An Irishman
walks into a bar in Dublin, orders three pints of Guinness and sits in the
back of the room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn. When he finishes
them, he returns to the bar and orders three more pints.
The bartender asks him, "You know, a pint goes flat after I draw it... It
would taste better if you bought one at a time."
The Irishman replies, "Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in
America, the other in Australia, and I'm here in Dublin. When we all left
home, we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days when we
drank together."
The bartender admits that this is a nice custom, and leaves it at that.
The Irishman soon becomes a regular in the bar, always ordering three pints
and drinking them in turn.
One day, though, the Irishman approaches the bartender and orders only two
pints. All the other regulars notice this and fall silent.
When the Irishman returns to the bar for the second round, the bartender
says, "I don't want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my
condolences on your great loss."
The Irishman looks confused for a moment, then a light dawns in his eye and
he laughs. "Oh, no," he says, "everyone's fine. I've just quit drinking."