Chelsea Handler has never been shy about discussing her indulgences — from her book ‘Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea’ to her Netflix show ‘Chelsea Does’ where she traveled to Peru for an ayahuasca journey. For her latest project she’s teamed up with Owl’s Brew to launch Chelsea Handler’s Lemonade, a canned cocktail made with vodka and real fruit juices. And in February 2026 she’ll embark on her ‘High And Mighty Tour’ taking her stand-up comedy to theaters across the country. I spoke with Handler about her favorite drinks, sharing a cocktail with former president Barack Obama and why seeing Antarctica might be more fun on LSD.
In your latest Netflix special ‘The Feeling’ you talk about having a hard lemonade stand when you were 10. Was that your first drink?
That wasn’t my first drink. I was sober at that time in my life being 10 years old. I just knew people liked drinks so I started making them. I didn’t have my first real drink until I was about 16 at my sister’s wedding. It was a Long Island Iced Tea.
What made you choose that cocktail?
I asked them ‘what’s something that doesn’t taste bad that will get me nice and buzzed?’ So I proceeded to have three or four of those. It was all a bit of a blur as a 16-year-old. And when you have a bad experience with a certain type of drink you tend not to go back down that road. That’s how I feel about Long Island Iced Teas now.
What was your first regular cocktail?
Vodka soda. And not too much soda. I don’t like a tall drink. I like a short drink where there’s not so much soda water in it. I like to get to the point.
And now you have your own Vodka Lemonade with Owl’s Brew. How did that collaboration start?
I had both my book ‘I’ll Have What She’s Having’ and my Netflix special ‘The Feeling’ coming out this year. There was some overlap in the material since they’re all personal stories and we were thinking of a brand that would be fun to partner with for the book tour.
I had been down this road before in this business — trying to come up with the perfect cocktail that’s emblematic of who I am: light, on-the-go, fresh, clean, crisp, healthy, not very caloric. They never got past the point where I could drink something that didn’t have a metallic aftertaste or where the lemon tasted natural. So I just gave up on it for a while.
And when the book came around my agents and managers were like ‘this is a cute idea, going from your lemonade stand to making an adult lemonade beverage.’ And then we met with both of the founders from Owl’s Brew. And the first meeting was at nine in the morning in my hotel and they brought dozens of samples. And they nailed it. I was like ‘Oh, I should have been working with women this whole time.’
Who’s one of your favorite people you’ve had a drink with?
I had a drink with Barack Obama a few months ago at my friend’s house. So that was pretty much as good as it’s ever going to get. It was a very intimate setting. I was at my friend’s house and he showed up. He had a martini. There was a small group of us. He sat down for an after-dinner drink and we just talked about the current state of affairs. I can’t discuss what was spoken about out of respect. But I parked myself right across from him and I was like I have some serious questions. Let’s get started.
You have a new tour coming called ‘High And Mighty.’
I took a long break from stand-up, about six years off. When I started getting back on stage I didn’t realize how much I missed it. So this is like my fourth tour since then and I started my Vegas residency two years ago. It’s just such a fun experience to be able to be in front of live audiences. And to bring joyfulness and togetherness, especially during this political time where everything is so divisive. I don’t want to bring politics to the stage. It’s all a bunch of personal, humiliating stories that I share with the world about all my trials and tribulations. And about my family — who’s invited on trips moving forward and who’s been cut from the roster.
Do you have time to enjoy the cities you’re visiting on tour?
I don’t spend a ton of time in each city, but I definitely go out for a nice dinner before the show with my crew. And if it’s a place where I know people then we definitely have a bigger dinner. I’ve been doing this for so many years that there’s a nice familiarity to all of this and the people that continue to come and buy tickets to my shows. It’s like you’ve built this family-type following.
Outside of comedy touring do you like traveling?
I’m a big skier so I spend my winters in Canada where I have a ski house. When I’m traveling in the summer I go everywhere. I love Europe. I’m going to go to Japan. I like beaches, but I’m not somebody who lies around on the beach anymore. But I do love boats. I’m going to Antarctica soon. It’s a psychedelic conference with MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies). So I’m looking forward to having having a little LSD with penguins on the side.
Do you think penguins will be more fun when you’re on LSD?
Yes. That’s actually something I talk a lot about in my show. I’m a big proponent of microdosing.
Have you done deeper journeys or just microdosing?
Only with ayahuasca. Otherwise I only microdose. But who knows what’s in the future? I did ayahuasca on my Netflix show actually. I went down to Peru and brought some friends. So that was pretty entertaining. That’s why I’m going to Antarctica. As soon as they said it was a psychedelic conference I’m like ‘I’m in!’
Any cuisines you’re a big fan of on the road?
I’m into Spanish food. That’s my jam. I have a place in Mallorca. Tapas is where it’s at. I love little dishes of everything.