Imbibe

“American whiskey’s trajectory in the past quarter-century has been nothing short of extraordinary,” writes Susannah Skiver Barton (@whattastesgood ) in her latest for Imbibe. “Although bourbon and rye were cornerstones of drinking culture from the 1800s up to Prohibition and beyond, whiskey’s dominance ended in the 1970s as baby boomers turned away from older generations’ preferences en masse. The decline lasted decades. In 1999, Kentucky distillers made fewer than 500,000 barrels of bourbon, and almost no rye. And then, right as the new millennium dawned, something unexpected happened: Popular interest in whiskey started to bubble up, slightly reversing both sales and production numbers for a few years before really taking off around 2006. The seeds for this growth had been planted in the preceding decades by producers who were visionary, desperate, or both.” Head to the link in our bio to read more from Susannah about how America fell in love with bourbon and rye, again.🥃 📸 @kellypuleio

“The goal behind the Bloom No. 5 was to weave floral, springtime flavors into a classic Margarita template,” says Shelby Abell (@shebs_12_ ) of @Marthas_Nashville . To do this she combines tequila with Suze and elderflower liqueur, which create a floral, bittersweet profile. Meanwhile, lemon brightens up the drink “to nail the ‘springtime in a glass’ vibe,” Abell adds. Recipe link in our bio. 📸 @victoriaquirkphoto

Ted Breaux is a research chemist and absinthe producer who in 2007 successfully challenged the U.S. ban on absinthe, reintroducing it to American drinkers for the first time in almost a century. Today on Radio Imbibe, Breaux joins us to explore why absinthe was banned in the first place, and to explain how he successfully challenged the ban and how absinthe’s fortunes have changed in the years since. Tune in at the link in our bio or wherever you get podcasts. 📸 @rcallahanphoto

Don Lee’s (@donbert ) breakfast-inspired modern classic, Benton’s Old Fashioned, features bacon and maple syrup and first introduced the fat-washing technique to the cocktail world in 2007. The Old Fashioned twist has been a mainstay at @PDTNYC , its birthplace, ever since. Recipe link in our bio.🥓🥃💫 📸 @ericmedsker

With the rise of the cocktail renaissance in the late 1990s, the quest for clear 🧊 arose anew, this time led by a new generation who brought renewed vigor and a measure of science, writes Wayne Curtis (@wcurtis ) in his latest for Imbibe. Head to the link in our bio to read more from Wayne about how the cocktail renaissance and science solved the cloudy 🧊 problem. 📸 @mattynewtonillustration

Created by Phil Ward @LongIslandBar , this Beefsteak Martini features a simple overnight infusion of fresh shiso that imbues the cocktail with fresh, herbal notes. Recipe link in our bio.🍸 📸 @kellypulieo

“The Oxford Companion could stand as a sort of metaphor for David Wondrich’s career, writes @RobertOSimonson in his latest for Imbibe. “His influence in cocktail circles is so complete at this point that it almost resembles wallpaper. It’s all over, but you can’t see it for its everywhereness.” Head to the link in our bio to read more about how Wondrich (@splificator ) has helped shaped the cocktail world as we know it today. 📸 @ericmedsker

For their Camparajillo cocktail, @redfoxnorthend combines two beloved classics—the Negroni and the Carajillo. Still-strength blanco tequila and mezcal give the cocktail a boozy agave backbone while Campari lends its trademark bittersweetness and Licor 43, sweet vermouth, and coffee liqueur add layers of richness. Get the recipe from Emilio Avila (@emilioavila98 ) at the link in our bio. 📸 @kellypulieo

How long have you been an Imbibe reader? While preparing our 20th anniversary issue, we reached out to subscribers who’ve been with us pretty much since the beginning, both to extend a sincere thanks and to ask, “What keeps you coming back?” Their answers were thoughtful and wide-ranging—head to the link in our bio to see what they had to say.

In the earliest days of the new century, @AudreySaunders gave the familiar Mojito an upscale makeover, creating a modern classic along the way. Keeping the original’s core elements of mint, lime, and sugar, Saunders swapped out the Mojito’s crisp white rum for the richer vanilla-and-caramel tones of an aged rum. Adding Angostura bitters for depth, spice, and complexity, she capped the transformation by putting aside the club soda in favor of Champagne (as one does). Served in a coupe, with the bubbles dancing around a green sprig of fresh mint, the Old Cuban was perfectly suited for a brewing cocktail renaissance. Recipe link in our bio. 📸 @johnvalls_f2.0

Like so many spans of time, 20 years in business feels at once like a flash and a lifetime. And in the world of media and publishing, 20 years has brought a head-spinning amount of change. When Imbibe launched, there was no social media, websites were still in their nascency, iPhones had just been introduced, and there was no drinks publication like Imbibe. We created Imbibe because we recognized that no one in media was treating the drinks space as its own expansive category and that people who like quality cocktails and spirits tend to also appreciate good coffee, beer, wine, and more. Third wave coffee, craft beer, bespoke cocktails, specialty sodas, and niche wines were burgeoning and converging at the same time, and our aim was to create a space to explore the people, places, and culture behind it all. For two decades, we’ve been doing exactly that while evolving with both the world of drinks and the world of media. To our flagship print publication we’ve added a digital magazine, website, newsletter, social, podcast, books, and events like Negroni Week, and we’ve weathered many difficult and unpredictable times in the world. Ultimately, we wouldn’t be here today if not for the incredible community that embraced us from day one—both consumers and drinks professionals—and we have always been fiercely proud of and grateful for that support. We are endlessly thankful to all of the subscribers, advertisers, writers, artists, and other partners who have made Imbibe possible for the last 20 years, and we are so excited to be celebrating this milestone in our May/June issue. This issue is filled with nods to the past two decades of drinks and of Imbibe with a celebratory theme woven throughout. If you’re a subscriber, the issue is arriving now, and if you’re not a subscriber (we’d love for you to become one!) and you’d like to get a copy, you can head to the link in our bio. We’ll be continuing to celebrate at imbibemagazine.com, as well as on all of our platforms, so keep an eye out for more to come, and thank you again for your support. We’re looking forward to another incredible 20 years of liquid culture. 🎉🥂🍸🍷☕️🍻🥃🎉 📸 @kellypuleio

When creating a cocktail menu for a 1970s-themed steakhouse in Vegas, Midori is a must. To elevate the kitschy melon liqueur, Niko Novick (@cocktailclown ), @Spiegelworld ’s director of hospitality, built a White Negroni around it “so the bitterness is more herbal and restrained, and the drink stays bright and elegant,” he says. And to keep the Suze from overpowering Midori’s soft flavors, Novick dials back the gentian liqueur to a barspoon and adds a touch of bergamot liqueur for a subtle tea-like finish. “It drinks like a Negroni, but with this uncanny flash of melon that feels both retro and completely new at the same time,” he adds. Recipe link in our bio. 📸 @spiegelworld