Nate had to drink while he was betting with Doyle, or Doyle would've walked away, though. Nate was being real good, just letting the drink sit there and not touching it, until Doyle called him out on it.
Tim Hutton played that little scene perfectly, too. The slightly shaky hand when he picks it up, the moment of just breathing it in, and the closed eyes and look of pure blissful relief when the first drink goes down... That reminds me, I'm out of whiskey.
It was cute, too, how he looked around for Eliot before he drank it, then tried to hide the second drink from him. That's an interesting relationship those two have.
Scary Drunk Nate is scary. We haven't seen the last of him, either, I'm sure. When he slammed Doyle on the table and broke his fingers, I cheered. I'm a bad person. Nate's pretty scary sober, too, though; he's got the brains, the experience, the means, and the will to destroy people he's barely met, without laying a hand on them (unless he wants to).
So much good in this episode. I have to watch it again to savor it.