Drinking in the workplace — Beer Thirty, Wine o’Clock, Gin o’Clock — goes by several names. Times when co-workers are able to take a load off and get a little comfortable with the people they spend a good chunk of their day with. They can get as formal as a catering service facilitating the activity, circling the room re-filling glasses of wine and champagne. Maybe more comfortable as some Amstels and Coronas laid out on a table for self-cracking. Even as celebratory as a birthday observation, with the “birthday principal” pouring shots of some oddly peculiar Japanese liqueur directly into the mouths of employees…and hey, it was pretty good!!

These are also names for happy hour events, as establishments look to cash in on people seeking to fully embrace “The Hour”. I once attended a “Pimm’s o’Clock” at the Zetter Hotel in Clerkenwell, London; a drinking special at a posh hotel lounge.

I’m sure we all have remembrances of various times observing The Hour under this banner. Care to share any?