The Age of Unholy Drink Combos Is Upon Us

In the trailer of Materialists, there’s a quiet electric moment between Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal—two impossibly cool actors trying to out-underplay each other—where Johnson’s character Lucy orders a Coke and beer at a wedding bar like it’s a classic cocktail. She says it casually, like someone would say “a Negroni” or “dirty martini,” with the kind of relaxed conviction that dares you to question it. You don’t. Because somehow, she sells it. She sells Coke and beer.

To be clear, this isn’t an invention by Celine Song. It’s a real thing. In Germany, it’s called a “Diesel” and in the right bars it’s considered almost normal—like a Radler’s grungier cousin. It’s fizzy, malty, sweet, weirdly addictive, and looks like the result of a bar mat being wrung out. But it works. Kind of like Lay’s barbecue chips. Or any other lowbrow comfort that somehow makes its way into high society.

And so, just like coke and beer, many other weird concoctions are finding themselves increasingly on our Instagram feeds and house parties and maybe now bars.

For instance, there’s ‘sauvy b’. A drink so ridiculous-sounding that it only could have come from a platform (hint: it rhymes with RikRok) that also made “sleepy girl mocktails” a thing.

It’s sauvignon blanc over ice (the blasphemy), topped with frozen jalapeño slices. That’s right—wine and chili. Because the world just wasn’t unhinged enough.

But here’s the kicker: it’s not just tolerable. It’s kind of genius. Sauvignon blanc already has a green pepper note, courtesy of pyrazines, so the jalapeño doesn’t clash—it completes. It’s sort of like you’re revealing the notes of the wine—or whatever boohockey TikTok is feeding us.

Sales of sauv blanc and green chilis have reportedly spiked. Wine influencers are getting horny about frozen produce. And Gen Z—who find wine “stuffy”—have finally found their gateway drug. In short: spicy sauvy b is here, and your uncle who decants a Sancerre with Gregorian chants playing in the background just had an aneurysm.

Of course, we’ve been doing this kind of thing forever. Mixing stuff that shouldn’t be mixed and somehow surviving the consequences. In Spain, there’s kalimotxo—equal parts red wine and Coke, a drink that tastes like a hangover wearing lipstick. There’s leche de pantera, a gin-based, condensed milk monstrosity once served with actual gunpowder (Spain is not well). Germany’s already deep in its Radler and Diesel era—beer plus lemonade, beer plus cola, beer plus… anything, really.

In Finland, they have Salmiakkikossu, a goth liqueur made from vodka and salty black liquorice, and in Slovenia, they sip white wine with sparkling water, which sounds tame until you realise it’s drunk before lunch. Meanwhile, somewhere in North America, someone is probably trying Malibu with pickle juice and convincing their friends it “slaps.”

It’s easy to roll your eyes at these combinations. To call them the punchline of a confused palate. But there’s something refreshing—almost radical—about ordering a drink that’s slightly unhinged. It’s messy. It’s low-brow. It’s freeing. And honestly, when did we all get so precious?

Coke and beer might be working-class Germany. Jalapeño wine might be Malibu with a twist. But either way, they’re a reminder that drinks don’t need to be complicated or even classy—they just need to hit.

So yeah. Go ahead. Try the drink. Mix the thing. Be the person who ruins sauv blanc for everyone else. Life’s short. Your tastebuds can take it.