Each week, we post short interviews with interesting people about their thoughts and feelings on women and drinking. There is such a wide array of perspectives about this topic, and we are excited to gain insight into as many as possible and to share them with you.
Karin Gillespie is the author of five novels and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Converse College. She’s the founder of a popular group blog for women fiction writers’ called the Girlfriends Book Club.
Drinking Diaries: How old were you when you had your first drink and what was it?
Karin Gillespie: I was five or six, and my father gave me a taste of Coors beer. I thought it tasted like soap and I spit it out on the floor.
How did/does your family treat drinking?
We are a happy-hour family. My husband usually announces the five o’clock hour with glee; he’s a Budweiser and single-malt scotch guy. My mom comes over every night and drinks a fruity Vouvray, in a cool green bottle. My dad and stepmom drink Manhattans with Ancient Age, and my brother favors light beer and brings his own in a cooler. The dog’s a teetotaler but will occasionally accept a booze-soaked ice cube.
How do you approach alcohol in your every day life?
I drink daily, about two glasses of red wine, starting at 5 p.m. I like to get my drinking over with by 6 p.m. because otherwise it can interfere with my sleep. One of my favorite sounds is the pop of a cork and the gurgle of wine poured into a glass. Time to shake off the work day and slip into relaxation and socialization! I work alone all day so happy hour with friends who are real and not virtual is a special time. Every once in a while I’ll write and drink. I get some wild, loose prose that way but as soon as the buzz kicks in (about thirty minutes) it’s time to quit.
Have you ever had a phase in your life when you drank more or less?
I was a party hound in my twenties and pretty much drank to get pie-eyed. Why? I was severely neurotic and needed regular vacations from my obsessive thinking patterns. Now that I’m more grounded, a sweet, demure little buzz is all I crave.
What’s your drink of choice? Why?
Red wine, all kinds. I usually spend about $15 a bottle and sometimes splurge for more expensive vintages. One of my favorites is a Zinfandel called Writers’ Block but I’m always trying new wines out. I love the way red wine looks in a glass, like liquid garnet and I like to stick my nose in the glass and practically snort it. Also it’s room temperature so it goes down easy. You never know what you’ll taste: notes of chocolate, raspberry jam, spice, licorice, bell pepper, plum, berry, vanilla. I like to hold the silky taste in my mouth and sort all the different sensations. The only taste I don’t like is oak. Who wants to drink a tree?
Can you tell us about the best time you ever had drinking?
When I was offered my first book contract, I started drinking as soon as I got the news, even though it was only three o’clock. People kept coming over to congratulate me, and I drank wine into the wee hours (unusual for me.) Even the inevitable hangover was exhilarating.
What about the worst time?
Once I drank three Cosmos and spend the next day hugging the commode. Now I stay away from hard alcohol. I hate the headache and sour stomach that comes with hangovers but even worse is the knowledge that I’ve inflicted this curse myself.
Has drinking ever affected—either negatively or positively—a relationship of yours?
My ex-husband’s father was an alcoholic, and he died from it. He used to drink whisky straight out of the bottle in the morning, and it scared me to pieces because my husband was also a heavy drinker. One night he was so drunk he thought our bedroom was the bathroom and peed against the wall. Our relationship started to unravel after that because I was only twenty-one and wasn’t prepared to be the wife of an alcoholic.
Do you have a favorite book, song, or movie about drinking?
I love the movie “Sideways.” I’ve probably seen it six times. Also my favorite book on drinking is called “Drinking: A Love Story” by the late Caroline Knapp.
What do you like most about drinking?
I associate it with a civilized, cushy lifestyle. What’s a meal at Eleven Madison Park in New York City without a bottle of Pinot Noir? What’s a leisurely Sunday morning brunch without a little bubbly? What would a sidewalk cafe in Paris be without a nice Cote Rhone?
If someone were to hand me wine in a mason jar and tell me to drink it by myself sitting on a folding chair in a shotgun house, I’d probably say, “No thanks.” Unless the wine was absolutely transformative, and then, what the hell?
Why do, or don’t you, choose to drink?
I’ve already discussed many reasons why I love to drink but I won’t lie. I primarily drink for the buzz. The world zings with a little more gaiety when I’m drinking. I’m a happy drinker, but I also know when to quit. (Most times.)
If you could be any drink, what would it be? Why?
Champagne! Because it’s golden, effervescent and celebratory.
