Lemmy Kilmister's Unquenchable Thirst For Beer

Ian Lemmy Kilmister was the hard-living, hard-drinking, hard-rocking frontman of Motörhead. Lemmy was a self-proclaimed heavy drinker, who was often seen with a bottle of Jack Daniel's in hand, and was rarely seen without a glass of whiskey and coke. He was also known to enjoy Southern Comfort mixed with Special Brew, and vodka and orange juice. In his later years, Lemmy cut down to just one alcoholic drink a day.

Lemmy Kilmister's alcohol consumption

Lemmy Kilmister, the legendary frontman of Motörhead, was known for his extreme lifestyle and heavy drinking. In his own words, there is a "fine line between a heavy drinker and an alcoholic". He believed that the difference lies in knowing "what you're doing" when drinking. If you don't, you become a "terrible boring drunk". However, if you know "when to stop", you become an "amazing, anecdotal man of the world".

Lemmy certainly knew how to drink, and his beverage of choice was often Jack Daniel's. In an interview, he claimed that he was "not completely fixated" on the drink, but acknowledged that it was his preferred drink due to its "best distribution system worldwide". He also mentioned that he once mainly drank Southern Comfort mixed with Special Brew, a combination that, in retrospect, left him wondering, "What was I thinking?"

Lemmy's drinking habits were so well-known that he was sought out for advice on the topic by The Damned's Captain Sensible, who was hitting the bottle pretty hard at the time. Lemmy's wisdom? "It's not what you drink, or how much you drink, it's how FAST you drink it."

Despite his legendary drinking, Lemmy claimed that he didn't "even get drunk anymore". When asked by a kid if he got hangovers, he replied, "To get hangovers, you have to stop drinking."

In his later years, Lemmy's drinking began to take a toll on his health. In 2011, he was diagnosed with a dangerous arrhythmia and had to undergo surgery to have a defibrillator implanted in his chest. After the operation, he cut back to just one alcoholic drink per day. However, he started retaining fluids and was bedridden for two weeks as doctors discovered that he was binging on blueberries as a substitute for alcohol.

Lemmy's preference for Jack Daniel's

Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister was a heavy drinker and a self-described alcoholic. In an interview with Classic Rock, he differentiated between heavy drinkers and alcoholics, saying that the difference lies in whether one knows what they're doing when drinking. In his own words, "if you don't know what you're doing, you just become a terrible boring drunk. Whereas, if you know when to stop, you become an amazing, anecdotal man of the world."

Lemmy's drink of choice was Jack Daniel's, which he referred to as "JD." In an interview with The Guardian, he stated that he wasn't "completely fixated" on the drink, but that it had the "best distribution system worldwide." This preference for Jack Daniel's is further supported by an interview with Louder, where he was described as being surrounded by empty bottles of the whiskey.

Lemmy was also known for mixing his Jack Daniel's with Coca-Cola, commonly referred to as "Jack and Coke." In a Reddit discussion about Lemmy's drinking habits, one user recalled an interview where Lemmy talked about drinking Jack and Coke and doing methamphetamine every day until his death.

While Lemmy's preference for Jack Daniel's is well-documented, his drinking habits and choice of alcohol may have varied over time. In the Guardian interview, he mentions that at one point, he mainly drank Southern Comfort mixed with Special Brew.

Lemmy's advice to Captain Sensible about drinking

Lemmy Kilmister, the frontman of Motörhead, was a man who knew about drinking. In the 1980s, he pulled aside The Damned's Captain Sensible to impart some wisdom about alcohol. Lemmy told him:

> "There's a fine line between a heavy drinker and an alcoholic. Just like there's a fine line between fishing and standing on the bank looking like an arsehole. The line is whether the fuck you know what you're doing when you drink 'cos if you don't know what you're doing, you just become a terrible boring drunk. Whereas, if you know when to stop, you become an amazing, anecdotal man of the world. Which is better than being the guy having a shit in the bath tub."

> "Remember: it's not what you drink, or how much you drink, it's how FAST you drink it."

Captain Sensible, who had his own wild experiences with alcohol, heeded Lemmy's words and managed to survive his solo career despite his heavy drinking. Lemmy's advice served as a reminder that the key to drinking was knowing your limits and maintaining control. It was about finding the balance between indulgence and self-awareness.

Lemmy himself had a reputation for his drinking habits and was often surrounded by bottles of Jack Daniel's. He claimed that he didn't "even get drunk anymore" and that to get hangovers, "you have to stop drinking." However, he eventually cut back to one alcoholic drink a day after undergoing surgery for a dangerous arrhythmia.

Lemmy's philosophy on drinking and life, in general, was to do what one enjoyed, even if it might be considered unhealthy or risky. As he famously said, "You might as well die of something you like than be 120 and bored."

Lemmy's views on alcohol and drugs

Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, the legendary frontman of Motörhead, was known for his hard-living, no-holds-barred lifestyle, with alcohol and drugs playing a significant role. Lemmy himself acknowledged the fine line between being a heavy drinker and an alcoholic, and he had a simple rule to avoid becoming "a terrible boring drunk": knowing when to stop and how fast to drink. He claimed that he didn't even get drunk anymore and that he had built up a remarkable tolerance for alcohol.

Lemmy's drink of choice was often Jack Daniel's, although he also drank Southern Comfort mixed with Special Brew and vodka with orange juice. He was also known to enjoy bourbon and Scotch, although he claimed that Scotch made him aggressive. In his later years, he cut back to one alcoholic drink per day due to health complications.

When it came to drugs, Lemmy was a self-proclaimed "speed freak", regularly using amphetamines and occasionally methamphetamine. He also experimented with other substances, including acid, and was once hospitalised after accidentally ingesting atropine sulfate. Despite his own drug use, Lemmy advised against it, believing that drugs were powerful and could change a person, usually for the worse. He drew a line at heroin and needles, and he never tried them. In his memoir, he wrote about the importance of knowing who you are before experimenting with drugs, and he believed that young people today lack this self-awareness.

Lemmy's drug use

Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, the legendary frontman of Motörhead, was known for his hard-living, no-holds-barred lifestyle, which included drug use. While he advised against it, Lemmy was open about his own experiences with drugs, which began in the 1960s. He once said, "Drugs are very subjective. They’re in the brain cell of the beholder."

In his memoir, *White Line Fever*, Lemmy recounted a particularly wild episode where, after three days of taking Dexedrine with bandmate Dik Mik, he took Mandrax, a depressant, to lessen the intensity of the high. But, ever the hedonist, Lemmy then dropped acid and mescaline, and took more Mandrax. The band's roadies had to help them onstage for a performance that was taped for the *Greasy Truckers Party* live album.

Despite the wild stories and his reputation, Lemmy claimed to know his limits, saying, "I know what I’m doing... I know what Motörhead’s for. I know who it appeals to." He also drew a distinction between heavy drinkers and alcoholics, considering himself the former: "I don’t even get drunk any more. A kid once said to me: 'Do you get hangovers?' I said: 'To get hangovers you have to stop drinking.'"

Lemmy's attitude towards his lifestyle was summed up in his famous quote: "Might as well die of something you like than be 120 and bored."

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