Covid 19 hit and suddenly we were hanging out at home.  My husband has traveled our entire marriage and instead of taking a flight to a far-off city he is now taking a flight of stairs to our basement for work.  I have never had him at home like this, ever.

We found ourselves hanging out on the deck a couple evenings during the week sharing a bottle of wine and talking. I grew up during the 60's when cocktail hour was the norm. My parents would have a cocktail every night in the living room, kids had to leave them alone, and we could hear them quietly talking about their day. Mom and Dad practiced cocktail hour every night until my dad passed. I never realized how how powerful that ritual was until my husband and I started our own little ritual a couple times a week. It is a lovely quiet time, television and noise off, where we just talk while sipping something lovely. After 30 plus years of marriage we have never been closer.  

I started researching drinks to serve during cocktail hour. A cocktail tasting happy hour became something we would look forward to. Soon my daughters and their friends would occasionally drop in for a fun social distancing cocktail hour on our deck. It's been a wonderful way for young and old to socialize during this odd lifestyle that we are slowly adapting to.