The McElroy family has always had its collective finger on the pulse of food trends. From Totinos spon-con to Munch Squad’s vice-like grip on quick service restaurant news, Justin McElroy in particular has been at the forefront of gastronomy. And now he is entering the already bitterly contested Drink of the Summer competition. A TikTok by user @sava_vannah let it slip that Justin McElroy’s current go-to drink for a recent The Adventure Zone Live show was a combination of red wine and lime White Claw. “Couple weeks ago, I went to The Adventure Zone Live show,†she said, “and while I was there, I watched Justin McElroy — a grown-ass man — drink red wine mixed with lime White Claw. And it wasn’t like a dare, it wasn’t like he just did it on a whim, it wasn’t like it was the only alcohol they had; he did this repeatedly, as his drink of choice.†It was a baffling choice. “What does this man know that I don’t?†she asked. “Has he cracked the code to living?†The TAZ fan went on to try her own mix of the concoction and it was extremely potable.
It’s not the craziest beveragino conceived by god or man. Red wine + lime seltzer bridge the gap between a wine spritzer and sangria. Juice’s juice joins a hotly contested list of potential drinks of the summer. Grub Street is backing the martini for all of 2022, with Punch modifying their bet to a dirty tequila martini. Meanwhile, the New York Times put all their money on the Dirty Shirley, which the How to Drink YouTube channel countered with a resurgence of the mojito. That would be on-trend, as the early aughts is back in every other aspect of our lives, why not the drink Marissa Cooper rang in 2004 with? Meanwhile the espresso martini and the Nordy are still holding ground from last year. It’s still anyone’s summer.