Last week I was lucky enough to do a reading for a group of employees at the Miller Coors headquarters in Chicago. It was really fun. Not just to meet the employees, but to get to see what the office of a beer company looks like. There’s a bar! In the office!
The experience got me thinking about the relationship between drinks and friendship. As I mention throughout the chapters of MWF Seeking BFF, my girl dates largely revolved around sushi and white wine. It seemed to be the go-to drink: light, crisp, fun. I wasn’t usually looking to get drunk, but simply to relax after a long day at work. Red wine makes me sleepy, martinis are a fancy, weekend option. White wine, for me, is easy and casual, with a bit of a buzz.
Just like a perfect friend-date.
Remember 10 (or more?) years ago, when Cosmos were The Drink when it came to girls nights? Carrie Bradshaw had us all sipping pink sweetness out of martini glasses.
More recently, Bethenny Frankel and her ladies have bonded over SkinnyGirl margaritas–and, in turn, so have millions of happy hour loving gals.
I have to assume that the women of Girls won’t be inspiring an opium tea trend, but who knows.
Cocktails are always a nice addition to ladies night — they get the conversation flowing at the very least.
So, I know it’s a little early in the week to start drinking, but let’s do it anyway.
When you and the girls are gathered, what is the group’s go-to drink? And is ladies night always better with a cocktail?( I mean, isn’t everything better with a cocktail?) Why?
MWF Seeking BFF 
Who needs alcohol? Good conversation gives me a buzz. So does a caffeine soft drink! (And pardon me for sounding like your mom, but make sure you’re not pregnant if you’re drinking, potential moms. Alcohol at the wrong time can give little fetuses a lifelong buzz.)
To each their own on their beverage of choice, however, could have done without the lecture “chaser”.
I was a regular daquari gal, but try to get some of the young bar men to make you something that isn’t a slurpee…**sigh**
In England we have a really strong tradition of drinking when socialising – I don’t think its a good thing. When I’ve been out with people at pubs I’ve often had questions about why I don’t want a third or fourth drink, like this is something strange. I’ve found this especially over the past year as I’ve been making new friends , in a way its been a barrier as lots social bonding situations seem to revolve around getting totally pissed (wasted). I was always envious of the coffee shop culture portrayed in friends.
I totally understand you about the coffee shop thing. For some reason at 25 I completely lost my taste for alcohol almost entirely (New Years and champagne does it for me solely) Anyways – I’m not married, ha
ve no kids and don’t believe in religion, so opeple treat me like a pariah concerning the fact I don’t drink – I LOVE socializing though and backpacking, rock climbing, but it seems that most of the potential BFF’s in my VERY small rural area, have all made the move to the local happy hours….. 😦
Any advice on this dilemna – where to meet other girls that don’t want to spend every night sipping cocktails, rather doing something fun in the middle of farm town PA?
oops – that should be capital F Friends
We’ve gotten into the habit of having HHH (homemade happy hour) on Fridays. Vodka + simply limeade for me and gin + simply limeade for my bestie – easy, cheap and homemade! Such a nice way to unwind after a work week.
I love that idea! HHH. Clever. And i’m glad to hear someone else also hops on the gin train once in a while… recent college grad? lol cause that’s me! And gin was our go-to cheap drink.
We’ve been liking rum, guava juice, and something fizzy like seltzer or ginger ale…doesn’t have a name (yet?)
I’m not much of a drinker – I prefer a cup of tea or cocoa, or iced tea or lemonade, on a friend-date. (Wine makes me sleepy.) But I agree that it’s easier to talk when you’re sipping something delicious.
In college, I was the Queen of Long Island, well, Long Island Iced Teas! And the beer funneling champion. (That one was just to show up the boys.) Then I met my hubby, and since we had both come from alcoholic homes we decided to never have alcohol in our home. I threw that rule out the window last year when we adopted 4 more kids, bringing the total to 7 and I decided it wasn’t a crime to hide in a bubble bath with a bottle of wine. Now I just need a best friend who can handle my chaos to have a little sip with!
Lemon drops or mojitos for me. 🙂
However good conversation and a glass of iced (or hot) tea can also get the stimulation going.
Well, our drink of choice changes based on the weather….red wine, prosecca, frozen mudslides. Cocktails just help liven the conversation!
What if you don’t drink? How are you supposed to meet people if you live in a small suburb? It seems like the gals all like to have cocktails and such. I can’t drink and it makes me feel bad. I’ve tried AA but I’ve never made more than acquaintances who fizzle out.
If you can’t drink, can you still go to those cocktail nights and just have a soda or a seltzer? If you’re ok being around drinking (and I’m not sure about this, of course) perhaps that’s the key? I think just the idea of a girls cocktail night promotes an atmosphere of friendliness, and opening up and fun… It’s not necessarily the act of drinking. And, of course, anyone worth being friends with should understand and have no problem with someone not drinking…
Since most of my friends are teetotalers (as am I), our go-to drink is a sweet, caffeinated hot or iced drink.
Our drink of choice is vodka, water with a splash of barlime. It’s light, refreshing, and doesn’t pack as many calories as other soda/juice based drinks. We’ve started a trend within our circle and it seems that everyone is drinking it now. I love our rant/catch up sessions with a couple cocktails….it makes everything better!
Same here – vodka with anything. 😀
I gave up drinking for Lent and what I missed the most was having a drink with friends – the social aspect of it. It didn’t stop me from going to Happy Hours and having tea or water – or club soda with lime to look like I was drinking. But I missed being able to partake if I wanted to. Some even WOULDN’T meet me for social hour since I wasn’t drinking!
Nothing quite like “a friend and a glass of wine!”
I guess my girlfriends and I are kind of weird, because our get-together always goes with food – whatever we were craving at the moment – and not much on the drinks. Not everyone in my group is fond of drinking alcohol, so sometimes we just order soda and a couple of margaritas for two of us who do drink alcohol. I just think my friends and I don’t really need cocktails to get the conversation going; just being together, seated in one table after not seeing each other for some time, is enough for us.
In my small corner of the world, rural East Texas…ladies go out for margaritas..at each others’ homes we drink white wine..and all the guys drink beer…
My ladies all have a taste of their own, so when we get together it usually turns out to be BYOB. For me, I love my wine on any given day. White, red, sangria… wine comes in the most plentiful flavors for any occasion/season.
Whipped cream vodka is the rage on L.I.
My usual drink of choice is craft beer; but when I’m on a girls’ night I will be more likely to drink wine or cocktails – Bacardi & Coke or Gin & tonic with lemon.