Originally Posted by
thegrasshopper 
What state was he in during the day, after having had a few shots in the morning to keep him going? He would never appear drunk, but he surely was in an altered state? And he would drive too! I just don't understand how one doesn't appear drunk if they have had so much to drink.. Sorry if this is naive.
No, not naive at all, alcoholism isn't something we are taught, it's pretty much something we learn about when we have to/want to.
When you use a drug, pretty much any drug, whether that is heroin or alcohol, eventually you build up a tolerance to it. You need more and more to get high.
For him 2 shots would be almost nothing, just enough to stop the withdrawal for the morning. Does that make him impaired? If he took two shots and walked out the door to work, possibly he could be over the legal limit to drive, depending on your laws.
The alcohol is still in the blood stream like it is for anyone, it's the way it affects his brain that would be different. If I had 2 shots right now I would definitely be tipsy as would most people who don't drink very often. He might have 4 drinks in half an hour and appear completely normal, but you or I would not because we haven't developed that tolerance.