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Notes -
These are inextricably linked for me. Not only are they inextricably linked, they're linked even down to the experience of the beverage itself. I've never wanted to drink drinks like cranberry-vodka or hard seltzers that try to mask that they're alcoholic beverages, although I understand that for others this is precisely the point of them. Likewise, I've tried n/a beers a couple times and they're not exactly unpleasant, but I always realize that if I'm drinking a beer, I want it to just actually be a beer. For me, my go-to beverage classes are beer and whiskey, although I'm open to cocktails and wine as well, and the combination of the smell, flavor, texture, and mood and activities is what makes them enjoyable rather than just that they're alcoholic. I want a bunch of standard ABV IPAs or lagers with a football came, a Manhattan before a steak dinner, a big barrel-aged stout on a cozy night with a movie, a dram of whiskey after work with my wife, and so on. Last night, I went to a brewery with my running club, knocked out about 9 miles, then knocked out three beers when I got back in - the activities, the people, and the beverages aren't separable down to alcohol being desirable in isolation from time, place, and beverage.
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