No. 121 May/June 2026

In a typical year at Imbibe, our editors will frequent conferences, cafés, and cocktail bars, and tour distilleries, wineries, and breweries, regularly encountering beverage professionals familiar with our magazine. This is always wonderful, of course—it’s great to have your work acknowledged, particularly by others who have such intimate insight into the topics Imbibe covers.

But some of our favorite voices to hear belong to people whose professions may have nothing to do with drinks. They subscribe to Imbibe to find great cocktail recipes, or insight into bars and breweries to visit, or ideas for glassware or coffee gear that they can pick up as gifts for friends and family.

For 20 years now, Imbibe has been a part of readers’ lives, both professional and at-home. We started as an ink-and-paper magazine, something that seemed destined for quick obsolescence at the time of our 2006 debut. And it’s probably clear from the pages in front of you that we’ve managed to not only survive, but thrive in a rapidly evolving world of information, extending to our website along with our presence on social media, the Radio Imbibe podcast, our newsletter, books, and events such as Negroni Week.

How have we thrived for two decades? Our endurance has been aided immensely by the magnificent people and places it’s been our great fortune to work with over the years. Imbibe entered the scene at a particularly momentous time for the drinks world. The craft-cocktail renaissance was just getting started, coffee’s third wave was in its formative era, craft breweries were beginning to pop up in communities across the country, and everywhere, everywhere, there were people thirsty to learn more.

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary and contemplate our third decade, we’d like to extend sincere gratitude to everyone who’s joined us at any point along the way. Whether you’re a longtime subscriber or this is your first time picking up Imbibe—welcome to the party. As you can see from the cover, we’ve already opened the Champagne. Now, dive in, because we’ve been planning this celebration for a long time.

Cheers,