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Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Alcohol-free Pimm's? Wimbledon fans think drink would be a winner
The US Open has the honey deuce, the Australian Open the lemon ace and Roland Garros is sponsored by Moet & Chandon, but no tennis grand slam has a signature drink as popular as Pimm's at Wimbledon. Spectators buy nearly 300,000 glasses over two weeks but this year have been asking for an alternative. 'I'd say around one in 50 people ask if there's a non-alcoholic version of Pimm's,' a barmaid at the Pimm's stall on Henman Hill said. 'I worked here last year and people were asking the same thing.' She added that the question usually came from young people or pregnant women. Even before noon, fans on the Hill were watching the tennis with a Pimm's in their hand. Georgia McCarthy, 33, from Essex, said she would have preferred something non-alcoholic but added: 'Pimm's is something you associate with Wimbledon. It's our first time here and when we arrived we thought we had to go in, get the Pimm's and get the strawberries.' Destiny Olusegun, 22, a bar manager, said customers asked for a non-alcoholic drink that resembled Pimm's on a regular basis. 'People are shifting away from alcohol, people are more conscious of what they're drinking, how they're drinking,' he said, adding that demand for alcohol-free drinks had grown in his three years at Wimbledon. 'Especially if you're going to be here all day, you don't want to be drinking 20 pints the whole day, but you may still like a drink and be able to engage in the same social culture, be able to cheers your beer, have something cold. 'Having a non-alcoholic Pimm's option, even if it was just in a can, would still give people that feeling of being included.' Pimm's does not sell a non-alcoholic version, but a spokeswoman said: 'We're always working on new ideas across all of our brands, and when we have new products to announce consumers will be the first to hear.' Charlie Cook, business director of food and drink at Wimbledon, said there had 'definitely been a move' towards more non-alcoholic drinks on offer, although he had not seen a reduction in alcohol sales. He said supply decisions were influenced by trends as well as data from the other grand slam tournaments. Cook said the club tried to stock an alcohol-free alternative in each drinks category and had experimented with fruity mocktail recipes to meet demand for an alternative to Pimm's. 'We've tried a version using balsamic, which has a quite similar flavour profile, but we haven't really cracked that one yet,' he said. 'It would be a good one though.' • Wimbledon's most annoying spectators — ranked The recipe for Pimm's is closely guarded. Tom Bronock, founder of the creative drinks agency Wilde Toast, said: 'It's obviously a secret recipe Pimm's. It's what's called a compound liquor, meaning there's a base spirit, then there's a secret blend of botanicals, bitters, some spices, herbs, things like fruit extracts that go into it. So it's the sum of its parts, it's very hard to recreate'. Bars at Wimbledon sell Stella Artois 0.0; Freeglider, an alcohol-free spirit; Everleaf, an alcohol-free aperitif; and Wild Idol, an alcohol-free wine. Sipsmith said Freeglider sales at the tournament last year were up about 25 per cent compared with 2022. Stella Artois launched its alcohol-free beer on draught at the tournament before rolling it out to the rest of the UK. A barman at the Perfect Serve bar said that on one day they sold nearly 200 pints. Not all visitors were converted to alcohol-free drinks, however, particularly by the prices. Sam Bushby, 28, from Essex, said: 'If I'm going to pay for a drink then I want to have a proper drink, otherwise I would just have an orange juice or a lemonade. It's just a waste of money otherwise.'
New York Times
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Totally Spontaneous Expression of Joy, Contractually Sponsored by Moët & Chandon
In June 2018, when the Golden State Warriors were on the verge of winning back-to-back championships, one of their sponsors, the champagne brand Moët & Chandon, had a request. Could it put a gold bathtub filled with champagne bottles in the locker room for the celebration? The Warriors were playing the Cleveland Cavaliers that year, and the first opportunity to clinch the series came in Cleveland. The management for the Cavaliers' arena said no to the bathtub. So Eric Housen, the Warriors' vice president of team operations, decided to employ some subterfuge. He and his team put the bathtub on a dolly, covered it with a tarp, put cases of celebration-ready beer on top and wheeled it into the visitors' locker room undetected. The Warriors won that day. When the players and coaches returned to the locker room after their trophy presentation, a bathtub filled with three dozen magnum bottles of special-edition Moët & Chandon champagne (ranging from $1,250 to $1,500 each) greeted them so they could shake, pop and spray it all over one another in front of television cameras and media hordes. This week, the National Basketball Association will crown a new champion, and regardless of whether the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Indiana Pacers win, the players, coaches, team staff and even some family members will be doused in bubbly alcohol. Mostly champagne, but some beer, too. It's a tradition that goes back decades, fueled by the overwhelming emotion associated with winning a championship. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Royal Ascot drink prices increase yet AGAIN - as one drink is on sale for £560
Racegoers at Royal Ascot face having to shell out up to £560 for a bottle of champagne and almost £8 for a pint of beer as they head to the Berkshire track this week. The five-day racing festival began on Tuesday and will continue until Saturday with thousands of punters dressed in summer dresses, stunning hats and smart suits cheering on riders at the racecourse. While around 270,000 punters are set to enjoy the summer sunshine, with temperatures reaching up to 30 degrees, they will be forced to cough up a pretty penny to get their hands on a drink. The most expensive price for a bottle of bubbly is £560 for a 1.5 litre Cuvee Dom Perignon Blanc. Other sky-high prices include a £250 Moet and Chandon Rose Imperial. And a 750ml bottle of Whispering Angel Cotes de Provence rose is on sale for £75, although it priced at just £22.50 at Tesco 's online store. A normal bottle of red or white wine costs £30, with premium options priced at £45. Meanwhile, beer drinkers will need to cough up almost £8 for a pint. A pint of Peroni or Guinness will set punters back £7.80, while Grolsch is on sale for a comparatively cut-priced £7. This represents an increase on last year, where Guinness was on sale for £7.50 and Grolsch at £6.50 This year, even a 330ml bottle of Asahi costs £7.20, with a non-alcoholic Peroni, also 330ml, priced at £5.50. A bottle of Cornish Orchards comes in at £7.80, with a Meantime pale ale only 30p cheaper. The cheapest bottle of champagne, Moet and Chandon Brut Imperial. is priced at £210, for a 1.5 litre bottle. Cocktails are on offer for £14, while non-alcoholic versions are £11 or £9. Ascot prices tomorrow 👇 — SD Racing Services (@racingoncourse) June 16, 2025 Those peckish can enjoy a reasonably priced food offering. Bacon cheeseburgers are on sale for £12.50, with cheeseburgers £11.50. Vegetarian mushroom burgers are priced at £11.50 as well, with a hot dogs £9.50. On Tuesday, the 8-11 favourite Field Of Gold, under Colin Keane for trainers John and Thady Gosden, routed rivals to claim a spectacular St James's Palace Stakes win. Field of Gold's stunning victory came eleven years after his father's win on the same track. Meanwhile King Charles III's horse Reaching High was well-beaten on the opening day, as Ascending won the Ascot Stakes by a head. The horse, ridden by Ryan Moore, was the hot favourite before the runners set off at the historic Flat race meeting, at 11/4 to claim the £57,000 first-place prize ahead of going to post. Trained by National Hunt superstar trainer Willie Mullins, Reaching High was bred by the late Queen Elizabeth II out of Estimate, who won the Ascot Gold Cup in 2013.
New York Times
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Champagne shades: The NBA-inspired trend that's taking over soccer celebrations
Trophies and rings are the renowned physical marks of success in American sports, but there's an accessory that has become just as prevalent in championship-winning locker rooms as the shine of platinum or gold: 'champagne goggles'. Champagne has a long-term association with sporting glory. A bottle of Moet & Chandon, from one of the world's most prominent champagne houses, was passed to Italian motorsports driver Tazio Nuvolari after winning the Vanderbilt Cup in 1936. By 1969, honouring success with a bottle of champagne became part of the formal victory celebrations in Formula One, establishing a relationship between triumph in the sporting arena and sparkling wine. Advertisement It turned out to be a lasting one, with this niche motorsport tradition spreading across the sporting sphere in the United States and Europe. During the Premier League era, it was standard practice for man-of-the-match recipients to be handed a large bottle of champagne as a prize until 2012, when the league switched to a trophy in acknowledgement of the multi-faith diversity of its players. Still, drinking and spraying champagne to mark sporting success has remained, with soccer clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool even bringing non-alcoholic versions into the locker room to ensure everyone could participate in celebrating their respective Europa League and Premier League successes. Until recently, the 'champagne goggles' phenomenon was an entirely American one. However, it's inspired a trend that has been adopted by some of soccer's biggest names — and sometimes, champagne isn't even involved. It's unclear where the trend started but baseball hall-of-famer David 'Big Papi' Ortiz is probably the first influential figure to bring goggles to the locker room. The designated hitter was a star of the famous 2004 Boston Red Sox team that swept the St Louis Cardinals 4-0 in the World Series to end their 86-year wait for a title. As is customary in the MLB, they celebrated that triumph with champagne but long before ski goggles became the champion's eyewear du jour, Ortiz protected his eyes with swimming goggles. According to former team-mate Torii Hunter, Ortiz learned a lesson from their divisional title in 2002 with his previous club, the Minnesota Twins, where they celebrated without eye protection. As reported on the MLB website, 'their eyes burned enough from the champagne that they still hurt the next day'. Corks flying around the locker room at up to 30mph present a real danger, too. In 2022, Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay suffered an eye injury when a prosecco cork hit him after he won the 10th stage of the Giro d'Italia. The injury forced him to withdraw from the competition. As players looked to avoid the sting of the sparkling wine in their eyes or protect themselves from flying corks, 'champagne goggles' became common in World Series-winning locker rooms. However, the key crossover moment, perhaps the watershed juncture in its eventual international appeal, wouldn't happen until 2013. Despite falling well behind the NFL in viewership and interest in the United States, the NBA is comfortably America's most influential league internationally. There is arguably no greater driver of fashion and culture in world sport than the NBA and its superstar players. Follow the Club World Cup on The Athletic this summer… As the Miami Heat's 'Big Three' (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) celebrated their first title together with a locker-room champagne shower, veteran Ray Allen protected his eyes with a pair of Oakley ski goggles. Allen, who won championships with the Heat and the Boston Celtics in a hall-of-fame career, is often credited as the player who popularised goggles in NBA locker-room celebrations. Advertisement Now, they're essential for any equipment manager whose team are on the verge of a championship. After lifting the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy in 2022, Steph Curry celebrated while wearing ski googles from Under Armour, the shoe and sportswear company he has been signed to since 2013. Some of his Golden State Warriors team-mates wore Moet-branded goggles, while others donned black-and-gold variations designed by the NBA for the occasion. Giannis Antetokounmpo and James celebrated their recent championship successes with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers, with pairs made by Nike. Last year, Jordan Brand athlete Jayson Tatum had a custom-made pair with 'champ' written behind a large Jordan logo on the lens as the Boston Celtics toasted becoming NBA champions. Primarily associated with basketball shoes and apparel, ski goggles made by Jordan are not available to the public. What started as a way to protect athletes from the hazards of champagne celebrations has become a prominent way for brands to advertise in the most significant moments. Now, the trend is spreading to Europe in the form of 'champagne shades'. While Ortiz and Allen were the pioneers of baseball and basketball respectively, Barcelona and Spain's 17-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal (main image) is leading a generation of players wearing sunglasses in title celebrations. Celebrating Barcelona's Copa Del Rey final win over arch-rivals Real Madrid in April, Yamal donned two pairs of sunglasses at once as he carried the trophy on the pitch at the Estadio La Cartuja. In recent weeks, Serie A MVP Scott McTominay was pictured with the Italian trophy wearing a pair of sunglasses, as were Napoli team-mates Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Romelu Lukaku. Many of the Tottenham group brought ski glasses to Bilbao for the Europa League final and wore them as they celebrated with the trophy in the locker room afterwards. Most recently, Paris Saint-Germain duo Desire Doue and Achraf Hakimi were pictured holding the Champions League trophy wearing sunglasses after hammering Inter 5-0 in the final last weekend. Advertisement Perhaps the most illustrative example of the NBA's impact on European soccer was Bayern Munich star Michael Olise not only putting on a pair of sunglasses to celebrate their Bundesliga title win but pairing them with a set of 'grills', a type of dental jewellery worn over teeth popularised by American hip-hop artists. NBA and hip-hop is a marriage that has transcended eras and generations, from Allen Iverson's rap-inspired attire to nine-time All-Star Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard, who has released several studio albums under Dame D.O.L.L.A.. Yamal, born four years after 50 Cent released Get Rich or Die Tryin' in 2003, cites the New York rapper as his favourite. Even before Yamal's professional debut, Barcelona were one of the first high-profile soccer teams to document players arriving at the stadium in their pre-game outfits, taking influence from American sports. The trend has evolved from Ortiz's swimming goggles to luxury shades, with players sporting them in moments of celebration — and not necessarily always when the champagne corks are flying, with footballers wearing sunglasses both on the pitch in the immediate aftermath of a trophy win or during post-victory parades. The custom is a way to show off a slice of their personal style, similar to Iverson's popularisation of the shooting sleeve or Jimmy Butler's ninja-style headband. Butler, who now plays with Curry on the Warriors, is a big soccer fan and is friends with Brazilian star duo Neymar and Vinicius Junior. In an interview with the Associated Press, he described soccer players as 'the coolest people in the world'. Led by Yamal, these 'champagne shades' are yet another example of how soccer's new generation is unashamedly taking inspiration from the American sports' swagger and adding their own style and flavour to it.
Daily Mail
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tourists can't believe how much they're charged for beer at Ibiza's newest club: 'It's just plainly indefensible'
Tourists are being charged an eye-watering amount for beer at Ibiza's newest club. The hotspot has seen iconic venue Ku Club officially reopen as UNVRS, which promises to provide immersive indoor experiences with the help of technology. Its website says: 'UNVRS is not just a venue, it's a blueprint for the future of entertainment. It creates a new reality for nightlife - one where the boundaries are not merely pushed, but redefined.' The colossal venue, which opened last week, boasts a 10,000-person capacity and is instantly recognisable thanks to a towering crashed UFO sculpture at the entrance. Inside, guests can enjoy open-air terraces with sweeping views of Formentera island, along with high-energy performances from dancers throughout the night. However, the super club's drinks menu has caused a stir with visitors. Posting on web forum Reddit, one user shared the menu, which reveals water is charged at €15 (£12). Soft drinks such as Coca Cola and Sprite, meanwhile, cost €15 per bottle. Posting on web forum Reddit , one user shared the menu, which reveals water will even be charged at €15 (£12) The super club is charging €18 for a pint of Heineken, with wine and rosé also costing the same When it comes to beers, a Heineken costs a staggering €18 (£15), while a glass of white wine or rosé costs the same. A Malibu will set you back €22 (£18) or for one euro more you can order it alongside a mixer. Moet and Chandon champagne is also on the menu, with a bottle costing €55 (£46). Reacting, one person angrily said: '18 euros for a f****** Heineken? lol The one and only time I went to Hi they actually measured the spirits as well so you don't even get a good free pour.' A second blasted: 'I know it's how Ibiza works but I'll never understand charging 15 euros for water or a Coke Zero. You don't even get that at festivals. It's just plainly indefensible.' Hollywood actor Will Smith was drafted in by nightclub bosses to promote its reopening, with the Men In Black star even appearing in a social media campaign.
