18 year old girl never drank before - what should be my choice of drink tomorrow?

[Northerngal123]

I’m an 18 year old girl who had a sheltered childhood. I was just really shy and didn’t have many friends at high school. The ones I did have didn’t drink (a lot were muslim and I’m an Asian girl), so I think I’m quite unusual in having this situation as it seems like most people my age have had years of experience drinking and know what they like already!

I always wanted to try alcohol and go to house parties back at high school but just never got the chance. It didn’t help for 2 years I had very bad mental health after GCSEs and didn’t want to be sociable. Now I’m about to go to Uni and thankfully am feeling better than ever. I met a really nice girl my age and she offered to go to a bar with me for my first drink. I have no idea what to order, I don’t really have a sweet tooth so am put off by really sugary cocktails. I do want to get tipsy but not really drunk, it’ll just be good to have some experience with drink before freshers in a good environment. My parents drink but have individual tastes like my dad likes strong beer and my mum used to drink tequila shots at my age she told me.

I was thinking maybe a gin and tonic, cider, mojito, vodka and orange….then drink some water and have another if I want one

I would love any suggestions for a good first time drink :) I love to be a connoisseur of whatever I eat and learn about it but am clueless about alcohol at the moment.

I'd stick with cider and avoid wine, gin and vodka. They might be a bit strong for a first time drinker.

All the ones mentioned on here along with Bulmers and Old Mout are nice, refreshing ciders, not too strong and not too sweet.

Older teens in our family are allowed to drink a moderate amount of alcohol at family parties. They all start on cider. Old Mout Kiwi and Lime and the strawberry one are popular choices.

Pimms and lemonade with mint and fruit in is really refreshing. Just drink slowly with water in between, if you're not used to drinking, two drinks is enough to give you a hangover!

My go to summer drink is a Campari soda, long drink, cold, quite sharp/ sour taste. Not fizzy. Slice of orange for extra vitamin c.

If I was you I would have:
A small glass of rosé wine
A fruit cider- either a bottle or a half pint if it's from the tap
A pink gin and lemonade

I would avoid tonic as I hated that for years. I know you say you're not keen on sweet drinks but I found tonic almost bitter when I first tried it because it's so not sweet.

Archers and lemonade is lovely but probably not your thing if you don't like sweet, same goes for Malibu and pineapple/coke. I'd keep it simple and just go for a glass of prosecco or a glass of wine - or is that too middle aged?? I think gin and tonic is horrid but maybe you'll like the very dry taste? A pint of cider is a lot to get through if you find you don't like it so get a half if you go for that.

I'd get your friend to buy what she wants and let you have a sip to try it first, then you have an idea if you like it before you buy it.

Why ?

I'd probably avoid spirits if you haven't drunk alcohol before.
Spritzer or cider or cava ?

I would say a shandy might be a good start but second the pp who suggested Pimms

I strongly recommend avoiding anything like vodka and lemonade. It just tastes like lemonade so you're likely to drink it faster than a white wine spritzer, for example.

Cider is the classic first drink I think. My first drink was a gin and tonic, and it was the only drink I actually liked during the year or so I drank. Then it started giving me terrible anxiety attacks, so I stopped. Have fun!

I remember when I first started at the local College of Technology in the mid 80s. 16 and never drank before, matriculation day when we got our student cards and someone said lets go to the student union. Someone bought a round and asked what everyone wanted - cider, cider, cider............. so being a sheep I said cider.

It was vile and every mouthful made me actually gag but I slowly drank it, and drank it for month after😂

Everyone is different, but I always found spirits in a tall glass with plenty of mixer much better than cider, wine etc. Vodka, captain morgans, southern comfort, bourbon, Cointreau, or something with a lower alcohol content (but tend to be very sweet) such as peach schnapps, malibu or midori with a mixer.

Keep trying a few different drinks until you find one you like.

Hey! I used to like a vodka and coke or a pimms or a fruity cider at your age but I just wanted to add… I felt a pressure to drink a bit at uni and honestly I never liked that tipsy verging on drunk feeling so please, please don’t go above or further than you’re comfortable with! I always used to take a small bar of chocolate on nights out with me in case I felt a bit wobbly and ordered my own drinks so I could occasionally cheat and go alcohol free… it’s hard because you wanna keep the mates and not be ‘that one not drinking’ but equally it just wasn’t the culture for me and it may or may not be for you too!

Oh and also bear in mind some drinks might make you feel worse (bloated etc) than others, beers and ciders make me feel bloated and gripey ha!

A shandy . Made with either lager, bitter, or cider. Then at least half the drink is lemonade.

Vodka & Red Bull
Jack Daniels & full fat Coke

Only joking, OP. It’s perhaps best not to try those at first. The combination of alcohol, sugar & caffeine can be a recipe for disaster…

I would definitely stick to long drinks at first. Fruit cider is a good choice, and Kopparberg isn’t too strong at 4% alcohol. Take it easy and enjoy!

Whatever you chose, have fun! I wouldn’t mix if you’re an inexperienced drinker and are going out as it can be a bit unpredictable.

Can you not go to the off licence and pick up something you like the look of?

Personally, I think spirits with a mixer are better than wines. Wine aways gives me an awful headache. With pub measures, a spirt and mixer will not be that strong.

I like ciders like Koppaberg and Rekorderlig. But being honest, they are just glorified alcopops. So not good if you don't like anything too sweet.

The best think to do is no matter what you drink, don't drink too much. Stopping after two would be a good idea.

I'd avoid spirits (vodka, gin ..)
What about beer ? Bottle Coors

Vodka, lime and soda is a good long drink - I think your drink should contain soda water as you're not used to drinking.

Small glass of champagne
Vodka, lime and soda or vodka and tonic
Aperol or campari and soda
Soda is much less sweet than lemonade
Vodka has no flavour but stick with one measure only
Dry cider less sweet than medium/sweet

Have half a shot of vodka in soda or tonic with lime wedges. Try one, wait thirty minutes before your second.

If both your parents drink, and presumably you live at home, can’t you have a drink in the house?
Just to try out a few things and you won’t have to worry about making your way home tipsy.

My favourite is gin and tonic, but some people don’t like the bitter taste of tonic so an alternative is gin and lemonade.

I would just have one bottle of beer. I can't drink anymore really but I can have that and feel nice and relaxed .

I'm gonna play devil's advocate and suggest that you go out and get completely blind drunk. The reason for this is twofold -

1. You are the youngest you will ever be right now. You are currently the best equipped you will ever be to deal with the colossal hangover. It will happen at some point in your life, so might as well rip the elastoplast off right now while the going's good.
2. You might find that being drunk just isn't for you. You will inevitably wake up and find yourself making dubious promises like 'I'm never touching alcohol again', but in the event that it's genuine, then JackPot! You've spared yourself a life of post-binge regrets and days upon days of self-loathing and wishing the ground would open up and swallow you.

Of course, it's also entirely possible you find that you absolutely love alcohol and that your life will feel completely empty and pointless without it, but this is also no bad thing, because to be frank, sobriety sucks and teetotallers are tedious beyond belief. People only tolerate them because of daft notions like 'politeness' and 'courtesy'. People, and life in general, are much more fun once they're three sheets to the wind.

Good luck!

I always try to drink a non-alcoholic drink after every (or at least every second) alcoholic drink, and it's served me well. I've never been too drunk for comfort and, until I hit middle age, I never had any hangovers either. I'd try to stick to the same drink the first time you try, as mixing different types of drinks (eg having a cocktail, a beer and wine) can make you more drunk and more hungover. Also make sure you eat plenty beforehand/during and be aware that for at least some women (I am one of them) where you are with your menstrual cycle can affect things - I have fairly low alcohol tolerance, but it was always even lower on or close to my period.

Enjoy, and cheers!