Sweater Weather

I was putting on a sweater the other day and had a thought about cocktails.

You see, I always have a navy sweater around during the fall and winter. Lately, it has been this great cashmere number, but I know that one day it will be too worn out to wear, and I will replace it. From the outside it may still be a navy sweater, but I may like it better or worse than the previous one, at least right off the bat.

Cocktails are similar. We all have a navy sweater when it comes to ordering or making drinks. The navy sweater is whatever your drink is, manhattan, Negroni, martini—whatever. They come in plenty of different shapes and shades, but at the end of the day, they are what they are.

Brand is important. You become loyal to brands because they agree with you. I know that if I am somewhere that perhaps won’t make a good cocktail, I can order my brand over ice and be more or less content until I leave. Sadly, not the cocktail I wanted, but once the alcohol has kicked in, my brain won’t care. The same goes for the sweater. Odds are when my current one wears out, I will purchase the same brand again knowing it will fit me right off the shelf, albeit a little snug the first few times.

Bad navy sweaters exist. Oh! Boy do they. It takes a while to find your navy sweater, but it is essential to do so. Then you know where you sit on the spectrum. Sweaters, like cocktails, can cost almost anything. There are cheap ones and expensive ones, and decent values right in the middle. It really comes down to what you like.

Part of why I thought of this is because the spring and summer clothes went down to the basement and the fall and winter layers came up with the changing of the seasons. That being said, in the summer my cocktail is a light blue linen shirt.

Your closet and your home bar are not that dissimilar.