> I don't have a need to limit myself; I'm good after 1.

Maybe in your social circles that is normal, but that is highly irregular from everything I have experienced over the last 20 years across 3 continents. And if you don't believe me, just look up the statistics on alcohol consumption. It's pretty clear that an extremely high % of people regularly abuse alcohol, especially in social situations.

You're not a weirdo but yes, lots of people struggle saying 'no' to a drink.

Your caffeine example is a good one. To some folks on /r/stopdrinking, alcohol is more akin to how you feel about caffeine.

Same here, and there are a lot of people like that. But there are also a lot (more?) people for whom drinking is only a means to get drunk.

Apparently 10% of people drink 60% of the booze in the USA.

Other countries will be different I would think.

Nah that's the pattern in most countries. Alcohol consumption follows the same sort of Pareto distribution in Europe as well. And on top of that the harms from alcohol are overwhelmingly concentrated in the very high levels of use population (they are far from linear on a per drink basis).

Just different. I hate hangovers but love a good buzz. Unfortunately, alcohol is quite addictive to me. While I never got to the level I would define myself and alcoholic (I have definitely tip-toed that line in my life) just going out for one pint or having one beer is almost impossible - once I start drinking, all common sense goes out of the window and I keep going. A normal night to the pub might end up easily at 5 or 8 pints. At least it doesn't really alter my character :)

It's interesting because I don't tend to get addicted to things. I've never tried hard drugs, but I can quit coffee cold-turkey (and have done, several times. Just because I was feeling like switching to tea or oat milk in the morning) and never really got into weed.

(anyway, stopped drinking a couple months ago. Alcohol free beer is great for that to be honest. I do miss a nice whiskey from time to time. Let's see if I keep it up)

I mean it sounds like you just don't like drinking that much. People like different things.

Personally, I love it - in particular, the fact that any night of the week you can have one or several unique, powerful sensory experiences to savor and enjoy. Inebriation is basically an unfortunate side effect, for me, if my body stopped metabolizing alcohol after my first drink I'd be perfectly happy - what I'm into is the tasty drinks themselves.

I can have a moscow mule, a mojito, a margarita, and an old fashioned, one after another, and they're all delicious, and all different, and I love that. I can go to another bar tomorrow night, have those same drinks, and yet they'll all be slightly different than the last. Variety is the spice of life!

It's like the difference between a snack drawer filled with your favorite snack, versus a snack drawer filled with a dozen different snacks - you can, on a whim, choose any particular flavour or form you happen to be in the mood for at that moment. That's absolutely delightful for a hedonist like me.

... of course, that's a lot of sugar and salt, which isn't particularly healthy, I know that. But in terms of questions like "Why would you ever have more than one drink?" or "Why would you drink often" or even "Why would you drink alone?" - that's my answer, because I like the way cocktails (and beer, and wine, and cider) taste; And one important factor to enjoying my life is doing things that I like. Simple as.

If you are a weirdo then, so am I. I know quite a few who drink very little. Most just aren't vocal about it. I had 5 servings of alcohol last year. My lack of drinking has been an issue in many of my relationships. People get self conscious when I don't drink.