Alcohol suddenly hitting way harder – depending on location

I’ve been an occasional drinker for many years. Average 2-3 drinks a week. There’s a bar a used to go drink at at least weekly from 2022-2025. Then I skipped a few months and when I returned, just a few sips into my margarita I felt plastered. Normally I loved when they made the drinks extra strong but this was insane. I felt completely shit faced not even halfway through the drink. I chalked it up to having been away and maybe having an empty stomach, but the next time I went back and had a completely different cocktail the same thing happened.

It wasn’t fun. I was too drunk to drive home without even finishing my drink. I asked both waitresses if they had changed how they make the drinks and both denied it. I have no reason to believe it’s anything the bar is doing, they’d go broke if they were pouring enough alcohol in every drink to make people feel that way, but you would taste it at that point, and these drinks taste exactly how they should.

I’ve tried two more times since then, always making sure I’ve eaten first and to sip slowly but the same thing happens.

Now the weird thing is I can still drink at home with no problem. I take shots of liquor once a week or so and there has been absolute no difference in how it affects me. Same with whiskey when im at a friends house.

Just wondering if anyone else has ever experienced anything like this? Im bummed because I used to love to go have a drink at this place and want to figure out how to be able to do that again.