What Do You Do Besides GURPS?, Part II

In Part I, I revealed one thing I do that has no connection to working on or playing games: study and dance Argentine tango. I pointed out that when you look past tango's exaggerated romantic image, it's a surprisingly geeky pastime, perfect for a nerd like me. I also mentioned that I had another hobby about which you could say the same thing. Let's take a look at that.

I am an amateur mixologist, for definitions of "amateur" that encompass "my friends have declared me their barman at every party I've attended since 1996, and I have a sizeable cocktail laboratory in my apartment." The bar in question occupies an entire wall of my living room, not including the fridge and the tall shelf full of glassware, because those are against other walls. I've even tended bar for money at tango events – a minor side-gig that links two of my passions.

You might wonder what this has to do with the geeky stuff you've come to expect us (especially me) to talk about here. As I did for tango, I'm going to tell you!

The "-ology" in "mixology" is a stretch (because it isn't a genuine science) but nevertheless deserved. This is real experimentation, the sort that involves precisely measured quantities and detailed note-taking. It requires all kinds of specialized tools, including little beakers and droppers. Doing it right means keeping hundreds of ingredients on hand and knowing everything about them – their levels of acidity, alcohol, sugar, and so on, along with qualitative stuff like where they're from and how they're produced. So, mixology is unequivocally nerdy.

It's also extremely geeky. As you've doubtless deduced, mixologists are collectors: of bottles, of glasses, of tools. Our collections rival any collection of miniatures, action figures, props, or other merch you'd care to put them up against. They occupy proud places in our homes, on display for visitors to see (but not touch!). Our recipes are the result of years of experience and resemble the character and army builds of gamers or the secret campaign notes of GMs. And we love to argue about it all online.

Eventually, when you've put in enough hours of experimentation and built up a big enough collection, you can improvise a response to any reasonable request (i.e., "not a challenge calculated to be difficult and annoying"). Like tango, this is a thing that rewards the sort of quick, creative thinking that roleplayers use to tackle adventures. And having All The Bottles is much like having All The Books in gaming. As a gamer, mixology was a natural match to my habits and personality.

I'll close with two disclaimers: First, alcohol is not healthy – "moderation in all things" could've been coined for it. Second, games are for all ages, but alcohol is not. If mixology sounds interesting to you, please be responsible and stick to games until you can pursue it legally.

-- Sean Punch