Did you know eggnog once caused an actual riot? Not the jokey "oh, things got a bit rowdy last night" type of thing—a proper, full-on shouty match. Possibly with chairs and fists flying. Once you hear that, it’s impossible not to look at the drink differently.
And now Thirst has leaned right into that energy with RIOT, their caffeine-lifted, midnight-black reworking of the festive classic. It’s basically December in bottle form. The mayhem. The sparkle. The "what day is it?" of it all.
Eggnog is, of course, ridiculous. There’s no debating that. It’s thick and weird, yet somehow comforting even though nobody can explain why. And that 1826 chaos only adds to its charm. So when the Glasgow studio took a run at bringing it back for 2025, they didn’t try to tidy it up. They d…
Did you know eggnog once caused an actual riot? Not the jokey "oh, things got a bit rowdy last night" type of thing—a proper, full-on shouty match. Possibly with chairs and fists flying. Once you hear that, it’s impossible not to look at the drink differently.
And now Thirst has leaned right into that energy with RIOT, their caffeine-lifted, midnight-black reworking of the festive classic. It’s basically December in bottle form. The mayhem. The sparkle. The "what day is it?" of it all.
Eggnog is, of course, ridiculous. There’s no debating that. It’s thick and weird, yet somehow comforting even though nobody can explain why. And that 1826 chaos only adds to its charm. So when the Glasgow studio took a run at bringing it back for 2025, they didn’t try to tidy it up. They didn’t soften anything. They did the opposite. They took the chaos and went, "Right. This is the fun bit".
RIOT offers an honest take on the season that most brands would never dare to use. December isn’t serene. It’s glitter sneaking into your bedding, emotional whiplash, and three different people asking you to "just pop out for one drink" on the same night. Thirst looked at a category full of dusty nostalgia and politely said, Absolutely not. This thing needs a kick.
Matt Burns, their creative director, puts it nicely: eggnog hasn’t moved in ages. It’s still stuck in old formats with that slightly Victorian energy no one asked for. "We didn’t want just to refresh eggnog. We wanted to flip it. Modernise it. Disrupt the category enough to make it worth caring about again," he says. So they kept the comfort, but gave it purpose. Cocoa-creamy nog paired with a hit of coffee. Still warm and indulgent. But with the kind of lift that might get you through a chaotic weekend.
The bottle is brilliant in that way; good contradictions always are. Matte black. Clean, sharp type. A nod to the Christmas cracker without falling into that shiny-plastic territory. It looks collectable, which is not a thing people usually say about eggnog. And the crown doubles as a nutmeg grater, which is exactly the sort of over-the-top detail you pretend not to care about… then immediately use.
And the minis? No, they’re not minis. Not really. They’re accessories. Clip them on. Throw them in a bag. Produce them at a moment no one expects. They’re perfect for the person who turns up fashionably late, or the friend who always tries to keep the night going long after everyone else has mentally clocked out (we know who you are). They’re a little unnecessary, which, of course, makes them essential.
RIOT’s world throws the usual festive clichés out the window. No perfect families. No staged calm. No tasteful firesides with identical mugs. Instead, it leans into what December actually is. Loud. Glam. Messy. Emotional in that weird, charming way the season always seems to encourage. Eggnog once caused a riot in 1826. Thirst isn’t trying to recreate it, but they are giving the drink its confidence back.
RIOT is a concept exploration that shows how design can wake a sleepy category when it needs it. And honestly, if festive drinks are heading in this direction, December might become much more enjoyable. Particularly for those of us who are always happy to see the back of it...
