The Ultimate Survival Guide to Drinking in a Pandemic

Flaviar members share five inspirational ways to continue enjoying your drinks in the new normal.

1. Change your booze relationship status to “open”

This is the perfect time to venture out from your spirit safe zone. As Flaviar member Adam put it, “I am more interested in having new bottles to taste instead of the same cocktail on repeat.”

Is Tequila typically your wingman? Consider taking a look at its smokey counterpart, Mezcal. You can also wander down the less-sipped road with storied Spirits from all around the world, like the incredibly popular Baiju, or Cognac’s lesser-known (but equally delicious) cousin, Armagnac.

2. Level up your cocktail game

You’ll never go wrong with Whisky neat, but why not raise the bar (ahem) with a properly mixed cocktail? Go ahead and treat yourself to a bar-quality drink at home, testing different ingredients, recipes, garnishes and glassware. Master the classics — a Sazerac or Bees Knees, anyone? — before tweaking those recipes or making your drinks visually pop with a fun garnish or two.

“Drinking more for sure, but also taking more time for the presentation. My quarantine drinks look good!” – Ben, Flaviar member

3. Build out the bar of your dreams

Take stock of your Liquor inventory and clean up shop — organizing your bottles can help detect gaps in your collection that need to be filled, while opening up opportunities for different distilleries to become new favorites. It’s also the perfect excuse to level up your display and build that freaky tiki bar you’ve always dreamed of.

“Since lock down, I've doubled my collection, bought a drinks globe and installed a rather large oak barrel cabinet to store all my ordered goodies in. It's all going very well I'd say.” – Alex, Flaviar member

4. “Meet” your friends for drinks

Make your screen the new bar stool. Connect with friends on Facetime or Zoom and crack open a bottle together. Discuss its history, compare notes and catch up on life. The best part: you can do it all in your jammies.

“My dad and I set up a table with the iPad and FaceTime...when we crack [the bottle] open, we talk about the aroma, we talk about flavor, talk about the heat, but then in between we’ll bullshit about family and what’s going on in the world.” – Jon, Flaviar member

5. Get schooled

Queue up your favorite streaming service or pop into YouTube and explore one of the thousands of videos on the history of Spirits. Flaviar’s YouTube channel is a great place to start, with city guides, interviews and tastings delivered in punchy, action-packed clips. We have also unlocked our School of Spirits for everyone, so why not be home-schooled while enjoying your drinks?

“I watched this documentary on Scotch and I was so intrigued by the process. The malt, the drying floor, the peat, the maturation period, the American Bourbon barrels that are used and the Sherry casks that were used to finish it off. I just got really enthused over all of the nuances that go into it.” – John, Flaviar member



Do you have any pro tips on how to enjoy drinking at home? Share in the comments below.