Merriam Webster's Dictionary defines alcoholism as:
1: continued excessive or compulsive use of alcoholic drinks
2a : poisoning by alcohol b : a chronic disorder marked by excessive and usually compulsive drinking of alcohol leading to psychological and physical dependence or addiction
Some people would call us alcoholics based solely on the first definition. We do like to drink, we do drink often, and sometimes we drink excessively. Excessive is a subjective word however. What seems to us to be a normal night may seem like more alcohol than is healthy to someone else. As for definition number two, we don't binge drink, and our relationship and mental health are not effected adverserly by what we drink, how often we drink, or if we DON'T drink. We MIGHT be alcoholics, but we are functioning and happy ones!
We very much enjoy drinking. Because we enjoy it, because it brings us pleasure and makes us friends, we continue to drink what we want, when we want, and to explore what we have never encountered before in case we decide to like it. As with food, alcohol comes in many different regional tastes and forms and, like food, we gain pleasure from introducing our taste buds to many different kinds.
Alcohol is a social lubricant. When The Husband walks into a pub and peruses the available brews or drinks, he is looking for something good, something unusual, something that will bring a new experience to our mouths. But he is also looking for something that will start a conversation. "Oh, that looks good, what is it?" has begun many an enduring friendship for us, either from food, from drinks, or both.
This blog, I hope, will be a way for us to share with others our travels around the world, not only geographically but through the wonders of the foods we eat, the fermented and distilled beverages we drink, and the people we meet. For that is, in the end, one of the main reasons we drink, too meet people. It works really well. And it makes us happy.
Veni, Vidi, Bibi!
