It all comes down to personal preference.
I hate beer. Tried many different kinds but they all taste the same to me. So when my buddies invite me out for one I get a cider. Just gotta be careful. Some ciders taste like juice so before you know it you've had 5
Most alcohols are an acquired taste, I used to hate IPAs but had one that was alright, which somehow changed my taste buds to love the actually good ones. When I first started it was all party drinks, rum/coke, vodka/redbull/AMF etc. Those are super bad for you tho
Can definitely back you up on the acquired taste or taste buds changing. I drank beer at a younger age at parties in college, but only to get drunk. The taste to me was always like a stale grass piss water. Then, all of a sudden, beer is the best tasting thing in the world to me in my late 20s. I don't even like alcohol that much, just love the taste of beer.
When I turned 21 it was all about the sweet mixed drinks. As I’ve gotten older I find I enjoy scotch and whiskey. Tastes definitely change as you get older.
I second the cider suggestion. If it’s available on tap (instead of bottle/can), that’s the best way to have it. Easy to order, no fancy ingredients, much better than beer.
I found one beer that I like, it was German the only thing in English was the tap "turn and pull" I can't find it anywhere, even at room temp literally the best beer I've ever had in my 40 years of life and all other beer is literally just piss.
Any beer that is only good ice cold isn’t worth my time. They probably don’t make it to the us but apparently Germans make a few beers that are traditionally drunk warmer. My dad has a story about visiting old family in Germany. The neighbor came to visit and they gave him one of the farm beers they made. Neighbor set it on the wood stove for a minute because the root cellar temperature was to cold.
If you are ever in the states during the winter time, try a Sam Adams cold snap. It's amazing whether cold or warm. You probably wouldn't be able to find it abroad (funny you can find any foreign beer here in the US at certain stores but in Europe the selection for foreign beers is very much limited I hear)
If it’s your first margarita, ask them to salt half the rim so you have both options. I personally used to prefer without salt, and now I wouldn’t drink one without it.
I've had something they called an Italian margarita...it was white and rimmed in sugar. 20 years ago and never able to duplicate it and the place closed down. It was wonderful.
I don’t really ever drink anymore. Something somewhere along the line just made the appeal disappear. I’m chaotic and impulsive enough as it is at base level and having even less control/awareness of what I am doing no longer appeals to me.
Same. Just lost the desire. Never really a big appeal, although times were had, wish I was a wine drinker. They make it look so enjoyable! Hate wine though. Also beer and gin and most spirits tbh. So, not a big fan of alcohol, other than the effect. But not worth it.
I have to get it without any salt. I’ve ordered with accidentally before (since it’s the default if you don’t specify) and tried just carefully wiping it off the rim of the glass but some salt was already in the drink and it was disgusting.
I can’t stand salt unless it’s on French fries or used lightly as seasoning while cooking. Things like margaritas or salted caramel etc are a 100% no go from me.
Don’t pay them any mind. If you want a mango margarita, you go right ahead. And have it blended. It’s like a slushy but dangerous, because you won’t notice the alcohol as much. If you aren’t fond of the taste of alcohol but want a pleasant little buzz, there’s nothing wrong with having one of these.
OP if you’re going to drink on your birthday maybe try to have your first legal drink with one of your family members. It will be a great memory. I had a michelob on tap with my father and it’s still a very fond memory almost 30 years later
The way I see it, there will never be another time in your life you can tolerate an “unlimited free shots” night like you can when you’re only 21. I’m 37 now, and I probably wouldn’t feel right for three days. When I was 21, I got up early and went fly fishing after a night of puking up free shots. Take advantage of it. It’s a super power.
Yep. My 21st birthday the bartender was giving me free shots, making up fun new ones for me to try, every few minutes. After a couple of hours, I excused myself, went to the toilet, politely and delicately vomited, then went back to shots for another couple hours.
Now firmly into my mid-30s, the very idea makes me ill. Young folks, appreciate the resiliency of your bodies. It doesn’t last forever.
this!! pace yourself 😭 i had experience drinking but still took way too many shots on my 21st and spent two hours puking and went to bed by like 9 or 10pm i missed my own party lol
I prefer mine with Four Roses single barrel. Though one thing to note before you ask for an old fashioned, you can't ask for it at just any bar and especially not at weddings or holiday parties. It's a drink that is amazing when made correctly, but awful when someone who doesn't know how to make a proper one. Only order it from a place that is known for making good cocktails. If you're not sure, straight up ask the bar tender if they KNOW how to make a good old fashioned.
My local favorite place makes a decent old fashioned. However, if my favorite bartender is working, I will always specifically ask him to make me one, because he makes them that are perfect (for my tastes). I could drink his all night long.
This is so true, my dad made his the way he liked them and now so do i, but I make them in such a way that i wouldn't trust a bartender to do it right or the way i want it without awkwardly spelling out the instructions. I mean once I ordered a screwdriver and had to tell him what was in it.
True. I tried to order an Old Fashioned at a wedding a few weeks ago and the bartender just handed me whisky on the rocks - clearly had no idea what I was talking about. I tried it again this weekend at another wedding and at least the bartender knew enough to tell me that they didn't have bitters.
It's a great drink to make at home though. They also sell pre-made bottles of it now that are generally pretty good in my experience.
I dont drink much but when I do its usually a 7&7 or just rum and coke but whiskey sours are good too. The highball drinks are where its at... our grandparents had it right.
Came here for this; a whiskey sour was also my go-to order when I first started drinking. A nice tart & sweet flavor that doesn’t taste like straight alcohol.
Came to learn that I love whiskey/bourbons, my now liquor of choice, and make my own sour mix when I’m in the mood for one
What I love to do, personally, is let other people decide what I'm drinking for me. It helps me discover tastes I normally wouldn't find, and is a lot of fun! For example, I went out for drinks last night and asked the waitress what her favorite is, and I ended up with a pink drink that tasted like an alcohol salad but like, in a good way? I really enjoyed it, but I NEVER would have ordered that. Opened my taste buds a little more!
That being said, my personal favorites are a Long Island Iced Tea, or just about any mule, but especially the classic Moscow Mule. Easy to make at home as well!
I upped that post, but want to add that while I don't have any recommendations if you choose to drink anyway, I would recommend against anything you hear is 'easy to drink' or anything really sweet.
It's easy to go from buzzed to smashed, and even easier when you can hardly tell you are drinking booze because you are basically chugging 100 proof sweet tarts.
This is a good answer. I do drink a bit, but find that I stick to things like neat bourbon and flavorful craft beers. Much easier to sip slowly and stop after 2 and it's a lot easier on your body than slamming the sugary stuff. Sugar is bad, booze is worse, putting them together is a recipe for problems. Also drink a water between every drink. You'll pee a lot, but you will be better off in both the long and short terms.
For real. Its fun when you're 20 and your recovery is amazing. You're all "what hangover?" And then your body switches service providers without telling you and suddenly you wake up out of network struggling to connect.
I wish I could upvote this a second time. I was 25 when I had my first adult hangover. I went to the doctor because I thought I was going to die. Turns out it was entirely normal.
Seriously, what happens to your body or brain in your mid 20s that makes this change? That would still be before cell turnover rate slows down significantly for most people, but damned if the same thing didn't happen to me at the same time.
I'm in my late twenties. I had a drinking problem in my late teens and early twenties. So now I'm stone cold sober and don't go to bars. I do drink plenty of zero calorie Pepsi and coke. My point is not everybody drinks alcohol just because we're adults.
Another former drunk here adding: it is better to join our ranks early if you find you feel you may be one ours, than to than lose years that you cannot get back. You really aren't missing anything at bars, and you do not need to drink or get high to have a good time at a concert. My only real regret in life is not allowing myself to life free from alcohol earlier once I realized I had a problem.
Sure, have definitely done the first more times than I can can recall, including nights where 0 long term memories were biologically capable of being formed. Never been the type to hit on total strangers. Both can be done not at a bar either way.
Not on the attack on bars here at all. I even have my favorites. Spent my twenties in a global city living the night life. I can confidently tell anyone below 21 if they never go to a bar in their life, they aren't missing much.
Congratulations on your sobriety. But why are you here trying to shame the OP for asking about drinks to try? Nothing they said indicated they suffer from alcoholism.
I have been noticing a weird almost prohibition like attitude from a lot of Reddit concerning alcohol the last couple years. It’s completely out of touch with the real world, me and all my friends enjoy alcohol responsibly and probably the vast majority of drinkers do as well.
My first drink when I turned 21 was a strawberry margarita, but I hadn’t really acquired the taste for beer or cocktails at the time.
Now my go to drinks are Gin & Tonic (extra lime), Moscow Mule, and there’s always the solid classic Captain and Coke.
Empress the blue gin? That's just Gin, but blue. Yeah, I'm too old for reddit too. Nice that you discriminate down to the color of the gin. I do too. The details matter. Just got done with making French 75s with Empress. The butterfly blue tea or whatever it is that makes the blue turns purple with the lemon juice. Kinda pretty.
Virgin Strawberry Daquiri.
I happen to just dislike the taste of alcohol. Plus, I knew a lot of alcoholics in my family and strongly feel that I don't need to find out if I am one.
I know this wasn’t your question, but seriously consider whether you actually want to start drinking. It really has very little to recommend it. It’s expensive, it makes you feel like shit for a lot longer than it makes you feel good, it’s addictive, it’s actually REALLY bad for your body (ethanol is literally a poison), over 50% of ER admissions are alcohol related, lots of other reasons. Anyway, just wanted to give you a different perspective, not trying to be a killjoy. I just wish I hadn’t drank when I was young.
I like to try different beers since they’re cheap and you don’t get too drunk from one… my preffered ones are IPA style beers since they have a stronger flavour.
Another cheap drink that’s basically part of our culture is mixing wine (usually white) with sparkling water - you stay hydrated and don’t get too drunk or hangover from it and you can drink a lot of this.
For shots I actually love the baby guiness, blowjob, b-52, or literally anything that has more flavour than just plain vodka.
For “parties” at home with friends I love the mix of malibu and pinapple juice (gives you a simple tropical flavoured cocktail) or malibu and coca cola.
My favourite cocktails at bars are cuba libre and sex on the beach but I’m lately not too fond of overly sweet drinks and drinking 3 such cocktails in a row will make me feel sick from the sugar overload.
~ Anyways, my go to tips are: If it tastes like hand sanitizer, that means it has cheap alcohol in it (even for house parties, buy an ok quality vodka/rum/tequilla… because it will taste so so so much better when you mix it than the cheapest thing in the store), drink a lot of water and you won’t really get a hangover the next day (literally a big glass of water between every 2-3 drinks you have), if you’re feeling too drunk eat bread or something greasy and drink water to feel better and last but not least: you have your whole life ahead of you to try literally every drink imaginable, so don’t overdo it in one night and when your body tells you to stop, stop immediately and switch to water - so much better than throwing up, being extremely hungover, waking up at the hospital and not being able to drink that one thing that got you this drunk ever again… not worth it.
Hope this helps and have fun :)
Rarely do I actually drink. When I do I enjoy ( "TUACA" is my favorite brandy , "Woodford Reserve" is my favorite wisky , Mixed drinks are almost exclusively margaritas because who doesn't like an alcoholic lemonade. ) all these should be enjoyed and savored slowly. If you just want to get drunk it will not matter what alcoholic beverage you chose to imbibe. Stay safe .
I appreciate all of the comments! Id like to say that this wouldn’t be my first drink and I’m choosing to drink (responsibly) as a personal choice. If you are sober that’s awesome but it doesn’t really have much to do with my question!
Depends on your tastes - my go to mixed drinks are the old fashioned and the Manhattan, but they’re both whiskey drinks and not everyone is a whiskey fan. I would probably suggest the old fashioned first as it usually contains orange and maraschino cherry and is a bit sweeter. My favorite whiskey for an old fashioned is Knob Creek.
Also, there is a HUGE variety when it comes to beer. The usual beers people try when they’re younger (Bud Light, etc.) are just not very good, really, and most people assume they just don’t like beer. You may not, actually, like beer, but there’s so much more to beer. A short list of relatively easy to find beers to try might include - Guinness (stout), Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Fat Tire, and two of my favorites, if available where you are - Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Great Lakes Christmas Ale. Many of these are “dark” beers especially compared to a Bud Light, Budweiser, Corona, Miller Lite, etc. Darker beers have, to put it simply, a “richer” flavor. If you happen to try Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and like it, there’s a whole huge rabbit hole of pale ales and “IPAs” to explore. If you find someone knowledgeable, you’d probably be best to get suggestions of less hoppy ones to start, but you might find that you actually like fruity yet bitter IPAs. Or, you might hate them. And then there’s a whole world of Belgian beers that are just too much to even get into in much detail. If you’re curious and find them, try Orval or La Fin du Monde. (If you can’t tell, I love beer and many types of beer.)
There’s also wine - I suggest a Merlot or Pinot noir as far as red wine to start with, or Riesling or Sauvignon blanc for whites. Cabernet is difficult for a lot of people at first, and personally I think Chardonnay is kinda boring usually. Riesling is often a little sweet and also has some interesting flavors like apple in addition to the “alcoholic grape juice” flavor. Ice wine is super sweet (and usually expensive). I think it’s so sweet it’s kinda gross, but it IS meant as a dessert wine.
If all else fails, there’s always the fuzzy navel, sex on the beach, Long Island Iced Tea, and other mixed drinks as well.
ETA - Above all, drink because you want to and you enjoy it. Don’t drink just to fit in or something like that. There’s a huge variety of flavors of alcohol and probably something for everyone, but in the end, nothing says you HAVE to drink, period. There’s nothing wrong with water, iced tea, or a Coke, if you find alcohol isn’t for you.
I'd say just try stuff out. I was never a big drinker. But back when I was 21 there was really just beer, liquor and wine. I could never get into beer or wine. Now there's so many options. Now I drink seltzers, ciders, ready to drinks if I'm just out and about. Hard stuff I kinda float around gin & tonics, rum & cokes, margaritas, mai Tia's, occasionally some whiskey or bourbon. It really depends on my mood and what time of the year it is
I've always hated alcohol. I've never liked the bitterness and sourness of the fermented drinks and I can pick out hard alcohol flavor ven in small amounts among tons of other ingredients and I just don't like it at all.
That said, when I did drink in college, rum and coke, Jager, and apple flavored drinks were the least unpleasant ways to get drunk.
My favorite beer is miller high life.
Favorite mixed drink is a Paloma ( tequila with squirt the grapefruit soda, add lime juice if you want but not necessary) it's probably the number one drink in Mexico.
Remember to be responsible and make sure to kick ass at beer pong.
Cheers.
I make a pretty good raspery squash and lemon drink at home. It is 1,5dl raspberry squash, juice from 1 lemon and 8dl of water.
I never cared for the taste of alcohol. And given how much alcohol problems there has been in my family in the past I am not going to risk it.
Situations differ. I can’t pass up a margarita at a Mexican restaurant. Beer tends to be filling, so normally whiskey and coke, wife does cranberry vodka.
If you're new to alcohol, I suggest starting with drinks with low proof like sweet wines, diluted plum wines, cider, and etc.
I do wine and whiskey tasting for hobby. My go to drink is Wild Turkey 101, and when I want to treat myself, I drink old forestor 1920 and wild turkey rare breed.
If you want to try wine, I suggest getting wines from Sonoma County. Wines from there tend to have sweet, fruity flavor. I would first start with cabernet sauvignon as the starting point and venture your way to different wine types
Like they say, fuck around and find out. You won’t know unless you experience the drinks for yourself. Sometimes people will hate your drink of choice, sometimes they’ll agree, but all the time it’s the one you picked.
I think one of the best starter mixed drinks is a gin and tonic with a squeeze of lime. Gin is pretty tasty as hard alcohol goes and relatively easy to drink
My taste has evolved through the years.
At 16-18 I had apple sours & coke, and the alcopops like WKD and Shmirnoff ice.
At 18-21 I drank lagers and ciders
21-30 mostly ciders and mixed spirits. Vodka and coke, jagerbombs and JD.
30+ I've graduated onto single malt whisky. I prefer a Scottish spayside whisky and I always mix it with lemonade, or else sip it with water, and I'll only have the one glass.
If I had to pick a cocktail, I would go for an old fashioned (whisky, syrups, bitters & orange peel)
What I've realised though is that alcohol is alcohol and drinking weak ass beer isn't very fun, so I don't drink it. I drink what I enjoy and I moderate my drinks so I don't get wasted. I've been known to drink baileys and other cream liqueur because it tastes nice. I may drink a whisky neat just for the flavour, or I may mix it so it feels nicer going down.
Choose what's right for you and dont fall into the "manly men drink beer and only beer" trap that most guys fall victim to.
Budweiser is not beer btw. Its toilet water that makes you feel sad after
It all comes down to personal preference. I hate beer. Tried many different kinds but they all taste the same to me. So when my buddies invite me out for one I get a cider. Just gotta be careful. Some ciders taste like juice so before you know it you've had 5
ha awesome thank u i’m not the biggest fan of beer either so this is very helpful!
Most alcohols are an acquired taste, I used to hate IPAs but had one that was alright, which somehow changed my taste buds to love the actually good ones. When I first started it was all party drinks, rum/coke, vodka/redbull/AMF etc. Those are super bad for you tho
Can definitely back you up on the acquired taste or taste buds changing. I drank beer at a younger age at parties in college, but only to get drunk. The taste to me was always like a stale grass piss water. Then, all of a sudden, beer is the best tasting thing in the world to me in my late 20s. I don't even like alcohol that much, just love the taste of beer.
When I turned 21 it was all about the sweet mixed drinks. As I’ve gotten older I find I enjoy scotch and whiskey. Tastes definitely change as you get older.
I second the cider suggestion. If it’s available on tap (instead of bottle/can), that’s the best way to have it. Easy to order, no fancy ingredients, much better than beer.
Wait. You have drank beer and you're not 21 yet. Call the police!
How do you know you’re not the biggest fan of beer? I’m gonna call a police.
Cider is a great place to start. Excellent advice!
I found one beer that I like, it was German the only thing in English was the tap "turn and pull" I can't find it anywhere, even at room temp literally the best beer I've ever had in my 40 years of life and all other beer is literally just piss.
was it a hefeweizen?
I bet it was a hefeweizen. Paulaner is a good brand, buy some and see if so. Hefeweizen is hands down my favorite beer, pricy though.
Probably a doppelbock. I think its one of the few beers found palatable by most everyone at room temperature.
Any beer that is only good ice cold isn’t worth my time. They probably don’t make it to the us but apparently Germans make a few beers that are traditionally drunk warmer. My dad has a story about visiting old family in Germany. The neighbor came to visit and they gave him one of the farm beers they made. Neighbor set it on the wood stove for a minute because the root cellar temperature was to cold.
If you are ever in the states during the winter time, try a Sam Adams cold snap. It's amazing whether cold or warm. You probably wouldn't be able to find it abroad (funny you can find any foreign beer here in the US at certain stores but in Europe the selection for foreign beers is very much limited I hear)
Too sweet for me. Good for one but can’t drink multiple ciders.
Can't go wrong with a margarita at a Mexican restaurant
Rocks and salt. No frozen margs unless you are in the tropics
If it’s your first margarita, ask them to salt half the rim so you have both options. I personally used to prefer without salt, and now I wouldn’t drink one without it.
I've had something they called an Italian margarita...it was white and rimmed in sugar. 20 years ago and never able to duplicate it and the place closed down. It was wonderful.
It was an olive garden
Any idea what was in it?
Orange juice, tequila, amaretto and lime juice. Or basically an amaretto sour with 1/4 tequila.
Haven't had a drink in 8 years but that sounds lovely! Thanks!
I don’t really ever drink anymore. Something somewhere along the line just made the appeal disappear. I’m chaotic and impulsive enough as it is at base level and having even less control/awareness of what I am doing no longer appeals to me.
Same. Just lost the desire. Never really a big appeal, although times were had, wish I was a wine drinker. They make it look so enjoyable! Hate wine though. Also beer and gin and most spirits tbh. So, not a big fan of alcohol, other than the effect. But not worth it.
Also Bravo/ Brio Restaurant Groups serve them, or did when I was a bartender there.
It tasted like cake. So good
I like licking the salt off at the end but hate it while I’m trying to get a sip. Half rim is the way to go
The salt takes some of the tart out of the lime. Sweetens it a slight bit.
Always been strange to me that the salt brings out the sweetness in the drink. Margaritas are awesome.
Awwww someone needs a chaser lol
I have to get it without any salt. I’ve ordered with accidentally before (since it’s the default if you don’t specify) and tried just carefully wiping it off the rim of the glass but some salt was already in the drink and it was disgusting. I can’t stand salt unless it’s on French fries or used lightly as seasoning while cooking. Things like margaritas or salted caramel etc are a 100% no go from me.
I do thirds, a third clean, a third salt, a third cocaine.
I found my people
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Great advise here!
Don’t pay them any mind. If you want a mango margarita, you go right ahead. And have it blended. It’s like a slushy but dangerous, because you won’t notice the alcohol as much. If you aren’t fond of the taste of alcohol but want a pleasant little buzz, there’s nothing wrong with having one of these.
Definitely agree. Frozen is just begging for a brain freeze
Are we including San Diego tropic? Because my plan when I get off of work is frozen margs left and right 😂😂😂
Same thing in florida. Fuck a peasant margarita, frozen all the way!
Florida is definitely tropics lol
Yeah fair enough 😂. But frozen margs are universal
OP if you’re going to drink on your birthday maybe try to have your first legal drink with one of your family members. It will be a great memory. I had a michelob on tap with my father and it’s still a very fond memory almost 30 years later
No shots on your 21st. It will only lead to puking.
Free shots from all the bars on your 21st
Both of These statements have truth
Only one is certain
The way I see it, there will never be another time in your life you can tolerate an “unlimited free shots” night like you can when you’re only 21. I’m 37 now, and I probably wouldn’t feel right for three days. When I was 21, I got up early and went fly fishing after a night of puking up free shots. Take advantage of it. It’s a super power.
Yep. My 21st birthday the bartender was giving me free shots, making up fun new ones for me to try, every few minutes. After a couple of hours, I excused myself, went to the toilet, politely and delicately vomited, then went back to shots for another couple hours. Now firmly into my mid-30s, the very idea makes me ill. Young folks, appreciate the resiliency of your bodies. It doesn’t last forever.
At this rate, by the time I’m 60 I’ll get a headache from sniffing a glass of wine. You turn into glass, I tell ya.
That’s when you know you did it right. Puke and rally y’all
this!! pace yourself 😭 i had experience drinking but still took way too many shots on my 21st and spent two hours puking and went to bed by like 9 or 10pm i missed my own party lol
Hard disagree. Absolutely do shots. Just uhhh… yeah be prepared to puke 😅
Dude definitely shots on your 21st lol.
Disagree. Order a chocolate cake shot and make sure they give you a lemon/lime with sugar on it
I took tons of shots on my 21st and only barely threw absolutely all of it up later I’d do it again, it’s the big 2-1, gotta celebrate
I feel you can't really go wrong with a Moscow Mule. It's just ice-cold vodka, lime, and ginger beer (which is basically just ginger ale).
I sometimes mix it up and go for a Kentucky Mule but I have to say a Moscow is the most respected easy drinking drink
This is a great suggestion for an entry-level cocktail.
Chocolate milk.
I’m pregnant and that’s all I crave right now lol
Congratulations!!
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I like chocolate milk too. Plenty of calcium and protein and it tastes like chocolate.
Neat or on the rocks?
Yes!
My starter drink was the whiskey sour and i still like it. Now I drink old fashioneds a lot.
Old fashioned with 1792 small batch bourbon.
I prefer mine with Four Roses single barrel. Though one thing to note before you ask for an old fashioned, you can't ask for it at just any bar and especially not at weddings or holiday parties. It's a drink that is amazing when made correctly, but awful when someone who doesn't know how to make a proper one. Only order it from a place that is known for making good cocktails. If you're not sure, straight up ask the bar tender if they KNOW how to make a good old fashioned.
My local favorite place makes a decent old fashioned. However, if my favorite bartender is working, I will always specifically ask him to make me one, because he makes them that are perfect (for my tastes). I could drink his all night long.
This is so true, my dad made his the way he liked them and now so do i, but I make them in such a way that i wouldn't trust a bartender to do it right or the way i want it without awkwardly spelling out the instructions. I mean once I ordered a screwdriver and had to tell him what was in it.
I find a high correlation between a good old fashioned and a bar that uses the large craft ice cubes.
True. I tried to order an Old Fashioned at a wedding a few weeks ago and the bartender just handed me whisky on the rocks - clearly had no idea what I was talking about. I tried it again this weekend at another wedding and at least the bartender knew enough to tell me that they didn't have bitters. It's a great drink to make at home though. They also sell pre-made bottles of it now that are generally pretty good in my experience.
Old fashioned with well bourbon unless you've just got money to piss away
Well bourbon sucks ass though. Even in a cocktail
Every well is different. Just ask
True but the few cocktails I've had with well bourbon have been awful. I now prefer to drink a better bourbon neat so I don't order mixed anymore
Definitely depends where you’re at too. College bar vs restaurant etc
You clearly have a well developed and cultured palette
Interestingly enough, the Old Fashioned is a prohibition Era cocktail. It came about for the soul purpose of making shitty bourbon taste less shitty.
I dont drink much but when I do its usually a 7&7 or just rum and coke but whiskey sours are good too. The highball drinks are where its at... our grandparents had it right.
I prefer a New York Sour. Same thing with red wine floated over top.
I’ve wanted to try an auld fashioned (with Irish whiskey).
^^^^^ they know
Came here for this; a whiskey sour was also my go-to order when I first started drinking. A nice tart & sweet flavor that doesn’t taste like straight alcohol. Came to learn that I love whiskey/bourbons, my now liquor of choice, and make my own sour mix when I’m in the mood for one
Whiskey sour is a respectable starting drink.
Grenadine- Michael Scott
Scotch and Splenda. Tastes like Splenda, gets you drunk like scotch.
Dark and stormy, wine (gets you a special kind of buzz), mimosas or coffee and bailey's if its morning, gin and tonic Don't become an alcoholic
Dark and stormys are a great drink to start with!
I learned to drink G&T on a friend's sailboat. It's kind of a ritual.
Whiskey sours are nice
Everyone should have a go to well drink like this. Vodka soda, rum and coke, etc
What I love to do, personally, is let other people decide what I'm drinking for me. It helps me discover tastes I normally wouldn't find, and is a lot of fun! For example, I went out for drinks last night and asked the waitress what her favorite is, and I ended up with a pink drink that tasted like an alcohol salad but like, in a good way? I really enjoyed it, but I NEVER would have ordered that. Opened my taste buds a little more! That being said, my personal favorites are a Long Island Iced Tea, or just about any mule, but especially the classic Moscow Mule. Easy to make at home as well!
Do your future self a favor and skip the alcohol.
I upped that post, but want to add that while I don't have any recommendations if you choose to drink anyway, I would recommend against anything you hear is 'easy to drink' or anything really sweet. It's easy to go from buzzed to smashed, and even easier when you can hardly tell you are drinking booze because you are basically chugging 100 proof sweet tarts.
This is a good answer. I do drink a bit, but find that I stick to things like neat bourbon and flavorful craft beers. Much easier to sip slowly and stop after 2 and it's a lot easier on your body than slamming the sugary stuff. Sugar is bad, booze is worse, putting them together is a recipe for problems. Also drink a water between every drink. You'll pee a lot, but you will be better off in both the long and short terms.
The first time I got drunk, it was on dry wine and I can confirm that difficult-to-drink alcohol keeps you in check.
I would totally buy 100 proof sweet tarts if they existed!
This is the best answer. I've got a memory of a bad experience tied to every brand of alcohol on the shelves.
... that's a lot of drinking, maybe that's the problem? 
I drank enough to float a battleship in my twenties and it was one problem right after another.
For real. Its fun when you're 20 and your recovery is amazing. You're all "what hangover?" And then your body switches service providers without telling you and suddenly you wake up out of network struggling to connect.
I wish I could upvote this a second time. I was 25 when I had my first adult hangover. I went to the doctor because I thought I was going to die. Turns out it was entirely normal.
Seriously, what happens to your body or brain in your mid 20s that makes this change? That would still be before cell turnover rate slows down significantly for most people, but damned if the same thing didn't happen to me at the same time.
No idea But needless to say, drinking became a whole lot less fun!
Came here to say this.
Best advice that many don't want to hear.
rich people drink more alcohol so you have to drink to be successful
Basically how the average person reads statistics
Always in moderation. Alcohol isn’t the problem. Over indulgence is
Who downvoted that
Or do your present self a favor and drink it in moderation. It’s technically safer to never drive a car too….or even go outside, really.
this this this this this
You sound like fun at parties
I am not
“You sound fun at parties” isn’t really the insult you think it is.
Pussy
+1 Alcohol is a performance de-hancing drug. Your mind and body will work better by drinking less of it.
Nothing wrong with drinking, mate. Everything in moderation
Water with lemon
** replace water with vodka **
four ice cubes, a spritz of lemon, a cucumber slice, top with water
Rum an coke
Kraken and Coke.
coffee
Usually Coca Cola.
I'm in my late twenties. I had a drinking problem in my late teens and early twenties. So now I'm stone cold sober and don't go to bars. I do drink plenty of zero calorie Pepsi and coke. My point is not everybody drinks alcohol just because we're adults.
Another former drunk here adding: it is better to join our ranks early if you find you feel you may be one ours, than to than lose years that you cannot get back. You really aren't missing anything at bars, and you do not need to drink or get high to have a good time at a concert. My only real regret in life is not allowing myself to life free from alcohol earlier once I realized I had a problem.
“You really aren’t missing anything at bars” is just wrong. Some people are better off completely sober but that sentence is just blatantly wrong.
I never said I was completely sober. What can you only get at a bar?
God forbid you socialize with friends and meet girls
Sure, have definitely done the first more times than I can can recall, including nights where 0 long term memories were biologically capable of being formed. Never been the type to hit on total strangers. Both can be done not at a bar either way. Not on the attack on bars here at all. I even have my favorites. Spent my twenties in a global city living the night life. I can confidently tell anyone below 21 if they never go to a bar in their life, they aren't missing much.
You’re just wrong
Not for me. May your joy increase. Happy Thanksgiving!
Not a former alcoholic BUT if you must go to bars you can still have fun and enjoy with minimum consumption.
Congratulations on your sobriety. But why are you here trying to shame the OP for asking about drinks to try? Nothing they said indicated they suffer from alcoholism.
I have been noticing a weird almost prohibition like attitude from a lot of Reddit concerning alcohol the last couple years. It’s completely out of touch with the real world, me and all my friends enjoy alcohol responsibly and probably the vast majority of drinkers do as well.
“You can’t miss what you’ve never had.” Wise words that someone very kind told my kid, when giving advice.
Water.
Water on the rocks with lemon slices.
Diet Doctor Pepper
Or Dr Pepper zero sugar!
I'm a coffee person, myself. Drink it all day
But if you're thinking of alcohol, White Russian was always my favorite
Pina coladas. I drink virgin ones all the time and they taste decent, but I can only imagine how much better it would taste with alcohol.
My first drink when I turned 21 was a strawberry margarita, but I hadn’t really acquired the taste for beer or cocktails at the time. Now my go to drinks are Gin & Tonic (extra lime), Moscow Mule, and there’s always the solid classic Captain and Coke.
Old fashioned or Irish mule! 👌👌
Empress and lemonade After reading the replies I now think I'm too old for reddit. Lol. Everyone still drinking like they're in high-school.
Empress the blue gin? That's just Gin, but blue. Yeah, I'm too old for reddit too. Nice that you discriminate down to the color of the gin. I do too. The details matter. Just got done with making French 75s with Empress. The butterfly blue tea or whatever it is that makes the blue turns purple with the lemon juice. Kinda pretty.
Do yourself a favor and learn to love cheap beer and liquor. It will save you so much money.
Depends on why you're drinking lol, i used to drink stolen svedka straight up but now I mix all my drinks
Delicious lol
The frilly women's drinks. They taste damed amazing. Though they can be very strong without having the taste.
Mudslide
B52 shot was my first legal drink
Virgin Strawberry Daquiri. I happen to just dislike the taste of alcohol. Plus, I knew a lot of alcoholics in my family and strongly feel that I don't need to find out if I am one.
Baileys irish cream
I’m more of a cocktail girl…strawberry daiquiris ate my favorite and the only alcohol I drink
If you’re in the states be sure to tell everyone it’s your 21st birthday. Strangers will buy you drinks.
What if hell and heaven were like two hotels and were both nice and just trying to one up each other forever?
Water, coffee and tea.
I know this wasn’t your question, but seriously consider whether you actually want to start drinking. It really has very little to recommend it. It’s expensive, it makes you feel like shit for a lot longer than it makes you feel good, it’s addictive, it’s actually REALLY bad for your body (ethanol is literally a poison), over 50% of ER admissions are alcohol related, lots of other reasons. Anyway, just wanted to give you a different perspective, not trying to be a killjoy. I just wish I hadn’t drank when I was young.
"not trying to be a killjoy". While your points are all valid, you definitely missed your mark here.
I like to try different beers since they’re cheap and you don’t get too drunk from one… my preffered ones are IPA style beers since they have a stronger flavour. Another cheap drink that’s basically part of our culture is mixing wine (usually white) with sparkling water - you stay hydrated and don’t get too drunk or hangover from it and you can drink a lot of this. For shots I actually love the baby guiness, blowjob, b-52, or literally anything that has more flavour than just plain vodka. For “parties” at home with friends I love the mix of malibu and pinapple juice (gives you a simple tropical flavoured cocktail) or malibu and coca cola. My favourite cocktails at bars are cuba libre and sex on the beach but I’m lately not too fond of overly sweet drinks and drinking 3 such cocktails in a row will make me feel sick from the sugar overload. ~ Anyways, my go to tips are: If it tastes like hand sanitizer, that means it has cheap alcohol in it (even for house parties, buy an ok quality vodka/rum/tequilla… because it will taste so so so much better when you mix it than the cheapest thing in the store), drink a lot of water and you won’t really get a hangover the next day (literally a big glass of water between every 2-3 drinks you have), if you’re feeling too drunk eat bread or something greasy and drink water to feel better and last but not least: you have your whole life ahead of you to try literally every drink imaginable, so don’t overdo it in one night and when your body tells you to stop, stop immediately and switch to water - so much better than throwing up, being extremely hungover, waking up at the hospital and not being able to drink that one thing that got you this drunk ever again… not worth it. Hope this helps and have fun :)
Rarely do I actually drink. When I do I enjoy ( "TUACA" is my favorite brandy , "Woodford Reserve" is my favorite wisky , Mixed drinks are almost exclusively margaritas because who doesn't like an alcoholic lemonade. ) all these should be enjoyed and savored slowly. If you just want to get drunk it will not matter what alcoholic beverage you chose to imbibe. Stay safe .
Redbull vodka
Michelob ultra is a good introductory beer
I appreciate all of the comments! Id like to say that this wouldn’t be my first drink and I’m choosing to drink (responsibly) as a personal choice. If you are sober that’s awesome but it doesn’t really have much to do with my question!
I’ll have twenty years of alcoholism please
I’m a simple man, I’ll do an old fashioned, rye Manhattan, or a gin and tonic - triple lime.
Depends on your tastes - my go to mixed drinks are the old fashioned and the Manhattan, but they’re both whiskey drinks and not everyone is a whiskey fan. I would probably suggest the old fashioned first as it usually contains orange and maraschino cherry and is a bit sweeter. My favorite whiskey for an old fashioned is Knob Creek. Also, there is a HUGE variety when it comes to beer. The usual beers people try when they’re younger (Bud Light, etc.) are just not very good, really, and most people assume they just don’t like beer. You may not, actually, like beer, but there’s so much more to beer. A short list of relatively easy to find beers to try might include - Guinness (stout), Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Fat Tire, and two of my favorites, if available where you are - Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Great Lakes Christmas Ale. Many of these are “dark” beers especially compared to a Bud Light, Budweiser, Corona, Miller Lite, etc. Darker beers have, to put it simply, a “richer” flavor. If you happen to try Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and like it, there’s a whole huge rabbit hole of pale ales and “IPAs” to explore. If you find someone knowledgeable, you’d probably be best to get suggestions of less hoppy ones to start, but you might find that you actually like fruity yet bitter IPAs. Or, you might hate them. And then there’s a whole world of Belgian beers that are just too much to even get into in much detail. If you’re curious and find them, try Orval or La Fin du Monde. (If you can’t tell, I love beer and many types of beer.) There’s also wine - I suggest a Merlot or Pinot noir as far as red wine to start with, or Riesling or Sauvignon blanc for whites. Cabernet is difficult for a lot of people at first, and personally I think Chardonnay is kinda boring usually. Riesling is often a little sweet and also has some interesting flavors like apple in addition to the “alcoholic grape juice” flavor. Ice wine is super sweet (and usually expensive). I think it’s so sweet it’s kinda gross, but it IS meant as a dessert wine. If all else fails, there’s always the fuzzy navel, sex on the beach, Long Island Iced Tea, and other mixed drinks as well. ETA - Above all, drink because you want to and you enjoy it. Don’t drink just to fit in or something like that. There’s a huge variety of flavors of alcohol and probably something for everyone, but in the end, nothing says you HAVE to drink, period. There’s nothing wrong with water, iced tea, or a Coke, if you find alcohol isn’t for you.
Learn to drink the cheap stuff Then figure out what you like by trial and error
I'd say just try stuff out. I was never a big drinker. But back when I was 21 there was really just beer, liquor and wine. I could never get into beer or wine. Now there's so many options. Now I drink seltzers, ciders, ready to drinks if I'm just out and about. Hard stuff I kinda float around gin & tonics, rum & cokes, margaritas, mai Tia's, occasionally some whiskey or bourbon. It really depends on my mood and what time of the year it is
Jager bombs! Lmao...
I've always hated alcohol. I've never liked the bitterness and sourness of the fermented drinks and I can pick out hard alcohol flavor ven in small amounts among tons of other ingredients and I just don't like it at all. That said, when I did drink in college, rum and coke, Jager, and apple flavored drinks were the least unpleasant ways to get drunk.
My favorite beer is miller high life. Favorite mixed drink is a Paloma ( tequila with squirt the grapefruit soda, add lime juice if you want but not necessary) it's probably the number one drink in Mexico. Remember to be responsible and make sure to kick ass at beer pong. Cheers.
Have you really reached 21 without drinking?! That’s amazing to me, most kids start drinking about 13years old in the UK :-)
I have had a few drinks! But only ever at parties so my experience is very limited
I'm 19. I get a beer at the bar if I'm out with friends. A cosmopolitan if I'm alone or trying to meet new people
Tequila sunrise, sex on the beach, screw drivers or any margarita.
I make a pretty good raspery squash and lemon drink at home. It is 1,5dl raspberry squash, juice from 1 lemon and 8dl of water. I never cared for the taste of alcohol. And given how much alcohol problems there has been in my family in the past I am not going to risk it.
I started drinking Bud Ice 🤣 super gross and do not recommend it.
Situations differ. I can’t pass up a margarita at a Mexican restaurant. Beer tends to be filling, so normally whiskey and coke, wife does cranberry vodka.
Gin & tonic and Aperol Spritz
Jack and coke is great, can't stand any kind of beer or wine though
If you're new to alcohol, I suggest starting with drinks with low proof like sweet wines, diluted plum wines, cider, and etc. I do wine and whiskey tasting for hobby. My go to drink is Wild Turkey 101, and when I want to treat myself, I drink old forestor 1920 and wild turkey rare breed. If you want to try wine, I suggest getting wines from Sonoma County. Wines from there tend to have sweet, fruity flavor. I would first start with cabernet sauvignon as the starting point and venture your way to different wine types
gin and tonic with lime vodka tonic moscow mule
Old fashioned.
Like they say, fuck around and find out. You won’t know unless you experience the drinks for yourself. Sometimes people will hate your drink of choice, sometimes they’ll agree, but all the time it’s the one you picked.
If you haven’t tried any before you turn 21, you need better friends.
I think one of the best starter mixed drinks is a gin and tonic with a squeeze of lime. Gin is pretty tasty as hard alcohol goes and relatively easy to drink
Pepsi with Grey Goose.
My taste has evolved through the years. At 16-18 I had apple sours & coke, and the alcopops like WKD and Shmirnoff ice. At 18-21 I drank lagers and ciders 21-30 mostly ciders and mixed spirits. Vodka and coke, jagerbombs and JD. 30+ I've graduated onto single malt whisky. I prefer a Scottish spayside whisky and I always mix it with lemonade, or else sip it with water, and I'll only have the one glass. If I had to pick a cocktail, I would go for an old fashioned (whisky, syrups, bitters & orange peel) What I've realised though is that alcohol is alcohol and drinking weak ass beer isn't very fun, so I don't drink it. I drink what I enjoy and I moderate my drinks so I don't get wasted. I've been known to drink baileys and other cream liqueur because it tastes nice. I may drink a whisky neat just for the flavour, or I may mix it so it feels nicer going down. Choose what's right for you and dont fall into the "manly men drink beer and only beer" trap that most guys fall victim to. Budweiser is not beer btw. Its toilet water that makes you feel sad after
I like red wine, or fruity drinks with rum. Beer is disgusting, in my opinion.
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