Called 1587 Prime, they sell a drink named after a Swift song "The Alchemy" and it costs $22.

I agree that some are absolutely ridiculous (someone was asking for $24K for the Strokes last week in Vegas). But I went to see Alestorm at the House Of Blues last night, $50 for the ticket. $20 for parking. That was not too bad.

Also too if you're willing to wait until the last minute you can usually snag some deals.

We go see our local ECHL affiliate, the Atlanta Gladiators, & beer costs almost half of what the ticket costs! I'm there to enjoy the game, not get plastered. Other than that, I'd rather drink at home where the beer costs a lot less & I don't have to monitor my alcohol intake.

Nobody wants to buy a lot of alcohol and then drive home or you'll risk a DUI. On top of that, Uber rides after shows are absolutely absurd when they tack on a 300% surcharge. Especially in places that lack mass transit. It's literally a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.

and at that time they were asking eight or nine dollars for one draft beer in a plastic cup!

I declined, calculating that this was equal to the price of about 1.5 six-packs outside of the stadium...
and I guess it was an afternoon game anyway, and even though I am an alcoholic,
I am not accustomed to drinking before prime time in the evening....

Do I really care to spend $7 on a beer or $12 on a mixed drink? Restaurants can get outta here with that shit. I remember buying entrees for less than what alcohol costs anymore and I’m only in my early 40s.

Easy - they're expensive. I could order one Old Fashioned for $25 or 3 beers for the same price. Guess which one I'm going with?

I can't remember paying less than that since the Pandemic if not earlier. There's no way that price is coming down.

and I don't have to worry about getting home afterwards, since I drink it there.

Of course, it isn't exactly 'good beer' but I've gotten used to it.

(I prefer a nice dark if money is no object... Guinness or Michelob dark,
and back in the day, Lowenbrau Dark or Heineken Dark---
but they don't seem to make those anymore, or sell them hereabouts...)

Just doing my part.

Sounds like something RFK Jr. should investigate.

Over the last few years it seems like the "make it hot" craze has replaced the "put bacon in everything" craze in food, at least in the advertising.

As one who doesn't really like hot sauce on everthing, it drives me away as much as anything. I hardly ever eat fast food, so I'm kind of immune anyway. But I did wonder what brought on the craze. Makes sense to me that this was part of it.

Alcohol may be fun, but it is really bad for the body.

No one here gets out alive.

for giving people the bum’s rush right out of life itself.

IMHO

Probably for a high or low

… that includes a new 24% tax on all cannabis products.

It’s predicted that most cannabis businesses in the state will go out of business soon… and many people will return to the black market.

The black market and/or tents and auto bloom, it is easy to grow your own or find a dealer.

… that a significant number of our legislators (R) have no problem with the idea of torpedoing our cannabis businesses. They painted it as necessary for balancing our budget, and sadly the other legislators mostly went along with it.

And I had to stand in line for 15 minutes to get that.

Craft breweries can no longer compete and the prices they charge still don't result in profit, so they are starting to close up shop. Rising prices for hops and other ingredients as well as the tariffs on aluminum for cans mean stores that stock their beer aren't able to sell much.
Restaurants are hurting, too, and not just because of their cocktails.
The Pedo Regime is destroying the landscape of enjoyment where people met up with friends to enjoy some food and a few drinks. People are not able or willing to socialize much because it has become too costly, and tourism is way down.
One of the things I have always enjoyed while traveling is visiting craft breweries and one-of-a-kind eateries. Traveling foodies are not traveling so much now.
We are becoming a hell-hole.

I like the taste of wine but my social crime was not drinking enough. I'm good at a glass and a half but asleep at 3 glasses so I had stopped while others were just getting started.

My male peers certainly didn’t think so. Even the ones who considered themselves progressive and non-conformist considered me seriously defective. I didn’t conform to the norms of their standard of non-conformity. I found it easier to endure their nssty comments than to drink stuff I couldn’t stand.

...and Auslese. Dry wine, to me, tastes like Robitussin cough syrup.

Do bars and restaurants sell Zyn?

I guess that's nothing compared to the $2500 I had to spend for the actual tickets to see TayTay* or whomever.

The whole live music industry is a joke.

*I despise myself for knowing her nickname.

They are pricing themselves out of the market.

They should be thinking - lets lower the prices and make it more affordable. Make the money after the volume sold begins to go back up because it is easier to justify drinking - if the drink is more affordable.

When I know that I can buy a whole bottle of wine at TJ's for $5 OR $6 - it doesn't make sense to pay $12 for a glass of wine.

When I can buy a case of 32 bottles of water at Sam's or Costco - for under $6 - it doesn't make sense to pay $4-$6 per bottle.

Some restaurants have begun even charging you for refills on soft drinks and ice tea.

When you realize that you are paying more for the beverages you drink vs the food you eat - the rational person stops eating out at restaurants.

Weed, which is safer and healthier in many respects.

Those two academic citations are not from the article linked to, but from a publication that article links to, one of quite a few - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9545949/ - which does include, at the bottom of a very long piece, a list of 57 references including those written by Pape and Törrönen.

But the first paragraph of the OP also says this

So, they're not indulging fewer vices. Just one of the worst. Nicotine will mess you up, even if it doesn't come in tobacco form.

Anyway, I agree with the assessment that young people are just joining the rest of us in their understanding that the price of everything is too high to enjoy that which was once enjoyable. We, for many other reasons now, are officially a joyless, dystopian hellhole.

And that last reason is why, ladies and gentlemen, I have not quit drinking. I can afford booze. I can wait to put it off until the weekends. And I hope to wake up one morning to hear that the author of all this misery is stone cold dead.