There was fear in some quarters that the shutdown of many businesses and inhibited social life due to the COVID-19 pandemic would ultimately lead to increasing rates of depression, substance abuse, and suicide. For the most part, that has not come to fruition at this point. However, an article just released on JAMA Network Open indicates that alcohol consumption increased dramatically in the early months of social distancing. Quoting Nielsen data, the article reveals that national alcohol sales for the week ending March 21, 2020 were 54% higher than the same period in 2019—and online sales were up 262%. For the article described here, the authors relied on data from 2,615 adults between 30 and 80 years of age to track the number of days on which any alcohol was consumed and how many days there was heavy drinking (defined as five or more drinks for men and at least four drinks for women) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frequency of alcohol consumption increased 14% over the baseline of 5.48 days per week, with those between the ages of 30 and 59 seeing the greatest increase in frequency (19% above baseline). Women showed the highest increase in heavy drinking—41% over baseline. Use this information as rationale to probe patients for changes in alcohol habits and to consider whether some patients may be developing an unhealthy reliance on alcohol as a coping mechanism. Be prepared to refer for counseling when warranted.