One test of the Pavlovian conditioning model of tolerance is whether conditional drug compensatory responses are engaged by predrug cues. In one experiment with rats, injections of alcohol in the context of one set of stimuli were alternated with injections of saline solution with a different set of stimuli for several days. Each day, the rats' body temperatures were measured. Alcohol lowered body temperatures the first time it was given, but this effect diminished over the course of the repeated alcohol administration. that is, tolerance developed to the "hypothermic" effect of alcohol. To determine if a drug compensatory CR was engaged by the usual predrug cues, the rats were given a placebo. In a placebo test, saline solution is used instead of the drug. The placebo CR test was given to some rats under conditions where they were expecting alcohol; that is, saline was administered with the usual predrug cues. For the remaining rats, the placebo CR test was given under conditions where there should have been no expectancy of alcohol. Rats given saline with the usual predrug cues had elevated body temperatures, while rats given saline without the usual predrug cues showed little temperature change. Thus, it was possible to directly observe the drug compensatory CR, in simple terms, going through your pre party (drinking) rituals literally makes you hotter in anticipation (of alcohol ;).
http://www.uvm.edu/~biopsych/outline/DrugsOutline.htm
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