to think you shouldn't take your drink back home with you after a party

[zerominuszero]

We hosted an England game party last night and everyone who came brought beer, as you'd expect for what was a very boozy affair. One friend of ours, known for his lack of etiquette, brought a bottle of wine. Slightly odd, as no one was drinking wine, including him: he drank our beers (and ate our food) all night. This morning I realised that at the end of the night, he took his unopened bottle of wine back home with him. I am amazed: surely drink you present at a party becomes the property of the hosts, even if it doesn't get drunk? Or am I being a little harsh?

I'm not actually going to mention it to him, it's just that he's gone down further in my estimation.

Feel free to give opinions.

You should have drunk it!
It's odd behaviour though, I wouldn't worry about it, just make sure it's opened next time

Is he Scottish? There was a thread about this not so long ago and it seems there's a cultural divide. I'm with you - it's rude.

What a classy dude.

Hmm. If i take my own alcohol i drink that and thentake home whatever i have left. ANd thats what the other ppl i am with would do.

BUT

If i took a bottle then drank different alcohol i would leave bottle. As would friends.

YANBU

I went to a barbie yesterday. Took a bottle of Pimms (as I knew the hosts were doing Pimms too). Mine didn't get opened (lemonade ran out) and we went onto the wine.

They offered me mine to take home. Wouldn't have dreampt of it - they provided wonderful food, booze and entertainment and it would have been very rude of me to take it away with me.

Mind, I told them we'll drink it at their next barbie!

I would never dream of taking stuff home - well, not since I was a student! Also, as a host, excess booze is one of the perks of hosting IMO

IMO you take drink to a party as a gift to the host, not just so you can drink it yourself, so taking it away with you is odd indeed.

And I'm Scottish!

I don't drink so usually bring a footstuff.

But I suppose it depens on what type of drink.

Up here, some times people will bring very expensive bottles of whisky, and share out drams to drinkers, but take what remains back with them.

gaelicsheep I'm Scottish and would never dream of doing that. I know acouple of people who would but that's not cos their Scottish it's cos they're just rude.

Badgermonkey: yep, agreed, we throw a lot of parties and spend quite a bit of money on hosting so it's nice to have a fridge full of left over booze at the end as a reward.

As for the Scottish thing, nope, he's not Scottish and I don't think he has any Scottish ancestry, as far as I know. But he is certainly an 'idiosyncratic' character to say the least.

I think it's rude.

I don't tend to frequent parties but I've never known anyone to do this,or who'd considering doing this.

My parents recently hosted a party for neighbours who were moving abroad recently and everyone left the drinks they'd brought to the party.

Now they have 20+ bottles of everything from champagne to banana liqueur to rum.

Very rude, if he gives it to you its yours whether its drunk or not. Have to admit if I take a particularly nice bottle I do encourage host to open it sometimes so we can all share it which I know is cheeky but I would never take it back. Although one of our now (ex)friends who was invited to out wedding did a similar thing on a bigger scale. All alcohol was provided all night no pay bar at all which we thought was very generous. We bought all the alcohol and he knew this but he stole a whole case of red wine. One of my parents friends caught it with him when he unloaded it from parents friends car and parents friend said he said he had to give it back. He refused so parents friend conviscated it gave it back to us all very embarrassing but now exfriend who I knew from the age of 10 never apologised at all even though he knew that we knew what happened. I wouldn't have minded if he had just said look it was a stupid drunken mistake but he never apologised at all. Some people are just strange and very rude!

Well,in my family & group of friends in Scotland it would be a major faux pas.
So,I do not think it is a set in stone Scottish thing to do.
You get tight gits & alcoholics everywhere!

And I'm another Scot.

I would quite like it if people took their unopened wine away with them as I'm a bit snobby selective about the wine I drink.

Ignore the extra and unnecessary recently.

no that is just rude.

When I was a child some friends came to stay with us for the weekend, she and my mum went shopping and each bought a case of beer, then when they went to leave the next day they asked for their beer saying "well, we drank your beers last night so we'll take ours with us."

The way I see it, whatever you paid for the drink you brought - even if it's a bottle of spirits - is still less than you'd pay on an equivalent night out. If you drink it all, that's perfectly acceptable, but if there's some left, or even if your bottle didn't get opened, it's your "fee" for the party. A bottle of wine will have cost him less than the beer he was swilling all night, so he should have left it. It's OK to bring wine and drink beer, I think, but not to take it back with you.

YANBU.
I think it's rude, but DH has done this.
Drives me up the wall!
I have nagged sufficiently, I think, to stophim doing it.

I left my alcahol-free Becks last night at FILs. I'll probably drink it next time I'm there!

Florin,that is a shocking story!

Have to agree with other people saying that it is defintely the hostess's/host's perk to have lots of (hopefully!) lovely wine & champers left behind!

It's a bit uncouth but I also think its a bit odd that you are keeping tabs on it and him. Who really cares?

does anyone else want a friend ' known for his lack of etiquette' too?

I never got much of a chance to look at the bottle but knowing him, I suspect it was probably a £2.99 job