'Recession indicator?' This 'economical option' may be 2025’s 'drink of the summer'

01 August

A bartender pouring a drink in 2017 (Matti Blume/Wikimedia Commons)

Much of the United States has experienced a very hot summer, including the Northeastern Corridor — where temperatures have often been in the 90s, with very high humidity. Philadelphia, according to meteorologists, had gone through five heatwaves by the end of July.

Hot summers often fuel conversations about summer drinks. And according to Business Insider's Emily Stewart, a budget-friendly option has been the Spaghett.

"Every year," Stewart explains in a late July article, "it feels like there are multiple claimants to the title of 'drink of the summer.' For the fancy, maybe 2025 is the year of the Hugo spritz. But if your finances are a little more stretched, which a lot of people's are, you might be opting for this year's more economical option: the Spaghett."

Stewart continues, "Also known as the NASCAR spritz, the hobo Negroni, or the trailer park spritz, the drink consists of a bottled beer — often a Miller High Life — topped up with a splash of Aperol and maybe some lemon juice. A lot of people don't bother with the last bit."

The Business Insider reporter describes the Spaghett as "a way to fancy up your drink without fancying up the price tag too much," adding that its "popularity has been on the rise, as more drinkers feel increasing pressure on their wallets."

"Recession indicator?" Stewart writes. "Maybe. Let's call it the recession Aperol spritz. Data from the payments platform Square shows that orders for Spaghetts in the first half of 2025 are up by 65 percent from last year, and since 2022, Spaghett orders are up by 1000 percent."

Stewart adds, "The number of Spaghetts showing up on bar receipts has risen over the past five years, per Square's data. Google searches for Spaghetts have spiked this summer."

Read the full Business Insider article at this link.

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