> I have more than a drink or two in one night

I'm curious the opinion of those here on this.

Are you able to be classified as "having a problem with alcohol" if you "only have 2 drinks a night" a lot?

1-2 drinks every night (which is not what the author said they were doing there) can be anywhere from not a problem at all to high-functioning alcoholic. I think the simplest way to tell where on the gradient someone is is how they handle a night where they don't get a chance to have a drink. Is it something that's not remotely a problem and they wouldn't even realize it was the first night in a while they hadn't had a drink? Is it something that bothers them but they'll deal with it? Is the idea unthinkable and they always have alcohol on them so that they can sneak a sip even in circumstances where it's inappropriate?

I think you cropped out the important part of the quote:

> It’s rare that I have more than a drink or two in one night.

I don't drink that often any more, but 2-3 drinks in a night, done occasionally is not a problem. I've had weeks where I drink a beer (or two!) every night, and also don't struggle with any alcohol problems.

2 drinks every single night? Leaning that way - and not great for you just from a health/caloric perspective.

Can you skip a night and not miss it, and does it negatively affect your life? If there's no ill effects and you're not dependent, I don't see a problem.

Depends. In Easter Europe this classifies you as the designated driver.

Given that there are a ton of people having ~2 drinks a night (big glass of wine, couplabeers, generous pour of whisky), especially in Europe, I can't see 2 drinks a night as someone having a "problem". It's not nearly enough to get drunk so they're simply enjoying the taste/experience. It's like asking if someone who eats a chocolate bar every day has a problem.

Can't know just from that one data point. A "problem with alcohol" is a lack of self control, like, if you're social and have dinner out with friends most nights a week, do you feel compelled to have a couple drinks on nights you're home doing nothing in particular.

It depends on your parasympathetic nervous system tone. After getting a fitness tracker that analyzes sleep and heart rate variability I've discovered that my body is rather sensitive to alcohol. I need to have a baseline level of cardiovascular endurance and be properly hydrated with good electrolyte balance to be able to truly enjoy two drinks. If I'm not doing moderate-intensity cardio five times a week and taking my supplements, then even moderate boozing will tank my HRV and negatively affect my sleep. Bad sleep means diminished cognitive performance and lethargy to the point that I'm not giving the world the best version of myself. To answer your question: yes, if I'm having two drinks a night and not taking care of myself I'd consider that to be a problem. A lot of people are probably in a similar boat but don't have the data to spot it so they just keep wearing themselves down in a half-tired haze.

I've also discovered that brown liquors are twice as bad for me in this regard so I now try to stick to wine, sake, or gin. I'm not mad at this as I've grown rather tired of what bourbon culture has seemingly become... the capitalization, enshittification and marketing games have largely put me off from the category.