Tuesday, April 23, 2013

A peasant upgrades his status

Leap of a Beta moves up to post-college alchohol and finds he likes it:
During last week’s brouhaha about the Yale SWUG article, the discussion at Dalrock’s place veered towards the poor taste in alcohol among college kids. Leap of a Beta opened it up with this:

Gotta h/t both Badger and Vox on the wine tip originally. Tried it for awhile after they pointed out beer being a drink of the peasants. I find I get more attention and don’t feel as sluggish without the carbs, which is worth a few extra dollars a drink. Depending on mood I now alternate between a red wine and johnny walker black on the rocks. I enjoy both and get comments almost every time I order.

He is referencing these posts by me (on avoiding the brotastic beer shield) and Vox Day (where he refers to beer drinkers as “peasants“), and he’s following up on an excellent point: in America at least, there’s a class distinction communicated by the alcohol you drink. Thus, you can quickly and easily raise your apparent social status by ordering better stuff.

Put simply, the social status ranking goes like this: light-colored beers < dark-colored beers < stiff cocktails < red wine.
Of course, this doesn't mean that you need to become a pompous wine snob obsessed with expensive French cabernets and overpriced, ironically titled Napa merlots. My favorite table wines are inexpensive Spanish tempranillos and Chilean carménères, although I won't turn up my nose at an Australian syrah or a Piemontese dolcetto if they happen to be on sale. Badger is absolutely correct to point out that one of the more interesting things about wine is that there is a story behind so many of them.

And let's face it, there are few ways to DHV than to be drinking a wine made from a grape the woman hasn't even heard of before. Particularly if you can tell an interesting story about first being introduced to it by local restaurateur in Valdepeñas or Le Langhe.

72 comments:

Ioweenie said...

Wine's higher alcohol content helps one get a buzz for fewer cals, too. However, the gazillion new microbrew products often have higher alcohol content, not to mention cool artwork on packaging/labeling. Doubt that helps sex appeal, though. Beer = much gas expulsion (hasn't someone in the Manosphere touted flatulence as a positive?)

Lots of good info and stories for oenophiles via Gary Vayerchuck (tv.winelibrary.com/).

OffTheCuff said...

Isn't wine contextual? I live in a LMC town, and if I'm shooting pool, even a martini glass is effeminate. I stick to either a manhattan on the rocks or a Guinness on those nights. Any stemware seems prissy. Bowling? Good microbrew. That's very different than a work function in Boston, or a restaurant dinner with friends.

Ioweenie said...

Upgrade wineTV to http://dailygrape.com/

Heh said...

Bowling? Good microbrew.

Bowling downgrades your status to peasant no matter what you drink while doing it.

asdf said...

Hard liquor (without sugary mixers) is a liquor that changes a lot with the drinker. If a prole drinks whiskey straight he's a hard drinking alcy. If a guy in a suit does it he's Don Draper.

Vidad said...

There's something to this line of thinking, Vox. You've opened my mind to the perception created by wine, even though I prefer beer.

My choices, if open, are:

1: Gin martini
2: Whiskey/Tequila/Vodka/Mescal
3: Beer
4: Wine

Anecdote on perceived value:

I made a batch of 100+ proof pear brandy with a converted pressure cooker (OH DAMN ANOTHER REASON TO BAN THEM!!!) and impressed the living daylights out of a couple gals with the result. Organic homegrown pears, too.

When I brewed my own beer by sprouting grain in trays to malt it, then roasting, fermenting and bottling it... the conversation between my wife and female visitors invariably turned into a discussion of "what a mess" beer making was.

Natalie said...

I'd put single malts right up there with most wines.

Also, some of us like peasants. The beer is good, and they're a lot better at helping you fix your roof. 4-wheelers, guns, and beer (the beer afterwards). It's good to be a redneck :D

earl said...

If I drink beer...I like it to be stout. I'm done with weak light beers.

But I prefer the hard liquors straight...scotch mostly and whiskey.

NateM said...

Funny how the times also change things, back in prohibition days Martinis were created because drinking straight liquor was considered the trait of a drunk, and the affordable wines like Thunderbird and Night Train were the hallmark of sterno bums. (In the US at least).

I have taken a long break from beer but have gone back recently. I never liked how filling it was and could always drink more Jack or Jim. Though I have learned recently that wines have just as many calories as beer, if not more (for Sherry or Port). I have been dialing way back since I'm back in a heavy workout routine, but I used to love to relax with a nice White Russian.

Bullitt315 said...

NateM

I went through a White Russian phase in college and gained 10-15lb in a month (I drank a lot of them)and have stayed away from them since but they're pretty good. Now I drink mostly whiskey, bourbon over scotch, and the occasional peasant brew.

Daniel said...

As good as the story about a wine can be, sometimes a story about the last time you had a certain wine is just as good.

"Coltibuono Chianti? Very nice. Last time I had it, a knife was pointed at me."

Ioweenie said...

Beer (worth drinking) has more calories than wine, though not by large amounts. 5-ounces cabernet has 120 cals and delivers 1 ounce alcohol. 12-ounce Guinness Extra Stout delivers 152 cals and 1 ounce alcohol. Beer is more filling, but wine has a way of going down way too fast (for me), resulting in too many calories, headache, and lots of chocolate consumption. Always delicious but hard to manage for a shrimpo female such as I am. But I soliposize . . .

Ioweenie said...

White Russians. Long live The Dude.

charles said...

The ilk might enjoy sampling an Argentine Malbec or Merlot. It so happens I found these inexpensive but wonderful wines by traveling to Argentina; but you can find them at your corner liquor store as well. Try with beef for best effect.

Orion said...

I guess I am a semi-peasant. I really enjoy Michigan wines myself. I started drinking with wine and had to edge my way into beer. I'll have a Coke before I'd touch a Bud any day.

Mina said...

Sierra Nevada, various Pinot Noirs, Merlots and Cabernets ... and Jameson's Irish Whiskey.

Other than that we drink water and coffee. and sometimes milk - but only with pizza.

I spent the winter intensely power-lifting and doing the intermittent fasting thing (3pm - 10am) Don't know when they say "liquids are ok during the fast" if they included wine but I still leaned out and lost several % of body fat indulging in several glasses after my workout.

Wine - it's what's for dinner. But only if you've been good and finished your workout first.

T14 said...

Depending on the crowd, wine may get you in way over your head. Oenophiles are notorious for sniffing out a poser.

If one wishes to project classy a martini is safe and delicious. But with gin. Always with gin. Plymouth if available.

Anonymous said...

I advise anyone who travels alot around Europe to pick up two bottles of whiskey in the airport. One regular favourite and one experiment. Build a little spirits cabinet in your pad, have some good tumblers. Really helps close, as well as feeling great. Best inexpensive whiskeys (around $60 for 1 litre in the airport):

Johnnie Walker Double Black
Glenlivet 12 year
Aberfeldy 12 year
Yamazaki 12 year

I'm also quite partial to the "travel only" whiskeys such as Johnnie Walker Spice Road.

NateM said...

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotsmac

Wine, spirits... I think I've found the Ilk's ideal beverage.

Californio_6th_ gen said...

"If a prole drinks whiskey straight he's a hard drinking alcy. If a guy in a suit does it he's Don Draper."

Be Don Draper. And by that - it means more than wearing a suit (but that is a good start).

http://www.theonion.com/articles/as-you-can-see-from-my-namebrand-clothing-i-am-not,10836/

Anonymous said...

Wine is for limp-wrists and liberals. Beer is a man's drink. Not the cruddy American beer, but good Mexican and European beer; although real beer made in America is good, like Sam Adams.

Daniel said...

Templeton Rye, blood red wine and Guinness.

It's what's for dinner.

NateM said...

"Good Mexican beer"

>good
>Mexican

Huh?

Unknown said...

I have always thought wine makes a man look effete.

Perhaps he just had a bit more swagger when he wasn't ordering beer. Or, also, on approach, maybe he looked at her, down at his glass, and raised his eyebrows expectantly hoping for a question.

Will Best said...

Beer (worth drinking) has more calories than wine, though not by large amounts.

Its not the calories, its the source of the calories. Most the calories in beer come from carbs which mucks with your insulin levels. It also doesn't generally have the health benefits that come with red wine.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/low-carb-alcohol/#axzz2RIwK3ff8

--
Best inexpensive whiskeys

Yamazaki isn't bad, but I prefer Glenmorangie if I am going inexpensive. Though I suppose if people are going to chill it sub 40 and water it down it doesn't really matter what they use.


Old Harry said...

I agree with OffTheCuff's view regarding context. Being seen in Baldwin County, AL or Washington Parish, LA with a stemmed glass is an invitation to an ass whipping. Tequila seems to be a DHV in rural honky-tonks. Whether eating the worm holds any charm as a demonstration of machismo, you would have to find a redneck hamster and ask it.
My grandmother ran a redneck beer joint, complete with sawdust on the floor, and if you're in that type of place, remember, being drunk can get the crap beat out of you, quickly.

jlw said...

Born to drink beer! Once hiked all day in the heat of Big Bend, Texas. Had *just* enough water to remain comfortable until coming back to the central Basin where the park store was. All they had was Bud. That ice cold watery Bud was the perfect thing. No wine or booze could come close.

TheBrain said...

This depends greatly on what social setting you're in. While beer may, indeed, be a peasant drink, some peasant women are quite attractive and one may want to sleep with them.

Drinking wine or high-status drinks when you're trying to bed some hot southern girl is just going to come off as pretentious. That said, you don't need to slum it with Bud Light either.

Microbrews are a great option in that scenario. They communicate a level of class and they also have their own stories associated with them, very similar to wine. They will be a good DHV when you're not in the most ritzy part of town. Yet they won't appear effeminate, and if you are challenged on that "pansy" beer, you can simply demonstrate the fact that it has twice the alcohol of that shitty, piss-water Bud everyone else is drinking.

But microbrews do not serve the same DHV function when in a classier part of town. In those circumstances, stick to wine, high-status mixed drinks (or on the rocks) to maintain a DHV there. Keep your favorite microbrews for enjoyment at home.

AmyJ said...

I agree with eidolon. Whenever I see a man order wine and we're not at a wine bar, it strikes me a little effeminate, not high status, regardless of whether or not I've heard of it before. Whisky has always had manly connotations for me (hence, why I don't drink it), but a guy knowing his whisky and how to drink it? Those always seem to be the ones who know what they're doing in all things and rank higher, at least in my eyes. I know it's anecdotal, but it's hard for me to understand why wine is considered to be a higher status symbol than classic liquors.

Ioweenie said...

Hello, Daniel. I like your menu (and thinking).

TheBrain - any microbrew recommendations? My son has a new "favorite" every week, it seems. Last week it was Bells Beer Two Hearted Ale. I'd like to get one up on him.

Will Best - Dark beers, Guinness Extra Stout in particular, seem to have more benefits than most beers. Probably nothing as healthy as red wine, though. No argument there.

Sigyn said...

Eh, I don't drink anymore after His Lordship got me drunk and took advantage of me.

...What? He made me mail a bunch of mutant gila monsters to Santa Fe. Why are you looking at me like that?!

Ioweenie said...

Replace all "microbrew" references with "craft." Respectfully, Old and Out of Date.

Ioweenie said...

Calling all peasants. Hilarious episode on Lambics . . .

http://tv.winelibrary.com/2008/08/14/lambic-beer-tasting-episode-519/

Leap of a Beta said...

From what I can tell, a good whiskey will serve to DHV in situations the wine would look try hard.

I might still drink beer occasionally when going out, but solely on nights out with men I'd consider part of my family of men. My tribe. Never drink it otherwise.

I've even stopped buying it for home because I found it was a relaxer to the point I wouldn't want to get any work done on side projects, but hard liquor doesn't make me lazy.

VD said...

I know it's anecdotal, but it's hard for me to understand why wine is considered to be a higher status symbol than classic liquors.

Have you ever been to European wine country? Then consider that whiskey is made from swamp.

Josh said...

Then consider that whiskey is made from swamp.

Tasting notes for expensive bottles of scotch include flavors like...peat, seaweed, smoke, earth...

Nate said...

"Have you ever been to European wine country? Then consider that whiskey is made from swamp."

There's no swamp in Kentucky sugar tits.

Josh said...

And obviously the best cocktail is the sidecar.

feral1404 said...

Two days growth of beard, a heavy, not-too-expensive wristwatch, slight bed head and a well cut shirt showing off the hard-earned muscle... then top with either a snifter half-full of single malt scotch (preferably Oban) or a Sapphire and tonic (twist of lime); held low to the waist in the watch hand, so that the line of her glance goes: arm-muscle, nice watch, sensible drink.

This has never failed to elicit the hair-tossing and sideways smile/glance for me.

Wine is great - no argument there - but single malts, vodkas and gins do enunciate the slight danger they're looking for, if taken in neat amounts. Drink them neat. Little to no mix means non-puss.

Res Ipsa said...

“I have always thought wine makes a man look effete.”

So do other people. Mostly guys FWIW. A glass of red wine stands out in a bar. It is easy for anyone in the place to see that it isn’t what everyone else is having. That is what you are going for, NOT BEING LIKE ALL THE OTHER HORN DOG LOSSERS LOOKING TO SCORE.

Vox, how do you put up with this level of density?

Guys if 80% of the males of your acquaintance are going to bed alone tonight, but 20% of them aren’t maybe you should be more like the 20%. Do stuff that the chicks love. Be mysterious, be aloof, BE DIFFERENT.

As for the type of bar, if you’re looking for chicks, why would you go to a rough neck bar? Granted Vox’s idea of a great bar probably looks more like something out of Duran Duran video, but that doesn’t matter. If you’re trolling for bar chicks, go where the bar chicks hang out. If you’re in a college town these places will be easy to find. Make sure you dress better than the other guys, again not hard to do. If you can’t swing the cash for a great outfit, at least buy high grade shoes. In the US the minimum brand to consider is Allen Edmonds. If you really want to stand out rent a better car for the weekend, you can pick up BMW’s, Camaro, Mustang, nicer SUV’s, Caddie’s etc for less than $100/day in most cities. Rent one. If she says anything about it being a rental, it will be on the way to your hotel room. Tell her you wanted to test drive one before you bought another car.

JEEZ guys this crap is easy.

Look good. Act successful. Be disinterested. Stand out from the crowd. Bar/club chicks are in the bar because they want to get laid/test themselves against other women. They are eagerly trying to get some guy in the sack, but they want to get the BEST guy they can. BE that guy.

None of this stuff is hard. If she isn’t a virgin, or married, she’s a skank and more likely than not, ready to hop on and give you a try.

Vox you should write on more challenging aspects of game like: after 20 years of marriage and building a good Christian home; how do you get the wife to come home from work, be a great house keeper, fix a gourmet meal, home school the kids, get them to bed and prowl around the bedroom like a horny Victoria Secrets model.

Supernaut said...

Then consider that whiskey is made from swamp.

Meh. What makes Whiskey is the aging in wood oak barrels. Without that aging, it's just glorified vodka.

One other thing about the difference between college and post college drinking behavior is the approach to spirits.

Whiskey (Scotch, Bourbon & Irish) were all meant to be SIPPED at a slow, leisurely pace. Same goes for Tequila and Rum.

College frat house drinking is usually based on shooting it or mixing it with cola...which is of course, because they also usually only buy cheaply made, popular brand whiskeys, tequila's and rums.

I had the proverbial Jose Cuervo shooters college experience with a most memorable hangover. I never drank Tequila for almost 10 years since, except for the occasional margarita at a mexican restaurant.

But a trip to mexico and some tequila distillery tours was quite the eye opening education.

The problem is that most folks experience with tequila is the mixto - only 51% agave spirit, the rest, rot gut sugar alcohol (shitty rum).

I never knew that! And, like Scotland, the tequila mongers I talked to kept saying it was a travesty that most Americans shoot tequila. Like fine whiskey, fine tequila's and mezcals (100% agave) are to be sipped as well.

Once you start doing so, you begin to notice the complexity of flavors that emerge in the after burn from high grade spirits.

The last time I was at a bar, I ordered a double Don Julio, neat. The bartender looked at me in astonishment.

"No ice? No mixer? Would you like a little soda or a beer as a chaser?"

"No thanks, just the tequila, please."

"Wow! You're a REAL MAN!"

lol - It looks cheesy in writing, but the way she actually said it, the admiration and awe in her voice and facial expression where genuine.

I've had similar reactions ordering high proof whiskeys neat as well (Bookers Bourbon, 129 proof).



Josh said...

If you can’t swing the cash for a great outfit, at least buy high grade shoes. In the US the minimum brand to consider is Allen Edmonds.

And, given the competition, it really isn't that hard to look better. Well fitting ocbd and a blazer. And if you can't swing AE's, make sure your shoes are at the minimum leather, not square toed, and shined.

VD said...

Vox, how do you put up with this level of density?

It's all pretty binary to me. And by this point it is second nature.

Supernaut said...

There's no swamp in Kentucky sugar tits.

Just glorious limestone water wells. Someday, I will be making the pilgrimage to Bourbon country. Already visited Scotland and Ireland for the whisky tours...Kentucky is next on the bucket list for booze themed tours.

Anonymous said...

Single malt scotch has reached the zenith of class markers now. Even higher than wine. And at $100+ per bottle, it had better. SWPL men angling for status whoring points love to gab about this or that scotch's provenance. Good beer ($8/pint or more) is also absorbing class markers, and competes well with red wine. Home brewing has become the upper middle class striver's hobby of choice.

Supernaut said...

Single malt scotch has reached the zenith of class markers now. Even higher than wine. And at $100+ per bottle, it had better.

Unfortunately. I discovered a taste for it a few years prior to it's explosion in popularity. I used to get bottles of Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, and Laphroaig for around $20, and The MaCallan, Talisker, Oban and Dalwhinnie for under $40.

Those days are long gone.

However, the price increase of Scotch drove me to Bourbon. I got into some of the best Bourbon's when those were relatively still cheap too. Those days are going by the wayside as well.

Whiskey is really growing in popularity worldwide. For long time fan's and aficionados, it's been a mixed blessing. More availability at more venues...but everything we used to enjoy at bargain prices are now priced at a premium.

SWPL men angling for status whoring points love to gab about this or that scotch's provenance.

I once attended a Whiskey tasting event in which the guy pouring was one such specimen. He didn't know jack, but was talking like he did. After a few corrections from myself, he started telling anyone with questions about the scotch to ask me. lol

I didn't mean deliberately AMOG him, but I had just returned from a 14 day tour of Scotland including several distillery visits, and I couldn't bear to listen to his wildly incorrect sales pitch.

However, I did help him to sell a few extra bottles of Ardbeg, so he poured me at least 6 drams more than I was supposed to get for my tasting fee.

Sigyn said...

after 20 years of marriage and building a good Christian home; how do you get the wife to come home from work, be a great house keeper, fix a gourmet meal, home school the kids, get them to bed and prowl around the bedroom like a horny Victoria Secrets model.

And also how to make sure she doesn't start wondering why she keeps you around. Don't forget that part.

Res Ipsa said...

"And also how to make sure she doesn't start wondering why she keeps you around. Don't forget that part."

No danger in that. Preformance upgrades at this stage in the game is the only thing I'd be interested in.

Ioweenie said...

Res: Vox you should write on more challenging aspects of game like: after 20 years of marriage and building a good Christian home; how do you get the wife to come home from work, be a great house keeper, fix a gourmet meal, home school the kids, get them to bed and prowl around the bedroom like a horny Victoria Secrets model.

Well, Vox does write fantasy.

Res Ipsa said...

"Well, Vox does write fantasy."

Ba ha ha! True.

At some point in marriage both people know that the relationship is secure and they learn that no matter what, the other person is used to the idiosyncrasies of the relationship. My cheerleader fantasy may not come true, but neither is her fantasy about me doing more house work. The main difference between the two fantasies being that mine would make us both happy and hers would make us both unhappy. That’s not the point though. When you have something that works, you go with it. Sometimes you can fine tune it, sometimes you leave well enough alone. A wise man knows which is which.


Sigyn said...

No danger in that. Preformance upgrades at this stage in the game is the only thing I'd be interested in.

Gentlemen, we can rebuild her. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic woman. Better than she was before. Better, stronger, faster.

Dit-dit-dit-dit...

(Cue the Lindsay Wagner jokes.)

Anonymous said...

What about those of us that do not drink alcohol at all?

Joe Blow said...

I think Leap is full of it. Drink choice is totally contextual. If you're around the secretarial pool, red wine is considered upscale. If you're around more sophisticated people, a clever beer choice (e.g. Kwak with mussels, a nice lambic with a cheese & fruit plate) will be admired, particularly by foodies and actual sophisticates. I go to a lot of work-related cocktail parties / happy hours. House Red and House White are the usual choices, either gratis or at a discount for a firm happy hour. These wines are the cheap beer of upscale folks and it may impress the secretaries and the Summer Associates, most of the other people will think you're a buffoon if you try to pass yourself off as special with your pedestrian wine.

Top of the pack if you're trying to lay some intrigue on reasonably sophisticated people, is a good old school cocktail. Nothing pairing a fruit with "tini" and nothing with an umbrella (unless you're at the beach, with a girl you've already banged). A proper 4:1 martini with an olive is good, as are Sidecars, Negronis, whisky sours, Tom Collins - fine drinks. In a sophisticated crowd, most people will find a martini drinker sophisticated and many will comment on the choice of drink. Manhattans, BTW, are out. They are a granny drink. If you want a manly drink, change the mix from 3:1 Bourbon/Rye to Vermouth, to 5-6:1, extra angostura bitters, and now you're talking about a decent, martini-esque cocktail. I love them that way. But my mom and both grandmas used to get hammered on Manhattans. *Not* a man's drink.

Scotch is nice here but this is another area where you need to know your shit or you will order something that tastes like ass, and you may get sniped if you talk about it the wrong way. Bourbon is a great choice too, though again you need to know your stuff. The proper way to taste any of these whiskies is a sip of the stuff neat, followed by an ice cube or a dash of water, to "open up the nose a bit." You don't want to geek out but if a girl asks about the drink - and she will if you're at a typical work / professional happy hour type thing - you have a lot of openings to talk about it and tease her. As for the guys whining about the price of scotch and bourbon... well gents, you aren't ballers, are you? You shouldn't think twice about buying yourself a little bit of boozy pleasure. Not saying money is no object but if you're worried... well, find out where the paralegals are partying and order a house red.

The real bottom line is if you're going to drink, drink the good stuff and do it knowledgeably and with gusto. It's really about pleasing yourself, and if you're pleased with yourself, the girls will be pleased with you. If you are trying to use a drink to pre-qualify yourself with some girl, you're doing it wrong. Seen that burly older dude in the Southern Comfort ad? Be him. http://youtu.be/ygeWsoYYMuQ

Sensei said...

Meanwhile we lucky peasants get to enjoy our Guinness and local microbrews without worrying how we might be perceived by those who can afford to tailor their drinking choices to the whims of the social hierarchy.

Of course out at the family's house we've made some very nice batches of wild persimmon and wild passionfruit wine too... turned out better than we hoped.

Bogey said...

I was going to say that beer is a more manly drink, but then I thought of James Bond and John Wayne, the magnum alpha. So I have to say Hard liqueur in the place of wine for the more manly.

Bogey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Apollo said...

The efficacy of this advice is going to be location/country/venue dependant. In a number of bars and pubs that I frequent, wine is what women drink. The few men that you do see drinking wine at these places are generally not the most masculine types. If standing out and being different is what youre after, then there are better ways, drink-wise that is, to go about it.

I only go near wine at the more upper market venues where wine is a speciality or when Im having a meal to which wine is appropriately matched. Otherwise, Ill have a hard cocktail or a boutique beer. This has less to do with appearances though, and more just because I have particular tastes in alcohol. I also generally prefer to have wine with food...

Peter Garstig said...

The problem with wine, even more so than with beer: for every good one there are a thousand bad ones.

I prefer Italian mostly (mid-to-northern parts), but outside of swiss and french wine, they are the most overpriced.

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Badger said...

One of the remarkable but predictable features of this thread is the "disproof by counterexample" fallacy - in other words, people citing a personal anecdote that goes against the post's advice, then claiming the author is wrong because they got laid doing something different (or were attracted to/slept with a man who was doing something different). Hence "where I come from, guys look girly when they drink wine" or "I got laid drinking beer so you're wrong."

It's like a gang of country-western songwriters seeped onto the thread.

This is a fallacy because Vox is not making a categorical assertion, only a generalized one. (In the social sciences, almost everything is general and "fuzzy" and noisy in nature; there are very few categoricals, no one is always evil or always a slut or etc.)

So many of the aphorisms and truths of game are generalized, so they are not ironclad; by the same token, it's easy but ultimately pointless to dig up a bevy of anecdotes and claim yourself a master logician. Disproof by counterexample is usually a strong sign of irrational haterism and closed-mindedness - it's a relatively cheap form of rhetoric that's easily countered. Captain Capitalism has in fact dubbed his dismissal of DBE the "St. Leykis Clause," after the radio host who specifically told listeners "I'm speaking in the general here, so don't call me saying 'not ALL women are like that so you're wrong!'"

This is an important thing I've noticed that a lot of people (both women and resistant men) don't get about the concept of game. Game is like a betting strategy in poker or blackjack: over the long run, it gives you the best chance to win. That doesn't mean it will win every hand, and it doesn't mean that other strategies (or ad-hoc seat of your pants strategies that aren't strategic at all) can't win you victories at the table, but the long-term prospects for success are maximized when following the strategy.

To repeat, game was developed specifically from noticing what works repeatably in the long run. We in the manosphere have spent an absurd amount of time arguing against strawmen like "game says I should be able to talk any woman into the sack." The assertion has never been that you can develop some kind of mind control; rather it's been that you will have a better chance at success if you can take on a few of the large number of behaviors exhibited by sociosexually successful men.

I've cited in my beer shield post that guys will dismiss the beer shield and other behavior tics as things that are too small-time to make a difference in a guy's success in the field. Another thing they don't get about strategy - strategy is composed of both a conceptual framework and a bunch of small tactical implementations of the strategy's thinking.

A few weeks back I showed a friend of mine his beer shield and suggested he correct it. He harumphed that something so silly wasn't going to make or break his chances with a girl, but to humor me he held his drink at belt level.

Moments later he met a girl he slept with the next night. Another Badger Hut success story!

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Vidad said...

Josh: "...if you can't swing AE's, make sure your shoes are at the minimum leather, not square toed, and shined."

Chuck Taylors, mofos. That's classic.

Joe Blow said...

I'm with you on that Badger - the general rule is your choice in booze and how you handle it can pre-qualify you or disqualify you. I will even agree that as a general rule, isolated from other factors, red wine is considered the most sophisticated drink.

Context matters though. If you order a Bordeaux during an outdoor party, and it's 93 out (I'll be at about a dozen of these functions over the next 3 months) then reasonably sophisticated people will think you're a complete moron because they know that robust wines taste like ass when they get warm, and you did't know to order a suitable substitute. Ordering a martini around a bunch of knuckleheads drinking house red will set you apart, and not in a negative way; their only "tinis" are Apple-, Cherry- and Peach-, and they will be awed by the grownup drink. And if you're lucky enough to be in a city with good brasserie culture, knowing the right Belgian beer to pair with the right food is incredibly useful social proof - so long as you don't geek out about it.

If your game isn't about shopping for an LTR around top tier white collar professionals or intra-firm pack politics, and you find yourself at TGI Friday's, near the airport, you're traveling and it's Wednesday... you're not going to get a decent martini anyhow unless you make friends with the bartender - plus his gin is probably watered, and you'll look like Traveling Salesman/Desperado Guy. So house red it is.

Anonymous said...

What if I don't like booze?

Nate said...

Josh: "...if you can't swing AE's, make sure your shoes are at the minimum leather, not square toed, and shined."

Men wear boots.

Preferably out of the hide of something deadly. Better if you killed it yourself.

Michael Maier said...

Can you make good-looking boots out of boar? Cuz I really wanna kill one of those ugly cusses.

Nate said...

yep. Pig skin makes great boots

Rick said...

So it's all about appearances, then? If you are alpha, you don't care what other people think of your choice of drink. It's that simple.

Elder Rock said...

There's no swamp in Kentucky sugar tits.

Just glorious limestone water wells. Someday, I will be making the pilgrimage to Bourbon country. Already visited Scotland and Ireland for the whisky tours...Kentucky is next on the bucket list for booze themed tours.


Not to give away the punch line, but I've spent most of the past 6 months in Kentucky on business... and I've discovered a conspiracy. Call it "Mr. Scotch Drinker Goes to Kentucky", and finds out that state is keeping the best whiskey for themselves. Talk about spoiled rotten people. Not that you can't find some of it here and there outside of Kentucky, but you go into an average dump of a hamburger joint there and there's a better selection of whiskey than you'll find in some high falutin' place in your average yankee helltown. Blanton's , Basil Hayden's, Woodford Reserve, Booker's, Baker's, Willet, Pappy Van Winkle, Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Angel's Envy... I'm not going to name them all because my fingers would hurt from all the typing.

You MUST go there... There's a distillery tour about every other exit on I-75.

I still like Scotch, but there's no comparison to good bourbon. Yeah, there are cheap and crappy bourbons that are below Scotch on the totem pole, but numerous bourbons are above all Scotch.


Thurmannba said...

Josh: "... if you can't swing AE, make sure your shoes are in the lowest leather, not square toed, glow."
Men wear boots.
cheap jerseys

Unknown said...

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Anonymous said...

What's wrong with being a peasant? Have you ever met a peasant? I like peasants. They grow barley and grapes, without which we would have neither beer nor wine.
Picking what kind of alcohol to drink based on how other people will perceive you is probably a sign of deep insecurity combined with a need to imbibe more alcohol. Have 5 more of whatever you're having and you won't care what other people think of what you're drinking. This is the social and psychological purpose of inebriation.

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