Drinking with the Saints Podcast

By Jennifer Gregory Miller ( bio - articles - email ) | Sep 13, 2022 | In The Liturgical Year

Lately I have been spending a lot more commuting time in the car, and I enjoy filling up some of the time with prayer and podcasts. I listen to a whole range of topics: prayer, Catholic information and meditations, health, psychology, and even crafts. Did you know there are sewing, weaving, general crafting and calligraphy podcasts?

Of course, my favorite topic remains the Liturgical Year. I love associating it to everything I do, so even all the other subjects, such as handcrafts, find a way to connect into daily living of the Liturgical Year. It’s always fun to find the connecting threads.

One of the latest ones I’ve discovered is Drinking with the Saints podcast: A Sinners Guide to a Holy Happy Hour with Michael and Alexandra Foley. Michael is the author of the now three books in the Drinking with the Saints series:

• Drinking with the Saints: The Sinner’s Guide to a Holy Happy Hour (I reviewed the original book in 2015)
• Drinking with St. Nick: Christmas Cocktails for Sinners and Saints, from 2018
• Drinking with your Patron Saints: The Sinner’s Guide to Honoring Namesakes and Protectors

These are delightful books, providing saints’ lives and stories (and legends). After examining their symbols and stories, Michael has connected different drinks, either cocktails, wine or beer, with a particular saint. Even if you are a teetotaler, the stories are informative and fascinating, and even something to share with your children.

It isn’t a new connection to have certain drinks for various feast days. I’ve written about it before, especially in this post, Toasting through the Liturgical Year. But Michael Foley has really taken this to the next level, providing Catholic Bartenders’ guides for the Liturgical Year.

Their new podcast takes the liturgical living another step. It’s a peek into Michael and Alexandra’s “Foley Holy Happy Hour.” They have 6 children, whom they homeschool, and Michael is a professor at Baylor University. The podcast is recreating the couple’s daily reconnection, their personal cocktail hour. There is discussion of the saint of the day, symbolism and stories to then connect it with a cocktail, mixing it up and tasting. The podcast loosely follows the books in what they are suggesting for certain days, but then includes some of the family stories, some practical drinking advice (right kind of drinking glassware, examine the “shaken not stirred” theory, correct type of alcohol, bitters, etc.). It’s all very interesting, with the interaction of a married couple enjoying their time together. Sometimes the jokes are punny or downright corny, sometimes it can be stiff, but it’s all very “real,” with the fun banter of a husband and wife.

The first episode was August 2, so it has been easy to catch up on all the episodes. I’ve enjoyed them all. And even in stressful driving situations it’s a fun podcast to just enjoy. I highly recommend for you to give it a listen!