Day 192: Some Traditions Soothe You Body and Soul

I am a drinker. In fact, I am slow to trust those that choose not to drink. Alcoholism aside, drinking is a social ritual and one that need not lead to blatant intoxication. A robust and decadent wine can bathe you in a feeling of indulgence, creating a soothing sensation of richness and warmth. The perfect cocktail, expertly matched to your mood will lift you up, it’s happy buoyancy reaffirming your positive world view. It can also sink down with you, quiet and commiserating company to your lonely misery. Drinking is as much a tradition as your holiday customs and one that should be equally well preserved.

Despite my being late to drinking, I have committed great amounts of time and energy to building my tolerance and expanding beyond the fruity vodka drink or easily palatable blush wine of my twenties. Spirits and wine now represent trusted companions and I choose my friends very carefully. I have never been one simply to drink for the sake of drinking. I much prefer water or hot tea to a cocktail most times throughout the day, but there are always those moods or occasions that cry out for the perfect complement. An afternoon with friends, holiday celebrations, late nights out, brunch or luxurious moments alone, all can be paired with a libation to enhance your emotional state.

The feel of a quality glass in your hand and the supple, pleasantly pungent taste of the proper alcoholic accompaniment sometimes is an occasion in and of itself. There are, of course, those moments when we all over-indulge and at those times it ceases to be about the joy and comfort of the ritual. Drunkenness leads you to a state in which it matters not if you drink a single malt or fine wine, aged and tended to laboriously or a can of the cheapest and warmest swill beer. I sometimes believe that those who do not drink by choice are under the misguided notion that the only point of drinking is intoxication. This mistake is often precipitated by copious recreational drinking involving keg stands, jello shots and harry buffalo punch while still in high school or college. True drinking is about the experience, the ritual, the quality barware and spirits you would never, ever drink from a plastic cup.

I have fallen in love over the right wine and nursed a breaking heart with whiskey. Most of my favorite vacations would not evoke such happy memories had rum drinks, sangria and concoctions aptly titled “Governor’s House” not been consumed. One of my most beloved restaurants in New York is loved first for it’s massive pitchers of freshly made mojitos rather than the delicious Cuban tapas. Friendships that otherwise might have died for lack of common interests or never been born in the first place, have well-timed and tended cocktails to blame. I respect your restraint, but feel it is unnecessary. Imbibe, enjoy, relax and let your taste buds and mind take a journey inspired by the exotic flavors of Spain, Ireland, California’s Central Coast, Russia, South Africa, Japan or Italy. Raise a glass, make a friend, meet a lover or just soothe your soul – whatever you do, I know a spirit or wine that can do it with you.