Good Morning and happy Pride Month! Why not start your day with your favorite newsletter and maybe a glass of wine? We’re going to explain why it might actually be better to have a drink before noon, you know, for your health.

Why You Might Want to Switch Your Happy Hour to the AM

Everyone knows that the socially acceptable drinking hours are dinnertime and later, right? Or at least that’s what the oft-quoted saying “it’s five o’clock somewhere” implies. What if I told you that there’s a pretty good argument for drinking at breakfast?

There are plenty of times when drinking alcohol in the morning is actually socially acceptable: tailgating, boozy brunch, or existing in an airport for example. When and why did we as a society establish these rules and what do these rules say about societal expectations as a whole? As it turns out we aren’t really that far removed from the times in which drinking before noon was not only acceptable, it was commonplace.

Throughout history alcoholic drinks were often consumed for hydration rather than just as a way to alter ones state of consciousness. Since early society hadn’t gotten all of the rules of hygiene worked out quite yet, truly ‘fresh’ water was hard to come by. In order to prevent themselves from getting sick, most people opted to drink fermented beverages which were free of potentially deadly pathogens.

As water became a safer there were still many socially acceptable situations for drinking in the daytime hours. Monks drank beer for sustenance during long fasts, farmers sipped Saison in the sun to make it through grueling physical workdays, and lofty businessmen and politicians imbibed in the morning to ease the stress of high pressure decision making. Some even claimed health benefits to drinking earlier in the day. Although we know that alcohol is small poison, were they actually on to something with that last part?

Doctors aren’t ready to endorse a beer with breakfast outright, but from a medical standpoint it doesn’t exactly matter what time you drink at; the health impacts are the same. That is of course if you don’t consider the major impact that drinking has on sleep. An argument can be made for drinking earlier in the day and sobering up by bedtime since studies have shown significant interruptions to sleep when alcohol is consumed. In a time when everything we do has to be productive or profitable the benefits and drawbacks of drinking during the day have to be weighed carefully. On one hand, drinking before bed might disrupt sleep and thus make you more groggy and less productive the following day. On the other, drinking in the daytime is generally considered a productivity killer in and of itself. The obvious fix is to not drink at all, but then you’d miss out on some surprising benefits that alcohol has despite its drawbacks.

WebMD tends to be the place that hypochondriacs go to prove that they are, in fact, dying. It can also be a resource for some surprising takes on drinking. According to a WebMD Health & Diet Guide published in February of 2025 there are actually a number of ways that alcohol consumption is correlated with healthy outcomes. Among other things consuming a moderate amount of alcohol is correlated with better heart health, lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

So I guess what we’re saying is maybe take some time, be a touch less productive and have a morning wine to take the edge off. It might save your life! But more likely, it might just help you not take everything too seriously all the time.

The Cultural Significance of Vodka Soda in Queer Spaces

June is Pride Month, a month intended to honor and uplift members of the LGBTQIA+ community and to center their stories. As a bi/pan identifying person myself it is easy for me to be drawn to stories that can blend drink culture and queer culture in unexpected ways.

In an article from 2023, Zachary Zane for VinePair recounts his experience after coming out as bisexual and beginning to frequent gay bars. What starts out as a playful and humorous article ended up having some really interesting insights into why vodka soda is widely regarded as ‘gay water’. I don’t want to attempt to rewrite such a perfectly composed tribute to the vodka soda, you really should read Zane’s words directly, but the message at its core is something that vibrates through all of spirits and drinks culture - community.

Vodka soda is a staple in queer spaces for a number of reasons but one reason that it has staying power is that vodka brands started putting their money where their marketing was fairly early on. Like most companies, it makes sense to market to the populations that already consume your product. Vodka brands started playing into gay and queer culture in order to sell more bottles and did so in a fairly nonexploitative way. What locked in loyalty for a lot of LGBTQ+ people was when those same brands started reinvesting in causes aimed at bettering the lives of those consumers. Absolut was one of the founding sponsors of the GLAAD media awards and has donated a considerable amount to a number of gay and lesbian charities.

Bars are epicenters of culture, and community is historically built out of these spaces. No matter how you personally identify it is important to remember that the bars and the spirits that we love are more than just a purveyor or a product - they are an entire experience. Your favorite bar likely isn’t your favorite based on the selection of drinks alone, it’s the people and environment that provides them. If nothing else let Pride remind you of the importance of community, something that we in the bar and spirits industry appreciate greatly.

Summertime is a great time to make fruity infusions. Did you know that frozen fruit is actually better for infusing? It’s actually science, you should totally check it out. Stay fruity friends!

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