4 ms·

I'd like to know more about Americans not drinking hard alcohol. Doesn't seem to be the case here in Canada.

by ptolts 14y ago

gruseom 14y ago
I suspect he means that Americans don't drink hard alcohol by Russian standards.
duaneb 14y ago
It seems to be a practice mostly abandoned here after college as a sign of immaturity. Or at least, that's what my New England sensibility says.
- untog 14y ago
  Drinking hard alcohol? Really? I'd say drinking beer drops off more after college than hard liquor. I am anecdotal evidence of course, but these days I drink more scotch and less beer.
  - shardling 14y ago
    While I know several people whose drinking habits have followed that trajectory, that's more because they can now afford it than anything else.
AnthonyMouse 14y ago
I don't think there is any absence of it so much as a difference in degree when compared with certain other cultures. That's the thing with the melting pot: You can find a little of everything, including people who don't drink. I think the prevalence of workaholics may have something to do with it too. Drinking on the job is very seriously looked down upon here, but if you can't drink while you're working and you're always working then you're never drinking.
- mistermumble 14y ago
  I think this has changed over time, from the three-martini lunch of Mad Men in the 1950s, to (say) two-martinis in the 1970s to perhaps one-martini in the late 1990s. I remember a working for a software company years ago where the "old guy" on that particular group would have two beers when we went out to lunch mid-week. The young guys chose caffeine.
  - vadman 14y ago
    The drinks used to be much smaller in the 1950's, so 3 martinis would not derail your day. Source: http://www.amazon.com/Hows-Your-Drink-Cocktails-Drinking/dp/157284101X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355287283&sr=8-1&keywords=how%27s+your+drink http://www.amazon.com/Hows-Your-Drink-Cocktails-Drinking/dp/...
  - mmariani 14y ago
    Usually when I have wine at lunch, my coding productivity improves. On the other hand, with caffeine not so much.
  - gadders 14y ago
    Same in the UK. No-one drinks at lunchtime any more :-(
    - corford 14y ago
      One of the things I like about France (as an Englishman living here) is that it's still normal for people to have a glass or two of wine at lunch. I think it's remained in the culture because most businesses give their staff two hours for lunch and subsidised meal tickets they can use at any participating restaurant (which is pretty much all of them). Who wouldn't have a glass or two in that setup? :)
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
rdtsc 14y ago
Well it is something else in Russia. Unfortunately it is ingrained into the social interaction protocol. You are setting up a business deal, you are expected to have a drink with a person. Family gatherings -- same thing. Now this is all based what people in their 40 and older do. Not really sure how younger kids act these days anymore. Alcohol and drunkenness is a national scourge. Imagine drinking vodka in the volumes of that Americans drink beer. You know, nice tall glasses. Polishing off a half liter bottle of Vodka in one sitting between two people is not really seen as a spectacular feat just basic stuff.
- xentronium 14y ago
  > Well it is something else in Russia. Unfortunately it is ingrained into the social interaction protocol. You are setting up a business deal, you are expected to have a drink with a person. Family gatherings -- same thing. Gatherings — yes. Business — not necessarily. At least, anecdotal evidence of my various relatives doing small to medium scale business doesn't seem to confirm that. > Now this is all based what people in their 40 and older do. Not really sure how younger kids act these days anymore. > Alcohol and drunkenness is a national scourge. Imagine drinking vodka in the volumes of that Americans drink beer. You know, nice tall glasses. Polishing off a half liter bottle of Vodka in one sitting between two people is not really seen as a spectacular feat just basic stuff. Unfortunately, younger kids mostly act like their older role models with regard to smoking and drinking. I always feel so lonely in a drunken company :( ___ This raises a question: how realistic are high school parties in US as depicted in various movies? As in: gathering lots of people in someone's house and bringing lots of booze via fake ids?
  - abrahamepton 14y ago
    > This raises a question: how realistic are high school parties in US as depicted in various movies? As in: gathering lots of people in someone's house and bringing lots of booze via fake ids? I went to high school at a public school in Chicago, and was (am) a nerd, so I never even heard about such things. But my wife, who went to high school in the suburbs of Denver, went to a few such parties - sometimes, if the parents were cool, they'd supply the booze. America!

I'd like to know more about Americans not drinking hard alcohol. Doesn't seem to be the case here in Canada.

by ptolts 14y ago

I'd like to know more about Americans not drinking hard alcohol. Doesn't seem to be the case here in Canada.

gruseom 14y ago

I suspect he means that Americans don't drink hard alcohol by Russian standards.

duaneb 14y ago

It seems to be a practice mostly abandoned here after college as a sign of immaturity. Or at least, that's what my New England sensibility says.

untog 14y ago
Drinking hard alcohol? Really? I'd say drinking beer drops off more after college than hard liquor. I am anecdotal evidence of course, but these days I drink more scotch and less beer.
- shardling 14y ago
  While I know several people whose drinking habits have followed that trajectory, that's more because they can now afford it than anything else.

AnthonyMouse 14y ago

I don't think there is any absence of it so much as a difference in degree when compared with certain other cultures. That's the thing with the melting pot: You can find a little of everything, including people who don't drink. I think the prevalence of workaholics may have something to do with it too. Drinking on the job is very seriously looked down upon here, but if you can't drink while you're working and you're always working then you're never drinking.

mistermumble 14y ago
I think this has changed over time, from the three-martini lunch of Mad Men in the 1950s, to (say) two-martinis in the 1970s to perhaps one-martini in the late 1990s. I remember a working for a software company years ago where the "old guy" on that particular group would have two beers when we went out to lunch mid-week. The young guys chose caffeine.
- vadman 14y ago
  The drinks used to be much smaller in the 1950's, so 3 martinis would not derail your day. Source: http://www.amazon.com/Hows-Your-Drink-Cocktails-Drinking/dp/157284101X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355287283&sr=8-1&keywords=how%27s+your+drink http://www.amazon.com/Hows-Your-Drink-Cocktails-Drinking/dp/...
- mmariani 14y ago
  Usually when I have wine at lunch, my coding productivity improves. On the other hand, with caffeine not so much.
- gadders 14y ago
  Same in the UK. No-one drinks at lunchtime any more :-(
  - corford 14y ago
    One of the things I like about France (as an Englishman living here) is that it's still normal for people to have a glass or two of wine at lunch. I think it's remained in the culture because most businesses give their staff two hours for lunch and subsidised meal tickets they can use at any participating restaurant (which is pretty much all of them). Who wouldn't have a glass or two in that setup? :)

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

rdtsc 14y ago

Well it is something else in Russia. Unfortunately it is ingrained into the social interaction protocol. You are setting up a business deal, you are expected to have a drink with a person. Family gatherings -- same thing. Now this is all based what people in their 40 and older do. Not really sure how younger kids act these days anymore. Alcohol and drunkenness is a national scourge. Imagine drinking vodka in the volumes of that Americans drink beer. You know, nice tall glasses. Polishing off a half liter bottle of Vodka in one sitting between two people is not really seen as a spectacular feat just basic stuff.

xentronium 14y ago
> Well it is something else in Russia. Unfortunately it is ingrained into the social interaction protocol. You are setting up a business deal, you are expected to have a drink with a person. Family gatherings -- same thing. Gatherings — yes. Business — not necessarily. At least, anecdotal evidence of my various relatives doing small to medium scale business doesn't seem to confirm that. > Now this is all based what people in their 40 and older do. Not really sure how younger kids act these days anymore. > Alcohol and drunkenness is a national scourge. Imagine drinking vodka in the volumes of that Americans drink beer. You know, nice tall glasses. Polishing off a half liter bottle of Vodka in one sitting between two people is not really seen as a spectacular feat just basic stuff. Unfortunately, younger kids mostly act like their older role models with regard to smoking and drinking. I always feel so lonely in a drunken company :( ___ This raises a question: how realistic are high school parties in US as depicted in various movies? As in: gathering lots of people in someone's house and bringing lots of booze via fake ids?
- abrahamepton 14y ago
  > This raises a question: how realistic are high school parties in US as depicted in various movies? As in: gathering lots of people in someone's house and bringing lots of booze via fake ids? I went to high school at a public school in Chicago, and was (am) a nerd, so I never even heard about such things. But my wife, who went to high school in the suburbs of Denver, went to a few such parties - sometimes, if the parents were cool, they'd supply the booze. America!