Do you drink to get drunk or to enjoy the drink?

31 comments

1. To enjoy the drink.

2. If you are drinking a bottle of vodka alone in an evening then I doubt it’s because “I really like the taste” is the reason…

3. Enjoy the drink. Don’t get me wrong, that 2-3 glass of wine feeling is quite enjoyable, but I wouldn’t say that was my overriding reason for buying a drink. If it were I might as well just buy a bottle of White Ace and be done with it.

4. Younger me – to get drunk. I grew out of that. Even on nights out now I don’t go too far.

   28 year old me – enjoy the drink. Something quite tranquil about sitting at home watching football drinking a glass of Jim Beam, coke and ice.

5. A bit of both, but let’s be honest – it’s mostly because I want to get a mild buzz. I do like the taste but you wouldn’t catch me popping open a bottle of non-alcoholic beer on a Friday evening because what’s the point. If all I cared about was taste I’d have a smoothie or something.

6. Definitely just enjoy the drink. Getting drunk can be an enjoyable byproduct. But most of the drinking I do doesn’t progress to being drunk, so it’s just because I enjoy the drink itself.

   I never drink home alone though, because alcohol is something I see as a social thing. And I never really drink spirits at all, whether in or out.

7. Enjoy the drink. I had a Budweiser earlier with tea and throughly enjoyed it.

8. Honestly, to get drunk. I don’t like any alcoholic drink enough to genuinely drink it for its flavour alone. I’d rather not drink at all than have just one, we all know alcohol is bad for your health, if I’m doing it, it’s to enjoy it. Perhaps i just have an alcoholic mindset but i think many people are like this but won’t admit it, claiming to drink a whole bottle of wine “just for the flavour” doesn’t really make sense

9. I’m the drink to get drunk (or to at least not be sober) type.

   I am also an alcoholic though, so clearly that didn’t work out too well for me. Now I don’t drink at all because once I start all bets are off.

   (as a side note I also grew up in a pub, worked in pubs, became an alcoholic I can spot the difference between the types of drinkers from a mile off by how they drink and act around drink – is my spidey sense).

10. Enjoy the drink but sometimes a factory reset is needed – unhealthy way to do it but we all have our mechanisms

11. At first it was “oh a glass of wine with dinner, I like the taste”
    Then it was “2 glasses because I like the taste AND how it relaxes me”

    Then that became “full bottle it is, life is shit, hate my job and my husband is a controlling twat”

    Now it’s “desperately want to stop, but can’t relax on an evening without it”

    Yes I’ve been to the GP, had a liver scan and blood tests… Filed for divorce last week, quit the shitty teaching job last summer. I WILL do this.

12. I drink to get drunk but it’s a major reason I don’t drink that often. Maybe once or twice a month I’ll have more than a few beers cause I want to cut loose and enjoy myself. Other than that I mostly drink water tea and coffee.

    My parents convinced themselves they drank for the taste but 1 or 2 turns into 4 or 5 and they end getting drunk every night anyway. Then when you are trying to get drunk it’s like 9 or 10 and oh look, they’re being arseholes again.

    No thanks! I know what drinking is for and I do it sparingly.

13. I can’t afford to get drunk.

14. 100% to enjoy the drink, I really have a problem when I go for drinks with other people and we end up somewhere miserable with crap choices, but it’s cheap. I’d much rather pay more, be somewhere nice drinking something nice.

15. Both. If I was drinking just to get drunk then I’d just buy the strongest cheapest stuff and get straight to the point. And if I drank just because I liked the taste then I’d drink something cheaper than alcoholic drinks tend to be these days.

    I like drinking to lower my inhibitions and as a social lubricant. I like enjoying something that tastes great alongside dinner but also gets me a sozzled on a Friday night.

16. I drink to get drunk, but not in a problematic way. If I was to only have one drink I would pick a coke before I would only have one beer. Alcohol can be fun but it doesn’t taste the best in my opinion so unless it is a night out I’ll pick a drink for it’s flavour.

17. Enjoy the drink, I have a problem

18. I only buy what I enjoy, in fact the only thing I dislike about beer is the fact that it’s alcoholic so I can’t enjoy more of it. I tend to only have 2-3 drinks at most.

19. Tastebuds have changed with age I feel. Things tasted different to how I remembered it when I was younger, and it led me to try lots of different drinks. Which eventually led me to have a whole counter full of different drinks. That said, it is a bit of both. I buy drinks to have that buzz with friends. But I no longer wish to get drunk for the sake of it. And if I do get drunk, I want it to be a pleasant experience, and it is a pleasant experience with good drinks.

    Problem with this though, is that despite drinking far far less alcohol than when I was younger, it costs me more than it ever did because I invite guests, and share my stash with friends.

20. I like drinking to be not TOTALY sober…also, I don’t want to be completely, staggeringly pissed.

21. I like some drinks. Real Ale is my thing and I’ll have one or two, sometimes three when we go to the pub, once or twice a week.

    Certainly can’t be doing with getting pissed.

22. used to drink just to get blackout fucked, nowadays i actually enjoy a cold pint after a hard days graft, goes down so well, wont even drink to get pissed just one or two, something about it that reaffirms my position as a functional member of society for some reason

    never drink spirits though unless its a birthday session l, or holiday where ill binge rum and cokes by the beach

23. Both, I enjoy the drink and getting a bit drunk helps me in social situations, else i’d be sat quietly in the corner. Don’t drink very often though.

24. I like to sip a whisky or glass of wine. I don’t like being drunk but I like the buzz you get after a couple of glasses. That’ll do for me.

25. I don’t like getting drunk anymore. Partly because hangovers with kids, is hard. But also because I just don’t like being out of control. I enjoy beers and the different tastes (not lager, that’s just piss) and like having a couple of pints occasionally.

    But maybe I’m old and boring in reality.

26. Depends on the context. You can’t beat the taste of an ice cold lager on a really hot day. It’s not about the effect of the alcohol at all, as much as the non alcoholic options claim to be as good, they’re not even close taste wise

27. I like to not be sober, and I like to drink tasty beverages on the way there.

28. I grew up in a pub too my not drinking much didn’t last long past first term at Uni though.

    I do like the taste, and I find researching and trying new drinks fun and interesting. I’d be lying if I said I don’t like the effect too though.

    Bottle of vodka, home alone is a little concerning if it’s a regular thing. One off/very rarely – not great but maybe nothing to get too worried about.

29. Very much for the enjoyment of the beer – it’s a few decades since I was last sufficiently drunk that anyone could tell the difference. Much as I love beer (especially strong things like imperial stouts) I hate how it feels next morning if I have too much. And annoyingly as I’ve got older, too much keeps getting less.

    I’d much rather have three extremely tasty beers than half a dozen that just taste OK.

    There’s also the fun of searching out interesting beers to sample. While I’ll end up trying quite a few I won’t rush to have again, there are so many wonderful delights to be found – like the stunning Brew York *Obi Wan Canolli* I found in Chelmsford last week.

30. Enjoy the drink. The upshot may be that I get drunk, but that’s not the reason I do it.

31. Yes

    I start off by enjoying it, and enjoy it again, and again . And before I know it, I’m face down on the floor