Tricks of the Trade
Another winning characteristic of enjoying yourself is choosing the appropriate alcoholic beverage. While hard spirits are always fun, try to limit your intake in front of colleagues or clients. Wine and light beer can help keep a cool head. Even if everyone else is hitting the sauce hard, don’t fall prey to fitting in. A trick that I have used successfully throughout my career is what I call “tag teaming.” Before you place your first order give your waiter or bartender specific directions that you do not want to get drunk. Ask to only be served non-alcoholic drinks that appear to be regular mixed cocktails. This can be activated while you excuse yourself to wash your hands. No one will know the difference between a seltzer and orange juice versus a vodka screwdriver if your waiter is in on the game.
Shots should be avoided at any work related function, but if you’re direct manager wants both of you to get drunk then employ a similar strategy. Instruct your bartender/waiter to bring your supervisor shots of clear tequila and shots of water for you. Make sure to act like the “tequila” is very strong after you chugged your water, or chase it with a swig of beer (which is less harmful) and you’ll gain the respect of your weekend warrior boss while avoiding any embarrassing shot-induced incidents.
Finally, if you feel uncomfortable with any type of trickery, simply pace yourself based on how long the evening will be. A good rule of thumb is to alternate between an alcoholic beverage and a glass of water. That way you can stretch drinks out over the night, stay sober and most importantly hydrated — as we all know dehydration is major side effect of alcohol consumption.
As we’ve all been told, you should always enjoy alcohol responsibly. Think before you drink and your name will ring nothing but good things around the water cooler.