Hey cal93:
I do not have much experience with buddhism. I live in an orthodox religious community however. While I am no longer practicing, I was devout during around ten years ago. One of the reasons I left was I gave too much importance to rules of do’s and don’t’s – often wandering into the territory of self judgement and self hatred when I strayed from the set rules. If you were to decide on embracing buddhism as a religion my advice would be to not become overly attached to do’s and don’ts, such as avoid intoxicants. Embrace imperfection within your religious practice. It is a lot more sustainable :).
Best,
m