Imbibe Magazine

Imbibe is your ultimate guide to drinks culture, from wine, spirits and beer to coffee, tea and everything in between. Every issue features the world’s top drink destinations, recipes, how-tos and in-depth stories covering the fascinating people, places and flavors of liquid culture.

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Imbibe Magazine • NUMBER114 MARCH/APRIL2025

What We’re Drinking Now Savoia Orancio

At the Market: Cilantro

Three Ways: Pornstar Martini • Created by the late Ghanaian mixologist Douglas Ankrah at Townhouse in London in 2002, the Pornstar Martini has since become a global sensation and bona fide modern classic. (It was the most Googled cocktail in 2024.) The original build of the cheekily named drink consists of vanilla vodka, passion fruit liqueur, passion fruit purée, and vanilla syrup, with a sidecar of Champagne to gild the lily. It’s also a format and flavor profile that creative bartenders love to riff on. It just goes to show that even after more than two decades, no matter what you call it, this one remains a star.

A Few of Our Favorite Things

Anatomy of a Drink: Bijou

5 to Try: Ciders for Spring • Cider is often unfairly relegated to the autumnal months, but the category is nothing if not diverse in style. “Cider is arguably the most versatile of the four main categories of beer, wine, cider, and spirits,” asserts Matthew Ostrander, a certified pommelier and owner of Ibantik Craft Beverages, a cider brokerage in Salt Lake City, where he also provides educational classes at Scion Cider bar. Co-founded by Elisabeth Osmeloski, Scion serves hundreds of ciders spanning the spectrum. Here, husband-and-wife Ostrander and Osmeloski offer their picks for bright, floral, and fruity ciders that sing of springtime.

Day Trip: Mary Pellettieri, Top Note, Milwaukee • Mary Pellettieri had long been working in the brewing industry when she conceived the idea for more interesting, alcohol-free beverage options—specifically a better tonic water. Together with partner Noah Swanson, Pellettieri’s kitchen-crafted botanical recipes gained momentum and, in 2017, she and Swanson officially founded Top Note. The line of tonic waters and mixers has since become a gold medal–winning brand, and beloved among the bar industry. Pellettieri shares how the family-run business makes a big impact with a small footprint.

Q&A with Ikimi Dubose-Woodson • Few drinks professionals are as committed to real, tangible change as Ikimi Dubose-Woodson. In 2020, she co-founded The Roots Fund, a nonprofit devoted to empowering underrepresented communities in wine, with fellow industry leaders Tahiirah Habibi and Carlton McCoy, Jr. The organization has since worked with nearly 250 aspiring and ambitious hospitality professionals, says Dubose-Woodson, who serves as CEO. “These are people whose lives we’ve changed, whether we’ve relocated them, helped them get their dream career going, got them the education they’ve been waiting on to get that promotion.” Last year, The Roots Fund expanded its mission to include spirits, creating a scholarship fund with Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET). Imbibe caught up with Dubose-Woodson to talk about her 360-degree view of hospitality, how she navigates shifting attitudes toward (and investments in) DEI initiatives, and more.

Mixopedia: The Titanic … When tragedy and drinking mix. • On April 14, 1912, the R.M.S. Titanic hit an iceberg and sank. It’s been resurfacing ever since.

Taste Test: Alcohol-free Aperitifs • The now all-encompassing nonalcoholic category is leaving no drinkers behind regardless of beverage preference, including myriad options for aperitivo hour. From boldly bitter, botanically driven expressions to the bright and...