I just turned 21 and I enjoy drinking right now......what can i drink if i am RAW? obviously alcohol is not all raw but are their any drinks i could order at a bar and not feel guilty?
i have been drinking bloody marys.
i thought about bringing my own orange juice and asking for a shot of vodka.....i know im not a cool 21 year old..but i am definantly a healthy one..
drink? can i?

A number of the raw fooders on this forum do drink some alcohol. Whether you drink and what you drink and should depend primarily on what you want. If you are 40, 75 or 95% raw, but indulge with in vodka and orange juice that's fine as long as you decide that you are happy where you are. The age of 21 is a particularly difficult moment for anyone to swear off alcohol, and that isn't a step you need to take now or ever unless it feels right to you.

If you want to know about the comparative "rawness" of alcohol, here's what I know:

The "rawest" alcoholic beverages you'll find are dry wines. The grapes are generally not cooked or pasteurized at any stage of processing. Sweeter wines often get that way because processed sugars are added, frequently late in the process. Brandy is made from wine by a process of distilling, so it is no longer raw. Beer is made from cooked ingredients, but not pasteurized after fermentation, so at least the culture may still be alive. Vodka, frequently made from cooked potatoes or other cooked ingredients, is distilled again after fermentation, making it extremely not-raw. If any of the hard liquors are not distilled (cooked) after fermentation, I don't know about it. Sake, rice wine, is in the same class as beer because it is made from a cooked raw ingredient. Since it isn't distilled after fermenting it's a little "more raw" than hard liquor so it can be used as a substitute for hard liquor in many mixed drinks.

I'm 24 and rarely drink but feel too young to swear it off completely. I like shots with fresh squeezed juice, or lime and stevia. Better than high fructose garbage. Better one poison than two!

Organic red wine + fresh squeezed orange juice for sangria... That's probably as harmless as it gets, if you have to drink. =)

For my part (having made and drank much of my own alcohol...in copious quantities in my younger days)....I found that the nervous system depressant aspects and negative health/emotion impacts.....ceased to outweigh any positive 'fun' aspects.....or outweigh any 'healthier' ingredients in the drink itself. Just my experiences/opinions. I didn't want (and don't want) anything making it any harder to feel my immediate surroundings and feelings...which are precious to me.

-If YOU find it to be a healthful drink (alcohol) then you have my 100% support.....and I'm sure a good fresh screwdriver would be fine. You might get some bio-available vitamin C stuffed in there somewhere!

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

organic wine is probably the best bet. no sulfites please.
mead, too, doesnt require much heat. and is amazing.

i know that sake can be minimally processed... is raw sake an option?