It’s not very often we give a shoutout to Youtube celebrities on their watch-wearing prowess. In fact—this is our first time. However, one particular Youtuber has incorporated some solid timepieces into his videos recently: Greg, from the channel “How To Drink”. His candid relationship with his audience is amicable and entertaining. Personality exudes from Greg as he describes drinks that pair with movies, video games, television shows, and (more recently) fine timepieces. His watch-wearing in the videos not only functions as advertising for the featured watch-selling site—it is paired with thoughtfully selected hand-crafted cocktails.
Now, not everyone is a drinker, but the history and aesthetics of luxury timekeeping are tied to imbibing fine beverages. Tailor-made refinement is part of the evolution of watch style and mixology alike. So in the spirit of history and great pairings, we’re going to touch on the featured pieces in a recent pair of How To Drink’s horologically minded videos.
Rolex Sea Dweller and Omega Speedmaster
Dropping Sept. 20th, 2019, the first watch-oriented How to Drink video features a Rolex diving watch and a space-age favorite from Omega. Beginning with the Rolex Sea-Dweller—an in-spirit successor to the more famous Submariner—Greg proposes a Jacques Cousteau cocktail to accompany the piece. Unfortunately, he could not find any information on what Jacques Cousteau used to drink. He thus opts to make a Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004) inspired beverage. For some context, the film Greg references takes a lot of its aesthetic from Cousteau-era diving. In the film Steve Zissou does not wear a Rolex, but he dons maritime clothing and orders a “Campari on the rocks”. It’s a strange order considering that Campari is typically used for mixing—so Greg decides to make an Americano. We’ll admit some palatal ignorance here and just say that this beverage is described as a “bright”, “refreshing”, and sort of “bittersweet” cooler (to paraphrase). And to be sure, it employs Campari as a mixer. Cousteau would likely be proud of How To Drink’s efforts on this one—but we might suggest a different watch for next time. Jacques Cousteau’s preferred diving watch was a Doxa Sub 300 “Aqua Lung” Edition. Sorry Rolex.
The second piece featured by How To Drink in their first wristwatch video is the highly famous Omega Speedmaster. This was the only watch officially rated by NASA for space operations back in the 1960s. It accompanied Buzz Aldrin and the Apollo 11 crew to the moon—something that Omega still uses as a selling point today. When How To Drink got their hands on this one, they opted to craft a space-age drink to pair with it. Known as the “Saturn” cocktail, their imbibable piece of astronomy looks pretty cool alongside the Speedmaster. Its garnish is what gives it its name, with a lime peel that acts as Saturn’s ring around a fresh cherry (not maraschino) planet. Though the cocktail references a celestial body, it’s a very tropical Earth-bound drink (according to its description). We don’t have any alternative timepieces to add on this one, but we are impressed—once again—with the snippets of research How To Drink laced into their video. One particular standout is that Greg mentions a sapphire crystal (featured on modern Speedmasters) would very likely shatter in space. This reality would totally deprive any modern Omega Speedmaster of its original NASA rating.
Tudor Pelagos and a Rolex Day/Date
Another refreshing look at two luxury timepieces by How To Drink was released on Oct. 18th, 2019. In this video, Greg opens with a joke. His father-in-law asks (hypothetically), “is Rolex time better than regular time?” He then goes on to jest, “the answer is yes”. We here at Times Ticking cannot help but agree. But before he goes on to pair a drink with the Rolex Day/Date, Greg starts with a Rolex-built “Tudor” watch. Tudors are a more cost-effective way to engage with the Rolex brand, which is something Greg aptly acknowledges. The Tudor “Pelagos” in this How To Drink tutorial is a rugged performance piece—so our host opts to make a rugged beverage. To Pair with the Pelagos, Greg mixes a drink referred to as a Stone Fence. Greg’s logic for choosing this cocktail has a historical bend. Apparently it was the preferred drink of Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys. It is said that Allen drank it the night before storming Fort Ticonderoga. Being both clever and tactful, Greg opts to feature zero garnish on the drink because of this historical fact; His choice keeps up the theme of toughness. On that note, if we were to make a suggestion to Tudor—it would be wise to replace the ceramic-bezel “garnish” on an otherwise battle-ready performance piece.
Moving on to the Rolex Day/Date, Greg mentions some more of How To Drink’s horological research. He notes that this particular watch is often referred to as the “president” or “presidential” due to its favor with American presidents. He’s absolutely right. But where most presidents rock a 36mm Rolex Day/Date, Greg is wearing a 40mm one in the video (which he does mention). Finding its opulence very stunning, Greg pairs the piece with a “Millionaire” cocktail. It’s a Gatsby-esque drink that existed during the Prohibition era. After revealing this choice, How To Drink aptly mentions that the watch would not have been around during Prohibition. Rolex’s Day/Date was actually released in the mid-1950s. Keeping that release date in mind, Rolex’s Day/Date was the first automatic wristwatch to feature the day and the date in one wristwatch. Often being a millionaire timepiece, How To Drink’s pairing matches the history and persona of this featured Rolex.
Jazzed about ‘How To Drink’
Like a cool drink on a hot day, or a warming drink on a cold one, Glenn Crytzer’s soundtrack is refreshingly paired with the timepieces and cocktails in these How To Drink videos. Watching a be-watched wrist tip and pour ingredients in high resolution is dazzling alongside jazzy notes playing in each shot. Combined with this, the casual formatting on set and charming dialog from Greg make How To Drink a standout series. With every episode they research their subject matter well—and employ their mixological skills in a way that adds depth to their subject. With these more current watch-centric videos, Swiss luxury watches are juxtaposed masterfully with the laid-back-yet-informative format of the series. We really enjoy the timepieces they’ve chosen to feature thus far and hope they do more work on the subject. So, to close, hats off to Greg and the How To Drink team from our horological end. And if anyone from How To Drink is reading this—Cheers!
Times Ticking has been in operation for more than 30 years, since 1982. We have performed watch repair for customers both locally and internationally. If it Ticks! We KNOW it! Our team of watch repair technicians have a combined experience in watchmaking of over 120 years.
