Good question. I'm going to say that you have a difficult line to follow.
You are not forbidden from alcohol, but you are strongly instructed not to allow such things to cloud your mental or physical sense of presence and calm. A purified and sanctified spirit is used is some of the rituals of the monastery, but not that often that you'd have that much of a tolerance beyond the strength of your constitution.
To touch on the other elements, since you brought them up (even if in jest)): Gambling, as a device of chaos and indiscipline, is indeed forbidden, and you have been warned to hold yourself apart from the crude indulgences of the flesh that might parade themselves in some places in Highlake. This is not to say that you are restricted to chastity or celibacy - indeed there are married members of the "monastery", though their partners are invariably also members of the community.
In short, you are held to something much more than a simple admonishment to moderation, but less than a absolute prohibition. Continued control, discipline, and focus are the objectives which should be maintained.
Of course, there are always those who stray from the teachings...
