LOS ANGELES, Nov 20: Denzel Washington is approaching a decade of sobriety, having quit alcohol when he turned 60. Reflecting on his journey, the actor shares, "I haven’t had a thimble’s worth since."

In an interview for the Winter issue of Esquire, where he graces the cover, Washington, now 70, looks back on his complicated relationship with alcohol. He explains that it all began with wine, describing it as "very tricky" because it gradually took hold, saying, "It’s very slow. It ain’t like, boom, all of a sudden.”

Washington noted that although he experimented with various substances in his youth, he never became addicted to heroin, cocaine, or alcohol. He recalls his early experiences with wine as an idealized pursuit, sharing, "I had this ideal idea of wine tastings and all that — which is what it was at first. And that’s a very subtle thing. I mean, I drank the best."

As his family built a wine cellar, Washington learned to enjoy the finest wines, saying, "I’m gonna drink my ’61s and my ’82s and whatever we had." He recalls purchasing expensive bottles, such as $4,000 wines, and later calling Gil Turner’s Fine Wines & Spirits in Los Angeles for the "best" bottles.

When his wife, Pauletta, questioned why he ordered two bottles at a time, he explained, "Because if I order more, I’ll drink more. So I kept it to two bottles, and I would drink them both over the course of the day."

Washington emphasizes that he never drank while working or preparing for roles, stating, "I could do both. However many months of shooting, bang, it’s time to go. Then, boom. Three months of wine, then time to go back to work." He added that while he didn’t drink during the filming of Flight (2012), where he played an alcoholic pilot, "I’m sure I did as soon as I finished."

Now sober, Washington reflects on the toll alcohol took on his body, stating, "I’ve done a lot of damage to the body. We’ll see. I’ve been clean."

He also shares a sense of contentment as he enters his 70s, saying, "Things are opening up for me now — like being seventy. It’s real. And it’s okay. This is the last chapter — if I get another thirty, what do I want to do? My mother made it to ninety-seven. I’m doing the best I can."