So you could just grab your bottle of liquor and head out the door but not only is this not socially acceptable, drinking in public is frowned upon and in some places there are local laws that ban public drinking. Better to fill up your hip flask and head out the door with this in your pocket, its a hundred times more stylish and hip flasks are made to fit discretely in your pockets.
People are well known to jump to the wrong conclusions and this is often shown when the hip flask is mentioned, the use of a hip flask could be seen as a step in to alcoholism but the hip flask is well known for its ties with the upper classes where the handy accessory first started to gain popularity during the Georgian and Victorian periods.
For a long time the hip flask has been considered a desirable accessory amongst gentlemen in upper society. This was even more prevalent in the 1920’s when gentlemen of high fashion would not be seen without their trusty hip flask. If you wanted to keep up with the Jone’s then having a hip flask on hand was a sure fire way to get you into the social circle, forgetting your hip flask was a major faux pas, forget your hip flask at your own risk….
So how should one use their hip flask in the correct manner?
Share your tipple with your friends.
So your delve into your pocket and bring out your flask, all your friends look at you thinking ‘why didn’t we think of that?’. Well you could just be smug and keep your flask to yourself but we think it’s much better to offer a swig to your friends, even better if you come prepared bring a couple of small hip flask cups with you to make the sharing that little easier. Sharing really does bring people together and they’ll appreciate it.
Where to keep your flask
So you have a couple of options here. Essentially a hip flask is designed to keep the liquid at the correct temperature so it is really about where you feel most comfortable having the flask. I would usually recommend storing the flask in your jacket breast pocket as it tends to be most comfortable here, however I have been known to keep my flask in my trouser pocket (not the back one though as you might sit on your flask).
Drinking from your flask
So there are some who see it as a challenge to drink the whole lot as quickly as possible, this however is not really the case. A hip flask should be used when a little top up is required, I often use mine when I think the bar will close early or for a little drink while waiting in line for something but I don’t normally suck the flask dry. Remember enjoy your drink and get the full flavour by taking your time.
What Flask for what situation?
Well if you are really looking to impress then a shiny pewter hip flask really does the trick, cheaper than silver by a large margin but with the same wow factor. Luxury leather is also a safe bet as these fine leather hip flasks look and feel great. Stainless steel although the most common flask material and very durable tends to come in a little cheaper and is perfect for a normal night out, trip to a festival or anything that isn’t very dressy. At the end of the day it really doesn’t matter what flask you have as long as you are happy with it.
When not to use your flask
You may think getting your hip flask out in the middle of a busy pub is the right thing to do, however this is not a good idea. Most pubs rightly only let customers drink alcohol purchased on the premises so getting your flask out and taking a swig could result in some unhappy landlords and may end with your being ejected from the pub. I probably wouldn’t take your flask out during your child’s school Christmas production either but we hope you already knew that.
