How to Day Drink, from The New York Times
Tis the season, apparently. The season for shorts or dresses without those ubiquitous black tights, finally, for T-shirts and sunglasses and cozy cardigans topped with scarves in case it gets chilly. The season for sitting outside in the sun, for long brunches or lunches, and especially, for long, boozy brunches or lunches.The season for day-drinking! You can do it in the winter, and the fall, of course, but it's best when spring is in the air and the days are light and long. As such, The New York Time Magazine has seen fit to deliver a handy how-to of sorts, in which 'Drink' columnist Rosie Schaap reflects on the "subversive charms" of consuming alcohol before 5 p.m. and lays out some ground rules: "Drinking in the day is an occasion unto itself, to be enjoyed on its own congenial terms." This means:
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Not doing it at night once you've done it in the day. (As in, don't make it a bender.)
Not doing it all the time. (As in, don't be an alcoholic.)
Knowing that "there is such a thing as starting too early." (As in, don't be crazy.) Schaap recommends "after lunch," not breakfast, before the crazy crowds head to the bars for post-work cocktails.
And then there are the benefits of drinking in the day. More room at the bar! Forming friendships among the regulars, who have casual-cool jobs that allow them to day drink, like chefs, musicians, artists, and whatnot. Better music, music that you can talk over, or getting to choose the music yourself. More attention from the bartender, who may offer you lovely and experimental cocktails, possibly just whipping something up for fun. And also, the pure enjoyment of doing something that's a little illicit, a little bad—something you don't get to do everyday, and know that you shouldn't. "On the back patio," writes Schaap of a bar she day drank in, "three young women laugh and drink vodka sodas, take pictures on their phones, kick off their shoes and spread out on the benches that catch the most sunshine. And that’s the joy of it: they know they’re getting one over, if just for today. Day drinking is subversive, and springtime — helpmate to idleness and leisure — has a way of making us want to play hooky."
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Drinking in the day, it seems, is remarkably similar to reading about day drinking in the New York Times. Something special we get to enjoy once in a while, on a sunny Friday in the spring, but nothing we want to incorporate into everyday lives. After all, it's not like night drinking is broken—or, for that matter, something we need instructions on.
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Image via Shutterstock by Irina Fischer.
