Does Blake Shelton have a drinking problem?

As fans of Blake Shelton’s are well aware, the man is no teetotaler — and Blake’s vocal admiration of hard liquor has caused many to wonder what he’s really sipping from the Starbucks cup on The Voice.

As an entertainer with a predominantly drink-loving demographic, Blake’s country boy persona is generally endearing. He embraces it and often uses “I’m so drunk” as a punchline. That makes it difficult for the public to know whether he just came up with a good joke or is truly tipsy.

I’m still so drunk right now I just dialed 911 and shouted “Help!!!! Why is Wednesday spelled like that?!!!!”

— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) May 5, 2013

Unlike what his Twitter feed would lead readers to believe, Blake claims he doesn’t mix up his favorite Bacardi Rum and Crystal Light on a daily basis.

“(Tweeting is) just a way to say something ridiculous. Yeah, I drink a lot,” Blake told Parade in 2011. “But I’m not drunk every night.”

Even more recently, Blake’s mom cleared up her son’s interview with Men’s Health — in which he claimed to wish Adam Levine was drunk all the time “like me” — by saying Blake has a habit of exaggerating.

“He likes to make people think he’s drunk, but I’ve never seen that boy drunk in my life,” she said in an interview for the August 2013 issue, contradicting the image her son puts out with hits songs like The More I Drink.

Still, rumors have been persistent for the past few years that Blake’s hard-drinking is a real problem — with potentially serious consequences.

“The producers recognize that Blake is a natural on TV, and they believe he’s even capable of having his own sitcom,” a source told Perez Hilton in the spring of 2012. “But they think he needs to tone down the partying, or he could scare away the show’s wholesome viewers.”

At the time, Blake’s reps denied the report and Blake has since gone on to more seasons of The Voice as well as his own Christmas special. Since then, the alcoholism rumors seemed the lose steam, which may be due to the fact that, unlike some of his trainwrecked peers, Blake isn’t constantly pictured out getting sloshed. Or, as Blake claims, it may be due to the fact that he’s just joking around.

We’re hoping for the latter.