The Signature Nordstrom Cocktail That Took Over Social Media

It isn't uncommon for grocery stores to have in-store bars, says The Wall Street Journal. It isn't even uncommon for folks to online shop with an aperitif nearby: ABC News calls the practice "Sipping and Shopping," and says it promotes buyers to loosen their grip on their wallets. A 2020 Finder survey found that over a fifth (21.4%) of U.S. consumers drink while shopping and that, collectively, these tipsy purchases account for an estimated $21.6 billion every year. But, cocktails and high fashion have always gone hand-in-hand. Picture just one glamorous old Hollywood film where the star isn't limply holding a long-stemmed wine glass or gesturing with a Highball. Louis Vuitton even released a line of flasks engraved with the logo as part of its 2012 spring collection, via Glamour.

Today, there's a new (and perhaps unexpected) retail giant taking the internet by storm with its impressively potent in-store bar. Introducing: the Vine Street cocktail from Nordstrom. Earlier this year, TikTok user @ufodelaney shared a video recipe of the drink, which subsequently went viral: 212.8k likes and 6,313 shares. Nordstrom's flagship location on 57th & Broadway in Manhattan boasts gastronomic offerings from multiple James Beard Award nominees and the creator of the desserts program at Michelin-starred Momofoku. The cocktail lounge, however, is called "Shoe Bar," which Nordstrom itself will tell you is positioned "right in the middle of our women's shoe floor," which seems ... calculated. So, what's in the cocktail that took over social media?

Nordstrom's Shoe Bar menu describes the Vine Street as a combination of vodka, Prosecco, and rosé. (Yes, really.) Lime juice, grapes, and mint leaf are in there too. (Somewhere.) After @ufodelaney's post, TikTok viewers started recreating the Vine Street at home — and they've got something to say about it. (The post has nearly 600 comments.) One user writes, "That's not a cocktail. That's two glasses of wine and a shot of vodka." Another calls the drink "Nordstrom Jungle Juice." Urban Dictionary says the name "Jungle Juice" comes from its effect of "send[ing] the drinker into a state [of] animal behavior," which isn't too far off from what sippers are saying about the Vine Street. In the viral TikTok, @ufodelaney claims the cocktail (nicknamed "Nordy Drink") "made a friend drop $1,000 on a pair of pants" while shopping. Mission complete? 

While Nordstrom's potent Vine Street cocktail might be turning heads, high-end Jungle Juice isn't anything new. Consider the French 75, which features both gin and champagne. The cocktail is literally named after "the fast-firing 75-millimeter field gun" used by French soldiers during WWI, via Liquor.com. It packs a punch. Or, consider the Long Island Iced Tea with its 22% ABV and back bar gauntlet of rum, tequila, vodka, gin, and Triple Sec, per Long Island. Luckily, next time you embark on a "sip and shop" for yourself, you can resist the temptation of designer shoes and recreate the cocktails at home.