I personally like the feeling of a drink (sometimes a double) inside of me. I generally feel relaxed and more sociable. I hate feeling drunk, though. Like I just can’t stand feeling out of control like that. (This is why I can count the number of times I’ve been drunk in my life—59 years—on slightly more than one hand.)

I spent slightly over a decade as a teetotaller, but decided that it was kind of silly if you didn’t have a specific problem that made alcohol something to avoid. (There are several good reasons ranging from “I’m an alcoholic” to “I just don’t like the taste/feeling.”)

Generally I’ll have maybe three drinks in an average week. Sometimes at festivals I’ll have a few more, but spread out with an hour between drinks so I don’t build up to serious intoxication levels.