#DryJuly is arriving again. Are you in?

Last year I proposed the idea of a #DryJuly (read in its entirety). Basically, it’s like #DryJanuary except that it’s in July, it rhymes, and in my estimation, it makes a lot more sense as a month to knock off the drinky. For those who can’t be bothered to click on the link to the full article, here’s a summary from last year:

While I completely agree with the core premise of Dry January, which is to drink less, I feel that it’s a bit misplaced on two counts. The first is that this feels far too Christian based in that you’ve sinned for December and New Year’s Eve and thus you atone for it throughout January. Somehow thinking this month away from booze will pay off a debt owed to overindulgence is misguided however as the detrimental effects of drinking too much alcohol are cumulative.

The other large issue I see with January as the month of choice to abstain is this is prime time for drinking red wines given that it’s cold in the Northern Hemisphere. Big, bountiful, full-tannin red wines are great this time of year, without having to do any chilling like is pretty much de rigueur for the summer. That and the days are short, the horizon is bleak and dammit, I just want to stay inside with good wine and a warm dog on my lap. Also, my birthday is most miserably placed in the middle of the month and I’ve no interest in dealing with the inevitable click on the mortality clock, whilst without wine.

These would be the points in favor of taking Dry January and making it Dry July instead. I’ve generally not felt like drinking much alcohol anyways in July as the days are long and the garden needs tending. That and instead of atoning for December, you can actual prepare for August when most people take the bulk of holidays anyways. And, if you’ve decreased your tolerance for alcohol due to a month off it, you’ll probably find that you drink less in the month following.

Since I was writing about it after having done it, I didn’t expect anyone to hop in a time machine* and retro-join me. So this year, I’m giving you a mighty two days of warning: #DryJuly is coming!

We also are at something of a slightly weird moment in the COVID-19 Pandemic and well, those of us who enjoy alcoholic beverages have probably been indulging more than normal. I’m very much in favor of Tim’s “stuff that” premise in that if there’s ever been a time to drink your great wines, this has been it.

Of course, maybe it’s come time to pay the piper (although I hear he’s on furlough) and well, take a break. #DryJuly doesn’t mean that you have to get off the booze at 00:00 July 1 to then start again the minute it’s 00:01 August 1. Perhaps you’re in the US and you feel like kicking back a few ice-cold “whatevers” on July 4th. I’m with the in-laws at the moment and so my #DryJuly definitely won’t start until I get back to whatever shit kind of “normal” we’ve got now.

I’m just saying that I don’t propose this out of some kind of sin-based comeuppance for having overindulged. It’s just that if you want a breather, take a breather. Red wine, which is my preferred alcohol, can be a bit tricky to drink now anyways so it’s not that hard to quit for a bit. But hey, make some lemonade (and don’t add Vodka to it) or have some iced tea (without adding Bourbon to it) or I don’t know, enjoy Tonic water without the Gin–yes, it CAN be done!

If you do partake, feel free to come back and leave a comment here or hit me up on Twitter. Maybe we’re on to something, or maybe you think I should just “stuff off” which, given the circumstances we’re living in, I fully accept that as a response!

* If you actually are the proud owner of a functioning time machine, stop trying to fix things as you keep making it worse.