2020 In Review: Best Drinks
Since we don't drink much alcohol and we don't drink coffee, this list was much easier for us to make than our best restaurants and best desserts lists. We actually haven't had an alcoholic drink since March. We typically only drink alcohol while traveling for work or while at Yelp events and neither of those things has happened since March. Because we didn't have many drinks, we narrowed our list down to our top 5 drinks.
This list is a combined ranking by both Anthony and I.
1. Boba Guys
New York City, New York
We first had Boba Guys in the Bay Area after our friends Scallion Pancake highly recommended them. It was love at first sip. They make their boba in house and we've never had any boba that compares to how good theirs is. According to Yelp, all three of their NYC locations are now closed. They're still listed on their website (with a notation that they're closed), so we're hopeful that they'll reopen again. They're known for their tea drinks, but we like that they have some non-caffeinated options as well. Our favorites that we tried in 2020 were the Strawberry Lemonade Tea Fresca and the Strawberry Cali-Pico.
2. Bluebird Distilling
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
The only time we drink alcohol anymore is when we're traveling for work. This distillery serves our favorite cocktails and we make sure to visit at least once on every trip. They have great happy hour specials (like $7 specialty cocktails until 6pm on Fridays). All of their ingredients are fresh and we've never had a bad cocktail here. Some of our favorites that we had in 2020 were the All Lit Up, the Beast of Burden, and the Bluebird.
3. Pennsylvania Distilling Company
Malvern, Pennsylvania
This distillery is a close second to Bluebird when it comes to our favorite cocktails. It's another place we make sure to stop every time we're traveling for work. They have $6 cocktails every weekday until 6pm which is hard to beat. The bartender is incredibly friendly. A couple of our favorite drinks we had here in 2020 were the Prince Albert (my favorite warm alcoholic drink) and the Three Tun Road.
4. Updog Kombucha
Charlotte (and beyond), North Carolina
Given that we don't drink much alcohol, kombucha has become our drink of choice. Updog is our favorite local kombucha. We previously got it at markets and breweries, but at the start of the pandemic, they started doing home deliveries. They deliver to the Charlotte, Winston Salem, and Greensboro areas. We've kept our fridge stocked with their kombucha throughout the pandemic since it's the best refreshing drink. Our favorite flavors are Mojito, Jasmine Lavender, and Apple Spice.
5. Robert Is Here
Homestead, Florida
This was one of our favorite places we visited while we were in Miami. It was so good that we went back a second time. It's a local fruit stand that has tropical fruit smoothies and milkshakes. In addition to spending way too much money on cool tropical fruits, we absolutely loved their tropical fruit milkshakes. Our favorite of the milkshake flavors we tried was Guanabana.
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