The ‘trailer park spritz' dubbed drink of the summer — and experts call it a recession indicator
Talk of the 'drink of the summer' has begun. This year, ome people might argue that it's the Hugo spritz, or perhaps the Paper Plane, which was crowned 2025's 'drink of the year.'
Yet with the rising costs of inflation, and ensuing shrinking wallets, a lot of people are turning to the Spaghett — a Miller High Life with a splash of Aperol and a squeeze of lemon — as a more budget-friendly option for a refreshing hot weather bev, according to Business Insider.
3 The Spaghett used to be a drink that was only known to those who worked in bars and restaurants.
Brent Hofacker – stock.adobe.com
It goes by many names: the NASCAR Negroni, the hobo Negroni or the trailer park spritz. Essentially, it's an Aperol spritz sans the pricey prosecco. And what better to replace the bubbly than with the champagne of beers?
Experts are saying that the rising popularity of the the Spaghett could be due to drinkers keeping an eye on their wallets.
Considering a typical Aperol spritz could cost anywhere betwee $15 and $20 in NYC, the cheaper beer version is a big part of the appeal. It will save quite a few bucks to go for the knock-off, especially since the beer is cheap to begin with.
Bar man Stuart Wellington, the owner of Hinterlands, Minnie's and Commonwealth in Brooklyn, told BI that Miller High Life is his 'recession beer.'
'I've definitely noticed within a certain portion of my, let's say, moderately employed regulars, they went from drinking draft beer to switching over to just drinking High Lifes,' he said.
3 Stuart Wellington, a Brooklyn bar owner, said that Miller High Life is his 'recession beer.'
Refrina – stock.adobe.com
And the thought of turning a beer into a Spaghett 'has a little bit of, 'Oh, we're going something fun today,'' Wellington added.
Orders for Spaghetts in the first half of 2025 have increased by 65% from last year, according to data from payment platform Square, and since 2022, orders for Spagetts are up 1,000%.
Square's data shows that the number of Spaghetts on bar receipts has risen over the past five years, and Google searches for the poor man's Aperol spritz have spiked this summer.
Despite the Spaghett is finding a home on more bar menus as of late, they're also easy to DIY at home — just crack open a beer, pour a little out or drink a swig, then put in a half a shot of Aperol.
Before people started spreading the word about the existence of the Spaghett, it was a kind of secret-menu drink for 'service industry nerds and other weirdos that are in the know,' Wellington said.
3 The Spaghett consists of a bottled beer, typically a Miller High Life, topped with a splash of Aperol.
Birgit Reitz-Hofmann – stock.adobe.com
There's also been a push from Miller High Life to make the drink more popular. In July, he company introduced the Spaghett-sicle, a push-up pop version of the drink with up to 5% ABV, as the 'the ultimate way to toast to summer.'
The brand has seen the dive-bar drink gain 'steady momentum' over the past year, Jacquelyn Caldwell, an associate brand marketing manager for Miller High Life, told the outlet.
'It started as a bartender favorite in dive bars — mixed directly in the High Life bottle, no frills, just great flavor. From there, it evolved from an under-the-radar pick to a popular choice,' she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
5 things the AT&T CEO's sweeping memo says about where corporate America is headed
CEOs are done mincing words. AT&T CEO John Stankey didn't hold back in a Friday message to managers at the 140,000-person company: "Commit to adjusting your own behaviors." Stankey's message comes about seven months after the company issued a strict return-to-office mandate and amid what the CEO described as a longer-term cultural shift underway. The 2,500-word memo is a rare and detailed window into a CEO's thinking during a period of transition. It offers valuable insight for workers beyond just AT&T employees and reveals how a large, legacy company is working to adapt and innovate. Business Insider published the full 2,500-word memo here. Here are our top five takeaways on how Stankey's message reflects broader shifts in corporate culture. CEOs are done sugarcoating change The tone of Stankey's memo is direct, reflecting a broader shift in how corporate executives are communicating to staff. "If a self-directed, virtual, or hybrid work schedule is essential for you to manage your career aspirations and life challenges, you will have a difficult time aligning your priorities with those of the company and the culture we aim to establish," Stankey wrote. This sort of candid communication has become increasingly common among executives as they work to make change, whether return-to-office mandates or efforts to adapt to AI. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told his employees in 2023 that if they didn't embrace working in the office, they may not have a future at the company. "It's past the time to disagree and commit," he said at the time. "And if you can't disagree and commit, I also understand that, but it's probably not going to work out for you at Amazon because we are going back to the office at least three days a week, and it's not right for all of our teammates to be in three days a week and for people to refuse to do so." Jassy later expanded the mandate to five days a week. More recently, Jassy didn't hold back in a memo posted to the company's website in June. He said workers should expect AI to impact staffing levels. "In the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company," he said. Company culture is no longer about loyalty, tenure, or family. It's about performance. AT&T is a nearly 150-year-old company that has long embodied a culture that celebrates loyalty and tenure. Focus on those values, however, is a thing of the past, Stankey said. He was upfront about this change in Friday's memo. "This shift can be characterized as moving away from an orientation on hierarchy and familial cultural norms and towards a more externally focused and competitive market-based culture," Stankey said. The shift reflects the performance vibe that has become so prominent in Silicon Valley in the last year. Amy Coleman, Microsoft's chief people officer, wrote in a message to managers in April that the company was introducing new tools to improve performance management. "Today, we're rolling out new and enhanced tools to help you accelerate high performance and swiftly address low performance," she wrote. "Our goal is to create a globally consistent and transparent experience for employees and managers (subject to local laws and consultation). These tools will also help foster a culture of accountability and growth by enabling you to address performance challenges with clarity and empathy." Stankey said performance would be employees' best metric for longevity at the company moving forward, and encouraged staff to get on board. "I know change like this is difficult and can be unsettling for some. However, as General Eric Shinseki so eloquently stated, 'If you dislike change, you're going to dislike irrelevance even more.'" Employees need to carry their own weight, and management is watching In this new era at AT&T, managers will have a new tool for evaluating whether employees are really meeting the demands of their job: data. "In addition to information garnered from performance reviews, peer feedback, assessments, work history, and certifications (to name a few), we analyze patterns of behaviors from broad cohorts (aggregated data)," Stankey wrote. "This allows leaders to identify behaviors that are obvious outliers, supplemented with the broadest set of information available, to determine if the behavior being evaluated is consistent with our stated priorities and employment expectations." Outliers in the data will be identified and dealt with, he said. "Addressing these exceptions is important to ensure we're fair to the vast majority of employees who support their colleagues and deliver for the organization every day," Stankey said. Amazon took a different approach to the same goal by cutting down on managers to "flatten" the organization and push individuals to pull their weight. "If we do this work well, it will increase our teammates' ability to move fast, clarify and invigorate their sense of ownership, drive decision-making closer to the front lines where it most impacts customers (and the business), decrease bureaucracy, and strengthen our organizations' ability to make customers' lives better and easier every day," Jassy said. Some companies see returning to the office as necessary to compete Stankey said AT&T's push for change is driven by "efforts that require inter-departmental collaboration and coordination." That's because "collaboration and predictable presence improve each team's ability to execute effectively on large, complex projects," he said. To achieve that, employees must "work in person, together, during common hours." The idea that working together in an office is ultimately better for the company's success is a growing belief among executives. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol told staff in an email last month that returning to the office allows employees to "share ideas more effectively, creatively solve hard problems, and move much faster." "We understand not everyone will agree with this approach," Niccol wrote. "But as a company built on human connection, and given the scale of the turnaround ahead, we believe this is the right path for Starbucks." Returning to the office isn't always without its problems Some employees previously told Business Insider that AT&T's return-to-office push has caused some practical problems, including a lack of desks and parking spaces. One employee at the company's Atlanta office said the company's working environment had "deteriorated" as more employees returned. Two others said finding parking in a timely manner had been a challenge for themselves and for colleagues. Stankey addressed these complaints in his message in a section titled "Capabilities to do your job." He wrote, "You deserve tools, processes, and capabilities that help you serve our customers effectively, without being hindered by internal process friction or system constraints." Dell faced similar issues following its own return-to-office mandate, which CEO Michel Dell issued in January. When the mandate took effect in March, it caused "lots of in-office politics," one program manager at the company told Business Insider.
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
Millennial hustle culture defined my early career. My daughter made me realize I needed to shift my priorities.
As a toddler, my daughter started mimicking some of my hustle culture tendencies. That's when I decided I had to change my priorities. As a toddler, my daughter started mimicking some of my hustle culture tendencies. That's when I decided I had to change my priorities. Courtesy of Ann Dunning. As a toddler, my daughter started mimicking some of my hustle culture tendencies. That's when I decided I had to change my priorities. Courtesy of Ann Dunning. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Some years back, I overheard my then-toddler tell her dolls that she was sorry that she couldn't talk because she was on a work call. It was something I had said to her more than once before, and my heart sank. That moment stopped me in my tracks and shifted my perspective on parenting. I decided that I didn't want hustle culture or toxic productivity to be something that I passed down to her. I wanted my daughter to see success differently, which meant I needed to make some major changes. My work ethic has always been strong When you grow up in a Latin family like I did, or you're an immigrant kid, you're likely to see family members working around the clock. There's a common saying that all immigrants have 12 jobs. That stereotype is not an understatement in my community. I grew up understanding that rest is a privilege — for the rich. Working multiple jobs or around the clock is just something that you do to feed your family. This immigrant work ethic helped me get far in my career in San Francisco's tech and startup ecosystem, where hustle culture and things like the 996 work method are common, not to mention my millennial drive. Toxic productivity took hold of me While hustling may help you get ahead, it has a darker side. It can harm your relationships and mental and physical health. After a few years of working what seemed nonstop, I ended up with stomach problems, nighttime teeth grinding, crazy periods, and anxiety. My self-worth was wrapped up in toxic productivity; it was the way I coped with the emotional ups and downs of life. I thought this was what being an American was all about. Related stories Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Things got a bit better when I had my baby during the pandemic, but old habits die hard. I am a consultant focusing on growing technology businesses and CPG brands, and juggle multiple clients at a time. When you are your own boss, work boundaries often go out the window. My daughter saw me work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. most days. It was during those times I'd say, "Sorry, I can't, I have a work call." Hustle sounds like hard work and raw ambition, but now I know it's actually just a corporate status symbol that glamorises a lack of free time. It can mask insecurity, corporate or startup exploitation, or trauma, as I learned from Dr. Mariel Buqué, a Columbia University-trained psychologist when I interviewed her for my book about Latinas and hustle culture. For immigrants and BIPOC people, hustle is sometimes a necessity, and a way out of your social class. I wanted something different for my daughter Many people say hustle is needed to build a business, but there are plenty of startup CEOs and billionaire investors who prioritize family and wellness. I wanted my daughter to avoid chronic anxiety, over-caffeinated, frantic days, perfectionism, and having her career tied to her self-worth. Her doll play showed me that I was modeling behavior that wasn't healthy. I introduced slower mornings, set boundaries for work, and took on fewer clients. Some hours of the day, I just can't work, because my daughter needs me. I do recognize there is a lot of privilege in that. My daughter, now 5, hopefully won't need to hustle much because she will have an easier time in life than me. I hope her future self works hard and builds things or loves her career, but I want her to stop working at 5 p.m. and enjoy her family. I still work hard, and love my job — and I'll always have deadlines. But I know when to clock out, because now I have a little one who needs me more.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
An Amazon seller doing 7 figures says one strategic addition has doubled her profit
Lisa Harrington started selling clothes on eBay before transitioning to Amazon. Her business selling interior cat doors took off after hiring a PPC coach. She emphasizes investing in coaching and networking for long-term business growth. Lisa Harrington's e-commerce career began in the early 2010s when she started selling clothing, purses, and other items in her closet that she didn't need anymore. She used the eBay profit to launch her first Amazon product — dog harnesses — and sold enough to quit her corporate job in 2016. She eventually created and patented interior cat doors, which have become a top-selling Amazon product and bring in seven figures in annual revenue. Harrington, who's been doing e-commerce for more than a decade, can pinpoint one decision that took her business to the next level: hiring a PPC coach. PPC (pay-per-click) refers to Amazon's advertising platform, where sellers can pay to have their products displayed prominently. Many sellers consider ads an essential aspect of succeeding in the competitive e-commerce space. For years, "I had a very low spend on my advertisement," Harrington told Business Insider. Figuring out how to run Amazon ads wasn't how she wanted to spend her time. "I just didn't have much interest in it. I really wanted to focus on branding and product development, but it has such an enormous impact on your profit and loss statement that you really can't ignore it." The idea to hire a coach came from an industry event. "I remember talking to this woman, and she's like, 'I hire a coach for everything I don't know how to do. It is the fastest way to level up,'" recalled Harrington. She took the advice, found a coach to help her specifically with ads, and, "in the time I've worked with her, my profit has doubled," said Harrington. It took her six months to find the right fit. "Coaches are hard to find. But when you do find one, it levels your business up," she said. Over the last couple of years, her PPC coach has become more of a general business coach. They discuss everything from product development to effective employee management. "She's the only person I can talk to about every aspect of my business. She not only has the expertise but has the background information, so I can spitball with her, solve problems, and come up with great ideas," said Harrington. The full-time entrepreneur and mother of two kids doesn't hesitate to outsource when she can. "I try to get a coach for everything because, thankfully, I've gotten to the point where I can pay people to help me," she said. "That, in some cases, tends to be a cheaper way to learn a skill or a cheaper way to get something done." Harrington is also a member of the elite group of seven-figure Amazon sellers called Million Dollar Sellers. Members must complete an interview and application and pay $7,497 a year to join the group, which grants them access to exclusive events and a robust network of top-tier entrepreneurs. She's adamant that investing in yourself "always pays dividends," she said. "The knowledge that you gain, the networks that you gain, the experience shares that you hear, the tips and tricks that you get access to — not only is that short-term helping your business and helping your profit and loss statement, but you're also learning all of those things, so that if everything fell apart tomorrow, you could rebuild it again." Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
