The long awaited day of drunkenness finally arrived on Tuesday. I reached my 21st birthday and was happy to celebrate it … to an extent.

My 21st birthday experience was probably very different compared to others’. I only went to three bars with my boyfriend and parents, as opposed to the crowded moving party others often experience.

I was never offered a blow job or a cum shot, I did not slam shots and I did not pass out in an alley. So to some college students, I didn’t do it right.

Instead I started out my night at Ichiban, a sushi restaurant not far from Winco. A sushi place may seem like a strange place to have a birthday dinner, but I was intent on sake being my first legal drink. I quickly learned I am not a fan. It seems like a cross between hard alcohol and something like a beer, but didn’t have a flavor that was as appealing as either.

I then loaded up on sushi in preparation for the max level of drinking, however, in retrospect, fish may not have been the best option.

Then I got the obligatory free Dutch Bros drink — my usual: a jelly donut freeze — and made my way to the first bar of the night: Down Lo.

I’ve wanted to go to Down Lo since I was in high school, and in some ways it lived up to the hype … but in other ways not so much.

At every bar I went to, I wanted to ask the bartender for the weirdest drink they could think of, but the bartender at Down Lo did not seem super receptive to this idea and seemed confused.

However, he did prepare me a dirty gin martini, which he said wasn’t really a weird drink, but is to my generation.

For those who don’t know, a dirty gin martini is gin, olive juice and an olive. Again, I was not a fan and was deterred from asking the question at any other bars.

I quickly followed up the martini with a $1 J-O shot — which was stuck to the container — and a beer.

I spent my time at Down Lo playing pool, air hockey and foosball … so I had the best time ever. Yet, I still was not feeling the alcohol.

Then I took a brief pit stop at The Banshee and had a froo-froo drink: a Blackberry Bramble.

The Banshee was a little too boring, so I moved on to Madison Bear Garden, where I did the bulk of my drinking.

While I did not stay inside and take part in the activities there, I took to the brisk evening air with a Guinness Draught and a specialty shot, the “Scooby Snack,” made with coconut rum, melon liqueur, pineapple juice and milk.

The only reason I got the “Scooby Snack” was because they were out of the shot I wanted. At the time I shot it, I didn’t know what was in it and was not happy with the coconut and pineapple elements … I hate both flavors.

I finished both of those drinks in short order and moved onto a Jager-bomb and another specialty shot, this time the “Purple Hooter,” made with vodka, raspberry Schnapps and sweet and sour. This was more my speed.

The bar and restaurant ranked just below Down Lo for me due to the chill and homey atmosphere.

Even after pounding the four drinks, I still was not feeling it … at least not until I stood up.

The walk back to the car — I was not driving … I had a sober buddy — was very fuzzy.

I managed to make my way to Tinseltown to watch the 15th anniversary edition of “Coraline” in theaters. There’s just something satisfying about being able to legally buy alcohol at the cinema.

Finally, I continued my birthday celebrations on Saturday night. I spent a couple hours at the Feather Falls Casino in Oroville.

My boyfriend and I had a great dinner, but the gambling itself was kind of boring. I limited myself to a $100 limit, and walked away with $51.

I had a strawberry Margarita — not the best — and a beer as I went from machine to machine.

I walked away from my 21st birthday experience in Chico with a few takeaways:

• Gin isn’t that bad … but Jager is
• Down Lo is the best
• Don’t mix your alcohol

Ariana Powell can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].