How Many Drinks Do You Consume A Week?

[Sweetmeats]

I went to a specialist the other day ( my ear hurt ) and this question was on the form for me to fill out. Well, I lied. I felt embarrassed. If I told the truth, which is probably 14, I felt like they would think I'm an alcoholic. But the truth is, I can't remember the last time I got drunk. I probably have a combined total of a shot and a half a night. Am I alone? Since this is relatively anonymous, how about everybody else? Do you guys drink nightly? Weekends? What?

[jeff]

If you count wine, beer and bourbon, I guess I average 2 drinks per night, like yourself. I tend to have a half-shot of bourbon before dinner, a glass (maybe two) of wine with dinner and possibly a nip of port or sherry before bedtime. I can't remember the last time I had more than 3 drinks in one evening, Bourbon Festival excluded

[ratcheer]

There was a huge thread on this same question (I think it was a POLL) some time back, but my searching skills aren't good enough to find it.

Tim

[luv2hunt]

If you labeled your drinking as 1-2 drinks per night, they're not going to worry about you, but they are going to ask you about binge drinking on the weekends.

If you have heart disease, are on certain medications, or have a family history of alcoholism, they may ask you to limit your drinking to one per night.

Telling the truth is always better. Atleast it gives your doctor the opportunity to check your liver function if he believes your drinking is excessive. BTW.....one to two drinks per night is not going to kill your liver!

Dawn

[Joe_Blowe]

IMO, most doctors aren't very "enlightened" when it comes to alcohol consumption. If you tell them you consume 2 or 3 servings of alcohol per day, responsibly and with absolutely no binge drinking ever, I bet you that most doctors will still question your motives.

I was profoundly motivated by the 60 Minutes episode in 1991 regarding the "French Paradox." I'm sure it's easily one of their most important episodes EVER. A watershed event in the way Americans view alcohol consumption. Red wine sales shot up dramatically after it aired, and that's basically around the same time I began to view alcohol as a "preventative medicine."

Ever since then, going on 14 years now, I never miss my evening intake (2~3 servings). Whether it's red wine, beer, bourbon, or whatever, I have to have my daily measure or it almost feels like I've forgotten to take my meds!

[camduncan]

Most weeks I consume 2-3 drinks 3 or 4 nights a week.

On weekends, it's sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the social circumstances of the weekend in question.

Then there are weeks like this week where I don't touch a drop.

My (personal) concern at the moment is my tendancy to put coke in my bourbon on weekends (it's not always practical to carry a bottle and glass to someone else's place) It's not unusual to consume 4 or 5 cans of coke with bourbon (usually Jim Beam) when I'm at a BBQ or party. Lately, the calories and sugar in coke is worrying me

[gr8erdane]

For me that's a complex question. During my work week I don't touch a drop because I pretty much work, sleep, and go back to work since I work 12 hr shifts. That's 3 or 4 days a week. On my nights off I tend to pour small amounts in my glass but have several. On thursday night during our chats I tend to pour a little more liberally and usually have 3-4 but they seem to go down so much easier when talking to Bourbonians.

As far as being healthy, doesn't alcohol kill germs?

[lakegz]

im pretty inconsistent. The only thing that is consistent with my drinking habits is my binge drinking on Friday or Saturday when i go out to clubs. Ill usually have 5 drinks throughout the whole night, (im a light weight so thats enough to get me drunk and happy all night)

during the week ill probably have tastings every 2 or 3 days and the amount varies between 1-3 drinks on those nights. on average, id say 1.33 drinks on those nights.

[jspero]

I'm mostly a weekend drinker. Once in a while I'll have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner during the week. On the weekends, I usually have about 3 shots per night Friday through Sunday. I might have enought to get drunk once a year. I also tend to drink more when I'm on travel, mostly because the people I travel with drink more.

[kbuzbee]

I'm mostly a weekend drinker. Once in a while I'll have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner during the week. On the weekends, I usually have about 3 shots per night Friday through Sunday. I might have enought to get drunk once a year. I also tend to drink more when I'm on travel, mostly because the people I travel with drink more.

This almost exactly described me until I retired... Now I have a more constant, consistant (and relaxed) schedule. Almost every evening, between 9-11 pm, I'll have 3-6 oz. Depending on the choice of glassware and whether I want one or two different Bourbons it may be in one pour or two.

Saying someone has 2 drinks an evening doesn't say much unless you quantify those drinks, 4 oz of 86 proof is ALOT less than 6 oz of 140 proof (1.7 oz alcohol vs 4.2 oz!).

I'm also curious about "when" you have a drink (Jeff's dialog was great!). As I said, I generally have a drink around 9-9:30 and finish around 10:30. On nice evenings, when we sit out in the yard, I'll also have a finger of Wild Turkey in a 16 oz tumbler of water and ice.

Enjoy!!

Ken

[halpap]

I tend to have one 1oz. shot of bourbon or scotch (usually bourbon) a night (never more during the work week). On weekends I sometimes indulge and have two such shots. I don't drink beer or wine.

[Bamber]

4-5 drinks a night. Pretty much every night

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Hi Bamber,

I, too, drink more that others who have posted here. I don't really know how many drinks a week. (I take that to mean how many 12 oz. beer equivalents) Tonight I had a beer with friends after work, a less than 12 oz. beer, and then a three fluid oz. pour of 90 proof ORVW 10 year old. That would be a little more than two cans of beer for a total of three beer equivalents. That is a light night of drinking for me.

Ed

[Joe_Blowe]

Should've mentioned in my previous post that I use the standard "DMV measurement" as a typical serving: “One drink†is a 1 ½-ounce shot of 80-proof liquor (even if mixed with non-alcoholic drinks), a 5-ounce glass of 12% wine, or a 12-ounce glass of 5% beer.

[clayton]

I drink whisk(e)y 3-4 nights a week.

The evenings where I have training, I drink water and go to bed. I'm too tired and dehydrated to enjoy alcohol.

On non-training days and the weekend, I typically have 1-2 per evening. These are about 2 oz pours of whatever I'm in the mood for, usually in the evening hours after dinner. I rarely drink on an empty stomach.

[bourbonchef1189]

I have to admit it's not just the taste of bourbon but the slight buzz I get from the two or three bourbons on the rocks I enjoy just about every night. I'm on call about five nights a month for my Dept. and of course I have to refrain from my favorite past time.

[wrbriggs]

I would say I average 2-3 drinks per night, usually a few more on the weekend (maybe 5 or 6), but that is because I typically have a few drinks in the afternoon on weekends, whereas on weekdays I don't get home from work until 6:00 or so. I rarely am drunk, but would categorize myself as "mildly buzzed" quite often.

To quote an old cliche, if this is wrong, then I don't want to be right.

[CrispyCritter]

My typical night features two 50-60 ml pours, although the proof varies, and I sometimes go with one or three. 50 ml fills a Glencairn at or just above its widest point.

Occasionally I'll have four, and once in a very great while I'll quite purposely get snockered.

Other than a rare beer with lunch or dinner, I normally don't drink before 6 PM.

Oddly, I find it easier to get drunk with 80-proof whiskies; something like Stagg has to be very slowly sipped and savored, and that tends to put on the brakes on the Plastered Express.

[jspero]

I'm also curious about "when" you have a drink (Jeff's dialog was great!). As I said, I generally have a drink around 9-9:30 and finish around 10:30. On nice evenings, when we sit out in the yard, I'll also have a finger of Wild Turkey in a 16 oz tumbler of water and ice.

Enjoy!!

Ken

I do most of my drinkning between 8:00pm and 9:30pm. I have an early schedule (up at 4:00am) that I can't break out of on the weekends, so I'm usually in bed by 9:30 or when I feeling really wild, 10:00. I generally wait until the kiddies are in bed so I can take my time and enjoy it instead of gulping.

Jay

[kbuzbee]

Oddly, I find it easier to get drunk with 80-proof whiskies; something like Stagg has to be very slowly sipped and savored, and that tends to put on the brakes on the Plastered Express.

CC - That makes perfect sense for exactly the reason you cite. The only two times I've had a serious bender in the last year were on a sweet blush wine and these killer Margarita's I made one evening. Both were just delicious with none of the high proof warning signs. They said 'drink me fast and just keep going'. Wrong decision

The high proof and the very intensly flavored bourbon's get sipped very slowly and yield a gentle buzz. Nice!

Ken

[Chaz7]

In January, I had a heart attack. I'm 47,and at the time I had borderline blood pressure and LDL (bad chlorestrol) of 102 (optimum is below 100).I was on the way to my fathers funeral, so it was pretty much stress related (I am also a business owner, 'nuff said)I now drink more consistantly than ever before, which is 2 pours a night. In cardiotherapy, they stressed drinking was fine, at 1 glass a night, although red wine has the most benefits. While I was on the blood thinner Cumadin, I was told not to alter my drinking habits, as blood thinners are monitored and adjusted weekly, and it would impact the tests. And the time, I limit bourbon to after 5pm, sipping them slowly over the course of a few hours; of course wine or beer is sometimes served on weekend lunches. BTW, I almost always have two different pours. It's more fun that way.

[Gillman]

Wishing you well on your recovery and if moderate alcohol can be a part it as approved by physicians that sounds good.

I guess I have drink or two most evenings. Sometimes I miss a night, but not too often. Once in a while I'll take in a little more, eg., in Bardstown or at parties here on the weekend. Occaisonally I stop for a couple of weeks or so, because it is a good discipline to do that I think. Also, my overall consumption pattern has not changed (or very much) for almost 30 years. The only change I can detect is I drink better liquor now.

I don't think drinking at this level can be problematic. Certainly it is good to think about it though. My mom always told me to be conscious of it and how much I was taking in and I've never forgotten that. I suppose at some level having a drink almost every day is a "habit" but then so is drinking coffee and eating; there aren't many days in the last 30 years I've missed doing that. I think we all know when a line is crossed and it may be different for each person. Some people have a low tolerance level, some higher. I've always eaten when I have a drink, usually I like a drink before dinner and almost never have one after. And almost never during the day, my work does not allow it but also I am not inclined, that is not the "time" for it. Also, I like to drink fast. It is interesting to read how other people like to take a drink, everyone does it differently from others. I suppose in a perfect world we wouldn't need alcohol but as my favourite drinks writer Frederic Martin has written, it can be a "gay partner" (used in the older non-sexual sense) and not a "crutch" where used right and I think I use it right. The main adverse effect it has on me is weight-related, alcohol is very fattening unfortunately. Alcohol education is vital and it is important to understand that it is not for everyone, or for everyone frequently or very often. Everyone has to carve out his relationship to it who likes a drink and, as Churchill famously said, ensure you get more out of it than it gets out of you. That sums up my attitude to it, I guess. But I'll confess to a puritanical streak about it, I'm always of two minds in the sense of trying to remember it is a psychoactive drug and must not be allowed to get out of hand.

[NorCalBoozer]

I think exercise is a key ingredient. You can get away with lots of things (eat bad, drink a lot) but if you exercise it has such a beneficial effect on your heart.

I'm not a doctor or anything but when I see friends who have health problems, those that are active always seem to fair better in surgury and recovery vs non active people.

seems like exercise can help make up for myriad health sins.

[kbuzbee]

Well said, Gary. A most thoughtful response I enjoyed reading very much.

Ken

[cowdery]

Here's a really simple rule of thumb. If you think you might be drinking too much, you probably are.