Rules for drinking

Feel a bit weird talking about this in the open but let’s see if the vulnerability helps me stick to some goals.

Last year I had a 6-month break from drinking alcohol. It felt pretty good, but I did miss the effects of alcohol. Since I’ve started drinking again, I’ve some times found it hard to control the amount I drink. And when I drink a lot, I don’t like the effects of alcohol!

So I’m trying out some light rules for drinking. The goal is to maximise my enjoyment of alcohol while reducing the amount I drink.

There was a longer list of 8 rules I came up with before, but I felt that was too many. These 4 rules are much shorter, easier to remember, and possibly easier to follow.

Wine over beer.
Never alone.
Low/no first.
2 drinks max.

Wine is beautiful. The range of flavours in a bit of fermented grape juice, it really blows my mind! Whereas beer doesn’t delight me so much. So I’ll drink wine instead of beer.

The effects of alcohol are best when shared. It’s a social activity, one that lubricates the gears of conversation and makes us happy. So it’s better to have a drink with other people, never alone.

Low- and no-alcohol drinks taste good, and they’re abundant these days. Instead of diving straight in to a boozy drink, I’ll quench my thirst with a low/no first.

In a bid to savour every drop, to be more mindful about my drinking, I’ll have 2 drinks maximum. That’s a bottle of wine shared with a friend.