A question about alcohol

alaskamatt17 · Jan 9, 2007

What kind of drink would a successful, single male order if he was in a sleezy downtown bar, alone, and was feeling a little down-and-out? I don't drink, but one of my characters hits a bar mid-story to drown his sorrows.

If it helps, he's a defense attorney in the process of losing a case in which he strongly believes his client is innocent.

blacbird · Jan 9, 2007

Scotch, straight up (neat, as they say in Scotland), or more likely, a double, on the rocks.

caw

poetinahat · Jan 9, 2007

Or bourbon. If the bar's a dive, he's not going to order anything fancypants, and not likely to demand a particular brand.

What time period have you set him in? In the early 60's, he could be drinking martinis or manhattans. Or, if he's ended up in Trader Vic's, it might be a Sufferin' Bastard.

Birol · Jan 9, 2007

Depends on his tastes and preferences. Beer, whiskey, bourbon, scotch. All of those sound believable to me. (NOTE: I'm not a drinker either.)

Lyra Jean · Jan 9, 2007

The strongest drink in the house and make it a double.

PeeDee · Jan 9, 2007

........Tea?

Sorry. I don't drink. I tend to alternate in my stories between whiskey and bourbon, but for no good reason at all.

poetinahat · Jan 9, 2007

Just wondering: why does one have to drink to be qualified to answer this question? Tell you what: I'm staying waaaaay away from you Horror Forum people! (And the Erotica Forum -- I'm a married man!)

Tangential anecdote: When I was a kid (oh, under five), I had no idea that stuntmen or special effects existed. I hypothesized that, when a character in a movie or TV show died, the role had to be played by a condemned criminal.

alaskamatt17 · Jan 9, 2007

Okay, scotch sounds good. How much would the average man have to drink to give himself a hangover the next day, but still have the mental capacity to catch a cab back to his hotel? (Sorry if this is a bit specific, but I really don't know anything about alcohol, and wikipedia isn't offering much help.)

Birol · Jan 9, 2007

Again, depends. How much does he weigh? Has he eaten? Is he accustomed to drinking?

PeeDee · Jan 9, 2007

alaskamatt17 said:
Okay, scotch sounds good. How much would the average man have to drink to give himself a hangover the next day, but still have the mental capacity to catch a cab back to his hotel? (Sorry if this is a bit specific, but I really don't know anything about alcohol, and wikipedia isn't offering much help.)

THAT'S the bit us non-drinking folks (well, me anyway) can't answer.

Most of what I know about alcohol is from reading characters drinking it.

Sorry. I just never could get a taste for the "fermented" business. It just doesn't sit well with my taste buds.

alaskamatt17 · Jan 9, 2007

He's accustomed to drinking, but not heavily and not often. He weighs a little over 180 lbs., and hasn't had a meal in the last eight hours.

poetinahat · Jan 9, 2007

At a guess? Six or eight would make his head pound the next day. If he's not much of a drinker, even four would do it, especially on an empty stomach. (I've been 'retired' for a number of years, though.)

If he's smoking (or inhaling a lot of second-hand smoke), that hangover's going to be worse.

Birol · Jan 9, 2007

Google "alcohol absorption rates" without the quotes. Also do the same search on PubMed.

PeeDee · Jan 9, 2007

Good lord. At my weight, alcohol would kill AND preserve me in any decent amount.

BlueTexas · Jan 9, 2007

alaskamatt17 said:
He's accustomed to drinking, but not heavily and not often. He weighs a little over 180 lbs., and hasn't had a meal in the last eight hours.

I'd say four or five, since he's accustomed to drinking and is a man. My husband drinks bourbon, weighs 220 and can on an empty stomach put away about 6 before he gets a hangover. But it depends too on the amount of time it takes him to consume it. If he's doing shots one after the other he's going to drink more than he meant to and be more likely to have a hangover. The last time my husband had a hangover, he drank, over a 6 hour period, with food, wine, beer and bourbon - maybe 10 drinks. No, he's not an alcoholic, it was a business trip and he had to keep up.

I used to be a bartender, too. From that experience, most men would have three before they were done - done being the happily buzzed point and in no danger of a hangover. It was a hotel bar, most customers had rooms booked, so they weren't stopping so they could drive.

katiemac · Jan 9, 2007

Depending how the scene goes, you probably don't even need to tell us how much he drinks. If he gets the cab but wakes up with a hangover, we'll get the idea. (The bartender might call him a cab, too, if he can't himself.)

blacbird · Jan 9, 2007

PeeDee said:
........Tea?

Sorry. I don't drink. I tend to alternate in my stories between whiskey and bourbon, but for no good reason at all.

Few bourbon drinkers like scotch, and vice versa.

caw

maddythemad · Jan 9, 2007

alaskamatt17 said:
He's accustomed to drinking, but not heavily and not often. He weighs a little over 180 lbs., and hasn't had a meal in the last eight hours.

Okay, not much then.

Seriously. Not eating + drinking = very bad idea.

PeeDee · Jan 9, 2007

blacbird said:
Few bourbon drinkers like scotch, and vice versa.

caw

I meant the stories alternate, not the drinks. In one drink, the Drinking Character will like scotch, in the next story, som eother character will like bourbon. Not the same person.

Bartholomew · Jan 9, 2007

PeeDee-- Notice the correct spelling of Bourbon throughout this thread.

*Flees*

TwentyFour · Jan 10, 2007

I'm from Va and we only drink MOONSHINE and SWEETTEA. Peedee would fit in well here.

As for the bar scene...I would choose a good strong beer. If a man is down and wants to drink, let him have an old favorite of the bar scene...if he's part pirate matey! give him a rum!

TwentyFour · Jan 10, 2007

Most men will relate to the beer, whether they are rich, poor, white, black, red man or yellow...just my opinion.

GPatten · Jan 10, 2007

alaskamatt17 said:
Okay, scotch sounds good. How much would the average man have to drink to give himself a hangover the next day, but still have the mental capacity to catch a cab back to his hotel? (Sorry if this is a bit specific, but I really don't know anything about alcohol, and wikipedia isn't offering much help.)

Keep it simple. Too much detail looses the reader. Give the man a couple of drinks.

Mac H. · Jan 10, 2007

alaskamatt17 said:
What kind of drink would a successful, single male order ...

A pink lemonade.

A real man doesn't give a damn what others expect him to drink.

Mac

Sohia Rose · Jan 10, 2007

I would say six glasses of scotch. The house brand. It's cheap.

A question about alcohol

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