60 Drinking Quotes About How Alcohol Affects You

Whether it’s a glass of wine or a bottle of beer, drinking alcohol is a common custom throughout many different cultures.

The drinking quotes below will show you how alcohol affects people from the inside and out. 

How has drinking alcohol affected you in the past? 

The quotes below are from many different people including celebrities, writers, and philosophers.

But they all have one thing in common: they have tried alcohol.

Whether for or against drinking, the quotes discuss a myriad of topics including alcoholism and getting drunk.

We invite you to learn from the experiences of others and remember their words the next time you’re craving a drink. 

We hope you enjoy these quotes below!

Don’t forget to also check out these alcohol quotes about drinking and partying.

If you enjoy this article, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily motivation. 

If you want more motivational quotes, check out our motivational quotes category page.

Drinking quotes about drunkenness

1. “An American monkey, after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus is much wiser than most men.” – Charles Darwin

2. “All the mistakes I’ve ever made in my life have been when I’ve been drunk. I haven’t made hardly any mistakes sober, ever, ever.” – Tracey Emin

You will also enjoy our article on quotes on addiction.

3. “You don’t quite know how drunk you are until all of a sudden you’re on the floor.” – Gina Gershon

4. “A man’s true character comes out when he’s drunk.” – Charlie Chaplin

5. “An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.”– Ernest Hemingway
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of Ernest Hemingway quotes from the iconic author.

6. “Drunkenness being nothing but a voluntary madness, it emboldens men to undertake all sorts of mischief; it both irritates wickedness and discovers it; it does not only make men vicious, but shows them to be so; and the end of it is either shame or repentance.” – Wellins Calcott 

7. “Well it’s hard to remember who, but I drunk dial a lot.” – Adam Garcia

8. “I am very good at keeping secrets, except when I am drunk, when I will tell you absolutely anything.” – Nicola Walker

9. “Alcohol is barren. The words a man speaks in the night of drunkenness fade like the darkness itself at the coming of day.” – Marguerite Duras

10. “Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness.” — Seneca

Drinking quotes about alcohol

11. “I like liquor — its tastes and effects — and that is just the reason why I’ll never drink it.” – Stonewall Jackson

12. “That’s the problem with drinking, I thought, as I poured myself a drink. If something bad happens you drink in an attempt to forget; if something good happens you drink in order to celebrate; and if nothing happens you drink to make something happen.” – Charles Bukowski

13. “When I stopped drinking… there were so many things I had to face that I didn’t even realize were part of my makeup before. When you do that and have any changes that severe, you lose a lot of things, both good and bad.” – Jason Isbell

14. “Now don’t say you can’t swear off drinking; it’s easy. I’ve done it a thousand times.” – W.C. Fields

15. “Here’s to alcohol, the rose-colored glasses of life.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

16. “Drinking intensifies all your pressures and your needs.” – Desi Arnaz

17. “First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

18. “I drink to make other people more interesting.” – Ernest Hemingway 

19. “This is one of the disadvantages of wine: it makes a man mistake words for thought.” – Samuel Johnson

20. “When you stop drinking, you have to deal with this marvelous personality that started you drinking in the first place.” – Jimmy Breslin

21. “Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer.” – Henry Lawson

22. “I began to think vodka was my drink at last. It didn’t taste like anything, but it went straight down into my stomach like a sword swallowers’ sword and made me feel powerful and godlike.” – Sylvia Plath

23. “Drinking makes such fools of people, and people are such fools to begin with, that it’s compounding a felony.” – Robert Benchley

24. “Of all vices, drinking is the most incompatible with greatness.” – Walter Scott

25. “Responsible drinking? Now that’s an oxymoron.” – Aaron Howard

If you enjoy this article, check out our collection of margarita quotes celebrating the classic cocktail.

Drinking quotes about alcoholism

26. “Alcoholism is a complicated disease, and you never know when you’ll be tempted to pick up another drink.” – Davinia Taylor

27. “Alcoholism is a disease of the whole person.” – Maurice Gelinas

28. “I have a very powerful form of alcoholism. I finally gave up and accepted the fact that if I even smell too much booze, I’m going to start drinking again. That’s just how I am.” – John Rzeznik

29. “Let us be clear and concise on this point: Alcoholism is a disease. We can never be cured of alcoholism, but we can arrest the disease and pull it up on its tracks.” – Tyrone Patrick Fahey 

30. “Alcoholism isn’t always what you think it is. It’s not just the Bowery bum or the squeegee guy or that uncle of yours who gets roaring drunk at Thanksgiving. Sometimes it’s the person with the college degree and the good job and the nice family and the bright future. Sometimes, in other words, it’s us.” – Michael Levin 

31. “Alcoholism is a self-diagnosis. Science offers no biopsy, no home kit to purchase at CVS. Doctors and friends can offer opinions, and you can take a hundred online quizzes, but alcoholism is something you must know in your gut.” – Sarah Hepola 

32. “Frankly, I was horrified by life, at what a man had to do simply in order to eat, sleep, and keep himself clothed. So I stayed in bed and drank. When you drank the world was still out there, but for the moment it didn’t have you by the throat.” – Charles Bukowski

33. “One key symptom of alcoholism is that the individual comes to need a drink for every mood–one to calm down, one to perk up, one to celebrate, one to deal with disappointment, and so on.” – Phyllis A. Balch

34. “The day I became free of alcohol was the day that I fully understood and embraced the truth that I would not be giving anything up by not drinking.” – Liz Hemingway

35. “A man who drinks too much on occasion is still the same man as he was sober. An alcoholic, a real alcoholic, is not the same man at all. You can’t predict anything about him for sure except that he will be someone you never met before.” – Raymond Chandler

36. “When there’s a history of alcoholism in families there’s automatically rules set up, and those rules are don’t talk, don’t trust and don’t feel.” – Donlon Wade 

Drinking quotes from celebrities

37. “If you’re stumbling out of a bar, and people tweet about it, well, don’t be dumb. If you’re going to get falling-down drunk, stay at home – which I did a lot of.” – Jason Bateman

38. “If I go out to dinner with you and you order wine, I leave. I won’t be around drugs and alcohol at all.” – Penn Jillette

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of wine quotes to celebrate over your favorite glass.

39. “As an alcoholic, you will violate your standards quicker than you can lower them.” — Robin Williams

40. “My idea of working out is drinking whiskey – instead of beer.” – Travis Fimmel

41. “I never had one beer. If I bought a six-pack of beer, I kept drinking till all six beers were gone. You have to have that kind of understanding about yourself. I haven’t had a drink now in 12 years.” – Samuel L. Jackson

42. “I feel bad for people that don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.” – Frank Sinatra

43. “I’m very serious about no alcohol, no drugs. Life is too beautiful.” – Jim Carrey

44. “It totally ruins my voice. I quit smoking, drinking, and doing ecstasy.” – Mark Hoppus

45. “Not drinking makes me a lot happier.” – Naomi Campbell

46. “Part of alcoholism is lying. When you’re an addict, you know you can’t be honest with people. You say what you want them to hear.” – Danny Bonaduce

47. “It’s like gambling somehow. You go out for a night of drinking and you don’t know where you’re going to end up the next day. It could work out good or it could be disastrous. It’s like the throw of the dice.” – Jim Morrison

48. “I hate the taste of alcohol. When I’m drinking, I’m drinking Red Bull.” – Paris Hilton

49. “That’s all drugs and alcohol do, they cut off your emotions in the end.” – Ringo Starr

50. “Sobriety was the greatest gift I ever gave myself.” – Rob Lowe

Short Drinking Quotes To Drink Responsibly

51. “I only take a drink on two occasions – when I’m thirsty and when I’m not.” — Brendan Behan

52. “I am a drinker with writing problems.” — Brendan Behan

53. “Drink today, and drown all sorrow; you shall perhaps not do tomorrow.”  — John Fletcher

54. “There are more old drunkards than old physicians.” — Bernard Shaw

55. “It takes only one drink to get me drunk. The trouble is, I can’t remember if it’s the thirteenth or the fourteenth.” ― George F. Burns

56. “We drink and we die and continue to drink.” — Dennis Leary

57. “I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.”  — Winston Churchill

58. “A drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts.” — Steve Fergosi

59. “Man, being reasonable, must get drunk; the best of life is but intoxication.”  — Lord Byron

60. “I work until beer o’clock.”  — Stephen King

How do you vocalize your alcohol limits? 

As an adult, drinking alcohol can coincide with socializing.

Weddings, birthdays, graduations, and more often inevitably lead to drinking.

With alcohol being so easily accessible, it can be difficult to stay away from. 

In my experience, I’ve found that being vocal about my limits can help me stick to them.

Genuine, supportive friends will respect your wishes.

Don’t feel as though you need to justify your decision-making — your decision to drink is yours alone.

If you find that your friends aren’t supportive, try seeking out other friends in places that promote sober activities (clubs, volunteer organizations, etc.) 

Which of these drinking quotes and sayings is your favorite?

Let us know your thoughts below!