We all need a happy hour

September 25, 2020·Darcie

I have been fortunate enough to be able to work from home during the pandemic, a luxury not afforded to everyone. I try not to complain about the small problems that go along with this sudden shift from a daily commute and being part of a bustling office to sitting alone in front of a keyboard for most of the day. However, I am going to lament one thing about this new environment: the lack of happy hour.

Although I did not indulge in happy hour on a daily or even weekly basis, it was an occasional welcome respite from the ordinary. Whether it was a gripe session or a celebration of a success, gathering together with officemates over a libation made the day end on a high note. Depending on where we went, I would have a cocktail or a beer or even just a thirst-quenching soda. While alcohol was not the defining component of happy hour, I do enjoy a well-made cocktail and have missed going to a place where someone would shake or stir up something tasty I could use to toast the occasion.

It was an article about gin's history as an aperitivo that made me realize it had been nearly six months since I've had a cocktail. At the start of work from home our office had one virtual happy hour for work and I mixed myself a drink, but since then I haven't touched the cocktail shaker. I think it's time to dust off the shaker and make a tasty libation before I forget how. I'll find a friend to do the same and perhaps we can reminisce about the 'good old days' of 2019, when we could have a happy hour that did not involve masks or distancing. I will probably make my favorite cocktail, the Corpse Reviver #2, pictured above. What's your favorite happy hour drink?

4 comments

JaneSeptember 25, 2020

Oooh, so hard to just choose one. G&T is my standard drink and if I want to gussy it up I do Smitten Kitchen's Garden gin and tonic with cucumber, lime and mint. My favorite batch cocktail is Negroni sbagliato from Nigella and if it's a Negroni just for me I like it with a hit of orange in Blood orange from the Canon Cocktail Book or Clementine Negroni from Bon Appetit.

hillsboroksSeptember 25, 2020

For the past several months I've poured myself a glass of wine about cocktail hour several times a week and phoned a good friend and told her to get a glass of wine and join me for a socially distanced chat. Most friends I've called are surprised at first and then delighted to join me. Quite often my husband and I will call our good friends who live several hours away and do the same thing with all of us on speakerphone. Sometimes they call us first but either way it is a great way to catch up, have a few laughs and maybe make a few plans to see one another in person in the distant future.

MollyBSeptember 25, 2020

I highly recommend David Lebovitz's Rosemary Gimlet (https://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/1553478/rosemary-gimlet)! I've been enjoying many of the cocktails from his Drinking French (https://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/193399/drinking-french-the-iconic-cocktails) this summer - everything I've tried from it has been great.

SheilaSSeptember 25, 2020

I have a regular weekly Zoom happy hour with 5 or 6 other women and appreciate the social outlet.
I loved the IGTV sessions that David Lebovitz was hosting after his book tour for "Drinking French" was cancelled. Love the Rosemary Gimlet from that book. Almost all the sessions are still available on his IG. For the hottest days, the Negroni Slushy from Jeffrey Morgenthaler's blog can't be beat.