MacW

I've been thinking a lot about my triggers today.

I've come up with two, that in order to get rid of them, I would have to remove two very important things from my life. Two things I really love.

Firstly, I'm a bit of a foodie. And have always enjoyed selecting wines to accompany different foods/dishes. I can't actually imagine enjoying good food as much without wine.

Secondly, I enjoy fine cigars. However, having tried smoking one last night sober, I came to realize that without a glass of Scotch or Brandy, they are simply not going to taste the same anymore.

So I'm looking for suggestions, on what I could use to fill these gaps? What can I replace wine with over dinner, or Scotch drinking with cigars?

Thanks,

Mac.

JD

I'm not sure how much sober time you have but why don't you try going without fine good and cigars for awhile. I'm enjoying all the same foods I enjoyed before without the wine or beer. I like a good burger or sandwich and fine food. Right now you're associating the booze with the food and it doesn't need to be that way. Cigars are a different story for me. I really don't like the taste in my mouth the day after. When your mouth tasted like crap anyway from booze the cigar was tolerable.

fripfrop

I like pommegranate juice. It looks like a rose wine when its in a glass. Grape juice is another thing that goes nice with meals.
I can't help you with suggestions with the cigar though

Meraviglioso

I like fine food too and consider myself a "foodie" I also couldn't imagine making a meal or going out for a meal without selecting the perfect wine to go with it. But it does get easier. I now enjoy nice dinner out without wine, just sparkling water. There are still certain foods I tend to avoid because for some reason even the thought of them brings the taste of wine to my mouth- cheese tasting places or sushi. At first a big, rare steak was also difficult to confront without a glass of red but I am now able to eat that just fine. Fresh fish eaten at a seaside restaurant without a glass of white was difficult at first but now is fine. Just take it slow. You can still enjoy the great food, I promise.

Leezer

Hi Mac,
I am one of the most serious Foodies I know. I have eaten at some of the most amazing restaurants in the World--The French Laundry, Per Se, minibar in Washington DC--I can tell you this. You will miss NOTHING about alcohol if you order a non-alcoholic pairing. I had a non-A pairing at a 21 course meal at Per Se in New York and the drinks were AMAZING--furthermore, the bartender really enjoyed getting creative. So it CAN be done!!

Meraviglioso

I did a quick google, it seems a quality root beer goes well with cigars. As does Dr. pepper- though that one sounds strange to me. There were also a lot of mentions of coffee and tea. Water and fruit juice seem to get a thumbs down.

JoeCree

Remember a time before the smoking ban that "we" could go to a restaurant and smoke during dinner? There was an outcry about how banning smoking would hurt the restaurant business - never happened, people learned.
Then the biggy. Banning smoking at pubs/bars!!!! No way jose. Welp they did it and guess what people still go to pubs and drink without smoking.
I think you have to seperate the two. If you enjoy fine food, you have to question yourself; did you really enjoy fine food or was it an excuse to have fine wine?
Same with cigars, if you cant enjoy a cigar without booze, maybe you never enjoyed them to begin with. Maybe it was all about a nice Scotch with a side of cigar smoke?

Once you get to the bottom of your addiction you can really start to open your eyes about what your true enjoyments in life are.

MacW

Actually, I can imagine root beer working well. I'll have to give it a try, thanks for the suggestion.

As for the food, I'm going to have to try and avoid certain dishes that always seem to me to shout for a particular style of wine. As you say, steak is hard to imagine without a dry red to clear the juices of the meat from the palate. Fish for some reason, I have always eaten without wine as long as it is grilled/bbq/fried. When it is prepared with a sauce, yes then I will roll out the white. Also there is the whole ritual of drinking wine with good food, I love that part as well.

Maybe I'll switch food types for a while, spicier dishes that wine just doesn't work with. Indian food for example, when spicy enough, has never been something I could drink wine with. Beer yes, wine no.

Anyway, thanks for the ideas.

D122y

Mac,

Your name says it for me...I love a big Mac every few months...

I love all food....I am a Billy goat...

I quit smoking cigars 15 years ago....thank God...

Good food to me doesn't have to be prepared by Gordon Ramsey...

I truly enjoy some fresh oranges in the am....

instant coffee...2 or 3 eggs w cheese, sliced Nathan hotdogs or roast beef....

a winco pepperoni pizza... Capri sun

white castle cheese burgers....glass of milk

Home fried rib eye w instant potatoes...fresh baby spinich salad...

The list goes on...for me...those things I mentioned are as good as anything I have ever eaten at some very expensive restaurants...

Simple man I guess...but...I am set for life financially....unless I ruin it w booze...

dwtbd

Lots of good suggestions so far. Being a self described foodie, maybe concentrate on trying to divine any changes or nuances to your olfactory senses sans wine parings. Plus there ways to enjoy beverage flavor pairings without alcohol.
As to cigars , I used to smoke cigars daily , bold full flavor being my favorites. El Rico Habano double coronas were my everyday smoke. I have switched to vaping , for harm reduction, and have tried cigars since and haven't finished one, can't take the carbonized flavor. Though I still enjoy the 'tobacco' family of e-juices. The sheer number and varieties of flavors is amazing and since they use food flavorings any conceivable combinations are possible. The shopping, sampling and gadget buying are fun , too

MacW

Some good suggestions, thanks very much.

For the cigars, the root beer suggestion made me think of ginger ale, and I can imagine that working really well with a good cigar.

Mac.

dwtbd

Pairing suggestion, colas go well with maduro and Pepsi just put out two new flavors a more robust cola and a ginger cola they are both very nice, the ginger is especially snappy , enjoy

Meraviglioso

They make some great ginger ales now. I am currently on a ginger beer kick (0% alcohol) it is much spicier with more real ginger and less sugar than ginger ale. Really, really good.

leviathan

Look at the food/wine/beer pairing for what it is: a marketing trick.

Fact: alcohol numbs taste buds.

It was weird for me at first... But my level of appreciation for the actual food was elevated without the alcohol vapors washing through my nose.

Best drink for a "foodie"? - H2O.

I got off the tobacco, finally. But, if you're looking for the best drink to go with cigars, it's coffee. Hands down. Chocolate too, if you're going to go completely crazy!

Lance40

I'm a big foodie, and one of the joys of life was to spend a Saturday afternoon cooking for a dinner party with the windows open, classical cranked up on the stereo and working my way through a bottle of red. Let's just leave out the state I was in by the time dinner actually arrived.

I gave up that type of cooking for quite a while when I first got sober. Then when I started Saturday cooking again I'll admit it was pretty hard there for a while. It just wasn't the same with the wine missing from the equation. It was a bit discouraging, but it was maybe a year later one day while cooking I realized the thought of wine hadn't even crossed my mind and that I was having a great time.

We are versatile and adaptable beings, and although it may seem impossible or unlikely now, you may be surprised how you find a new stride and can continue to enjoy food in the absence of alcohol. It may be in a new and different way, but it can still be just as rewarding or even more so in sobriety.

doggonecarl

Mac, I re-read your inital post and, unless I'm misunderstanding something, your present situation, living condition-wise and financially, doesn't sound like good food and fine cigars is the real problem. Maybe in the future, but not now. So focus on getting through the coming days sober.

AnvilheadII

i never GOT the concept of drinking AND eating?? that was always an either - or situation for me!

sobriety is about learning to do things differently.....why not just TRY a nice homecooked meal without already saying it won't work? i think you'd be amazed. just to mix things up a bit, we've been ordering a couple of those meal kits each week - new recipes to explore. new tastes. VERY few have wine, only one that i've seen so far and they give you a teeny tiny bottle.

LadyBlue0527

I'm also a foodie and I guess I had a bit of luck. Beer/wine/any alcohol ruined my food experience. Realistically speaking if I was drinking anything while eating I cared nothing about the food.

Had to laugh, Anvil you must have posted at the same time I did.

Dee74

My taste buds thanked me when I stopped drinking.

I prefer food without alcohol - even the dishes I used to use alcohol in. Gives the other flavours a chance to be noticed

Carl has a point tho. Food for thought, if you pardon the pun

D

MacW

No misunderstanding, entirely correct, my current situation isn't that great financially. However, I need to caveat that by saying that as long as I stay off the drink and actually get a days work done every day for a week or so, my finances will be fixed. I look at my work calendar, and there is a gap of 17 days where every project is flagged red, meaning I didn't get them completed on time. I was too busy in "one more day out drinking won't hurt" mode. That being said, I sat down and spoke to all of the clients on Saturday, explaining I had some problems I had to deal with, and all but one of them was happy to shift deadlines. I guess I'm lucky in the fact I a) earn good money when I am sober enough to work and b) live in a place where putting my life back together materially is not going to cost that much.

So, if I can stay sober and actually work 8 hours a day for a week, I can then find myself a nice new apartment, and start enjoying the other things in my life. Just thinking ahead a little. I've been through this process so many times in the past. 1-2 weeks dry, get paid a few thousand dollars for the work I did in that time, then work gets pushed to the side and I go out drinking until I am broke again. So I am trying to prepare myself for that coming eventuality in a few days. It's my real danger time. Part of a cycle I have been in for years now. One I really have to break.