Where We First Learned Alcohol = Fun

Do you know the chocolate cream liqueur from the Sweet Shoppe, the liquor that tastes like chocolate milk? 

That was my first encounter with alcohol. 

I was probably 8 or 9 years old, watching my mom pull out a bottle from the cabinet. The bottle screams delicious treats. I mean, there was even a picture of chocolate on it! 

I watched her pour her and my dad each a small glass of thick, chocolate-milk-like liquor, stirred two ice cubes in there, each had a sip, then a long sigh. 

I can feel the water in my mouth, and I begged them for a taste. 

They laughed and told me it’s an “alcohol-only treat”. 

I watched them finish the glass, and my mom’s cheek looked rosier than usual. At some point, she started giggling, humming while skipping across the room. 

I rarely see that much joy in my mom’s face, and that moment stuck with me long after they finished the bottle of Sweet Shoppe. 

Why am I sharing this random memory with you? 

Because many of us learned to associate alcohol with having a good time. But have you ever wondered how we learned to connect fermented juice with happiness? 

Digging through my memory, I realized that for me, it started with the chocolate-milk-like Sweet Shoppe.  

What was the first time you learned to associate drinking with having a good time? 

Jeanette 

Micro-Dose Journal Prompt 

What is your earliest memory of alcohol being linked to happiness, fun, or relief? What do you remember seeing, feeling, or absorbing in that moment?