No. 87: Sept/Oct 2020

Normally, when I turn my attention to the impending shift from summer to autumn and what it means for daily life, familiar things come to mind. The end of sun-splashed vacations and getting reacquainted with a regular work week. Kids heading out the door to catch the school bus, the older ones packing up the car and moving into dorm rooms. The crispness in the morning, the days shorter, the world around us changing color.

But very little is normal these days, and it’s impossible to tell what coming months will bring. It’s hard to be wistful about summer winding down when the vacation trips have all been canceled, and the start of the school year is likely for many of us to mean endless Zoom conferences rather than school buses and dorm rooms.

But some things remain constant. The leaves will change, the days will grow shorter, and—though it’s happening a little later this year than usual—our annual Negroni Week charity fundraising event will take place September 14–20. This year, we’re going all in with efforts to raise relief funds for our friends and colleagues in the hospitality industry, at a time when the industry’s been badly injured by the COVID-19 crisis. (And if you’d like some insight into why the Negroni is the ultimate comfort cocktail, check out Brad Thomas Parsons’ Quench essay in this issue.)

In this issue, we’re looking at a few ways the COVID-19 crisis is changing the drinks world, as well as reminding ourselves of life beyond the virus. Joshua Bernstein talked with brewers across the country to see how they’re retooling the beer business at a time when bars and taprooms are largely off limits for the foreseeable future. And the coffee industry is built upon an immense global framework, from growers to importers to roasters and cafés; Jeff Koehler explores how COVID-19 is rippling through the coffee world.

We’re also looking on the brighter side. Max Falkowitz ventured to Spain before the COVID-19 shutdown, and he brought back a story about the virtues of Spanish cider. We also take a deep dive into rum and other sugarcane spirits, and explore how rum is entering a new era. We’ve got some great orgeat cocktails for you as well as some oat milk recommendations, and have you met Joe Heron? You should—Robert Simonson visits with the serial beverage entrepreneur behind Copper & Kings Distillery.

We’re all figuring out this new normal, as abnormal as it feels sometimes. Thanks for bringing us into your day—we’ll all get through this somehow.