Etiquette and Swigging Drinks

Paper drinking straws are the ideal means and manner with which to sip beverages in their original containers.When drinking a beverage through a straw, hold the straw with one hand while holding the bottle or a glass with the other. In this manner, carbonated beverages are less likely to fly out from the top of the straw, when placing a bottle or glass back down on a countertop or tabletop.

Swigging is Not a Smart Habit and 

Not Good Manners 

“To me, just about the tackiest thing a cocktail party guests can do is to roam around, beer bottle or can in hand, swigging from it at will, when a bar glass is close at hand. Here comes a sexist remark: I think it's even tackier when a woman does it than a man.” -Letitia Baldrige

Many teenage youngsters believe that “swigging” soft drinks directly from the bottle is the thing to do. This mistaken notion is not only bad practice from the standpoint of good etiquette, but can be downright dangerous. Paper drinking straws, which eliminate the necessity of the lips touching the mouth of the bottle, are the ideal means and manners with which to sip beverages in their original containers. – San Bernardino Sun, 1948

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia