Experimented with Alcohol yesterday

[Jumpinbare]

So the retired nerd decided to experiment with alcohol yesterday. As a Lieutenant in the Air Force, I decided to see what people saw in drinking. So I tasted 4 different brands of beer over a couple of days. Hated them all. Had already tasted red wine at an ROTC dining in, and a guy at a party slipped vodka into my orange juice and couldn't believe I could taste the vodka when I spit it back into the glass. Apparently one of my oversensitivities is to the taste of alcohol. I find it very bitter in any drinks I have tasted. And I literally mean tasted, because each of them were so bad tasting to me I did not try a second sip. Obviously, I have never been even close to drunk or even buzzed.

My late wife used to enjoy wine coolers and occasionally a red wine when relaxing at home. I never shared it because of the above. Yesterday, I found one of her unopened bottles and decided to force enough down to try to get "mellow". I still didn't want to get drunk. I have enough health issues and my dyspraxia is bad enough I don't need further impairment from being drunk.

So I looked up blood alcohol tables for my weight, the wine strength, and what was considered drunk. In Florida, 0.1% blood alcohol is legally drunk. So I calculated for a level of .06%. As expected, it was nasty, but I got it down. According to the chart I was using, it would take about 48 minutes to reach .06, then it should taper down over 4 hours.
(Everyone does this analysis before drinking, right ? ). So I kept myself busy for a while rather than just waiting around so I would notice if anything noteworthy happened.

As time went on, I started feeling a little sluggish, and I noticed I was having more than normal difficulty focusing. At around 50 minutes, I began feeling a fullness in my ears, similar to the change in air pressure going up in a plane. I did not feel more cheerful, silly, or festive. I noticed no improvement at all. I just felt - off.

I went to bed at my normal time, and layed there not the least bit drowsy. I got bored laying there awake and posted here several times, and surfed the net in general several times during the night. Morning came around and still not drowsy. At 7:30 I was too hungry to keep laying there, so got up and had breakfast. I figured I would crash during the day and nap as needed. Still going. Have not slept now in over 36 hours, and while fatigued, have not experienced any drowsiness since Thursday night. (Maybe a novel treatment for my narcolepsy? - except I'd actually like sleeping at night.)

I think I can say I have given the alcohol experience a fair trial. It is not compatible with me, apparently. I'm not bothered by that since I hate the taste anyway. Hopefully, I will sleep tonight.

 

[Au Naturel]

So the retired nerd decided to experiment with alcohol yesterday. As a Lieutenant in the Air Force, I decided to see what people saw in drinking. So I tasted 4 different brands of beer over a couple of days. Hated them all. Had already tasted red wine at an ROTC dining in, and a guy at a party slipped vodka into my orange juice and couldn't believe I could taste the vodka when I spit it back into the glass. Apparently one of my oversensitivities is to the taste of alcohol. I find it very bitter in any drinks I have tasted. And I literally mean tasted, because each of them were so bad tasting to me I did not try a second sip. Obviously, I have never been even close to drunk or even buzzed.

My late wife used to enjoy wine coolers and occasionally a red wine when relaxing at home. I never shared it because of the above. Yesterday, I found one of her unopened bottles and decided to force enough down to try to get "mellow". I still didn't want to get drunk. I have enough health issues and my dyspraxia is bad enough I don't need further impairment from being drunk.

So I looked up blood alcohol tables for my weight, the wine strength, and what was considered drunk. In Florida, 0.1% blood alcohol is legally drunk. So I calculated for a level of .06%. As expected, it was nasty, but I got it down. According to the chart I was using, it would take about 48 minutes to reach .06, then it should taper down over 4 hours.
(Everyone does this analysis before drinking, right ? ). So I kept myself busy for a while rather than just waiting around so I would notice if anything noteworthy happened.

As time went on, I started feeling a little sluggish, and I noticed I was having more than normal difficulty focusing. At around 50 minutes, I began feeling a fullness in my ears, similar to the change in air pressure going up in a plane. I did not feel more cheerful, silly, or festive. I noticed no improvement at all. I just felt - off.

I went to bed at my normal time, and layed there not the least bit drowsy. I got bored laying there awake and posted here several times, and surfed the net in general several times during the night. Morning came around and still not drowsy. At 7:30 I was too hungry to keep laying there, so got up and had breakfast. I figured I would crash during the day and nap as needed. Still going. Have not slept now in over 36 hours, and while fatigued, have not experienced any drowsiness since Thursday night. (Maybe a novel treatment for my narcolepsy? - except I'd actually like sleeping at night.)

I think I can say I have given the alcohol experience a fair trial. It is not compatible with me, apparently. I'm not bothered by that since I hate the taste anyway. Hopefully, I will sleep tonight.

To each their own. Alcohol drinks are an acquired taste. Some drinks are better tasting than others. Beer and red wine are both appealing to a particular palette. White wine to a different palette. I like dry white wines like a Pinot Grisio, mixed drinks like Margueritas, Irish Cream liquor, even a good whiskey. Beer is an off-again and-off-again thing and varies wildly with taste.

A glass of wine or a mixed drink (or two) before bed helps me go to sleep. It loosens me up at a party and helps me let go of my social anxiety. This, in turn, wakes me up despite alcohol being a CNS depressant.

If I'm already down, alcohol makes me even more down. I never drink if I'm depressed.

I monitor my drinking. For me, there is a fine line between drinking enough to enjoy an otherwise stressful activity and drinking enough that I start dancing naked with a lampshade on my head. Sometimes, that's not socially acceptable.

There's another fine line between that and nausea, vertigo, and barfing. Either line leads to hangovers of varying degrees. (I figured all that out when I was a much younger man. )

I metabolize about a half ounce of alcohol per hour and time it not to drink too soon before leaving. Or have my wife drive.

 

[Jumpinbare]

if you wear the lampshade home, is the proper etiquette to return it the following day, or trade it for your clothes at the next party?

 

[Au Naturel]

if you wear the lampshade home, is the proper etiquette to return it the following day, or trade it for your clothes at the next party?

If I wore the lampshade home, I wouldn't be able to see to drive. The lampshade would have to stay there.

My wife would have made me get my clothes on before I left. But when I was young and single...

 

[Kalinychta]

If I wore the lampshade home, I wouldn't be able to see to drive.

Not if you cut eye holes in it.

 

[Jumpinbare]

I was invited to a pool party when I was in the Air Force. The host was another Ham radio operator, and every time he invited one of the locals over the radio, he specifically told them to bring a swimsuit or not according to their preference. I was doing something else nearby, and swung by the pool party afterward. I wasn't in shorts, and didn't own an actual swimsuit. When I got there, most folks had lined up at the barbecue grill for dinner. I had eaten at my other thing, so I went straight to the pool, stripped naked and dove in. The few people at the pool took it in stride. I even got a thumbs up or two. When the host came back to the pool, he was absolutely incredulous that I had taken him literally. I pointed out if he didn't want people skinny dipping, he shouldn't have promoted it so much in his invitations.

 

[Fino]

I used to find that sour drinks covered up the taste of alcohol best, such as a midori sour.

 

[Slime_Punk]

When I was a drinker, I used to really like wine coolers, twisted teas and things like that before I developed a taste for beer. I found that even though alcohol was gross, they seemingly masked the taste enough for me, but I could see having a lower threshold for the taste of alcohol making this tougher for sure.

Nowadays I still love N/A beers though. The plus side to them is that you never have to battle with the taste of alcohol, and can just enjoy the mellow that the hops provide. No hangover, either

 

[Progster]

I like the taste of some alcoholic drinks, but I don't like being drunk.

 

[Kalinychta]

So the retired nerd decided to experiment with alcohol yesterday. As a Lieutenant in the Air Force, I decided to see what people saw in drinking. So I tasted 4 different brands of beer over a couple of days. Hated them all. Had already tasted red wine at an ROTC dining in, and a guy at a party slipped vodka into my orange juice and couldn't believe I could taste the vodka when I spit it back into the glass. Apparently one of my oversensitivities is to the taste of alcohol. I find it very bitter in any drinks I have tasted. And I literally mean tasted, because each of them were so bad tasting to me I did not try a second sip. Obviously, I have never been even close to drunk or even buzzed.

My late wife used to enjoy wine coolers and occasionally a red wine when relaxing at home. I never shared it because of the above. Yesterday, I found one of her unopened bottles and decided to force enough down to try to get "mellow". I still didn't want to get drunk. I have enough health issues and my dyspraxia is bad enough I don't need further impairment from being drunk.

So I looked up blood alcohol tables for my weight, the wine strength, and what was considered drunk. In Florida, 0.1% blood alcohol is legally drunk. So I calculated for a level of .06%. As expected, it was nasty, but I got it down. According to the chart I was using, it would take about 48 minutes to reach .06, then it should taper down over 4 hours.
(Everyone does this analysis before drinking, right ? ). So I kept myself busy for a while rather than just waiting around so I would notice if anything noteworthy happened.

As time went on, I started feeling a little sluggish, and I noticed I was having more than normal difficulty focusing. At around 50 minutes, I began feeling a fullness in my ears, similar to the change in air pressure going up in a plane. I did not feel more cheerful, silly, or festive. I noticed no improvement at all. I just felt - off.

I went to bed at my normal time, and layed there not the least bit drowsy. I got bored laying there awake and posted here several times, and surfed the net in general several times during the night. Morning came around and still not drowsy. At 7:30 I was too hungry to keep laying there, so got up and had breakfast. I figured I would crash during the day and nap as needed. Still going. Have not slept now in over 36 hours, and while fatigued, have not experienced any drowsiness since Thursday night. (Maybe a novel treatment for my narcolepsy? - except I'd actually like sleeping at night.)

I think I can say I have given the alcohol experience a fair trial. It is not compatible with me, apparently. I'm not bothered by that since I hate the taste anyway. Hopefully, I will sleep tonight.

What’s the reason you decided to experiment with alcohol in the first place? You said you’ve never liked it in the past.

 

[Suzanne]

My husband and I was having this kind of conversation the other day, actually. Because, we went to see some friends and my husband handed me a glass of liquid. I trusted him, because he knows I do not like alcohol and as soon as I took a sip, I tasted the nasty bitterness of alcohol and it was confirmed by the lady of the house that she had put alcohol in it! I forgive my husband, because he really had no idea at the time.

So, he argued that it is impossible to taste alcohol, despite everything I said, because he can't taste it.

He loves wine and whisky and when we are shopping, I disappear when he is choosing wine, because I find it mindblowing boring!

I have drunk it in my younger years, but in truth, it really was to get drunk, because I could not deal with associations and sadly was told that I was far more fun when drunk.

Ironically though, I have never been drunk; just very tipsy and in effect, drunk myself sober lol

I did wonder why I was so different from others, when the majority around me, likes alcohol? But, came to the conclusion that I did not like the effect, so stopped forcing myself to drink it.

Lol random here. I would be hated in my favourite country Korea, since they are heavy drinkers!

 

[tazz]

I tasted 4 different brands of beer

There is a HUGE difference between mass-produced industrial scale beer (usually lager) and small-scale "craft" beer (usually ale). They are totally different drinks.

I say this only because many people have said to me that they don't like beer after tasting only the mainstream big brands (anything that sponsors soccer for example). But when they taste a real ale, they are really surprised how different it is.

So, maybe you tried some craft ale in your selection, but if not - it might be worth giving it a go.

Also, here in the UK, there has been a surge in popularity of non-alcoholic beer. Mainly I think this is because the craft ale producers have found a way to remove the alcohol without the end result tasting like soap mixed with used engine oil. Again, the big beer companies also have alcohol-free options but they are utterly undrinkable. Whereas the craft beer alcohol-free options are now really quite nice.

I've been a big ale drinker for many years, but only because I liked the different tastes so I enjoy trying them all - not because of the alcohol and wanting to get drunk. So now I've switched to the alcohol-free stuff.

The reviews on this site are quite reliable: https://www.ratebeer.com/

 

[Metalhead]

I love alcohol way too much. Which is why I parted with it. I still miss it sometimes.

 

[Jumpinbare]

What’s the reason you decided to experiment with alcohol in the first place? You said you’ve never liked it in the past.

To see what the attaction was. My late wife never got drunk while we were married, but she did like to have one drink. She said it helped her to unwind. I have seen a number of comments (including on this forum) saying alcohol helped people be less anxious. I thought there must be some sort of euphoria associated with moderate drinking, and I wanted the experience to evaluate it. It literally was in the nature of an experiment.

 

[Jumpinbare]

The rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say, was that I did in fact get a good night's sleep last night finally

 

[Kaz2012]

I don't like beer, but do like wine and cocktails. I get drunk easily so 2 or 3 drinks are enough. I find it helps me talk and stress less in social situations, so I do drink when I go out to dinner with people - and also at family gatherings. Agree it helps me with social anxiety. At home I don't drink.

 

[Au Naturel]

I was invited to a pool party when I was in the Air Force. The host was another Ham radio operator, and every time he invited one of the locals over the radio, he specifically told them to bring a swimsuit or not according to their preference. I was doing something else nearby, and swung by the pool party afterward. I wasn't in shorts, and didn't own an actual swimsuit. When I got there, most folks had lined up at the barbecue grill for dinner. I had eaten at my other thing, so I went straight to the pool, stripped naked and dove in. The few people at the pool took it in stride. I even got a thumbs up or two. When the host came back to the pool, he was absolutely incredulous that I had taken him literally. I pointed out if he didn't want people skinny dipping, he shouldn't have promoted it so much in his invitations.

When I was a young guy, I'd go to Mensa parties. They were about the only ones where I didn't feel like a fish out of water. Often, there'd be a pool/jacuzzi. I'd ask the host if they were cool with it, and they usually said yes. And that was that. Rarely heard any complaints, and the responses were usually positive. Probably, at least in part, because most Mensa members were pretty open-minded. They have since become far less active. I've also moved out of LA, so they aren't geographically convenient anymore. I haven't been involved with them for a couple of decades.

After 1 drink, depending on how much I've eaten, I might feel it. After 2 drinks I'm feeling socially loose. This is when I decide I'm not driving until it wears off. After 3 drinks, I'm reaching for a lampshade, but after 4 drinks, I'm wretching over the toilet. It is a fine line. Haven't gone to 3 drinks in a while. It's a young guy's thing and I'm not a young guy anymore.

Most nights nowadays, it is a glass of wine and off to bed.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I have only been drunk a couple of times in my life, do not like the feeling. not interested in doing it again.

 

[Kalinychta]

I have seen a number of comments (including on this forum) saying alcohol helped people be less anxious. I thought there must be some sort of euphoria associated with moderate drinking, and I wanted the experience to evaluate it.

You had wine coolers, you said? How many of them? Different types of alcohol have different effects on mood. For example, bourbon makes me feel really, really jolly, and white wine makes me emotional.

Of course it also matters how much you consume and how quickly you consume it. And wine coolers have a lot of sugar, so that could be why you couldn’t sleep.

 

[Jumpinbare]

You had wine coolers, you said? How many of them? Different types of alcohol have different effects on mood. For example, bourbon makes me feel really, really jolly, and white wine makes me emotional.

Of course it also matters how much you consume and how quickly you consume it. And wine coolers have a lot of sugar, so that could be why you couldn’t sleep.

I guess I was ambiguous there. My wife liked wine coolers, but the only drinks of hers left were 4 unopened 375 ml bottles of Sangria. After consulting the above mentioned tables, I drank one 375 ml bottle as quick as I could get it down. I knew I wouldn't like the taste, so I was essentially taking it like medicine.