A Celebration Of Margaritas, Martinis & More Libations
Don’t you just hate getting a knock on the door – or a text or Facebook message – telling you that you should have been there last night?
We certainly do at PubClub.com. That’s why we like to stay ahead of the game so you can be right there in the thick of the party.
This article provides dates and information on the all-important natiional drinking days. So when it’s, say, National Margarita Day or National Beer Day, you know it’s time to go out and celebrate with that beverage.
So read on, party on, and walk on up to your favorite bars on these days.
• NATIONAL DRINK WINE DAY
Feb. 18
Not to be confused with National Wine Day (keep reading), this is when you are supposed to drink wine, rather than just admire it. Well, drink it both days, of course.
Vino celebration starts the National Drink Days year!
• NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY
Feb. 22
People used to love to ask Jimmy Buffett, “where the heck is Margartitaville?”
His answer was always as simple as the song: “It’s wherever you want it to be.”
And on this occasion, National Margarita Day can be celebrated anywhere that is within reach of a blender, bar, cantina or a good bartender. Buffett’s chain of Margaritaville restaurant/bars are a good place to start if one is nearby; it serves some four million margaritas annually – one million in Las Vegas alone (PubClub.com has certainly contributed our fare share to that total).
The best margaritas are made fresh, not from a mix. Do the day worthy and have a good one. Or mas.
• NATIONAL BEER DAY
April 7
Beer. The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.
For Homer Simpson every day is National Beer Day, but for the rest of us April 7 is our official celebration of this fine, delicious, desirable and intoxicating beverage.
It’s cheers to beers day, so head to the local pub or club to toast what is really our national alcoholic beverage.
Created to celebrate the end of prohibition – and who wouldn’t celebrate such a thing – National Beer Day recognizes the first day that beer was again legally sold in the USA after more than 13 years, back in 1933.
So hops to it!
April 6, by the way, is called New Beer’s Eve (supposedly people lined up overnight at pubs and breweries on this evening in 1933 in anticipation of being able to buy beer the next day. We can certainly relate).
• NATIONAL WINE DAY
May 25
It’s a cheers to chardonnay, a moment for merlot, a party with pinot, a salute to sauvigon.
National Wine Day is for the mostly sophisticated drinker, a time to reflect on the finer things in life with a small group of friends rather than to treat it as if were the first day of Spring Break (like on, say, National Beer Day).
An interesting conversation point to break out on this day is that more and better wine is produced in poor, rather than rich, soil. The reason is that poor soil stresses the vine and it compensates by producing more, and more flavorful, grapes. It’s a survival mechanism.
• NATIONAL MARTINI DAY
June 19
Get out that distinctive glass, put on a James Bond movie and have it shaken, not stirred. One of the world’s most famous cocktails – certainly its most diverse – gets its play day in mid-June.
This drink has been around since the 1860s and the classic martini is made with gin, not vodka. However, ones containing the latter are all the rage now and come in a dizzing array of flavors and varieties. Our favorite? The PubClubette, served at Mangiamo Italian Restaurant in Manhattan Beach, CA.
• NATIONAL TEQUILA DAY
July 24
Thank goodness this does not fall on the day before – or after – National Margarita Day. That might be too much for any but the heartiest of systems to endure.
Instead, it’s in the very center of summer, which brings to mind that T-shirt sold all over Mexican beach towns: “One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor!”
Yes, something about this day just screams out for shots.
• NATIONAL SCOTCH DAY
July 27
Single malt, single grain, blended malt, blended grain or blended, take your pick. It’s Scotch Whiskey’s time to move from the shelf to the bar. Scotch has been distilled since somewhere around the 1500s and it comes with intriguing names such as The Glenlivet, Laphroaig, Glenfiddich and Dewer’s.
The greatest quote involving scotch? It comes from Joe Namath during his days as superstar quarterback of the New York Jets: “I like my Johnny Walker red and my women blonde.”
Every American male should hoist a shot of JW Red in a toast to ‘ol Joe on this day.
• INTERNATIONAL BEER DAY
Aug. 5
Of course, beer gets a National Day and an International Day.
The latter was created not in St. Louis, Muich or Belgium, as one might expect, but in Santa Cruz, CA. Yes, northern Surf City, USA. A forward-thinking gentleman – obviously propelled by the thoughts of everyone across the entire planet celebrating with his favorite beverage on a single day – named Jesse Avshalomov is credited with being the creator, in 2007.
Well Jesse, lift your favorite flavor and we’ll all do a cheers to you.
Perhaps not too surprisingly, International Hangover Day is Aug. 6.
• NATIONAL RUM DAY
Aug. 16
Somebody alert Luau Larry!
The favored drink of islands everywhere, rum is the critical ingredient in all things considered boat drinks (rum, juices, a slice of pineapple and little folding umbrella on the side of the glass). The original Mai Tais at the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki Beach is the best place to get that drink.
In the Caribbean, rum is cheaper than the mix, so every cocktail is made with a least half rum. Every place serves a rum punch and, like gumbo in New Orleans, each is a little bit different. And every one of them is good.
The date of has a true meaning, too; Aug. 16 is the final day of the harvest in Barbados, place of the origin of rum.
• NATIONAL WHISKEY SOUR DAY
Aug. 24
Now this is getting really specific – a day for an individual drink that’s not necessarily hugely popular.
A Whiskey Sour adds lemon juice and sugar (sometimes even an egg white to make it frothy) to whiskey. It is shaken, can be served straight or over ice, and is garnished with half an orange slice and maraschino cherry.
• NATIONAL DRINK A BEER DAY Make that three days devoted to celebrating drinking beer. Well, why not. Oktoberfest in Munich is in full bloom and there are replica Oktoberfests at nearly every city throughout the USA in September and October. But is one supposed to limit one’s self to a singe beer on National Drink A Beer Day? |
• NATIONAL BOURBON MONTH
September
Not content with commanding a single day (or days), bourbon – that Kentucky cocktail king – occupies an entire month.
The actual official name is National Bourbon Heritage Month, as declared by the US Senate. (Good to know they can actually get something done worthy of our attention and affection).
Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning – a former Major League pitcher, by the way– introduced the bill and the Senate passed it unanimously in 2007, declaring bourbon “America’s Native Spirit.” (Actually, there was a 1964 Act of Congress regarding this very subject but everything needs a little refreshing now and again.)
• NATIONAL VODKA DAY
Oct. 4
Not to be left out – and why should it be – vodka springs into the national limelight on Oct. 4.
One of the more popular alcoholic beverages in America, especially among fitness-concious women, vodka accounts for more than a quarter of all distilled spirits sold in the U.S. One can only imagine the consumption on this day if all vodka lovers take it to heart.
Still, vodka must share its “holiday” with National Taco Day. Should that not instead be on Feb. 22, National Martarita Day!?
And just around the corner, Oct. 16 to be precise, is National Bosses Day. Perhaps you should get him/her a bottle of vodka (or one for yourself!).
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