DOTD For Monday, December 22, 2025
This Drink Digs Deep, But It'll Get You Through
Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is a Lincoln Club Cooler inspired by the opening of the Lincoln Tunnel in 1937. Yes, we’re talking about the tunnel under the Hudson River that connects Midtown Manhattan to Weehawken, New Jersey. The heavy traffic at rush hour, the tolls, it’s one of the most reviled stretches of road on the planet.
The Holland Tunnel, the first across the river, was already under construction in 1923 when another connection to midtown NYC was proposed. The popularity of the Holland Tunnel after it opened in 1927 led to talk of another between Weehawken and midtown. A third tunnel across the East River between Queens and midtown, now known as the Triborough Tunnel, had been under discussion since 1921.
The three-tunnel idea was popular as it would ease travel all the way between New Jersey and eastern Long Island. After a lot of wrangling over various routes and who would be in charge of the project the newly created Port Authority announced in 1930 that what is now the Lincoln Tunnel would be called the Midtown Manhattan Tunnel.
Between the Great Depression delaying financing and other issues it wasn’t until 1933 that chief engineers were named. Construction on the first of what would become three tubes began in 1934. By April, 1937 the tunnel was 75% complete and the Port Authority decided to rename it so it wouldn’t be confused with the Queens-Midtown tunnel. That’s when it got the name Lincoln Tunnel, because the Port Authority believed it was “parallel to the importance of the George Washington Bridge.”
The first tube was formally dedicated on December 21, 1937 and traffic began passing at 4:00 AM the next day. A second tube was soon added and by 1949 a third was proposed due to increased traffic. As one might expect traffic has only increased since, much to the consternation of users. As one unknown person put it, “I’m starting to think the Lincoln Tunnel is actually a portal to hell. And rush hour is just the line to get in.”
Ingredients
Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:
