Beer, Wine or a Milkshake?

I have heard from several people how much they "like" the taste of alcohol. Not sure how much I really believe them but my question is always "What is better, that wine you love or a milkshake?". Pretty rare for somebody to try to convince me that a glass of wine is better than a milkshake. Of course, nobody has EVER tried to say that beer tastes better than a milkshake. The problem is that alcohol is an acquired taste whereas a milkshake is is just good from the first time you try it. Now some people prefer the fruity drinks which they say taste so good. I would say those drinks are just as good without the alcohol and probably still not as good as a smoothie.  

The next part of this conversation typically turns to the calories in a milkshake versus alcohol. To be fair, a milkshake does tend to have a lot of calories in one 12 oz serving. According to freediet.com, one milkshake typically has about 408 calories which is three times as much as a 12 oz regular beer (139 calories), four times as much as a a light beer (103 calories) and almost 6 times as much as a 3.5 oz glass of wine (70 calories). However, very few people I know will only drink one beer if they are out. It does happen on occasion but not very often. The standard definition of a moderate male drinker is 2 drinks a day. By far, most people I have ever been out with drank least 3 drinks. If you figure that one milkshake is usually enough, the caloric intake gets to be pretty close to the same if you are talking about beer. You probably come out ahead with wine since 3 or even 4 glasses of wine would still be significantly fewer calories than 1 milkshake. For the record, whiskey, gin, vodka and rum all have more calories per fluid ounce than a milkshake.

With all of that being said, a milkshake is a lot safer than any recreational alcohol consumption. It tastes a lot better with a lot fewer negative side effects.

Why bother with alcohol?