Drinks

[Bannanachair]

What follows is basically just a list of my ramblings about various drinks and beverages:

First I guess I'll start this thread by explaining why I almost only drink water. It's not a weight-loss-diet thing like lots of people seem to think it is when I say that I'd rather not drink soda. It's not a fear of alcohol and a desire to go back to prohibition that often occurs when I decline a beer (that said, I do wish that people's fashion sense would go back to prohibition). Rather, the main reason that I only drink water is because I hate the fizziness of fizzy drinks. I'd like to take a quick roll-call to see if anyone else feels immense pain in their throat and tongue when they drink carbonated water, soda, beer and so forth, though I'm nearly certain that I'm the only one who hates that feeling that much. It is to the point where, in my entire lifetime of seventeen-and-a-bit years I have cumulatively had probably about a quarter of a glass of carbonated beverage and 90% of that is carbonated water that I thought was still water and ended up throwing up at a train station in Brussels.

If 95% of what I drink is water, about 80% of the remaining 5% (leaving a total of 1% remaining) would be hot chocolate, and that is thing two that I would like to talk about. Not hot chocolate, per se, but the place where people primarily get hot chocolate - coffee shops. First, for some reason all the coffee shops where I live play the same shitty slowed-down a cappella covers of modern nightclub music sung by females though originally written to be sung by males. I do not know why this is the case but they always play it way too god damn loud as well - loud enough to be disruptive but not loud enough to easily make out the lyrics. That rant aside, I also hate coffee. It is way too bitter. That goes for white coffee with cream and three lumps of sugar as well. I also hate the dependency that society seems to have on the drug caffeine. That's why I drink hot chocolate instead of coffee all the time.

Almost the entirety of the remainder of what I drink is vailla-flavoured milkshakes because, and here's a funny twist, chocolate and strawberry are oftentimes too sweet for me (the same reason that I mostly eat vanilla ice cream). But why milkshakes instead of artificially flavoured milk? you may be asking. To that I also have an answer - I get a milkshake when I want to drink my desert before eating my main course if I'm with my dad or something and don't want to have to spend 20 minutes defending my life decisions. Milkshakes are also fun to get with burgers while playing Elvis on the juke box when you're trying to recreate the 1950s but strangely enough very few people want to recreate the 1950s anymore (obviously the parts of the '50s that came after the Brown v Board of Education ruling; I'm not racist!) so I mostly just get milkshakes as a beverage desert to have before the main course. As such, I prefer thicker milkshakes over the milkier stuff. I also don't like cherries but they never say on the menu "we're putting a cherry on top" so I always have to take it off and then I have to put it somewhere and I don't know where to put it.

One interesting caveat to the two items above is mint. If I have a much lower tolerance to bitterness and sweetness than most people do I have a strangely high tolerance for minty-ness. I often enjoy mixing in peppermint with my hot chocolates to an amount that some may consider extreme (I left out in that recipe that when stirring the chocolate initially I like mixing in those circular peppermint candies as well because I thought that that might be a bit much for most people). Also for milkshakes if I'm at a place that has it on the menu I might get a mint-chocolate-chip milkshake (where they use mint chocolate chip ice cream in place of more common flavours to make the milkshake). Shifting slightly from drinks to food and I've still never tasted minty tastes too strong for me, with I often being able to down up to a dozen or more eclipse mints of peppermint, spearmint or winterfrost flavouring at once and I barely notice tic tacs unless eaten en masse. However, I doubt that that's a fair comparison as I also have much higher tolerance to bitter chocolate than to bitter coffee (I like my chocolates at between 75% and 80% when I'm just eating a block of chocolate, though I prefer lower percentages when I'm doing stuff with the chocolate like making hot chocolate).

Now on to what most of you guys likely thought that this thread was about to begin with, and what inspired me to make it - alcohol. These past few days have had me encounter multiple conversations about alcohol, first on the weekend with my dad and then just now with my brother and my mother. On the weekend my dad said that I need to drink more beer, not because I'm meant to like beer, but because it's apparently "a social thing that you need to learn to do to entertain colleagues, coworkers and dates in the future". Today, over dinner, I decided to act upon my dad's advice and ordered a Krombacher non-alcoholic pilsner. It was significantly too "fizzy" for me and I had about three sips before resigning myself to water for the rest of the meal, while meanwhile my younger brother chugged down his entire beverage. The flavour was quite nice but it was just too heavily carbonated. As such, I am left with a question that I wonder if any of you with more alcohol experience than I may be able to answer - are there any alcoholic beverages that a slightly-upscale restaurant might be likely to have that isn't too bitter nortoo sweet for me and is still? I think that wine might fit this description but I've never had more than a sip of wine before so I honestly don't know off the top of my head.

If anyone would like to share their own drink preferences or comment on the discussions I'vs started about water, milkshakes, hot chocolate, coffee, alcohol and mint feel free to do so; that's why I'm posting this publicly.

[Bannanachair]

That turned out longer than I thought it would.

[Death]

This is the only thing I drink while purging heretics:

SPOILER: Click to show

SPOILER: Click to show

[Dex]

Mar 29, 2017 11:06:34 GMT -4 Bannanachair said:

What follows is basically just a list of my ramblings about various drinks and beverages:

First I guess I'll start this thread by explaining why I almost only drink water. It's not a weight-loss-diet thing like lots of people seem to think it is when I say that I'd rather not drink soda. It's not a fear of alcohol and a desire to go back to prohibition that often occurs when I decline a beer (that said, I do wish that people's fashion sense would go back to prohibition). Rather, the main reason that I only drink water is because I hate the fizziness of fizzy drinks. I'd like to take a quick roll-call to see if anyone else feels immense pain in their throat and tongue when they drink carbonated water, soda, beer and so forth, though I'm nearly certain that I'm the only one who hates that feeling that much. It is to the point where, in my entire lifetime of seventeen-and-a-bit years I have cumulatively had probably about a quarter of a glass of carbonated beverage and 90% of that is carbonated water that I thought was still water and ended up throwing up at a train station in Brussels.

If 95% of what I drink is water, about 80% of the remaining 5% (leaving a total of 1% remaining) would be hot chocolate, and that is thing two that I would like to talk about. Not hot chocolate, per se, but the place where people primarily get hot chocolate - coffee shops. First, for some reason all the coffee shops where I live play the same shitty slowed-down a cappella covers of modern nightclub music sung by females though originally written to be sung by males. I do not know why this is the case but they always play it way too god damn loud as well - loud enough to be disruptive but not loud enough to easily make out the lyrics. That rant aside, I also hate coffee. It is way too bitter. That goes for white coffee with cream and three lumps of sugar as well. I also hate the dependency that society seems to have on the drug caffeine. That's why I drink hot chocolate instead of coffee all the time.

Almost the entirety of the remainder of what I drink is vailla-flavoured milkshakes because, and here's a funny twist, chocolate and strawberry are oftentimes too sweet for me (the same reason that I mostly eat vanilla ice cream). But why milkshakes instead of artificially flavoured milk? you may be asking. To that I also have an answer - I get a milkshake when I want to drink my desert before eating my main course if I'm with my dad or something and don't want to have to spend 20 minutes defending my life decisions. Milkshakes are also fun to get with burgers while playing Elvis on the juke box when you're trying to recreate the 1950s but strangely enough very few people want to recreate the 1950s anymore (obviously the parts of the '50s that came after the Brown v Board of Education ruling; I'm not racist!) so I mostly just get milkshakes as a beverage desert to have before the main course. As such, I prefer thicker milkshakes over the milkier stuff. I also don't like cherries but they never say on the menu "we're putting a cherry on top" so I always have to take it off and then I have to put it somewhere and I don't know where to put it.

One interesting caveat to the two items above is mint. If I have a much lower tolerance to bitterness and sweetness than most people do I have a strangely high tolerance for minty-ness. I often enjoy mixing in peppermint with my hot chocolates to an amount that some may consider extreme (I left out in that recipe that when stirring the chocolate initially I like mixing in those circular peppermint candies as well because I thought that that might be a bit much for most people). Also for milkshakes if I'm at a place that has it on the menu I might get a mint-chocolate-chip milkshake (where they use mint chocolate chip ice cream in place of more common flavours to make the milkshake). Shifting slightly from drinks to food and I've still never tasted minty tastes too strong for me, with I often being able to down up to a dozen or more eclipse mints of peppermint, spearmint or winterfrost flavouring at once and I barely notice tic tacs unless eaten en masse. However, I doubt that that's a fair comparison as I also have much higher tolerance to bitter chocolate than to bitter coffee (I like my chocolates at between 75% and 80% when I'm just eating a block of chocolate, though I prefer lower percentages when I'm doing stuff with the chocolate like making hot chocolate).

Now on to what most of you guys likely thought that this thread was about to begin with, and what inspired me to make it - alcohol. These past few days have had me encounter multiple conversations about alcohol, first on the weekend with my dad and then just now with my brother and my mother. On the weekend my dad said that I need to drink more beer, not because I'm meant to like beer, but because it's apparently "a social thing that you need to learn to do to entertain colleagues, coworkers and dates in the future". Today, over dinner, I decided to act upon my dad's advice and ordered a Krombacher non-alcoholic pilsner. It was significantly too "fizzy" for me and I had about three sips before resigning myself to water for the rest of the meal, while meanwhile my younger brother chugged down his entire beverage. The flavour was quite nice but it was just too heavily carbonated. As such, I am left with a question that I wonder if any of you with more alcohol experience than I may be able to answer - are there any alcoholic beverages that a slightly-upscale restaurant might be likely to have that isn't too bitter nortoo sweet for me and is still? I think that wine might fit this description but I've never had more than a sip of wine before so I honestly don't know off the top of my head.

If anyone would like to share their own drink preferences or comment on the discussions I'vs started about water, milkshakes, hot chocolate, coffee, alcohol and mint feel free to do so; that's why I'm posting this publicly.

I drink soda and it rots my teeth. I however have a very fast metabolism that makes me eat everything yet stay skinny.

[Bannanachair]

Mar 29, 2017 12:15:14 GMT -4 Dex said:

Mar 29, 2017 11:06:34 GMT -4 Bannanachair said:

What follows is basically just a list of my ramblings about various drinks and beverages:

First I guess I'll start this thread by explaining why I almost only drink water. It's not a weight-loss-diet thing like lots of people seem to think it is when I say that I'd rather not drink soda. It's not a fear of alcohol and a desire to go back to prohibition that often occurs when I decline a beer (that said, I do wish that people's fashion sense would go back to prohibition). Rather, the main reason that I only drink water is because I hate the fizziness of fizzy drinks. I'd like to take a quick roll-call to see if anyone else feels immense pain in their throat and tongue when they drink carbonated water, soda, beer and so forth, though I'm nearly certain that I'm the only one who hates that feeling that much. It is to the point where, in my entire lifetime of seventeen-and-a-bit years I have cumulatively had probably about a quarter of a glass of carbonated beverage and 90% of that is carbonated water that I thought was still water and ended up throwing up at a train station in Brussels.

If 95% of what I drink is water, about 80% of the remaining 5% (leaving a total of 1% remaining) would be hot chocolate, and that is thing two that I would like to talk about. Not hot chocolate, per se, but the place where people primarily get hot chocolate - coffee shops. First, for some reason all the coffee shops where I live play the same shitty slowed-down a cappella covers of modern nightclub music sung by females though originally written to be sung by males. I do not know why this is the case but they always play it way too god damn loud as well - loud enough to be disruptive but not loud enough to easily make out the lyrics. That rant aside, I also hate coffee. It is way too bitter. That goes for white coffee with cream and three lumps of sugar as well. I also hate the dependency that society seems to have on the drug caffeine. That's why I drink hot chocolate instead of coffee all the time.

Almost the entirety of the remainder of what I drink is vailla-flavoured milkshakes because, and here's a funny twist, chocolate and strawberry are oftentimes too sweet for me (the same reason that I mostly eat vanilla ice cream). But why milkshakes instead of artificially flavoured milk? you may be asking. To that I also have an answer - I get a milkshake when I want to drink my desert before eating my main course if I'm with my dad or something and don't want to have to spend 20 minutes defending my life decisions. Milkshakes are also fun to get with burgers while playing Elvis on the juke box when you're trying to recreate the 1950s but strangely enough very few people want to recreate the 1950s anymore (obviously the parts of the '50s that came after the Brown v Board of Education ruling; I'm not racist!) so I mostly just get milkshakes as a beverage desert to have before the main course. As such, I prefer thicker milkshakes over the milkier stuff. I also don't like cherries but they never say on the menu "we're putting a cherry on top" so I always have to take it off and then I have to put it somewhere and I don't know where to put it.

One interesting caveat to the two items above is mint. If I have a much lower tolerance to bitterness and sweetness than most people do I have a strangely high tolerance for minty-ness. I often enjoy mixing in peppermint with my hot chocolates to an amount that some may consider extreme (I left out in that recipe that when stirring the chocolate initially I like mixing in those circular peppermint candies as well because I thought that that might be a bit much for most people). Also for milkshakes if I'm at a place that has it on the menu I might get a mint-chocolate-chip milkshake (where they use mint chocolate chip ice cream in place of more common flavours to make the milkshake). Shifting slightly from drinks to food and I've still never tasted minty tastes too strong for me, with I often being able to down up to a dozen or more eclipse mints of peppermint, spearmint or winterfrost flavouring at once and I barely notice tic tacs unless eaten en masse. However, I doubt that that's a fair comparison as I also have much higher tolerance to bitter chocolate than to bitter coffee (I like my chocolates at between 75% and 80% when I'm just eating a block of chocolate, though I prefer lower percentages when I'm doing stuff with the chocolate like making hot chocolate).

Now on to what most of you guys likely thought that this thread was about to begin with, and what inspired me to make it - alcohol. These past few days have had me encounter multiple conversations about alcohol, first on the weekend with my dad and then just now with my brother and my mother. On the weekend my dad said that I need to drink more beer, not because I'm meant to like beer, but because it's apparently "a social thing that you need to learn to do to entertain colleagues, coworkers and dates in the future". Today, over dinner, I decided to act upon my dad's advice and ordered a Krombacher non-alcoholic pilsner. It was significantly too "fizzy" for me and I had about three sips before resigning myself to water for the rest of the meal, while meanwhile my younger brother chugged down his entire beverage. The flavour was quite nice but it was just too heavily carbonated. As such, I am left with a question that I wonder if any of you with more alcohol experience than I may be able to answer - are there any alcoholic beverages that a slightly-upscale restaurant might be likely to have that isn't too bitter nortoo sweet for me and is still? I think that wine might fit this description but I've never had more than a sip of wine before so I honestly don't know off the top of my head.

If anyone would like to share their own drink preferences or comment on the discussions I'vs started about water, milkshakes, hot chocolate, coffee, alcohol and mint feel free to do so; that's why I'm posting this publicly.

I drink soda and it rots my teeth. I however have a very fast metabolism that makes me eat everything yet stay skinny.

How can you stand that sharp pain that comes with drinking soda? Or is it just me that feels said pain?

[Tikobe]

Mar 29, 2017 12:17:02 GMT -4 Bannanachair said:

Mar 29, 2017 12:15:14 GMT -4 Dex said:

I drink soda and it rots my teeth. I however have a very fast metabolism that makes me eat everything yet stay skinny.

How can you stand that sharp pain that comes with drinking soda? Or is it just me that feels said pain?

I think so. I personally, enjoy the carbonated feeling of a soda, and it's one of the selling points of the beverage.

[Deleted]

dessert*
Unless you've been drinking a bunch of sand this whole time.

I will write a response that actually contributes something to the discussion later, when I have the time to.

[Death]

Mar 29, 2017 15:32:46 GMT -4 @nolongerthan20charas said:

dessert*
Unless you've been drinking a bunch of sand this whole time.

I will write a response that actually contributes something to the discussion later, when I have the time to.

huh, well i'd make a shitty pun about the desert

but i know you can't sand those kinda jokes.

[Deleted]

I don't mind puns unless they're either a.) such a stretch that it's unclear what you're trying to say / is no longer funny, and/or b.) they are overdone to the point of annoyance / are no longer funny.

[Xenos]

Mar 29, 2017 11:38:10 GMT -4 Death said:

This is the only thing I drink while purging heretics:

SPOILER: Click to show

SPOILER: Click to show

is...is that a bolt pistol?

[Death]

Mar 29, 2017 16:44:33 GMT -4 Xenos said:

Mar 29, 2017 11:38:10 GMT -4 Death said:

This is the only thing I drink while purging heretics:

SPOILER: Click to show

SPOILER: Click to show

is...is that a bolt pistol?

Laspistol, here's a boltpistol:

SPOILER: Click to show

[Pruz]

...those alcoholic beverages that signify someone based on how they act and appear to be/are...

I wonder what mine would be.

[Deleted]

time to make an actual contribution

SPOILER: Click to show

I, too, drink mostly water. It began out of convenience and has ended up becoming a matter of preference, for the most part.

A bottle of water is easy to carry around, and if it spills (as our water containers so often do - probably because the seals have been ruined by people attempting to put carbinated beverages in them) it doesn't get messy or sticky like literally any drink with food dye or sugar in it will. It's also easier: Instead of filling up a leaky bottle full of whatever sweet drink we have around, all I have to do is grab a bottle, and boom, instant refreshment. It's also not weird-tasting and somewhat questionable like the tap water can be, so I feel safer drinking it than if I were to do the slightly more eco-friendly thing and pour some water from the faucet into one of those annoyingly leaky bottles.

We usually don't have soda around aside from the occasional pizza or hamburger night or a birthday, but those are pretty rare and there have been plenty of times where we haven't had soda around for those. The drinks we normally have in the fridge are: iced tea (and not the fancy snapple kind; I mean mediocre flavors in a large pitcher), milk (really more of an ingredient than anything else), kool-aid (rarely, and it's not that great in my opinion), juice (most of the time. and though I like juice, its flavor is too strong, and I can't drink more than maybe a casual half-a-cup-full in one day), mountain dew or a different highly caffeinated soda (strictly for dad, and dad only), and occasionally some special drink like hawaiian punch (too strong flavor, too sweet) or lemonade (heck yes).

So my best option is water anyway.

I do enjoy the occasional soda on special occasions (and sometimes at restaurants, but then again, I usually get lemonade), but only in reasonably small doses. I was at my friend's birthday party, for example, and all she had to drink was faygo- Admittedly, I could have gotten water, but that would require going upstairs, by myself, getting a cup, filling it, going back to my spot that may or may not have been stolen in my absence, trying to find a place to put it, failing to do so, ending up spilling it and getting electronics wet and breaking the glass of the cup, and if not that, then I have to refill it over and over instead of just grabbing a new can, and I'm not used to the tap water over there...

So, I stuck with the soda, because it's much easier and harder to spill. As much as I drank it, my thirst was never quenched. The only difference it did was make me feel worse because the sugar was way more than I'm used to and the strong carbonation of a newly-opened can is also too much to be enjoyable. (I was quite relieved when I came home and could drink water freely without worry again, and actually felt instantly better when I did.)

However, I don't think your reaction to fizzy drinks is exactly normal. Maybe you're not used to it- but then again, if that was the case, I still don't think it would cause "immense pain," as you have put it. I guess your reaction to it is just more amplified than most people.


I like hot chocolate, and I like hot tea. But those both require (slight) effort to get, and you have to commit to drinking them or they get cold. I am not one to drink something that fast unless I am dehydrated and drinking water. So, those usually get lukewarm before I can finish enjoying them.

Coffee is disgusting. It is also an acquired taste. I hope to never acquire that taste, because if I do, I'll probably get addicted to caffeine like some of my family members are. I do not wish to rely upon caffeine to fuel me through my day, and I have heard that they are not all that effective, anyway. Maybe for a few hours, and then you crash, and you need more, when in reality the thing you need more of is sleep. But, y'know, unfortunately, gaining sleep is nearly unattainable for many people, so I understand why they resort to coffee.


I used to like milkshakes. I still do, but am wary of getting them at fast-food restaurants. The quality of them from places like McDonald's and Burger King tend to be questionable at best. That said, I thankfully never go to those places unless we're on a long car trip, so I'm usually safe.


Mint is good.


What little alcohol I have tasted I have immediately disliked. That said, I have licked the spoon once or twice after using it for vanilla extract in some sort of baking escapade. If you try to ignore the blatant bitterness threatening to take over your mouth even with only one small lick, there is a very nice vanilla taste underneath. This should be no surprise, seeing as it's vanilla extract.


If someone says you should drink something you don't like just so you can fit in, that's stupid and please don't entertain that pressure. If your colleagues and dates won't like you unless you drink beer, they're clearly not worth being friends with.

spoiler because it's long and i am self-conscious and do not want to make people scroll

[eloos]

i think tim juts considers the normal feeling when you drink soda immense pain

[Dex]

Bannanachair I am also very concerned that your Dad wants you to drink beer and not the other way around. Do you know the statistics for alcohol-fueled crime and how alcohol can ruin people's lives?

[Death]

Mar 30, 2017 6:25:57 GMT -4 Dex said:

Bannanachair I am also very concerned that your Dad wants you to drink beer and not the other way around. Do you know the statistics for alcohol-fueled crime and how alcohol can ruin people's lives?

Don't go all Christian on us Dex.

[Bannanachair]

Mar 30, 2017 6:25:57 GMT -4 Dex said:

Bannanachair I am also very concerned that your Dad wants you to drink beer and not the other way around. Do you know the statistics for alcohol-fueled crime and how alcohol can ruin people's lives?

My dad doesn't want me to get drunk or anything, but he does want me "to be able to drink a beer or two with a client or some friends without looking like an idiot". It's also worth noting that my dad was one of those rebellious youth people and so by not being a rebellious youth I am rebelling against his worldview.

[Dex]

Mar 30, 2017 7:53:15 GMT -4 Bannanachair said:

Mar 30, 2017 6:25:57 GMT -4 Dex said:

Bannanachair I am also very concerned that your Dad wants you to drink beer and not the other way around. Do you know the statistics for alcohol-fueled crime and how alcohol can ruin people's lives?

My dad doesn't want me to get drunk or anything, but he does want me "to be able to drink a beer or two with a client or some friends without looking like an idiot". It's also worth noting that my dad was one of those rebellious youth people and so by not being a rebellious youth I am rebelling against his worldview.

Rebel by not rebelling. Simple as that. Alcohol affects the mind, it lowers inhibitions, it reduces motor skills and it will probably give you a hangover which will probably make you regret all of it nevermind the personality of drunkyou vs soberyou(While you might be rational in your sober state, you might not be as rational in your drunk state.). It's a terrible habit to have and if your dad is drunk with clients I have no idea how his business is successful. It's a simple thing, stay sober.

Does he think a client will just drop you if you refuse to have a pint with them? What is even your dad's business?

Mar 30, 2017 7:49:54 GMT -4 Death said:

Mar 30, 2017 6:25:57 GMT -4 Dex said:

Bannanachair I am also very concerned that your Dad wants you to drink beer and not the other way around. Do you know the statistics for alcohol-fueled crime and how alcohol can ruin people's lives?

Don't go all Christian on us Dex.

I'm not being Christian or Conservative, being drunk reduces your efficiency and greatly increases the amount of mistakes made.

[Bannanachair]

Mar 30, 2017 8:46:36 GMT -4 Dex said:

Mar 30, 2017 7:53:15 GMT -4 Bannanachair said:

My dad doesn't want me to get drunk or anything, but he does want me "to be able to drink a beer or two with a client or some friends without looking like an idiot". It's also worth noting that my dad was one of those rebellious youth people and so by not being a rebellious youth I am rebelling against his worldview.

Rebel by not rebelling. Simple as that. Alcohol affects the mind, it lowers inhibitions, it reduces motor skills and it will probably give you a hangover which will probably make you regret all of it nevermind the personality of drunkyou vs soberyou(While you might be rational in your sober state, you might not be as rational in your drunk state.). It's a terrible habit to have and if your dad is drunk with clients I have no idea how his business is successful. It's a simple thing, stay sober.

Does he think a client will just drop you if you refuse to have a pint with them? What is even your dad's business?

Buddy, two beers isn't enough to make someone drunk. It's not like it's fucking Mad Men, but office parties and client events and whatnot apparently often have wine or beer (but because it's old rich people they're not going to get drunk).

[Bannanachair]

Also, I never knew that you had such a strong opposition to alcohol, Dex.

[Dex]

Mar 30, 2017 9:25:59 GMT -4 Bannanachair said:

Also, I never knew that you had such a strong opposition to alcohol, Dex.

I have a strong opposition to all mind-altering chemicals, my mind, memories and motor skills are important to me and to let that be fucked up is stupid even if it is temporary is scary, too much can happen. I like having my faculties running at max efficiency when making any sort of decision.

Mar 30, 2017 9:23:37 GMT -4 Bannanachair said:

Buddy, two beers isn't enough to make someone drunk. It's not like it's fucking Mad Men, but office parties and client events and whatnot apparently often have wine or beer (but because it's old rich people they're not going to get drunk).

I doubt someone is that petty to take offense for you not drinking their wine.

[MrStilts]

I'm taking a business class right now, and I can confirm that alcohol is indeed customary during these business lunch/dinner meetings. However, most business people would understand skipping out on the drinks if you say that you're on the wagon.