History Main / CantHoldHisLiquor

* ''Anime/CaptainHarlock'': Unlike his best friend Harlock, who [[NeverGetsDrunk remain sober as a judge]], Tochiro gets drunk very quickly - often seen falling asleep after a single drink. In the ''Dimensional Voyage'' manga, his wife refused to pour wine on his grave because she knows he can't hold his liquor.

* In the ''[[Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne Escaflowne]]'' anime, Hitomi is at a dinner party, but she isn't used to the liquor on Gaea (or indeed, alcohol in general, given her age), so she proceeds to get ''very'' drunk on the pink wine or spirit that was given to her.
-->'''Hitomi:''' ''[inner thoughts upon hearing about Millerna's engagement]'' Allen is availaaaaable... HIC!

* ''Manga/YokohamaKaidashiKikou'': [[RobotGirl Alpha]] has almost no tolerance for alcohol, and is well aware of it, although she does occasionally imbibe. In ch. 5, one cup of sake seems to loosen her up enough to do a dance that leaves the people at the neighborhood association meeting entranced...and then a second cup causes her to pass out. In ch. 52, a single shot of [[BlandNameProduct Kahloa]], even mixed with milk, is enough to knock her out so deeply that she has one of her flying dreams...and wakes up laying on the ground outside a friend's gas station a few kilometers away.

* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': Obelix gets drunk pretty fast, since he usually only drinks goats' milk. And a guy with SuperStrength shouldn't do that, especially since he tends to be a violent drunk.

* Jonathan Crane (a.k.a. [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Scarecrow]]) in Lauralot's fic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4679528/1/Act_Like_We_Are_Fools Act Like We Are Fools.]]'' He gets falling-down, spill-all-your-secrets drunk after one glass of whiskey. Mostly because of an adverse interaction between his antipsychotics and the alcohol, but still.

* ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC'': Spider-Man usually orders milk at the bar, and when he ''does'' drink he spends the next few episodes in a drunken stupor babbling parodies of other blockbuster movies, although it's mainly because the other heroes constantly spike his drinks in order to enjoy said parodies.

* It's {{justified}} in ''Film/MadchenInUniform'' as Manuela is only fourteen years old. This trope is PlayedForDrama because she confesses something she shouldn't while drunk on punch after a SchoolPlay.
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':

** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' has Rocket suffering from this trope. He lays his emotional trauma (namely from getting vivisected and reconstructed over and over again) bare for all to see while threatening to blast everybody in the face with his gun for laughing at him. Justified seeing as he's a smaller life form, so alcohol would affect him faster and harder.
* Jeff from Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''Film/{{Mr And Mrs Smith|1941}}'' is completely unaffected by one drink, but immediately crosses into Can't Hold His Liquor territory after two.
* Steve Rogers ([[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica no]] relation) in ''Film/PetticoatPlanet''. A single shot of redeye is enough to get him passing-out drunk, and leads to a WhatDidIDoLastNight situation.

* ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'':
** Sagara Sōsuke is a soldier, but he evidently almost never drinks, and therefore has very little endurance for the stuff. In one chapter of the manga adaptation, he's shown taking a sip from a small cup of amazake (a sweet sake that has very low alcohol content), and promptly gets dead drunk, complete with the fever and loss of strength. Kaname even comes out and tells him, "you '''really''' can't hold your liquor." And even after passing out and coming to, he's ''still'' drunk, with Kaname lamenting that there's a limit to how much of a lightweight people can be. Later in the novels, he literally Can't Hold His Liquor, due to [[spoiler:debilitating internal injuries courtesy of a rifle round that relieved him of a portion of his liver]] among other things.
** Bonus points for Sōsuke having been raised as a Muslim in Afghanistan (Islam famously forbids the consumption of alcohol among believers), which may explain his low alcohol tolerance. Well at least ''some'' Islamic values, he isn't really that religious when compared the folks who raised him. Late into season 2 of the anime, Sōsuke, [[HeroicBSOD having hit rock bottom]], spent most of an episode wandering around Hong Kong with an unopened bottle of brandy. When he finally does take a swig, he promptly spits it out and tosses the bottle in the trash, wondering aloud what people see in the stuff.

* ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarLostParadise'' gives us Xsana, the ruler of the city of Eden. She's a beloved figure among the residents (with even some of the more roughneck and criminal folks looking up to her to an extent), she's kind-hearted, she's fair and just, she's polite, buuuuuuuut ''one drink'' turns her foul-mouthed and ready to fight before blacking out minutes later, and when she regains consciousness she has no memory of what happened while she was sauced. Basically, "mean drunk" is a hell of an understatement for her; just her [[HereWeGoAgain asking for another drink shortly after regaining consciousness]] [[OhCrap is enough to alarm both the bartender and the usually-composed Kenshiro]].

* The title character of ''VideoGame/{{McPixel}}'' falls into this, as demonstrated in a level where he gets drunk off a drink that is revealed, on close up, to be 1% Alcohol. He gets so blitzed he groin kicks Guy Fawkes and ends up destroying the bombs he has to defuse that level in the process.

* ''VideoGame/TouhouLostBranchOfLegend'': In Sanshoku Geidontei, Reimu gets called one if she is questioning Suika Ibuki, which turns into a drinking competition:
--> '''Reimu:''' What's wrong, Suika? You've been giving me that smug look ever since I entered.\\
'''Suika:''' What's that, Reimu? Miss blackout-in-one-cup issuin' me a challenge?

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent''. Strips [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=718 #718]] - [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=719 719]] has Faye (and later the rest of the cast) getting hammered from a few sips of bourbon. It is discovered almost immediately that the drink was no ordinary bourbon. Not to mention the bottle was ''glowing''. It came in it's own metal case.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'', Obelix gets drunk pretty fast, since he usually only drinks goats' milk. And a guy with SuperStrength shouldn't do that, especially since he tends to be a violent drunk.
* In an appearance by the ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers (they were calling themselves the Great Lakes Initiative at the time), all the superheroes in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse have been inebriated by a Dionysus powered ray; Mr. Immortal, however, is the only person to succumb to ''alcohol poisoning''. Needless to say, he got better.

* In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', Ultra Magnus passes out and actually has to have his fuel pump rebuilt after Whirl slips him some [[GargleBlaster Weapons-Grade Nucleon]]. [[spoiler:This becomes much less surprising after it's revealed that Ultra Magnus is actually a much smaller Cybertronian named Minimus Ambus who's wearing a suit of PowerArmor to make everyone think he's the much larger Magnus. Nucleon is scary stuff and Minimus drank a serving intended for a much larger individual. On top of that, Magnus is TheTeetotaler; when Brainstorm activates a mild poison he'd slipped into the drinks at Swerve's, only Rung and Magnus are unaffected -- meaning that he hasn't really built up a familiarity with the stuff either.]]
* In ''ComicBook/{{Violine}}'', Violine takes a swig of whiskey to prove that it is not poison, and gets immediately drunk. Justified, as she is only ten.
* In an ''Film/XMen1'' comic book detailing the origin of movie Rogue, she gets drunk just by touching a drunk trucker.
* During the ball in ''ComicBook/GoodbyeBattlePrincessPeony,'' Nightsky tells Peony about the time a ''single'' drink took out Silkrose for an entire night.
-->'''Nightsky:''' ''Moonshine! I need towels!''

* In the 1963 Paramount cartoon "Crumley Cogwheel," the titular figure has a week to ask for a raise or his boss will fire him. He's very timid, so he musters up the nerve by going to a bar and getting drunk. It obviously didn't take long to get toasted as he did it on his lunch break.

* In ''Anime/KibouNoChikaraOtonaPrettyCure23'', we see that Rin and Kurumi cannot handle their drinks, with Rin descending into InelegantBlubbering and Kurumi drunkenly flirting with Karen.

* ''FanFic/HeroesOfTheNewWorld''; while celebrating his birthday with the Whitebeard Pirates, Izuku is gifted a bottle of rum from Marshall D. Teach's personal stash. Not wanting to be rude and wanting to better settle in with his new pirate life, Izuku takes a small sip and immediately falls to the ground foaming at the mouth. Teach, for his part, finds the whole thing hilarious.

* In ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', it turns out that Doc Brown really can't hold his liquor -- he passes out after drinking a single shot of whiskey; the bartender then quotes the trope name verbatim. And before passing out from drinking said glass of whiskey, he manages to get plastered just by ''holding it under his nose''. Ironically in the script, he actually ''can'' hold his liquor, and then passed out as Marty comes to get him. Note, though, that said whiskey can dissolve the counter on contact, so it does qualify as GargleBlaster.

* ''WebAnimation/{{Anon}}'': Chelsea. A lightweight drinker who also is known for taking out her anger in all the wrong ways when she's had a few too many, putting her own mother in hospital after a couple of drinks wasn't one of her most shining moments.

* In the ''Literature/{{Spaceforce}}'' series, the Taysans ''en masse'' react so badly to alcohol that even drinking slightly fermented fruit juice can turn them violently aggressive or sexually disinhibited. Apparently brewing and selling this illegal substance is one of the few instances of widespread criminal behaviour amongst the Taysan people.

* ''FanFic/HeroesOfTheNewWorld''; while celebrating his birthday with the Whitebeard Pirates, Izuku is gifted a bottle of rum from Marshall D. Teach's personal stash. Not wanting to be rude and wanting to better settle in with his new pirate life, Izuku takes a small sip and immediately falls to the ground foaming at the mouth. Teach, for his part, finds the whole thing hilarious.

%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!

%%
%%
%% Image replaced per thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1577161555030998500
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new IP discussion
%%
[[quoteright:329:[[Webcomic/PvP https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pvp20061231.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:329:The alcohol effects were liquorty-split.]]
%%
%% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without discussion in the Caption Repair thread:
%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900
%%

* Usagi from ''Anime/SailorMoon'', being a 14-year-old girl, can't hold liquor and HilarityEnsues [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT23P2fen4U when she is given a glass.]]

* In ''Literature/AnimalFarm'', Squealer and Napoleon end up demonstrating exactly why animals should never drink alcohol, period, even when it isn't in excess, when they end up completely plastered from what is presumably their first drink of alcohol. A horrendous hangover ensues: the other animals are told that Napoleon is dying and has issued a decree that alcohol consumption was to be punished by death. TruthInTelevision is a play here as pigs have very little alcohol tolerance and, despite their size, can become very drunk on relatively small amounts of grain alcohol.

-->-- ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', "The Mommy Observation"

* One of Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/{{Azazel}}'' stories is about a woman who was too self restrained, and who could never relax because even one drink made her really sick. Well, the main character called for the titular demon and they remade her metabolism. The problem is, [[spoiler:she acquired such a taste, that the new metabolism made her really fat due to overconsumption]].

* ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington Crown of Slaves]]'': Virginia Usher freely admits she "can't handle liquor at all". Four undescribed cocktails leave her pretty much unable to do anything but deliberately barf all over some Solarian diplomats.
* Turns out to be a plot point in ''[[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Curse of the Azure Bonds]]''. [[ActionGirl Alias]] is drunk after just two beers [[spoiler:because she is an artificial being that's only a few months old]].
* Fitz, from the ''Series/DoctorWho Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'', DependingOnTheWriter. He usually seems to have an above-average tolerance for alcohol: he once drank a whole bottle of wine and remained capable of walking, talking, and assisting in the Doctor's IndyPloy. However, in ''Camera Obscura'', Sabbath gives Fitz and Anji brandy, and Fitz falls asleep/passes out after one glass. Maybe he was just tired, [[TheWoobie poor dear]]. (Anji sips it slowly and suffers no appreciable effects.) But in the one ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' story Fitz is in, he seems to have more of a tolerance than Anji, and mistakenly gives her a GargleBlaster that knocks her out for twenty-four hours (the Doctor scolds him, because he should have known that you're supposed to only put a single drop on a sugar cube), but goes around drinking it from a hip flask himself.
* ''Literature/FullMetalPanic''

* Mark "LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}" Fischbach is one such person. He has a condition that causes him to be unable to properly process alcohol, and has noted that when he needed to drink for a video, he had to take medication to lessen the effects and stick to a responsible amount of alcohol. Even then, at one point he had a serious enough medical scare that he eventually had to swear it off altogether, ending the ''Drunk Minecraft'' series.

* Mark "LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}" Fishbach is one such person. He has a condition that causes him to be unable to properly process alcohol, and has noted that when he needed to drink for a video, he had to take medication to lessen the effects and stick to a responsible amount of alcohol. Even then, at one point he had a serious enough medical scare that he eventually had to swear it off altogether, ending the ''Drunk Minecraft'' series.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''' retelling of the story of Paul Bunyon. The townspeople give the giant Homer a similarly giant glass of beer. They're amazed that one cup of beer knocks him out... until Lenny reveals that there was a giant roofie pill in the glass.

* Tsukuyo in ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' brutalizes Gintoki (and later Shinpachi and Kagura, but mostly Gintoki) after just a small amount of [[strike:sake]] liquor-filled chocolate. Even just eating a single whiskey bonbon can set her off. At one point Gintoki refers to her as a "drunk terminator".