7 “Brake down” on alcohol

Quote: „Most Slovak bartenders couldn’t make a decent cocktail to save their lives, but that’s just because Slovaks take their alcohol straight up.”

     There is no harm in having an occasional drink. But we should not start lurking for occasion, which has already become the daily routine of many people. Booze is really popular, even with children. Instead of the British 0, 2, a traditional shot in Slovakia is 0,5 dl. Travelling eastwards, the content grows exponentially. It is the proximity of Russia that influences our drinking habits. The signal to your host that you want more is not that you asked for it, but simply finishing what you already had.
     Slovaks enriched the drink related vocabulary with the term “brzda” or “brake”. I don’t know in which country was the term coined, but it can be often heard in Slovak environment. A “brzda” is a drink, predominantly non-alcoholic you take in immediately after the shot of hard alcohol. It should both alleviate the typical alcoholic taste and prevent too high concentration of alcohol in the blood stream. It is the Slovak sibling of the glass of water, recommended after each glass of alcohol; but over-generalized to any kind of liquid, ignoring the benefits of pure water.  People usually “brake” with coke, juice; but you might come across individuals, usually rough men from the eastern Slovakia, washing down the spirits with glass of vine or beer.

Few months ago, I came across an interesting article written by an American living in Slovakia. (http://www.52insk.com/2012/1950/)  I liked some of his observations and therefore decided to comment them. I do not want to offend the author, nor anyone else. Please, accept this just as poor fiction and one’s will to share his opinions.