itshalfempty

I don’t exactly remember when I stopped drinking, but it’s been quite a bit longer than a year. I figured I’d share a few thoughts on my experience so far.

Why I stopped

There isn’t any one specific reason why I stopped drinking in the first place. Instead, there are a bunch of small ones that collectively led me to just try skipping alcohol for a while.

The one that broke the camel’s back, so to speak, would be sleep quality. I occasionally struggle with difficulty falling asleep. There was a month or two early in 2022 where this happened quite a lot and I started to wonder if having a drink at the end of the night was part of the problem. I don’t really know if alcohol was at all related, or if the blame was due to poor evening routines. I had gotten in the habit of having a drink while playing a game or watching something, which ultimately led me to getting into bed very late and with a very active brain. Generally speaking though, I do know that I typically don’t get restful sleep after drinking - even if I’ve only had one or two beers.

Aside from that, other reasons include:

1. While I enjoy beer, wine, and cocktails, often I drink either out of habit or because it’s just what you do.
2. I don’t enjoy being drunk or buzzed. Rarely did I ever drink enough to feel intoxicated, but it happened occasionally.
3. At the end of the day, it’s just extra empty calories.
4. It’s a bit crazy how expensive alcohol is, actually. At restaurants it’s really expensive.
5. After drinking, especially heavily, I often want to eat something

I haven’t cut alcohol out during vacations, but I have dramatically reduced how much I drink. In part it’s because it’s no longer part of my normal habits, but also because my alcohol tolerance is now pretty low.

What to drink instead

The biggest thing I was worried about was what to replace alcohol with. At home, drinking water or tea was fine - but at restaurants, bars, and after hockey I assumed that I’d want to drink something.

It turns out that I didn’t really need a replacement.

After hockey, I mostly just drank water. I hadn’t previously paid attention to who drank beer or not, but it turns out that a lot of folks don’t drink after a game (for a variety of reasons), so it is really not unusual to skip the beer. I’ve tried a few hoppy waters. Occasionally I’ll drink a soda, but usually I just stick to water.

At restaurants, I rarely order anything other than a water. I used to order a drink or two, especially when at a “nice” restaurant, but now I just…don’t. When I’m in the mood I’ll try a non-alcoholic drink (NA beer, a mocktail, or a craft soda). But I usually just prefer water.

Non-alcoholic options seem to be growing in popularity at restaurants, but they aren’t as common at bars. While I don’t have a problem just hanging out and not ordering anything, I feel bad about visiting a bar and ordering nothing. Usually I’ll order a soda just so I can still leave a tip - though I have been to a couple of breweries that had literally zero non-alcoholic options.

Non-alcoholic Spirits

Non-alcoholic beer has been around for a while, but more recently there’s been a pretty big increase in the number of “NA spirits”. I visited a Zero-Proof bottle shop last year and was surprised at just how many options there were. I walked out of that store excitedly with three or four bottles of “spirits” and was disappointed with each one after trying them.

While I’m happy to see choice and competition in the market, many of these spirits try to be a drop-in replacement for bourbon, vodka, gin, etc., in traditional cocktail recipes. I have not had an NA spirit to-date that has been even close to meeting this goal. Many use capsaicin to replace the “alcohol burn” - though that provides an entirely different sensation. Furthermore, most are pretty bland on their own and add very little character to a drink that otherwise consists of stronger flavors.

I skip these now, even if they are included in an NA cocktail at a restaurant. Real spirits add so much more depth and character to a drink that is pretty hard to replace. Maybe one day NA spirits will get closer to the real thing, but until then, I’ll just stick with juice- or extract-based beverages instead.

Fancy Dinners

Birthday meals, anniversary meals, celebratory meals, etc., are all occasions to “go big.” Having wine, beer, or cocktails is just part of the celebratory template. Plus, depending on how “fancy” the meal is, restaurants may offer interesting wine pairings.

It’s been a little weird sticking to water (or the occasional NA beer / cocktail) while celebrating something, but it has made me realize how unimportant the alcohol itself actually is. If anything, I just wish there were more beverage options available to make the meal feel a little more special. Bartenders at nicer restaurants are usually more than happy to whip up an NA drink even if it’s not on the menu - but honestly my success rate for how well those drinks pair with the food is pretty poor.

I have seen a few juice pairings for tasting menus and I’m pretty intrigued. I haven’t had the opportunity to try one yet, but it sounds interesting for sure. I hope this trend continues and that I’ll be able to give one a try in the future.

The future

At the end of the day, I don’t really feel like skipping alcohol has been a sacrifice. While I could probably add alcohol back into my life with no ill effects, I’m not sure that I will. I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on any experiences or fun. While I do enjoy the taste of alcoholic drinks, I’ll probably continue as I have into the foreseeable future, though I might on occasion have a glass of wine.