First drink?

Turned 21 about a week ago. I'm off Friday and upf is gonna be nuts this week. I want to drink for the first time but am limited to a 7-Eleven down the block. Any suggestions?

Since you're limited to 7-11 I would say get a six pack of shitty beer (coors light, bud light) something like that. Get a 40oz. I don't have much of an opinion on which type--old english is probably the most classic choice you can get. And then get like some MadDog 20/20 if they have it. You pick up all 3 of these and you got yourself the trinity of convenience store alcohol. Try a bit of each, and if it is the first time you've tasted alcohol be ready to hate beer and prolly the 40 too.

There are some 7-11s or gas stations in my area that now carry local beer. So you might be able to find something better than your typical, cheaper beers.

However, totally get a typical, cheap beer. Everyone starts there, it'll give you a good idea what beer tastes like and you can suffer like the rest of us did. I used to chew gum while drinking Natural Light in order to not taste the beer. Especially that damn aftertaste.

Regardless of what people recommend, make sure to have a friend or family member there with you. It's never a good idea to drink alone, even if the other person isn't drinking. Also don't go crazy and drink a ton.

@goboard: noted

I don't like alcohol. I can't stand the taste and have never been interested in getting drunk, let alone getting a buzz.

The most pleasant drinking experience I've had is a shot of vodka from this random Russian restaurant I went to in Austin, TX. That is my answer.

I would push you towards something more fruity. Mike's Hard Lemonade. Twisted Tea. Bud Light Lime. You might be able to deal with that sort of thing more than Olde English. Maybe buy one of those too though. See whats up.

Buy some Laphroaig 10 year and pour over some ice with a splash of water, perfect!

Well my 7/11 has 4Loco which is pretty trashy but goes down pretty good, fruity, and will get you drunk. Like goboard said have someone with you, drinking solo can lead to problems.

Something cheap, probably beer, don't go crazy, and cheers!

Is it normal in America to try your first drink at 21?

Bud's [flavor]-a-rita or 4locos are pretty good starting drinks, they have a decent alcohol content while the flavors help mask the taste.

Personally when I reached adulthood I started with babies first alcohol, Smirnoff. I'm way less affected by drinking booze than smoking.

And a personal recommendation of mine, don't do Absinthe as your first drink like all my friends recommended me to do, too :)! Its not really that good overall.

I've pretty much drank anything between 1% (Mixed Lemonade) and 85% (Black Absynthe). I do recommend mixing your own first drink. Don't just drink Beer or Vodka pure, it leaves for a bad first impression. Rather, threat booze and drinks like you do with any other food, be creative and have fun. Its even more fun with others.

Also yeah, I've drank parts of exclusive 250 USD expensive Absynthe because a friend of mine basically bathes in that stuff. It still tastes not so good I would say. If people tell you to start with cheep stuff, I can say that prices usually don't matter a whole lot with booze. Just don't buy anything that is punched, do that yourself with mixed drinks.

Anyway, if you want to feel the punch but you don't want to start with strong stuff, I recommend doing your own Salty Dog (around 4-6%, depends on the vodka) but don't use as much salt as recommended, alcohol already drains your bodily water so 1/8 teaspoon is enough, or even just some between your fingers. Just so you know, you can put salt into limonade because the chemical reaction means that you can taste the fruit more, only works with limonade that at least partially is made out of real food. And of course this works without Alcohol and its just a little tip on how to taste more fruit from your Lemonade.

@anonymous_jesse: I'm not an american, but I think in some countries its only allowed to drink alcoholic stuff when you reach the age of 21 but I think some countries allow the same thing if you're 18.

@anonymous_jesse: It's smart to but not common. I started drinking when I was 17 and tasted alcohol for the first time at around 14.

*edit the legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21

Get Milwaukee's Best Ice.

Who in the Giant Bomb crew was it that got advice from Kiefer Sutherland to drink whiskey? Was it Patrick? Cause that old Jack Bauer's got the right of it. Drink whiskey.

As someone who spent his late teens into his mid 20's being an irresponsible binge drinker I would like to stress moderation. One 40 oz is probably more than enough to get you pretty buzzed depending on your previous exposure to alcohol or your own body's alcohol tolerance. Start slow, seriously. Alcohol can creep up on you and you may feel fine or slightly buzzed one moment only to be trashed out of your mind 30 minutes later if you keep drinking. I would put a limit on consumption to about 2-3 beers or similar with other types of alcohol.

Hard liquor takes even less to get to a very drunken state so be careful with the stuff and don't bend to social pressure to keep drinking. I'd suggest a six pack and only drink two at maximum for the first 30-45 minutes then make a judgment call on how much more to drink. 2-3 beers is probably the sweet spot for a buzz without going overboard into drunken slurring mess territory.

Just be aware that some people can have a terrible reaction to even 1-2 beers depending on their body and genetic history with alcohol so keep that in mind and stop drinking before you make yourself sick.

The American thing of not drinking til you’re 21 has always confused me as a Brit. Our legal age to buy alcohol in a shop or bar is 18, but most people drink before that at home or with friends.

My first alcoholic drink was Babycham when I was about 12, which I’m going to guess, they don’t sell at your local shop. But I’d still suggest a cider or perry rather than a spirit.

And remember to drink lots of water, at least a pint before you go to bed.

And happy birthday!

What's the deal with American's and light beer? Everywhere else in the world most beer you see in the store is full strength.

I love your choice of single malt but one does not simply mix a single malt whiskey with ice and/or water. That's what blends are for.

For the OP, I dunno. my first real drinking aside from wine at dinner with the folks was vodka and a soft drink. Irn Bru probably, but as you're a Yank, Coke or orange juice or whatever is just as nice. Also, Jack Daniels & Coke is a totally pleasant drink. Just remember when mixing a drink that you really don't want a 50/50 mix of alcohol/mixer. Feel like a rough 1 part booze to 4 parts mixer is about right but maybe 1 to 5 is a better place to start. It's been 16 years or thereabouts, long ass time.

Eh, a drop or two of water in a single malt, especially the cask strength stuff, can really bring out flavours. But a drop does mean a very small quantity. There are various studies into it to actually prove this too.

Take a sip of the whisky before adding any water, take a sip after, see what you prefer. But just remember that cooling the drink down inhibits the flavours, which is why bad beer is kept in the fridge, and why vodka is best drunk straight from the freezer. But with something like whisky where you are paying for those flavours, you're probably doing the drink a disservice by adding ice. Also as the ice melts it waters down the drink way more than you'd want.

But also take this all with a pinch of salt. The perfect way to drink something is the way you like. If you take a fancy to £200 bottles of single malt whisky mixed with Coke, well, personally I'd be a bit outraged at such a heinous crime to a beautifully crafted whisky but ultimately it's your tongue, your nose, so do whatever the fuck. But at least consider trying it neat, & then trying it with a drop or two of water before going back to what you prefer.

@clagnaught: I like your answer.

Ok I have two suggestions. Either try an ice cold fruit cider, something like Kopperberg (or the USA equivalent). Or a light spirit, something like Captian Morgan mixed with coke.

Try something fruity/mixed; you most likely aren't going to like the taste of beer if you haven't had any alcohol before

This, I was also thinking Vodka + Cranberry Juice or Vodka + OJ.

Also some of you people are crazy, straight whiskey for someone who has never had the taste of alcohol? Never drinking alone because it leads to ...bad things?

Few different types of beers or bum wine

I don't have an actual suggestion, but considering people are sharing some of their first experiences, I'll share the fact I'm 27 and have never had a sip of any alcohol. And yeah, I'm perfectly fine with that.

That's all, enjoy your first drink, and be safe and sane about it!

Dont get fruity stuff unless you just get one drink, too much sugar, good chance youll mess your tummy up. You probably dont know if you like ipas or not, i would suggest avoiding those unless you know you like super bitter stuff. Cant go wrong with a bluemoon six pack. I think the flavor is belgian white? Little sweet, not super bitter. Have fun.

Get a few beers. Limit yourself before you're intoxicated by not buying too many. I second trying Blue Moon because they have more flavor than the cheap shit but are still going to be palatable to a first time drinker. Sugary drinks are not a good idea because of the hangovers they cause.

And drinking alone is not really a big deal contrary to what your concerned mother or forum poster might tell you.

My first drink was Coors Light and I absolutely hated it, luckily the buddy I was hanging with had Jack Daniels on hand so I got to experience the delight of mixing sweet tea and Jack together. I'd suggest staying away from light beer, until you've developed a taste for beer itself I'm not sure a watered down version of the stuff is the right way to introduce yourself to it.

Surprisingly I'd suggest trying plain old Budweiser, it's like a good starting point since it's got no real extreme taste or flavor to it. It's like the vanilla of beers in my opinion, and the nice thing about it is it's rather easy to find in most locations. I'd start with that before trying most of the light/cheap-o beers, mostly because you get less of any harsh alcohol or nasty after tastes.

If you find yourself enjoying beer, I'd say branch out to try the other regular beers before diving down the path of Malt Liquor and light beer. I've found myself partial to German beers mostly, the flavors are richer, there's no harsh chemical aftertaste with them, and outside of getting beer farts I've have no negative impacts from drinking german beer.

If you really want to venture into 40s territory I'd say find one that is still within a glass bottle, and grab yourself a fast food burger and fries to go with it. I've found Colt 45 and a Whopper go beautifully together, but just keep in mind you'll probably have to take bigger swigs of the 40 to enjoy it all while it's still cold.

I had about 6 cans of Stella, do that!

@hott8bitaction

got to work your way up to the good stuff:

I mean I ended up necking straight vodka on my first night drinking so that was a bad idea. DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU CAN AVOID IT, YOU WILL REGRET SOMETHING ABOUT IT THE NEXT DAY. That said, I did have straight, single malt whisky when I was younger than that, like at a birthday or on New Years Eve my parents would offer me a glass. It's not that wild. I acquired a taste for whisky over a decade before I could get my tastebuds to accept beer might potentially be nice.

But yeah, can't believe I forgot to mention cider. Cider is good because, well, it's good and fruity. No idea what the Yank cider market is like, but I really like Kopparberg & Rekorderlig (2 Swedish brands) fruit ciders, especially their pear cider. On the average night out I'll usually just have a Strongbow which I guess is the Budweiser of ciders? In that every where has it and it's totally inoffensive, quite sweet compared to some apple ciders though so certain cider buffs look down their noses at it, but it's a good starter drink.

My first drink was Johnnie Walker Black Label, but that was my parents giving me a drink when I was 12 specifically to dissuade me from drinking in the future. Crappy beer is the real rite of passage and it's probably what I did (I'd guess I drank Miller High Life first). The most pleasant experience would probably be some decent cider like Angry Orchard or Strongbow, so that's my real recommendation.

Drinking alone is fine as long as you're mindful of your level of intoxication and pace yourself. For a first timer, one drink every 45 minutes or so should be fine if you're on something with a low (4-5%) ABV. But of course, drinking with friends is always encouraged if it's an option.

One person does not make a "thing". Everyone I knew growing up was drinking well before legal age.

Probably some random beer that my parents handed me at a christmas party when I was ~13. I count it as good parenting to expose your kids to alcohol rather than letting them discover it themselves, but it didn't stop me from wildly overdoing it on the Jack shots at a party with friends (and some less friendly people) a few years later.

I'm really into Canadian Club lately. I think a six-pack of Canadian Club with Dry would be a pretty good first foray into alcohol. That or a cider, or some sort of vodka + mixer, or maybe even a mead. It'll probably take you a while to get into beer or wine, and you're definitely not ready for straight spirits.

@moderp: It's been 19 hours, how's the head? Or are you still going? :D

@rebel_scum: this is for tomorrow and by the common thought in the amount of people that have commented here, I think I might just avoid drinking tomorrow at all lol. Maybe I'll just wait until I got my friends around me or whatever. It's all good though, i was kinda intimidated at first anyway.

@moderp: Oh yeah, lol. Should've re-read the OP. D'oh!

I'm not sure if 7-11 has hard liquor but if they do I'd recommend a rum and coke there easy to make and you can make them weak so you can get used to the taste.

If they don't have that I'd just get some light beer since it's easy to drink and the more expensive beers can take awhile to get accustomed to.

My first time tasting alcohol was on a high school field trip, of all places. I was 16, we went to Chicago German Town for my German language class. A Mom & Pop souvenir shop was selling chocolates filled with schnapps, I bought two boxes. I figured what the hell, if they catch me, I'll feign ignorance and claim I thought it was just plain chocolate. Luckily, this old German couple who ran the place gave kleine scheißen about this underage boy buying alcohol in their shop. Experiencing being drunk for the first time on a class trip surrounded by twenty-five very sober classmates and two teachers, all speaking a foreign language, was one hell of a thing, let me tell you.

Anyway, yeah just buy some cheap beer, maybe some scotch if they have any.

Get Some Whiskey and coke like a johnny walker red label or some other garbage real smooth and easy to drink put some ice in it get drunk win win. Also beer is something you learn to appreciate after you drank like a few of them the first few beers you will ever drink are probably gonna be horrible at least they where for me. Now i really like most blond beers. Maybe Try some Blue Moon or other Belgian whites. They tend to be more fruitier and Dan ( Ryckert ) really likes them, and he only tends to eat taco bell.