The U-Hauler: Our 2025 Pride Cocktail Manifesto

A caffeinated love letter to fast romance

There's something beautifully reckless about queer love. It can bloom from a single glance across a crowded room, flourish over late-night conversations (probably the same night), and before you know it, you're discussing furniture arrangements and whose Netflix subscription to keep. It's a phenomenon so iconic in sapphic culture that it earned its own shorthand: U-Hauling. The joke that queer women bring a moving truck to the second date is certainly comical, but it's also recognition of our capacity for deep, immediate connection.

This year's Pride cocktail, The U-Hauler, celebrates that beautiful urgency while honoring another cornerstone of queer culture: our unwavering dedication to iced coffee, regardless of season, weather, or social convention. It’s an homage to how we love. Quick to commit, unafraid of intensity, always ready. It's for every couple who knew on date two that they were planning a future together. It's for the friends who've witnessed these lightning-fast romances and supported them through every apartment viewing and IKEA adventure.

The U-Hauler is essentially a cold brew Negroni— a cocktail that shouldn't work on paper but creates perfect harmony in practice, much like the best WLW love stories, if you ask us. We've taken the classic Italian aperitif's sophisticated bittersweet balance and infused it with the caffeinated lifeblood of our community.

The foundation is rich, smooth cold brew coffee-infused Campari, paying homage to every queer person who's ever ordered an iced latte in December. The Campari component brings its signature bitter complexity, while sweet vermouth adds depth and warmth. But the magic happens with our choice of black walnut bitters— smoky and a bit herbaceous with an earthiness that grounds the drink's brighter notes. It's the ingredient that makes you pause mid-sip, wondering what exactly makes this cocktail feel so perfectly balanced (and yes, we’re still talking about a drink here, not your current girlfriend, by the way).

Here's to moving fast, loving deeply, and never compromising on properly iced beverages. Happy Pride!

The U-Hauler:

What you’ll need:

for the cold brew Campari —

• 1/2 bag cold brew coffee grounds

• 1/2 liter Campari

for the U-Hauler —

• 1oz Campari Cold Brew

• 1oz quality Gin

• 1oz sweet vermouth

• 2 dashes black walnut bitters

for the garnish —

• 2 small citrus wheels

Instructions:

make the cold brew Campari —

1. Combine the cold brew grounds and Campari in a mixing bowl. Stir, then let sit for 2 hours.

2. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, or a chinois, pressing all the liquid out of the grounds. Funnel into a bottle.

make the U-Hauler —

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until frosty. Strain over a large ice cube in a rocks glass. Garnish with citrus wheels.

2. Serve immediately, preferably while making plans for the future.