Saturday, April 10, 2010

Selective Tolerances?

There was this guy I knew back in the day who could drink an entire bottle of Jack and would still be standing, but give him 4 or 5 beers and he all the sudden had the tolerance of a 90 lb girl. I didn't get it and he explained it as he drinks Jack all the time and has a higher tolerance for it, but doesn't drink beer that often. I never really bought into the whole “selective tolerance” thing-you'd think alcohol is alcohol and the strength (%alcohol by volume) is the only varying factor, right? But then again since I’m an equal opportunity drinker, I typically have social occasions/dinners/outings where certain drinks are more appropriate than others so I guess whatever tolerance I have is somewhat even-spread. (like we bowl on Tuesdays. While the bowling alley does serve wine, there’s something about the bowling experience that fits with a bottle of beer, whereas a nice steakhouse calls for a nice bottle of wine, that kind of thing) But still, there’s times I feel like if I haven’t had beers in a while I might be lightheaded after just a few, or if its been a bit since I had vodka one good martini might do the same, yet wine might not affect me the same way.


Is it my imagination? Am I just used to drinking wine? It seems like a half bottle of 13.5% wine should "do more" than a few 5% beers, or at least equal? So, I wonder, taking into account the different alcohol percentages, DO people have “selective tolerances”?

1 comment:

Charlotte said...

This is a good question. I have noticed it lately with my tolerance. I have been drinking a lot of wine on a consistent basis, if at dinner or cocktail parties etc. I had 2 beers not that long ago and was intoxicated! I could not figure it out. I think part of it depends on if you are eating and maybe it has more to do with the ingredients and how they interact in your body? But you would think alcohol percentage is a standard percentage. The mystery continues. I'm going to stick to wine :)