There is a history of Huntingtons Disease in my family. One of the early signs is movement or twitches. My Grandfather who never drank more than 2 drinks a year noticed after a toast he made that the twitches were a little less. So, he started to have a drink in the evening before dinner. He was never drunk or in any other way different from his normal self.
For as long as I remember dinner at my Grandparents house was a big deal and my Grandfather would always recite a poem or tell us a story or in some way enlighten us with his dazzling intellect and well honed wit. The drink helped him prolong this tradition for probably a year or two. He passed away a little over 2 years ago and I miss him very much. But I digress ....
Mewoman, your nice guy may be the biggest raging alcoholic in the great white north, or maybe there is something else. One way to find out though ...
Talk to him if you think he is worth the effort to find out.
By the way, speaking is still a tradition for us at Sunday dinners and we pass it around like a badge of honor and wait for our turns to come up like kids waiting for Christmas.