At what age did you start drinking?

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About 15/16 was the first time I got *pissed*. I think I drank an entire ten-pack of stubbies, and I remember being frustrated by the vacuum/lip dynamic of the bottles. (i.e. pour, don't suck!)

It was in the ruins of a castle.

Mestema (davidcorp), Thursday, 19 January 2006 16:50 (eighteen years ago) link

How are people defining "drinking" here?

I had nothing so much as a sip of beer (yecch) until I went to college, and for my first two years, I had nothing more than a tiny wine cooler or half-cup of keg beer just so I could fit in at parties. When I studied in the UK during my junior year, I began drinking half-pints of cider every so often, but it was far more often that I'd head to the pub at 8 pm and order a coffee. Once I had Guinness for the first time, I realized that beer could be sort of tasty, so I eased into that. (I was such a pussy that the first beer I ordered at an American bar, after I turned 21, was Sam Adams Cherry Wheat.) And Kelsey and I used to make gin and tonics the summer we started dating. But I'd say it wasn't until senior year that I really began drinking, and not until after college that I did it with any real regularity. I remember contemplating the summer after college about how I was imbibing all of these chemicals via coffee, cigarettes, and beer, and how that was sort of a new(ish) thing.

jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 19 January 2006 16:50 (eighteen years ago) link

My circle of friends sounds like Chewshabadoo's. Drinking was what you did only if you REALLY exhausted all the other avenues of fun available to you! I don't think it was until I was 18/19 that I began to consider the actual *taste* of alcoholic drinks.

adamrl (nordicskilla), Thursday, 19 January 2006 16:52 (eighteen years ago) link

First time I got drunk, I was probably 18 or so - I drank a 6 pack of Budweiser by myself, then threw up. After that, I'd say I didn't drink again for at least a year.

luna (luna.c), Thursday, 19 January 2006 17:02 (eighteen years ago) link

my parents always let me have some wine when i was little. i preferred white. i thought beer was yucky and martinis disgusting.

the first time i got drunk was when italy won the '82 world cup--i was over at a friend's house. his parents were italian immigrants and his uncle busted out the homemade wine and gave us all a couple glasses and pulled silver dollars out of our ears. i was not quite eleven.

i didn't get sick from it until i was 20, though.

mookieproof (mookieproof), Thursday, 19 January 2006 17:32 (eighteen years ago) link

I was allowed wine with meals from a very early age, usually nasty white wine with a bit of lemonade in it to make it slightly more palatable for my pre-teen tastes. Martini & lemonade or advocaat & lemonade at Christmas and New Year from about 12/13 onward, started going to pubs at about 16, but usually just for a couple of drinks, more just for the thrill of getting served in a pub rather than actually for the drinking. First violently ill at 17 from drinking an entire bottle of peach schnapps. Still hate the smell of the stuff 16 years later.

ailsa (ailsa), Thursday, 19 January 2006 17:39 (eighteen years ago) link

My parents let me have some kind of kahlua shooter on my birthday when I was 12, that was probably the absolute first alcohol I'd ever had.

Pretty much only drank cheap beer in high school - it was easily stolen, as everyone knew someone who worked at a grocery store. When one of us worked the overnight shift with no one else on duty, we'd stock up for weeks.

Developed actual taste buds and an aversion to beer when I graduated high school and started getting served in bars with the people I worked with.

Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Thursday, 19 January 2006 17:40 (eighteen years ago) link

the first drink i legally ordered (in the usa) was an anchor steam. but i think i legally had a molson ex before that in quebec.

mookieproof (mookieproof), Thursday, 19 January 2006 17:44 (eighteen years ago) link

i started at around 13. it was usually passionpop at that point but by 15 id moved on to the charming midori. im willing to bet trayce can relate

sunny successor (katharine), Thursday, 19 January 2006 17:50 (eighteen years ago) link

I didn't get drunk until I was 14, ST IDES, because pot was easier to get.

adam (adam), Thursday, 19 January 2006 18:00 (eighteen years ago) link

13 or 14 I think.

I got caught drinking by the police when I was 14, it was a really bad day.

Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 19 January 2006 18:33 (eighteen years ago) link

now that I look back it seems so innocent but they did actually arrest us at the time.

Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 19 January 2006 18:34 (eighteen years ago) link

I didn't really start drinking in earnest till I was about 14.

Lars and Jagger (Ex Leon), Thursday, 19 January 2006 18:36 (eighteen years ago) link

I first had wine at probably a pretty early age, no idea when. And irregularly thereafter, eventually turning into regularly when eating at home with my parents (but this perhaps was not until college). I drank at parties, and first got tipsy/drunk, towards the latter half of high school, but went to very few of them. Probably really 'started' drinking the summer before my senior year of high school, when I lived away from home with college students.

I don't think I've ever been sick from drinking in my life.

gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 19 January 2006 19:50 (eighteen years ago) link

The first time I got terribly sick from drinking, I had made the mistake of playing quarters with two bartenders I knew. They were, it seems, rather more skilled than I was. I still can't drink Miller Lite without thinking about the burning sensation it made coming up.

Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Thursday, 19 January 2006 20:04 (eighteen years ago) link

first drunk at 14 or 15, although i didnt really drink with any regularity until 20.

don't start a RYE-OTT! (plsmith), Thursday, 19 January 2006 21:20 (eighteen years ago) link

http://www.myimagehub.com/userfiles/Fr057m0urn3/Hooch.gif

I first started drinking (in the UK) at the same time Hooch came out (remember the PANIC?!), which was apparently in 1994 or so. That means I was 13 or 14. Street/park/house party drinking for the next couple of years.

The notable exception to these locales being one incident at school. It was May 2, 1997, i.e. the day after the general election which brought down a Government that had been in power my entire life. Coincidentally, this was also my last day of compulsory education. Party time. I spent the morning drinking with friends then went to school (leaving one friend a little worse for wear asleep in my garden). I made it through one lesson without it being noticed that I was (a) drunk (b) a child, before it was eventually suggested that I should go home for the day. Another friend was formally suspended. Good times.

Mike W (caek), Thursday, 19 January 2006 23:20 (eighteen years ago) link

I cannot at all recall the first time(s) I got drunk (it's not because i got absolutely shitfaced, either), but it must've been when I was 17.

oops (Oops), Thursday, 19 January 2006 23:45 (eighteen years ago) link

it was usually passionpop at that point but by 15 id moved on to the charming midori. im willing to bet trayce can relate

Ahaha ewww, Illusion shakers *vomm face*. Do you remember those horrible West Coast Cooler things? Thats the first thing I was allowed to drink - new years eve when I was 16 I think? Only had maybe one or 2 tho, they're really horrible and seriously they do fuckall (I think theyre only 2% or somehting). By that age kids were having get smashed and spew everywhere parties but I totally wasn't interested in drinking. Hated wine and beer, hadnt tried spirits.

I got mildly drunk on the last day of year 12, when we had a morning brekky BBQ at a teachers house. Someone bought cask tawny port. Yuuuuughh.

Didn't start really hoeing into the booze til after I moved out of home at about 19. Living with a severely alcoholic boyfriend didn't help one bit. It put me off drinking for a long long time.

Now, I'm a problem drinker myself :(

Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 19 January 2006 23:51 (eighteen years ago) link

I still haven't. (And I can't start now because of medication.)

Curt1s St3ph3ns, Friday, 20 January 2006 01:19 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm always envious of people who dont drink or smoke. I wish that was me, I really do.

Trayce (trayce), Friday, 20 January 2006 01:24 (eighteen years ago) link

oddly, I took LSD before I ever drank. or smoked weed. or even a cigarette!

oops (Oops), Friday, 20 January 2006 01:27 (eighteen years ago) link

I am a poster child for prenatal alcohol consumption.

Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Friday, 20 January 2006 01:41 (eighteen years ago) link

oddly, I took LSD before I ever drank

Same here. I took LSD before I ever got drunk or got high on pot (though not strictly before I drank). Only took it once though and now I just have too many layers of psychological damage to consider taking it again.

Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Friday, 20 January 2006 01:51 (eighteen years ago) link

LSD delayed the start of my drinking career until I was 22. My then girlfriend was terrified about what might happen if her glass were ever empty when she was tripping, and she passed the fear onto me. So, we'd order another beer when the first was half gone, as a safety net. Bizarrely, our drink of choice was Special Export, because "you could sail the world over, and never find a better beer". Once I discovered Guinness, things got a lot better.

Chris K (Chris K), Friday, 20 January 2006 02:25 (eighteen years ago) link

I was 14. It was winter. My friend got his older sister's Plymouth Valiant for the night and we set out for a ride. I had a quart bottle of orange soda and kept adding gin to it as I drank. By the time we got to a place to piss, I didn't stand up too well is all I remember except for a few songs on the radio that night.

Love Is Blue - Paul Mauriat
Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream
Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - Hugo Montanegro

the ancient mariner (wench), Friday, 20 January 2006 05:57 (eighteen years ago) link

Started at 12. Went pro at 17. Semi-retired at 32.

Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Friday, 20 January 2006 06:00 (eighteen years ago) link

had a glass of wine at 13 and at 14, once each, both times to calm nerves (before flights). didn't drink again till my 21st b-day and even then I couldn't do much. it wasn't till I was 23 or so that I actually drank socially and/or got drunk. I drink fairly frequently now, esp. on fridays, when we have wine tastings at the office.

Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Friday, 20 January 2006 06:02 (eighteen years ago) link

my reluctance to drink has a lot to do with the events depicted in the My mother's incredibly stupid ex-husband thread

Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Friday, 20 January 2006 06:57 (eighteen years ago) link

eleven years pass...

Better question, following on from caeks tale- were you ever drunk at school

Was sent home for puking galliano into the sink in the physics lab once

The night before all about day (darraghmac), Monday, 27 March 2017 09:20 (seven years ago) link

In senior year, me and some of the guys pounded back a few brews before school one time but I worked mornings in the school library that semester so it just meant I was a little wobbly while sliding the newspapers onto their wooden wands, no big.

Ambling Shambling Man (Old Lunch), Monday, 27 March 2017 12:13 (seven years ago) link

That's not an age, yank

The night before all about day (darraghmac), Monday, 27 March 2017 13:25 (seven years ago) link

Wait now I've confused myself

The night before all about day (darraghmac), Monday, 27 March 2017 13:28 (seven years ago) link

Put down the bottle, mate.

Ambling Shambling Man (Old Lunch), Monday, 27 March 2017 13:29 (seven years ago) link

I guess I was 17? My best friend's mom bought us whatever we wanted as long as we drank it under her roof. Questionable but ultimately very responsible parenting, by my assessment.

Ambling Shambling Man (Old Lunch), Monday, 27 March 2017 13:31 (seven years ago) link

~13

was never sent home which is a surprise considering i was one of the bad kids

i was nearly suspended i blv in grade 4?

F♯ A♯ (∞), Monday, 27 March 2017 16:26 (seven years ago) link

got sent in to talk to the dean once and was put in that class where all the troublemakers go so thats probably why come to think of it

F♯ A♯ (∞), Monday, 27 March 2017 16:28 (seven years ago) link

ha

its all coming back now

we used to watch documentaries about thugs/gangsters

was impressed to see one inmate swirl a razor blade so skilfully with his tongue

F♯ A♯ (∞), Monday, 27 March 2017 16:31 (seven years ago) link

think it was 16 or so. had 3 cans of Milwaukee's Beast and had a blast. called up some girls from school to ask if they wanted to come to the party. thank god none of them picked up.

next morning I remember saying, "nope, drinking's not for me". I was wrong about that though

frogbs, Monday, 27 March 2017 17:51 (seven years ago) link

i was 12 when i started drinking. 20 years and still going strong (apart from my liver). though i have moderated somewhat in later years (of course I am typing this hungover in the office at 11am on a Monday so maybe more moderation is needed)

bomb diggy diggy diggy bomb diggy bomb (jim in vancouver), Monday, 27 March 2017 17:59 (seven years ago) link

oh and i did one dry stint of 6 months but other than that I've been drunk at least once in every 2 or 3 weeks for the entire 20 years

bomb diggy diggy diggy bomb diggy bomb (jim in vancouver), Monday, 27 March 2017 17:59 (seven years ago) link

14~ish, weekend home alone, me and some friends watched the Godfather pt. I. Someone had brought Malibu (still cant stomach anything coconut related, whether it be drink or shower gel or anything). Vomited, worst hangover ever. Wish it had been wine that night instead of Malibu tbqh

Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 27 March 2017 19:25 (seven years ago) link

oh, about 22

j., Monday, 27 March 2017 19:33 (seven years ago) link

oh and i did one dry stint of 6 months but other than that I've been drunk at least once in every 2 or 3 weeks for the entire 20 years

yeah same and idk if I should be concerned about it

frogbs, Monday, 27 March 2017 19:34 (seven years ago) link

were you ever drunk at school

a couple of times but my students never seemed to notice

samovars are trying to steep (wins), Monday, 27 March 2017 19:54 (seven years ago) link

started drinking about 13 or 14. think first time was bottles of beer with my cousin.

from upthread: I got caught drinking by the police when I was 14, it was a really bad day. - yep. more amusing in hindsight tho.

i was drunk at school once or twice in the final months when things got lax. stoned a bit more often.

Bein' Sean Bean (LocalGarda), Monday, 27 March 2017 19:58 (seven years ago) link

I started 30 years ago, and not once has anyone ever congratulated me as I pass another milestone.

calzino, Monday, 27 March 2017 20:01 (seven years ago) link

I started drinking when I was 15, myself and a mate got some bottles of heineken one xmas eve and we drank them at the football pitch late in the night. Not long after, I started going to school discos and we used to drink before we got in. We couldnt always get drink from off-licences or get served in pubs so we would often have to depend on vile concoctions (if there was only a little vodka, throw some whiskey in there and maybe a bit of coke or orange for a mixer like) of whatever we could get from our parents drinks cabinet. Puking was usually the outcome but at least you'd get a buzz.

I never was drunk at school although I remember one of my classmates passed around a plastic bottle of poitin during science class and we all took a few sips when the teachers back was turned.

Well bissogled trotters (Michael B), Monday, 27 March 2017 20:11 (seven years ago) link

I didn't drink til 16 which was prob a full year after everyone else in my year I'd guess. The usual experience mirrors mike's above apart from the glorious 6 months my mate got a job in a cash and carry and would routinely throw a box of naggins in the skip on a Friday afternoon for later collection.

The night before all about day (darraghmac), Monday, 27 March 2017 20:26 (seven years ago) link

oh and i did one dry stint of 6 months but other than that I've been drunk at least once in every 2 or 3 weeks for the entire 20 years
yeah same and idk if I should be concerned about it

― frogbs, Monday, March 27, 2017 12:34 PM (fifty-one minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm going to get my liver function checked sometime this year. if it's off at all then I'm going to go dry for a while. love drinking but prefer functioning organs

bomb diggy diggy diggy bomb diggy bomb (jim in vancouver), Monday, 27 March 2017 20:27 (seven years ago) link


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