Hi there,

We have now finished the first quarter 2026. Congratulations, you made it!
The winter is over and better days are ahead.

I know different people like different parts of the year for varying reasons. My sister, for example, really likes seasons. She likes it that summer is warm, winter is cold, fall is rainy and spring is neither here nor there.
I am the exact opposite. If I was in charge of the weather, it would always be 25 degrees wherever I happen to be at that moment.

There is, of course, no accounting for taste, and everybody has their own reasons for their preferences but, as a sort of exercise, I decided to make this helpful ranking of months, for your convenience.

Disclaimer: I did not do any research or collect any data on the matter, this is just my personal opinion.

Here we go!

12. January.

January is the Monday of months. It is dull and gray and miserable. Like Monday, everyone I know hates it and would rather stay in bed for the duration. Add in the weird inclination of people to all of a sudden get healthy by going to the gym, eating healthy and, god forbid, taking part in Dry January, and you have the heap of misery that is January.

To make it somewhat bearable, and as a counter protest to Dry January, I have started Rye January a few years ago. Every day in January,  I have either a rye beer or a glass of rye whiskey.

Even the NFL playoffs can’t save January from the bottom ranking.

Fuck January.

When will this month end?? 

11. February

February is January’s little brother. It is marginally less miserable but still sucks. It is still cold and dark but at least everyone has given up on the gym after 3 weeks of January so the pub gets a bit busier again.

Also- the Superbowl is on, which is a small flicker of joy in this otherwise shitty month.

When can we go home? 

10. November

November is the lead up to winter, which sucks but, fortunately, due to global warming it is not as cold and shitty as it was 20 or 25 years ago. Still not a great month though. Winter is definitely setting in, the days are dark and short and cloudy.

But hey, at least we have Christmas to look forward to.

Don’t worry! Christmas is just on the other side of the hill!!

9. October

Another dark and kind-of-cold month. October is not as crappy as November and it has Halloween, but it’s still not a great month. Add in the start of the rainy season in Ireland and you’re guaranteed to be cold, wet and miserable. Pass.

Boooh! 

8. December

It’s the dead of winter, it’s generally cold and dark, and a lot of jobs have strict end-of-year deadlines to meet.

But hey, it’s also Christmas, which means long, lazy days of doing little more than eating, drinking and watching old Chevy Chase movies so December has that going for it.

It’s a Christmas Miracle!

7. March

March has ups and downs. The weather can be nice, but it can easily turn from “it’s almost spring!” to “Fuck, this feels like October again”.

But, March also has St. Patrick’s day and we’re getting to the business end of most European football seasons.

Another big plus: baseball season gets underway.

Baseball Season! 

6. April

April is one of those also-ran months. There’s nothing in it that’s really worth looking forward to, other than maybe some very early (beer) festivals and the odd sunny spell. If April was a person at a party, it would be that person who nobody remembers 3 minutes after they walked out the door.

It’s okay, I wouldn’t remember me either.

5. May

This is the time of year when things finally start to look up. Trees are getting greener, flowers start flowering, the Mikkeller beer festival is on in Copenhagen, the days are getting longer and the basketball play offs are on. You realize that Life Will Be Good Again.

Party Time!

4. June

June is when things really get better. Summer is in the air, festival season is starting, you don’t need a jacket anymore and you can walk around without getting rained on, most of the time. Cities are starting up their summer schedules with outdoor events, parades and terrace seating areas outside of bars fill up daily.

3. August

August is generally nice and warm, you can comfortably drink outside and even in Ireland it’s normally sunny and rain free. There are a lot of tourists around but, at the same time, a lot of locals are on holiday. August is nice.

Festival season means party time! 

2. July

July is just about perfect. School children are out for the summer (downside) but most of them are on holiday with their families elsewhere (upside). The weather is warm and sunny, festival season is in full swing , people are in a good mood and, hey, it’s also my birthday!

I like July.

Happy Birthday to Me! 

1. September

September is my favorite month of the year.
The weather is still warm and summery. You can walk around without a jacket on, rain is still a distant worry, life just happily ticks along, ignoring the fact that fall is lurking around the corner.
In the USA, it’s not as swelteringly hot as it is in mid summer and, while everyone has to go back to work or school, I go on holiday. Usually to the USA for which September is the perfect time to visit. New York is my favorite city in the world, and in September it’s just about perfect.

September wins the gold medal for months of the year.

Doesn’t that look glorious?

So, that was my ranking of the months of the year. Do you agree? Let me know!