May 10: Mother’s Day

Read more

• news2026-07-04

  July 4: Independence Day

  It's Independence Day. You know, with 250 years of separation, it's easy to forget the amount of guts it took for the Founding Fathers to tell the most powerful empire in the world to go stuff itself. Luckily there was plenty of booze on hand to give them the strength and fortitude to pull it off. Over the last two centuries, the Drys have tried mightily to frame the Founders as a bunch of tee-totaling milksops, but the fact of the matter is, those guys liked to party. The Declaration of Independence was largely written in pubs, and most of its signers liked a drink, or two, or twelve, or as much as they could pry out of the innkeeper's hands. True story: When the war was over and they settled down to write the Constitution, 55 delegates, including George Washington and the usual suspects, threw a party at a pub and ran up a 16,000 dollar bar tab. Between them, they put away 54 bottles of Madeira wine, 60 bottles of claret, 8 bottles of whiskey, 22 bottles of porter, 12 bottles of beer

  by Frank Kelly Rich1 view
  today-s-reason-to-drink
• news2026-06-30

  June 30: Bartender and Mixologist Day

  It's Bartender and Mixologist Day. Now, I think honoring the men and women who make our drinks is an excellent idea, but I've always had ambivalent feelings about the term "mixologist." Bartenders who work in dives hiss at the term, while those who apply it to themselves seem to be, well, a bit fancy. And while the whole mixology thing may seem like just another fresh-faced fad being foisted on the drinking public, the foisting has actually been going on for at least 160 years. An 1856 edition of Knickerbocker magazine featured a columnist asking: “Who ever heard of a man calling the barkeeper a mixologist of tipicular fixing?” The answer to which is: “A lot of people, every 30 years or so.” A mixology craze will rise up, hang around a while, then get stamped down by a bunch of people with disgusted looks on their faces, only to rise up again a generation or so later like a phoenix that really should find something better to do with its life. And like an unemployed neighbor you foolish

  by Frank Kelly Rich2 views
  today-s-reason-to-drink
• news2026-06-29

  June 29: The Globe Theater Burns to the Ground

  On this day in 1613, the original Globe Theater in London, built by Shakespeare and his gang of thespians, burnt to the ground after a special-effects cannon set fire to some thatching during a performance of Henry VIII. As you might imagine, in 17th century London, theaters weren't so stuffy as they are today. It was entertainment for the masses. You could gain entrance for as little as a penny, so long as you were willing to stand in what they called "the Pit." It was a night for the regular folk to cut loose. Everyone got loud and drunk. The audience, the vendors, even some of the actors were generally loaded. You wouldn't have found fine brandies and French wines in the foyer of the old Globe, but touts from the tap house next door were happy to sell you reasonably priced porter, ale and gin, and plenty of it. Sad fact: A near replica of the Globe was built on the same spot in the 1990s, and while it may look the same, its soul has changed. To wit: Want go guess how much a cocktail

  by Frank Kelly Rich2 views
  today-s-reason-to-drink