Editor’s Note: This guide was written prior to our most recent round of bar restrictions. We’d also like to acknowledge those that abstain from drinking and share The Mocktail Project as a resource.
It’s nine months into the pandemic, and it feels like we have fallen back to square one. The daily COVID cases are starting to look like phone numbers and everyone knows someone that has or had it. A far cry from earlier in the year when we were doing so well. We mastered socially distanced hangs outside, virtual nights out, and working from home. We were figuratively and literally locked in. All hands were on deck to keep this under control. Now, with new cases at an all time high, countries are shutting back down to regain control. Nothing will be the same before a vaccine.
How could we drop the ball like this? What, are we drunk? Yes.
It's no secret that booze has beared the cross for this country since 1933 and 2020 has twice the load. This is reflected in a record year for liquor sales despite restaurants and bars operating at a fraction of capacity. Pair that with one of the main side effects of a global pandemic being impaired judgment, and you have a recipe for disaster. Need proof? With the exception of five states, we're seeing ongoing and even rising drinking and driving accidents and arrests.
It's clear that we can only see our present situation as a society. We are not visionaries. That's why we are making it a priority to see friends and family now versus taking steps to insure they are here once we are past this. Working is not our issue. It's what we do once our guards are down. It is how we act when it's time to decompress and cope while we navigate these uncharted waters. That's how we have lost our way, and that's what has us in the situation we are in now.
Photo by Rachael Henning on Unsplash
‘Tis the season to get toasted…
The Holiday season is upon us -- the drunkest time of the year. Everyone will want to see you, because pandemics aside, we simply MUST stick to capitalist traditions, and the opportunity for sketchy situations will be very abundant. It is imperative to be proactive and plan to avoid making the wrong decisions on temporary events that can cause permanent damage.
So how do we deal? What can we do to drink, not drive, and share experiences with one another? Let's bounce back to that seemingly idyllic time between March and June of 2020 but spice up our options a bit -- perhaps even make them more relevant for the weird-ass holiday season we're about to experience.
Photo by Deepak Raj on Unsplash
Download House Party Again
Remember when House Party was a thing for six weeks? So do I. Global Warming has blessed us with an extended Patio SZN, but this will inevitably be ending soon. With bars being only so big, it will be increasingly challenging for places to effectively socially distance.
These are waters not worth braving, and it isn't worth driving home. It's time to hit that arrow cloud and download House Party again. House Party is a free app that allows you to create web parties with friends with built-in games and activities (for those of you who missed this wave). Couple this with an order from a booze delivery service like Drizly and you get just as drunk and have the same conversations you'd have had at the bar but are COVID-safe, with the added bonus of not getting pulled over when it's time to pass out. Literally, you can just roll over.
Invest in Winter Gear
The thing about Louisville is it has a group-based culture. More than likely, you live in the same neighborhood as all your friends. I know, you are very cool. Truly, it’s as if you’re staring into a traditional tattooed version of The Stepford Wives, but I digress. Take some of that gas money you aren't spending, buy a real pair of winter boots for the first time in your adult life. Invite a homie over that lives far away, take a shot together to establish a solid whiskey coat, and walk together to the friend up the street, or your neighborhood watering hole. You'll have a great time competitively complaining about the world on your way to your destination and aren't rolling the dice on DUI or Rideshare.
Turn your Living Room into a Holiday Bar
Pulling this off is a lot easier than it sounds. Places like Trouble Bar have cocktail kits, making it easy to recreate and have their iconic drinks at home. Download one of the thousands of holiday playlists on Spotify. Buy some cheap colorful lights to set the mood and boom, Miracle Bar, but in your home. Invite over your neighborhood covid bubble and have a socially distanced night in.
Have 11 Friends? I’m Impressed Because I Don't.
But, Welcome to 12 Bottles of Wine-mas
Agree that everyone will purchase a bottle of wine and deliver another participant via doorstep delivery. Cover the label with wrapping paper before delivery, pour your glass and join a holiday-themed Christmas zoom call. Make each participant guess the type of wine and drink if they get it wrong; even drink if they are correct, who cares!
No one will likely get the answers right, and everyone will be buzzed by the end. EVERYONE WINS.
2020 is not the year promised to us by meme culture. I get it. Calling it a dumpster fire would be disrespectful to trash. However, we have to gain some type of responsibility for ourselves while still trying to enjoy whatever 2020 is. Use some of the ideas I curated to inspire your own Covid-friendly, minimal-transportation Holiday celebrations. As Dave Chappelle so eloquently stated, "Modern problems require modern solutions." Getting creative with your weekend will be a fun challenge that will keep you and the ones you love alive and well to see us get past this once and for all.
Dante Wheat is a writer, photographer, award-winning bartender, and founder of Raw Pineapples. His work has been featured in The Leo Weekly, Imbibe Magazine, and at the James Beard House.