“Bars aren't just places where we get drunk and await the consequences, good or bad. They're places where we engage in social wellness and support each other. And we can drink on our own terms, alcohol, no-alcohol, herbalist drinks," says Derek Brown, author, expert on no- and low-alcohol cocktails and spirits, and former owner of the Columbia Room in Washington D.C.
With Dry January behind us and low-ABV cocktails/no-ABV mocktails on the rise, Derek Brown’s observations have never been timelier. Especially in the post-COVID era, people are looking to change habits. High on the list is alcohol consumption, whether it’s mindful drinking or not drinking at all. These considerations quite obviously have had a profound effect on the bar industry, whose general livelihood rests on guests’ consumption of booze.
Instead of ignoring the wellness trend, bars have embraced it, not only offering a larger and more inventive assortment of “mocktails,” but also including ingredients with added benefits. Enter functional beverages, drinks that offer more than simple liquid refreshment with the inclusion of everything from antioxidants to probiotics to vitamins.
The journey from all-alcohol to low- and no-alcohol offerings has evolved as customers demanded it, whether tacitly or directly. Head of Mixology for Miami's Riviera Dining Group Manuel Zuluaga has seen the trend toward zero-proof spirits and cocktails, which he has incorporated into his menus. During Dry January, two of Riviera’s properties, MILA and AVA, offered an array of functional mocktails, all using Seedlip non-alcoholic spirits as a base and promoting “anti-inflammatory, gut-friendly, and antioxidant properties to help guests further meet their wellness resolutions.”
Zuluaga's The Serene Spice drink included Ashwagandha, an adaptogen thought to reduce stress, as well as immunity-boosting vitamin C. The Forager drink brought in adaptogenic mushrooms, which are used in Eastern medicine to promote energy and help the body “adapt” to external stressors.
“Our goal,” says Zuluaga, “is to highlight the philosophy of health-consciousness among those who choose not to drink, by introducing ingredients that promote wellness without compromising on flavor.”
Much of this new body self-awareness emerged in the wake of COVID. Lauren “LP” Paylor O’Brien, who is the co-founder of the health and wellness training site Focus on Health and owner of LP Drinks, noticed the coronavirus “placed a huge spotlight on wellness and allowed many people to take an active role in discovering the best ways to take care of themselves.”
O’Brien notes that, by its very nature, the bar industry has always been focused on taking care of guests. Still, the new mindfulness has added another layer of responsibility. The bartender now has to “accommodate the very versatile needs of guests that come into the bar. They want to be taken care of and trust us to provide them with that amazing experience, one that caters to their needs.”
At London’s Mirror Bar, the staff channel the same inventiveness in creating their functional, non-alcoholic selections as they do their regular cocktails. The No Rush! marries a locally made non-alcoholic aperitivo with coffee kombucha, which combines probiotic/antioxidant benefits with the addition of the (fermented) coffee kick. The bar’s Green Piece is a non-alcoholic riff on the Gimlet. The traditional gin is replaced with Seedlip’s Garden and Grove, while the lime morphs into aloe vera cordial. Just as kombucha serves a healthful purpose, the aloe vera in the Green Piece addresses digestion, immunity, and energy levels.
In some cases, bars are even offering functional products as-is on their menus. The Dive in Cave City, Kentucky serves SuckerPunch pickle juice hydration shooters; the dill includes electrolytes, while the ginger aids digestion with probiotics.
Along with bar patrons choosing not to drink, or being mindful of it, many bartenders themselves have started to look at their own way of life. Having worked in bars and restaurants since he was 16, Derek Brown calls bartending, with its late hours, a “vampiric lifestyle” and notes that many in the business do not have “the healthiest relationship with alcohol.” Much as bar customers have started to examine alcohol’s affect on their well being, the bar industry itself is now speaking frankly about the mental and physical tolls their jobs take on them.
By taking their own mindful journeys, many hospitality workers are not only more open to providing healthful, non-alcoholic options, but also enthusiastic in supporting their guests’ choices and pushing the creative boundaries as they try to marry function and flavor. This broader selection of offerings attracts a more diverse group of patrons, particularly because, as O’Brien points out, it “allows guests to feel included in the experience that certain bar concepts offer outside of the classic cocktails you can enjoy, satisfying your craving.”
And as non-imbibing guests become more aware of the bars offering inclusive drinking, these bars are likely to experience expanded profits, fresh visibility, and a more mindful reputation.
Where “mocktails” used to be an unimaginative—and dismissive—afterthought on menus, they now often have entire sections dedicated to them. In fact, many bars have dropped the term entirely, replacing it with more welcoming phrases like “non-alcoholic options.” By fully embracing the need for responsible drinking, these good-for-you drinks have opened up new avenues of communication between those behind the bar and those sitting at it.
Brown says, “People are asking what the drinks do. It's not enough for them to be ‘better for you’; they want them to add to their health.” He is quick to add that, while bartenders are “not doctors,” many have learned about the how and why behind these functional ingredients. He looks forward to the possibility of a time when bartenders blend herbalism and plant medicine with their cocktail-making skills.
General wellness concerns and the “sober curious” movement have spawned a vast array of mindful, non-boozy solutions. Sober October and Dry January have been embraced with vigor. Multiple alcohol-alternative, often adaptogenic, brands now appear in stores. Zero Proof Nation, a site that celebrates the no-alcohol lifestyle, posts links to hundreds of no-ABV beverages, including wine, beer, and spirits. In fact, no-ABV bars—among them STAY Zero Proof Lounge in Los Angeles, which Brown helped open, and Hekate in New York City—are unapologetically popping up around the country.
Not so recently, the term “bar” was synonymous with alcohol (often potent at that). Today, the modern bar is reinventing itself in response to society’s re-examination of wellness and sobriety. The time when people, bartenders included, might look askance at the customer who ordered a club soda, are long gone. Guests can not only enjoy a non-alcoholic beverage without feeling like an outsider, but they can also enjoy multiple, functional ingredients that add a further layer of purposefulness to what they imbibe.
As our focus on healthy living continues to evolve, we are likely to see functional beverages become a mainstay in bar culture. As that happens, mindful drinking will no longer be a clever catch phrase, it will be chic.
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