Welcome to Fingers, a newsletter by me, Dave Infante, about drinking culture, being online, and beyond. If you haven’t already, please sign up for future dispatches, OK?

Follow @dinfontay on Twitter & @its.fingers on Instagram. Send tips, praise, and pictures of barroom graffiti to [email protected], thank you very much.

*extremely Brand New voice*

🎶 It’s ladies night, all e-girls drink for fre—oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there. How embarrassing. Let’s just… let’s just started, shall we?

First of all, a huge welcome to all our new subscribers! I’m your fearless (read: deeply, cripplingly fearful) newsletter editor, Dave Infante, and I’m so glad you’ve come aboard the Good Ship Fingers. If you haven’t yet, check out these previous editions to get a better sense for what it is we do here:

• Does White Claw have a white supremacy problem?

• Arise, Surly workers

• Take a hike, Anheuser-Busch

• Hell is empty, all the #DewGaritas are here

• Bud Light Seltzer’s no good, very bad job

If you’ve already rifled through the entire Fingers archive and liked what you saw, by all means tell your family/friends/fellow lushes to join up:

And hey, while you’re at it, follow @its.fingers on Instagram for updates, shitposts, and photos of barroom graffiti.

The State of The Boozeletter™

Back in May when I started this project, I told myself the goal was 1,000 subscribers by the end of the year. A thousand subscribers? In this economy?! And yet:

“0 subscribers” in the upper-right corner refers to people who pay to receive Fingers (phrasing!!!) Right now, Fingers is free for everyone. I think dipshit VCs call this pre-revenue?

*extremely 2 Live Crew voice*

🎶 Face down, trend lines up, that’s the way we like to fu—oh no, I did it again.

Wait, please, don’t go! As you can see, we are closing fast on 1,000 dedicated Fingers readers. Amazing. I truly (madly deeply) appreciate each and every one of you who has helped grow this audience and—dare I say?—this community with me. If you know people who would enjoy this newsletter, I would be so grateful if you’d encourage them to sign up. You can forward them any of my emails, or use the button below to share Fingers on social media:

As an independent newsletter, Fingers can only continue with the support of you, its readership. I write these editions on nights and weekends, and I’m keeping it free for the time being so anyone can read my oddball mix of beverage industry reporting and unhinged cultural commentary and decide whether they’d like to join up. At some point in the future, I might turn on paid subscriptions, but for now, the goal is 1,000 subscribers, and we only get there with your help. So please, continue to tell folks about Fingers, and if you have any suggestions for how to make it better, I’m all ears. Email me at [email protected], or leave a comment on this post. I’ll respond either way!

This has been your State of The Boozeletter™ special report. I’m Mike Winchell, and I love all y’all baby, I love all of y’all.

The Fingers Reading Room

I recently created a Bookshop store to catalog my personal reading list and give fellow book-lovers a place to shop the titles I’m reading. In the future, I’m hoping to do interviews with some of my favorite authors, both in the drinks space, and beyond, to help Fingers readers get to know the people behind these books. (Bob Caro return my calls challenge!!!)

Disclosure: if you do buy something through my link, I may receive a small fee. I think everyone sort of understands how affiliate programs work but I figured it couldn’t hurt to spell it out. Check out The Fingers Reading Room now.

The bottom shelf

• Last week’s edition about White Claw’s apparent popularity with the leader of the far-right Proud Boys group, is now the most-read story Fingers has published. Big thanks to everyone who forwarded, tweeted, etc. that piece; if you haven’t read it, check it out now.

• Spooky season approacheth, folks! Big thanks to Friend of Fingers (and fellow freelance journalist, and doodler extraordinaire) Eliza Brooke for this ghastly newsletter mascot. Do ghosts have fingers? NOW THEY DO! Read/subscribe to Eliza’s delightful newsletter nownownow.

• I have a few anti-racist beer stickers left, so if you want me to mail you one of these beauties, get yours today, here’s how.

Big thanks to Friend of Fingers, the very-talented Daniel Fishel, for this newsletter’s logo and banner art. Commission him to draw things for you at o-fishel.com.

If you have a friend you think would enjoy this piece, please forward it to them and encourage them to sign up for future editions:

All comments, questions, lavish praise, and vicious criticism on Fingers can be sent to [email protected].