is a serious blow to my ego. I pride myself of being able to "work hard and play hard." That sounds lame, I know, but I guess what I'm saying is that I hope that moderation is somehow an option.

Where do I start? What do I do? Has anyone had success with learning how to drink in moderation? I don't feel AT ALL ready to just walk into an AA meeting ... that sounds like hell.