Alcohol Woes

http://saltwaterblues.blogspot.com/2006/06/concept-of-giving-people-their-moneys.html >> this chap's post inspired me to write what I'm about to write.

I have a tendency to always do my bit of research before plunging into anything (esp. if that stuff is considered to be harmful.) Naturally, I read up alot before actually drinking. I was introduced to Foster's on my first drinking spree and I hated it. I guess it will explain why I still dislike beers with an exception for Stella Artois and Beck's. Beck's coz I like the singer too, but Stella Artois because it really does taste absolutely amazing. Anyway, the point being that beers are what I drink when I want to remind myself how much I dislike beers. I won't be surprised if many guys are reading me at this point and thinking I'm wasted on England.

But, trust me, I do (atleast) get wasted in England. I've tried a large variety of drinks and have settled on vodka/gin and tonic with a lime. Apart from this, I drink alot of white wine. Actually, I've been drinking more white wine in England. My next favorite being Bailey's. Now, I've been drinking all of these since a long time now and I can tell the difference in quality. I suppose if I was given some cheap rum, I might be able to tell the difference too. I'd be stretching it if I said whiskey - god knows why people drink that stuff!

I like my drinks (as many of my friends will be quick to agree on) and I don't like people messing with them. So when I'm given terrible alcohol, I get cheesed off. I've noticed this happen quite often in India. There is a marked difference between the many cities I have been to. However, I'll refrain from actually putting names to the cities or places I've been to. Most of the clubs hardly ever put any alcohol in the drink and the ones that do put the 30ml (or how much ever you asked for) use such cheap stuff that I am forced to make my unhappiness explicit. It's amazing how many people will cheat you regards these things. If they notice that you might not know enough about drinking, they'll most definitely make the extra bit of money off you. I remember my friend thinking she was drinking rum and coke; when I tasted that stuff it was just coke. And she actually thought she was getting high already!! Many guys at the bars think that girls don't know much about what they drink and take them for a good ride. I once jacked the bartender's arse in my city for doing that with me. But now I'm grown up and girly, I get whichever guy who is with me to do the ordering. Obviously, most of my friends know what they're talking about.

There's no point in shaking our heads and thinking this is how India is - serves shit alcohol to its citizens. I've found a similar problem in some places in England too. As is my ritual, I visit atleast one pub in each of the towns/cities I've been to. I've noticed how some of the pubs serve you terrible white wine, but most often than not they will replace it if you bring this up. The same is not the case with harder stuff. Why? Because you can really tell the difference in bad/good wine even if you haven't drunk alot of wine previously in your life. It's not the same with vodka, for example. If you are drinking vodka and Sprite and think it tastes of only Sprite, it's easy for the bartender to tell you that it's most probably because you ordered a single. You can't refute the point. Unless, ofcourse, you know what you're talking about. But, seriously, how many people have the balls to actually say they know what they're talking about? So yeah, you can get cheated here too. Except, the quality is never that poor as compared to when I went drinking in India.

Oh well. That's how alot of things work. You seldom get your money's worth!!

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P.S - I know that this is an awful generalization, so don't kill me on that. I just had to pen down what I thought of this. It really is not nice to be fooled, you know. And imagine if think you are drunk because you've been tricked into believing you drank something like 4 vodka-tonics when in reality you drank only one!! Imagine how silly that looks.