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."
