Author(s): Ben Canaider

Wine & Drinks

For the last decade Ben Canaider has been a professional drinker, writing about booze for magazines and newspapers.

From Aardvark liqueur to Zambucatinis, he's not only drunk and got silly on nearly every alcoholic beverage in the world, he's done so in environments and at events where he should perhaps have known better. Posh champagne tastings or bogan weddings held at paintball ranges, it matters not, as long as there's a glass or an esky at arm's length. Professional drinking does have its down sides, however: health issues, annoying loved ones, hangovers and tired-and-emotional syndrome. Every aspect of getting on it is got on in this ill-gotten and ill-remembered book. Living in a pub, learning to make grappa, attending AA meetings, drinking vintage port in the Douro Valley, drowning in rivers while drinking Southern disComfort - no beer coaster is left unturned. Yet, in the frank and often poignant account of the world of drinkers and drinking, a small light of moderation and hope shines. Go inch by inch, rather than binge by binge; have a beer after work, a glass of wine at dinner, a nightcap, a heart-starter. Not that drinking can ever be wrong, according to Canaider. Besides, only the wowsers talk about its evils. Drinkers simply ask, 'What are you having?' First published 2007.