So @AskMen went to Dublin for St Patty’s Day to celebrate it like real Irish men as personal guests of Guinness, and apparently we “Americans” have got it all wrong. Let’s just say… I agree.
Key takeaway/learning from real Irish men-on-the-street:
1. Pace Yourself (I’ve got it wrong)
“You’ve got to start early. You’ve got to start hard, as well. So you start off with the cheap stuff, like Buckfast and ciders. None of this pussy American beer sh*t. Light beer — whatever you call it. That’s what you’ve got to do. And then what you do is you don’t gradually move up. You stick to the stable of cheaper beers, and then, as you hit clubs, you go slightly harder. And then you’ve got to get spirits involved.” -Eddie
2. Don’t Hold Back (I do hold back- scared of projectile vomiting)
“I encourage as many Jagerbombs as possible. And after that maybe some whiskey and 7 UPs, Guinness… Drinking tips — I mean, just do it.” -Shane
3. Don’t Order An Irish Car Bomb (I had one, once, and I…hated it)
“Have you heard of an Irish Car Bomb? Only Americans know that. You don’t mention them here.” -Hansie
4. Don’t Go Hard On An Empty Stomach (duh)
“The biggest tip is line your stomach. Alka-Seltzer is fantastic. Milk is really what lines your stomach. Anything that will put a lining in your stomach. Whatever you fancy food-wise. Have you ever noticed when you go to a wedding, even though you’re drinking from midday, noon, 2 p.m., you’ve been having canapés, you’ve been having dinner, you’ve been having soup, dessert, the whole thing — you’re never drunk at a wedding, ever? Because you’ve lined your stomach.” -Neil
5. You’ve Just Got To Be Irish (huge miss…I’m Dominican)
“It’s just a genetic thing, really.” -Owen, an on-duty police officer
6. Stick To The Suds
(um… I’m a huge vodka/soda fan, but football season? all suds; screw pints anonymous bar manager…. pitchers!)
“I lived in New York for two years. Americans drink so much differently than we drink. They drink shots. Americans drink shots. Guys in Ireland, we drink pints. We drink pints. We might have a few vodkas or whiskeys, but we drink pints. You guys go on shots very early on in shifts. Mostly, it’s all pints.” -An anonymous bar manager who had been drinking pints for 10 hours and was still standing strong.
How do you fare on knowing how to drink?
IF in the meantime you need to test your drinking habits against this list @PubCrawlers just posted tickets for a Cinco de Mayo crawl.
Slippers & Vino 