A while ago, the Daily Mail raised an interesting point:
How much pain would YOU tolerate for booze?
Heavy drinkers will put up with uncomfortable electric shocks to get their alcohol fix, study finds
Granted, I’m not a “heavy drinker” (I’m fat and I like a drink, but that’s the extent of it), so I’m not really in the target demographic, but it is nevertheless an interesting topic for conjecture.
Let’s change the methodology a tad (ignoring that violent electric shock nonsense), and ask instead: how much inconvenience and/or discomfort would you put up with in order to get your favorite booze down your throat?
Myself: quite a bit. I have been known to walk a considerable distance to get a decent pint of ale into me: I dimly recall once trudging across The Englishman’s muddy fields in the rain towards The King’s Arms at All Cannings (or maybe I was trudging back — Wadworth’s 6X has a way of affecting the memory), which was both uncomfortable and inconvenient. Don’t even ask how much I’ve trodden the sidewalks of e.g. Edinburgh, London, Johannesburg, Vienna, Paris etc. just to have some beer, wine, gin or Scotch, as the locale warranted.
And because Plano is lamentably bereft of pubs that serve good British ale, I have to drive nearly to Dallas — all the way south to Addison’s The Londoner — just for a pint of Fuller’s London Pride: a fair amount of inconvenience, I think you’ll agree.
But forget pain. Anyone who’s ever experienced chronic gout — the effects of which are exacerbated by booze — would probably join me in saying “Fuck, no!” if offered a gin while suffering a gout attack. I suppose that’s what differentiates me from being a heavy drinker to being a simple (and occasional) drunk.
Your thoughts in Comments, as usual…
Depends on what’s being offered.
I eschew pretty much all appletini-o-ritas, lemonaide beers, or other girly drinks on principle.
Same with cheap rotgut.
I’m partial to a good gin & tonic, but want it for relaxation, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to get one.
Now, if a one of a kind, well aged, single malt whisky, rum, or cognac was on exclusive offer, I may put in some minor effort. But not too much.
As I’m a non-drinker, this question is moot.
For golf, however, I’d drive about an hour and cough up close to $100 to play a really nice course.
I hardly drink at all, but I always seem to have a bottle of 12 year old Glenfiddich around for medicinal purposes.
Regarding the original study, depending on how much I’d already consumed the person administering the electric shock might wish he hadn’t.
Regarding the modified scenario, I’ve gotten rained on numerous times either going to or coming from a favored place of imbibement. I had a close, but thankfully non-odorous encounter with a skunk on my way home once. And of course in my younger days, before I realized they could make it faster than I could drink it, the morning after effects.
As with Joe in PNG, it depends upon what’s on offer. Crack open a bottle of Bowmore Black or Ardbeg Provenance from 1974 and I’d probably volunteer for a stretch on the rack.
Kim, I don’t know if it’s closer to you than Addison, but the Lion and Crown in Watter’s Crossing (Allen) has a decent selection. And the Nine Band Brewery (North of Bethany between Hwy 75 and Greenville) has passable ales – and an award-winning Barley Wine.
I don’t recall whether the L&C has Fuller’s, though. And certainly Nine Band does not; they only sell their own beers.
I will give the Lion & Crown a try this weekend. The other one, not. (Barley wine? The very thought.)
They (Nine Band) have a very nice Kolsch and a passable Weissbier as well. (My tastes these days are trending away from the Brits and towards the Belgians and Krauts, go figure. Might be the same thing that makes me buy those little blue pills.)
Their Pale Ale and IPA are good, but they’re no match for the real deal.
> And because Plano is lamentably bereft of pubs that serve good British ale,
Hmm… a business opportunity?
I moved on from the craft beer hobby and into bourbon and other whiskies. I wouldn’t go far out of my way for anything in particular. The Bourbon market is crazy for Pappy Van Winkle. I’ve found quite a few bourbons I enjoy around the $40-60 mark that are readily available.
For Scotch and Irish I have found some that are reasonably priced but again, I’m not going to shell out $100+ for some of these offerings.
Sitting in most bars around here isn’t enjoyable. they’re far too loud.