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Notes -
Alcohol is heavily taxed, so no wonder the prices seemed high to you. When Indians travel to the UK or the US, they invariably bring back as much duty free liquor as they can carry, since it's often half the price as at home.
To my relief, that meant drinking was reasonably affordable, and you can bet that I made good use of it!
We don't really have a beer culture here, but I have seen microbreweries that have significant variety, though I never bothered to count the menu.
I need a good percentage of liquor in my blood before I get dragged to the dance floor, but truth be told people still dance mostly when tipsy. I'd chalk that up to the idiosyncrasies of the places you've been.
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