A time-honored tradition, day drinking (or “wet brunching” if you want to confuse people) has a historical basis. According to Dave Wondrich in his crucial book “Imbibe!,” discusses the fact that a cocktail was an invention for imbibing in the morning (as such, the “cocktail” could be drawn in comparison to a rooster’s tail, as in the animal that symbolizes an awakening to the day).

We at the Speaking Easy Podcast are firm believers that if you’re going to drink all day, you gotta start in the morning—and you should be responsible in doing so. Whether that’s building in time for a nap (here), or making sure that you eat plenty of food (especially foods that won’t make you lethargic after a few drinks), everyone has their methods. Practice makes perfect.
Day Drinking Cocktails
While we agree with Ron Swanson here, and you should trust your own palette, we do think that it’s important to branch out beyond the mimosa (or at the very least, dress it up a bit—with plum bitters, peach nectar, or other additives). A few of our favorites:

Bloody Mary—You know them, you love them, you’ve liked our postings about them on our Instagram—but what makes a good Bloody Mary? Pairing a spirit (vodka is just the default, not the end-all, be-all) with tomato juice and spices can go any which-direction. We suggest you consider adding the juice of one lime and, if you’re not a veg, adding Worcestershire sauce (which has anchovies - How Worcestershire sauce is made).

“Scaling-Up”: Also, Bloody Marys are good examples of “scaling up” in cocktail construction—meaning you should start with less, and add as you taste—so start your Bloody Mary with as basic of a tomato juice as you can, and then add your own spices as you go. Not only does that make a fun brunch activity to challenge your friends to make the best Bloody Mary around, but you can avoid artificial flavors and sugars that often come in a lot of commercial Bloody Mary mixes.

Pimm’s Cup: While Alex and Jordan are big fans of a free, independent United States (‘Merica), we do enjoy this import from our former colonial powers across the pond. As one of the key drinks enjoyed by spectators at Wimbledon, Pimm’s Cups have an air of sophistication, which is good, if you’re day-drinking with your mom. Pimm’s is a liqueur-esque concoction that’s paired with fruit, vegetables, spices, and herbs for a light, refreshing drink. Like a Bloody Mary, you can “scale up” this drink, or batch it ahead of time and serve like a punch. Either way, just don’t take over any countries while you’re drinking it, if you can avoid it.
Day Drinking General Rules:
A big point for day-drinking is to keep the alcohol-by-volume of a brunch cocktail to a lower level to sustain you and your guests for more of the day. This means that any drink with a more diluted distribution of alcohol (high-balls, champagne or wine cocktails, Pimm’s Cups, etc. ) are generally better for day drinking. Further, 7 pm hangovers are worse than morning hangovers (trust us), so be sure to keep your guests fed, especially fruit—and carbs will weigh you down unless your brunching involves running laps, which we do not suggest (don’t booze and exercise, people).
Blood Mary or Mimosa? Or maybe something else entirely. Let us know in the comments below!