Just received an email from DrinkingintheMorning: “While doing research for our show, we stumbled on your blog. We feel we are kindred spirits. Not only did you do a blog post about drinking in the morning (the subject of our show) but you even mentioned one of our Drinks of the Day — guiness and chocolate cake donuts!”
They are referring to this column on LRC, which I reprint here for no good reason: Everyone knows the rule: drink no liquor before noon. How insufferable such advice is! It has caused morning drinkers to hide their habits, deny them when confronted, and otherwise feel like they are doing something wrong or immoral or socially intolerable, a combination which leads to other forms of pathology.
It is time for them to stand up and proclaim themselves and their habit as the noble act that it is. All over the world, there exists a grand tradition of including a bit of spirits with one’s breakfast, or at least a bit of beer or wine product. How tragic that those who struggle mightily to uphold this practice are reduced to doing so alone, enjoying their pleasure only in the privacy of their own kitchen for fear of inviting the public humiliation.
I was reminded of this tradition recently when a friend – a brilliant and productive young composer and musicologist who has to remain nameless – partook in his favorite breakfast, which he does every day insofar as it is possible. The food part is simple: a chocolate cake donut, with or without icing. The drink part: a pint of Guinness Stout. The method: dip the donut in the stout and chomp it down. It is the adult version of the child’s milk and cookies trick.
Splendid!
It turns out that in the sweep of history, when water was not always safe and orange juice rarely accessible, this practice of morning drinking was the norm for all classes in society, and remained so for the upper classes far into the modern age. We forget that coffee and tea are relatively modern by comparison. In the middle ages, the typical British breakfast always included a mug of ale or wine.
In the South today, the tradition seems to bypass the middle class completely and last only among the truly well-formed working class blacks and upper class white aristocrats. A maintenance man I knew would never touch the “government’s liquor” but he would never start a day without a nice swig of his favorite moonshine.
I tried it once and it took two days for my lips to feel normal again! But he managed it quite well, worked hard, and had a great life.
Also, I know a delightfully old-world Southern gentlemen who lives in an antebellum house and studies Holy Scripture every morning, the original Greek and Hebrew, and does this before he ever picks up the newspaper. His theory is that mornings are not for rushing around but rather contemplation of higher things.
One day I came during these early hours just for quick visit, and he invited me in.
“Would you like a cup of coffee, Jeffrey?” he asked.
“Yes sir, I would, thank you,” I said.
Then he paused and said, with an impossibly charming flash in his eyes:
“Would you like some bourbon in that coffee?”
Well, of course I would! And so it was done.
Today most breakfast drinking takes place on airplanes. Why? Because we are surrounded by people we are not likely to see again, and so we feel a sense of freedom from artificial social impositions. If you think about it, once the silly taboo against breakfast drinking is crushed, many possibilities present themselves.
If you ask people their favorite breakfast drinks, and press the issue, you eventually find that in addition to the ones above, these are the best beloved.
The Bloody Mary: It is made from a jigger and a half of Vodka, a few drops of Tabasco sauce, 3 jiggers of tomato juice, pepper, some lemon juice, salt, and a bit of Worcestershire sauce.
The Mimosa: champagne and orange juice to taste. But actually you can add champagne to any fruit juice and create an amazingly festive break of day. It’s unclear precisely what makes the difference, but I have a theory that it is just the popping of the champagne cork first thing in the morning. You can try this at home. Wake up late, shower, and then pull out and open a chilled bottle. The action alone creates a bigger rush than you can get from any evening martini.
Both of these drinks today are called “Doghair Drinks” as in the old saying that one should eat a bit of the hair of the tail of dog that bit you. Strange saying but it refers to the idea that one should have a bit more of the same drink of which you drank too much the night before, all toward the goal of curing the hangover.
Do you see what is happening here? The breakfast drink is being snuck in under the label of medicine as a way of evading the social taboo against liquor before noon. That’s just silly. You don’t need an excuse, particularly not a medicinal one. You can have a bloody mary or a mimosa anytime!
Along the same lines there is rum and 7-up, rum and apple cider, and this interesting one just called “The Breakfast Drink”: jigger Vodka, jigger Peach Schnapps, cup of Orange Juice, 2 jiggers raspberry Liqueur, ½ cup of Collins mix. Fascinating!
For all the wonders and complications of that latter suggestion, I still can’t get past the simplicity and clarity of my favorite of all time: a small glass of port wine.
Maybe it is an age thing. I like the idea of the Guinness, the courage it takes to drink moonshine, the fussiness that comes with a mimosa, the bold stroke of the Bloody Mary, and the sheer decadence associated with “the Breakfast Drink” but somehow the clarity and stability of the glass of port – which recalls the glory of Colonial America – seems just right and just what is needed to join the movement to smash this ridiculous taboo against morning drinking.
A final note on a frequent objection: morning drinking diminishes one’s productivity during the day. This is true, of course, but particularly for adults who process liquor more slowly. This underscores a point that cannot be emphasized enough: like smoking, morning drinking is particularly suited for the young, meaning under the age of 25. Their systems are robust and can handle it better. Don’t waste your youth: it is up to you to bring back the breakfast drink!
{ 24 comments }
Here is a funny site along the same lines
http://www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com/
I’ve always felt that Bloody Marys for breakfast and Mises go well together.
I read somewhere (although I can’t vouch for the accuracy) that when Harvard College was first founded, it was commonplace to drink ale for breakfast.
I am thirsty!
Jeff, you are such a fount of irreplaceable advice! Thanks!
An article encouraging morning drinking??? Must be a slow news day at the Mises Institute.
Russ, there are 5 other articles posted this morning before this one. Can that really be called a slow news day?
I thought the article that Jeff wrote all those years ago and Stephan’s post responding to him were quite enlightening!
Kinsella’s summary of Tucker’s wise words of wisdom reminds me of a question I have long forgotten to pose to Mr. Tucker: Has Tommy Bahama changed the equation? For example, as I write this, I am in my office wearing tailored italian slacks, allen edmond shoes and a nice Tommy Bahama shirt.
@Micah:
An article about morning drinking, on an economics site, is a “puff” piece. Besides, *encouraging* drinking in the morning? I swear that most people associated with lewrockwell.com are contrarian just for the sake of being contrarian. If the government came out with an advisory saying that eating rat poison is bad for you (duh!), somebody here or at lewrockwell.com would write an article extolling the benefits of sprinkling rat poision on the kiddies’ morning oatmeal.
Here’s Russ’ rule of thumb for living; never take lifestyle advice from a man who wears a bowtie.
@Russ
Mr. Tucker isn’t being “contrarian for the sake of being contrarian.” He is simply pointing out the inherent silliness of arbitrary taboos. What difference does it make whether one drinks at 9 am or 9 pm? Calling into question widely-accepted cultural assumptions is exactly what most of us expect from the writers at LRC and mises.org.
Well done, Mr. Tucker!
“Here’s Russ’ rule of thumb for living; never take lifestyle advice from a man who wears a bowtie.”
Ahem:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Murray_Rothbard.jpg
Also this:
“Kinsella’s summary of Tucker’s wise words of wisdom reminds me of a question I have long forgotten to pose to Mr. Tucker: Has Tommy Bahama changed the equation? For example, as I write this, I am in my office wearing tailored italian slacks, allen edmond shoes and a nice Tommy Bahama shirt.”"
…simply cannot be ignored. I’m sorry, but you are not wearing a nice Tommy Bahama shirt. There is no such thing as a nice Tommy Bahama shirt. Leave the floral patterns to the curtains in your beach house.
“Which I reprint here for no good reason.”
I was recently in Prague and was quite surprised to see the “Prague Breakfast” next to listings for eggs and buttered rolls. Apparently beer and goulash is good any time of the day, particularly breakfast.
i share this theory with that old man. the morning is the best possible time to flesh out the crazy ideas you had just before you fell asleep, and turn them into something useful. i prefer coffee, though i have noticed it can sometimes drive thoughts off on wild tangents.
In 2007, while I was vacationing in Tanzania, the safari lodges I stayed in all served a breakfast buffet that included a kind of mimosa, but with watermelon juice. I much preferred this version, but haven’t seen it before or since.
In 2007, while I was vacationing in Tanzania, the safari lodges I stayed in all served a breakfast buffet that included a kind of mimosa, but with watermelon juice. I much preferred this version, but haven’t seen it before or since.
Russ,
Ignoring those in bow ties is, undoubtedly, causing you to miss out on life’s more intelligent, if fussy, amusements.
seventeen comments says “puff” wins the day.
i want tucker to start championing suspenders + buttons (braces to anglos) over belts. this is a cause that needs a crusader. trousers don’t hang properly with belts! mises always cut a fine figure. no tracksuit pants in his wardrobe.
Tucker, I met you once this year at a Mises Circle in Colorado. Your personality is just as charming online as it is in person.
This article along with the one above about trying to direct my thoughts into more useful writings than blog comments are two of the best blog posts that LvMI has seen in a month. Thank you
This seems like a good time to mention something: Jeff, you are truly one of my favorite people to read – and you’re definitely on my “must meet” list. (How about a mises circle event in the Connecticut area soon?)
There is nothing – nothing! – better than bourbon in your coffee to start the day off right. I prefer Maker’s Mark as it has some sweeter characteristics that match well with coffee.
@Newson,
If one wears braces instead of a belt, how would one wear a concealed firearm?
Just stumbled upon this one.
Pardon my sycophancy, but I adore Jeff Tucker. Also on my must-meet list.
But I must say, there are some glaring omissions here.
Screwdriver: vodka and orange juice
Phillips Screwdriver: (for those of us in the north) Phillips vodka and orange juice
Screw-up: vodka, orange juice, and Seven Up
Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!
I’ve long been a fan of coffee (or hot chocolate) modifications. But as much of a fan of bourbon as I am, Bailey’s or Drambuie are both superior as hot drink additives. And I am glad to see someone fighting for that oppressed minority, the morning drinker.
Comments on this entry are closed.