This statement pretty much says it all for me. 

...To be honest, with or without food or drink, including alcoholic beverages, I'm not very 'social'; in fact, I'm fairly 'non-social'; I'm the resident recluse of the Central Sierra .  Now, I do enjoy a nice glass of wine or, once in a blue moon, a gin & tonic w/a sliver of fresh lime.  I do all the driving for myself; so, I'm aware of that 'overall' responsibility; I'm aware of my limits in terms of a glass of wine, a beer, a mixed drink.

I agree that our cultural 'mores' give license to the intake of alcohol...to excess.  We constantly receive mixed messages about drinking responsibly.  We see paraded before the camera all manner of celebreties and other 'beautiful people', advertising alcohol.  They're always gorgeous individuals, in elegant settings, surrounded by other gorgeous people; the subliminal message: You, too, can be just this gorgeous, enjoy just such elegant settings, and be surrounded by other gorgeous people ~ once you purchase this vodka, this brandy, this wine, this beer!   Oh, and don't forget to <drink it>*, to share it* with your other gorgeous friends there in your elegant setting (*responsibly, of course!).  Disclaimers, disclaimers, disclaimers; hypocrisy; hypocrisy; hypocrisy!

Cheers, Anna 

...Week-ends, I enjoy a glass of red wine (Shiraz/Zinfandel/Cabernet) while sitting on my deck, listening to the Chowchilla Creek flow through the Basin & looking up at Bald Rock/Chowchilla Mountain; Yosemite is just on the other side of those mountains!

My favorite mixed drink: gin & tonic w/a sliver of fresh lime. Cheers, Anna

I am pretty comfortable in most social situations. Having a beer or two to "loosen up" could be  a cultural as well as a physical habit for many as it was for me once. I now prefer reality though, it is the strongest "dose" of all.

I don't really need a drink to be able to socialize. I do enjoy some drinks & wine, but am very cautious, being alone, I am the driver, & I know my limits. If sometime I decide to have more than my limit which is 2, I do that in my own home when I have friends or neighbors over. Darlene.

Yes.  Alcohol is a social lubricant but too much and you lose your ability to socialize. 

That you can do it may also be an indication that you haven't had too much to drink, or you wouldn't be able to think clearly enough.

I am pretty comfortable in most social settings but a couple of drinks does add to the loosening up process. Two drinks and I am a happy man.  My favorite game is to go into a new bar and learn everyone's name by the time I leave. I did it twice in Puerto Rico recently. I don't do that without a drink. I tend toward sociable  but quiet.