‘Vampire Diaries’ actor Ian Somerhalder says he had his first drink at 4 years old
The 44-year-old 'Lost' alum said he used to 'steal' mint juleps from his family and was caught a few times
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ian Somerhalder admitted this weekend to having his first drink at around 4 years old.
When most kids are preparing for kindergarten, the "Vampire Diaries" actor told the New York Post, he used to "steal mint juleps from my family" at his home in Louisiana, which he said was always well stocked with sugar cane, an ingredient in the drink.
"I’m sure it was 4. … It was the early ‘80s, like ’81," the 44-year-old remembered when asked about his first drink. He was speaking at an event for his new bourbon brand Brother’s Bond he launched two years ago with his former "Vampire Diaries" co-star Paul Wesley, who played his bother on the show.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Those are the first memories I have of muddled mint, sugar cane and that smell of bourbon," he told the outlet.
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Ian Somerhalder said he had his first drink at about 4 years old. ( Toni Anne Barson/WireImage)
He said when he was a kid in the South, "there was no socioeconomics for bourbon. So, someone who was an executive of a company is going to be drinking the same bourbon as someone who is a blue-collar worker. So, that was really amazing, sort of this level playing field."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Somerhalder added that he was caught by adults with a drink in his hand a few times and scolded to "put that down!"
He added that bourbon is "literally part of culture down there, and it’s really special because it’s bonding. It’s what so many families do, and it’s just special."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The "V Wars" star now has a family of his own. He married "Twilight" actress Nikki Reed in 2015, and they have a 5-year-old daughter with a second child on the way.
The "Lost" actor also admitted in 2019 to losing his virginity at an early age.
"[I was] 13. It was fun," Somerhalder told Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show, "Radio Andy." "When you’re 13 and you’re a boy, you know, or a girl, boys are pretty on it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Somerhalder noted that the girl he slept with was 16 at the time.
He told the Post that, as a teenage athlete, he also used to "blood dope," which he said was "super illegal in competitive sports but, like, we used to spit out plasma before like a huge race or something and just shoot it all back in."
Blood doping is meant to increase red blood cell mass to enhance an athlete’s performance, according to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
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Ian Somerhalder with pregnant wife Nikki Reed. (Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images)
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"We used to do triathlons, and we used to do like 100-mile road races. And you spit out all your plasma and put it back in right before your race. You have 35% more oxygen usage, so you’re just like a beast," he said. "You can’t do it anymore, [but] oh my God, in the early '90s, in competitive sports, especially, like, triathlons and road races, yeah everybody did it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News Digital has reached out to reps for Somerhalder for additional comment.