--- title: This Is the Absolute Best Drink to Order at Your Office Happy Hour description: It's simple and you can sip slow. authors: - name: Kristen Bahler role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/ bio: Kristen Bahler has spent more than a decade turning culture, work and consumer spending trends into conversation-driving stories. Today, she leads Money's sponsored content channel and reader-favorite franchises like Best Places to Live and Best Places to Travel. education: Northeastern University, MA Journalism at_money_since: 2016 articles: 52 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-bahler/ published: '2017-08-07T18:15:42.000Z' modified: '2017-08-07T18:15:42.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - career advice - Coworkers - Friday - happy hour - tgif - Workplace word_count: 388 canonical: https://money.com/happy-hour-drink-order/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![friends at a pub toasting](https://img.money.com/2017/08/170807_people-drinking-at-a-bar.jpg) The after-work hang is a delicate ecosystem. Between the cliques, the forced conversations and the unwavering power imbalances, mastering the art of corporate sponsored fun™ takes some serious practice. Throwing booze into the mix doesn’t make it any easier. Obviously, you don’t want to be “that guy” (too drunk, too obnoxious, too dramatic). But you also don’t want to be hopelessly bored; swirling a straw around your highball, desperate to find common ground with the new intern. So what’s the “right” beverage to order at a work function? We put that question to a handful of career experts, and — allergies and sobriety notwithstanding — found a clear winner. The Moscow Mule. Boom. Here's why. For starters, it’s a simple cocktail — vodka, ginger beer and lime juice, traditionally served in a chilled copper mug — that every bartender knows how to make. Ordering one shows you care about what you drink. But not too much. “I’ve given this a lot of thought over the years,” says Valerie Streif, senior advisor at the jobs site The Mentat. “And I think the 'right' drink is a Moscow Mule. It's a classic, it’s more interesting than a martini, and it doesn't dive into the fussy drink realm like appletinis or a lemon drop.” [Watch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDqUpOuqXY0) The mule is a good go-to cocktail for other reasons, too. It's token copper mug keeps the drink colder than traditional glassware, so you can sip it slowly. It has a handle (“Martini spillage can really ruin a professional moment,” Streif notes), and it also just ... looks cool. “If you want a safe choice you should opt for a Moscow Mule,” says career adviser Zachary Painter. “It’s one of the most palatable cocktails, and the presentation of the drink invites conversation.” Don't drink liquor? Craft beers are the way to go, based on a similar theory. For one, snagging a local brew over your old standby gives you something to talk about with your coworkers. And even if the event is Snooze Town, at least you’ll have tried something new. “Find something local,” suggests Ricky Klein, head brewer of the Vermont-based Groennfell Meadery. “And find the lowest ABV \[alcohol by volume\] beverage in a style that you like. Happy hour is about making connections, and bringing your best (mostly sober) self to the table.” ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/happy-hour-drink-order/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Restaurants", "item": "https://money.com/restaurants/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This Is the Absolute Best Drink to Order at Your Office Happy Hour" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/happy-hour-drink-order/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/happy-hour-drink-order/", "name": "This Is the Absolute Best Drink to Order at Your Office Happy Hour", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2017-08-07T18:15:42.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/happy-hour-drink-order/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/happy-hour-drink-order/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2017-08-07T18:15:42.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "This Is the Absolute Best Drink to Order at Your Office Happy Hour", "articleSection": "Lifestyle", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2017/08/170807_people-drinking-at-a-bar.jpg", "width": 5100, "height": 3400, "caption": "170807_people drinking at a bar" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kristen Bahler", "url": "https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/#author", "description": "Kristen Bahler has spent more than a decade turning culture, work and consumer spending trends into conversation-driving stories. 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