#alcoholic-slushies

#alcoholic-slushies

Golden Child aims for a polished yet social atmosphere, resembling a members' club vibe without the exclusivity, making it accessible to all guests.

"Our study confirmed that in an environment of loud noise, our sense of taste is compromised. Interestingly, this was specific to sweet and umami tastes, with sweet taste inhibited and umami taste significantly enhanced," Robin Dando, one of the study's authors, told the Cornell Chronicle after the study came out.

Jimmy Buffett loved to weave his love of food, drink, and the spots that served them up with good vibes into his songs. Few musicians have made a bigger mark in the food world than Jimmy Buffett, when you think about it - look at his mega-hit 'Margaritaville' and the entire chain of restaurants it spawned.

The Old Fashioned may be the most quintessential après-ski cocktail of them all. It's warm, satisfying, and perfectly suited for lingering conversations with friends gathered around a roaring fireplace. With each sip, the drink subtly evolves as the ice slowly melts-an ever-changing experience in a single glass. Holding one immediately sets you apart, in the best way, from the beer-and-wine crowd at an après party.

But then the playoffs arrive, and you and I are reminded of what makes twilight football-outdoors and on grass-special. You start off in broad daylight as both teams fuck around for a quarter or two. Then the sun slowly begins to bleed away, taking all distractions along with it as it sinks below the horizon. Now we're in primetime, when everyone is watching. Now every player on the field is in the spotlight, and you, the viewer at home, are dialed in.

One of my absolute favorite winter drinks is the après-ski classic verte chaud - also known as hot chocolate with a shot of emerald Green Chartreuse. This 300-year-old monastic liqueur is flavored with over 130 different botanicals, making it fabulously complex, with reviving notes of anise, mint, ginger, aromatic woods, pepper, tobacco, and lemon zest. It brings real lift to hot chocolate or dishes with earthy cocoa and creamy notes.

One trend I'd happily see fade away in 2026 is the obsession with overly complicated, garnish-heavy cocktails that prioritize spectacle over balance. There's nothing wrong with a drink that looks beautiful, but when the garnish becomes the entire point of the drink, it often means the cocktail itself is an afterthought.

This aromatic and refreshing low-ABV cocktail is ideal for watching sports or a movie, says creator Toby Cecchini, who offers it off-menu at The Long Island Bar. It can be modified to personal taste, and a standard highball will make it feel more like a "real drink," but a "big, big glass" is key, as well as using minimal ice.

I prefer frozen for blended drinks like daiquiris and margaritas; they add chill and texture without watering down the flavor. Fresh berries are better for drinks that are muddled.

If it's been a while, head over to your local bar. Tell the bartender you don't need to see their list of $36 artisanal craft cocktails, thank you. You don't want their watered-down fruit juice in a tiny glass, and if there's a teaspoon of tequila in there, you count yourself lucky. What you want is a Long Island Iced Tea. It's the strong magic potion you're looking for, and here at Esquire, we fully endorse it.

For the uninitiated, the viral Del Destino Golden Pineapple Spears that have the internet buzzing are massive, toothy rods of pure pineapple jarred in coconut water. They're crisp, refreshing, sun-ripened, and made in Peru - nearly 2 pounds of fruit for between $6.69 and $6.79, and a shelf-stable way to enjoy a taste of the tropics even as the winter rages on.

just before we collectively stumbled into this shitty timeline marred by "fake news" and idiot fascism, a journalist did that thing that journalism used to do: hold power to account. In this case, the power was Big Bay Leaf, and the reporter was Kelly Conaboy, writing for the Awl on a "vast bay leaf conspiracy" that-then as now-cons well-meaning home cooks into buying weird leaves that taste and smell like "nothing."

The following is a roundup and ranking of a whopping 19 different bottles, and if I'm being honest, ranking them was no easy task. All of the below are either single-pour spirits or spirits that can easily be mellowed out with a cream liqueur addition (such is the case with some of the espresso/coffee/chocolate liqueurs below). So, when ranking them, I relied heavily on personal preference.