No. 119 January/February 2026

Consider the quahog.

Native to the North Atlantic and with a range stretching from North Carolina to Norway and beyond, this humble shellfish often lives long enough to celebrate its centennial. (Break out the clam-sized birthday hats and “Happy 100th!” balloons.) Compare this to the mayfly, which—with a typical 24-hour lifespan—passes from adolescence to middle age in the same time it takes many of us to chill a bottle of wine for dinner.

In publishing, and particularly among independent magazines, mayflies outnumber quahogs by several orders of magnitude. Launching a new magazine in the 21st century is practically a daredevil maneuver, a risk-it-all gamble with time, ever-evolving tastes, and the grinding economic realities of working with ink and paper in an increasingly digital world.

Imbibe is nowhere near quahog status just yet, but with our 20th-anniversary celebration taking place in 2026, we’re off to a good start. Keep an eye on each issue this year as we look back through the decades, recognizing the people and places (and drinks!) that have been with us along the way, and heralding those accompanying us into the future.

That celebration starts here, with our annual Imbibe 75 list of the people and places sure to change the way we all drink in the year ahead. To get our birthday party started, we’re approaching the Imbibe 75 with a little different perspective this year. Because as Imbibe has grown and evolved since our 2006 debut, we’ve had the great fortune to be embraced by readers all around the world. This year, we’re recognizing that worldwide impact by highlighting individuals and institutions from each continent in our first-ever Global Imbibe 75.

We’ve still got plenty of favorite new U.S. bars to check out (such as The Radicle in Chicago, and Peach Crease Club in Denver), along with great coffee (Seattle’s Nudibranch Coffee), notable bartenders (New York City’s Victor Lopez), and talented brewers (Ray Ricky Rivera in California). Joining these outstanding places and professionals this year are such international talents as Brazilian coffee roaster and bartender Henrique Maruyama Wogel, South African brewer Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela, Argentinian winemaker Julia Zuccardi, and Ukrainian distillers Roman and Maryna Pelekh.

Keeping an independent magazine running for 20 years has defied the odds. And as we look at the coverage we’re planning for 2026 and beyond, we’re doubling down our bet on longevity. Thanks to you and all of our readers and advertisers for helping us make our success a reality, and stay tuned for all the celebrations we have planned in the months ahead.

Cheers,