What about "nothing in excess, including self denial"?
I enjoy drinks in moderation, but when I make it a habit to have a beer at dinner I find I get *nothing* done for the rest of the night.
That said, there's nothing wrong with having a drink with friends, I think. Are you really going to be tackling a major project at that point? For me, one of the pleasures of spending time with friends is putting all the "to-do" aside for a bit and just savoring the moment. Sure, it's great to get things done, but it's also important to give your mind some downtime. My wife and I have been started socializing with our child's friend's parents, and it's a great exposure to new ideas and new people.
As others have said, I think that it does have dangers - some of you have mentioned the college drinking culture, and I think that in that context alcohol is deliberately used as a tool to cloud judgement - it's no coincidence that new freshmen drink the most and they're also going through a major life change (change is scary, leaving home for the first time is scary - even though it's taboo to say this, and drinking to excess is typically characterized as newfound freedom!). College freshman take part in a ritual of mass self-drugging: clouding their thinking and taking comfort in the fact that there's hundreds of their peers doing the same thing right there next to them.
I've always found it odd that doing "crazy" things while under the influence of mind-altering substances is more noble than doing crazy things while sober, at least in this age group. It's the pressure of conformity, I guess.
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