Booze With Friends

I only drink alone under three circumstances:

• I’m having another attack of extreme introversion (it normally calls for a good red and an old Hollywood flick)
• Chad is traveling (Scotch is a must-have after dinner to sleep)
• Work (which involves analysis, concentration, and tons of alcohol books)

However, I think alcohol is best consumed with good friends.

Celebrations involving wine (preferably a Sauvignon Blanc in this heat) and rowdy conversations about misadventures with the city’s traffic enforcers are hilarious. Scotch (the bottle of Glenfiddich we have at home is reserved for a specific group of geek friends) and Cards Against Humanity produce the most bizarre, cruel answers and make you question your friends’ sanities (“panda sex” is still our favorite card to play). Stories about the men in our lives are best told over copious amounts of cocktails (totally SATC), or even more Sauvignon Blanc.

I even enjoyed a good round of “F*ck, Marry, Kill” over beer with my GBFF al fresco in SoHo, Hong Kong.

My point is this: There is just something incredibly satisfying about drinking with good company.

I especially love drinking with fellow “educated alcoholics” because you can trust that the drinks are good, and they come with an interesting story.

One of our dearest friends is a photographer/wine importer based in Cebu. Dondi normally comes over with a bottle of Gigondas, one of his favourite wine appellations* (along with Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage) from Rhône. It is a beautiful, robust and elegant wine, made for people like us who are “bored with Bordeaux – not that (we wouldn’t) drink a good one”. 2011 is an awesome vintage well worth trying.

Another person we love is Girley (not her real name). She kicks a$$ by day (literally; she’s into BJJ) and is a foodie/wine-o by mid-afternoon (not even by night… What is “moderation” again…?). She went to Taiwan and came back to Manila with a beautiful, rich, strong bottle of Taiwanese single-malt whisky called Kavalan. Made in a sherry cask, this potent liquid needs more than a splash of water to get the smooth, gorgeous, burnt-wood, smoky-caramel flavours out. It makes me think of a tough chick (much like Girley!).

Whatever your poison is, wherever you feel the most comfortable boozing, I hope you are able to do so with good friends. Trust me, it makes drinking much more entertaining and memorable. The stories you come up with the following day are priceless, too! Just remember to drink responsibly. If you’re drinking with a group of people, be with people you trust. Real friends will make sure you get home in one piece.

Cheers!

*appellation = a legally defined geographical region used to identify where grapes for a wine are grown

Gorgeous photos courtesy of Dondi Joseph of D+B Wines, Cebu

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