Friends,

Good morning! Welcome to The Gentlemen Elite. The amount of pressure I feel to say something clever in the opening paragraph is excruciating. Don’t worry; I won’t give in.

Here’s what’s in store:

• 🥃 The best cocktail you’ve never heard of

• 👨🏽‍⚕️ A longevity expert’s rules for drinking

• 👨🏻‍🔬 A neuroscientist’s deep dive into alcohol

•  📣 Quote of the week

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Elite Cocktails

I put a poll in last week’s newsletter asking what kind of content you’d like more of - the overwhelming winner was “health tips.” So, naturally, I thought I’d post about cocktails 🙂.

I don’t believe drinking is good for you, even in small amounts. However, I try to live by the quote, “everything in moderation, including moderation.” As such, I do enjoy the occasional (or sometimes more frequent) cocktail.

People With Mustaches Seem To Know What They’re Talking About

I was in a classic cocktail bar on St. Paddy’s day, where the only thing more impressive than the erectness of the bartender’s mustache (I’m confident he used wax to achieve the said effect) was his knowledge and passion for cocktails.

I told him my favorite cocktail was a Manhattan - in the nicest way possible; he told me that was cute and asked if I’d ever tried a “Brooklyn.”

I fake laughed - then there was an awkward pause.

He said, “No, I’m serious. That’s a real cocktail.”

Long story short, I tried it, I loved it, and it’s my new favorite.

What’s The Cocktail?

A Brooklyn is the perfect combination of slightly sweet and bitter. It feels cleaner than a Manhattan, and you still get a cherry! The video and recipe are below.

The Recipe:

• 1.75 oz rye whisky

• .25 oz Luxardo maraschino

• .5 oz Amer Picon

• .75 oz Dolin dry vermouth

• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

A Longevity Expert’s Rules For Drinking

Peter Attia, MD (@PeterAttiaMD), is one of my favorite health experts to follow. He hosts The Drive, a top-rated podcast on longevity and health.

Dr. Attia received his medical degree from Stanford and trained at Johns Hopkins Hospital in general surgery, where he received several prestigious awards, including Resident of the Year.

On the press tour for his new book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity (I will share key insights in a future post), he was asked about his rules for drinking, which I found interesting.

Dr. Attia’s Rules For Alcohol

Dont drink. But he does a little. The dose and the frequency make the poison. His rough guidelines are:

• Drink no more than 3 days a week

• No more than 2 drinks a day

• No drinks within 3 hours of bedtime

• There is no “healthy” type of alcohol

• There is no “healthy” volume to consume

Note: These are for men; volume is cut in half for women.

A Neuroscientist’s Deep Dive Into Alcohol

If you aren’t familiar with Dr. Huberman (@Hubermanlab), he’s a neuroscientist in the department of neurology at Stanford who has risen to global fame over the last ~18 months.

He has one of the world's most popular and fastest-growing podcasts, where he goes deep into different health-related topics and unpacks the science behind them.

His most listened-to episode of all time is about alcohol (Apple Podcasts Link | Spotify Link), where he covers everything from hangovers to hormones.

Listening to a scientist talk about the physiological and psychological toll of drinking left me wanting to curb my intake dramatically. I didn’t appreciate the far-reaching impacts of excess consumption on things like the gut microbiome, inflammation, and neuroplasticity.

Key Takeaways From The Pod

• People who drink consistently (even in small amounts, i.e., 1 per night) experience increases in cortisol when not drinking and thus feel more stress and more anxiety when not drinking

• Chronic alcohol intake, even at low to moderate levels (1-2 drinks per day or 7-14 per week), can disrupt the brain & negatively impact the prefrontal cortex

• Damaging effects on the prefrontal cortex and rewiring of neural circuitry are reversible with 2-6 months of abstinence for most social/casual drinkers

• Sleep after even one drink is not the same quality as without alcohol

• Certain drinks cause more severe hangovers, and it’s not because of the sugar content; it’s the congeners (nitrates and other ingredients)

• From least severe to most severe hangover: beer – vodka – gin – white wine – whiskey – rum – red wine – brandy

I don’t mean to kill anyone’s buzz, but I think it’s worth being informed. Below is an overview of the podcast episode and a link to Youtube.

Quote Of The Week

Upwards with gusto,

Ian