Breaking Booze Habits: A Tale of Yacht Rock, Virgin Margaritas, and New Attitudes
Tackling Damp January, 14 spirit-free options, and is Fruit Stripe really done?
I have done Dry January once. That’s not to say I haven’t tapered back my alcohol intake at other times of the year. But as far as not drinking for the month of January, that happened one time. In 2016.
Drew and I decided to partake in this newer concept that started three years earlier in England with a campaign created by Alcohol Change UK. That first year, 4,000 people participated. The buzz and interest grew and that energy jumped across the pond, where Americans started giving up drinking for the month, too. In 2023, 175,000 Brits signed up for the challenge, while 15% of Americans (nearly four million people) said they pledged to participate in Dry January.
But back to that first week of January in 2016. Not pouring a glass of wine around 5:30 each evening was, well, strange. Having an end-of-the-day tipple became habitual. To quell that urge we instead would pour a glass of sparkling water with a lime or a sparkling pink lemonade — anything that had some texture or viscosity and wasn’t simply still water. It didn’t mimic the feeling of having a glass of wine, but it helped. Sort of.
But that was at home.
That first Friday night of January 2016, I experienced not drinking out in the wild. Our friends, the Stay Smooth DJs, put on a high-energy, super-sweaty yacht rock dance party at the East Room (now Easy Does It, a cool natural wine bar and bottle shop that also has a good selection of no- and low-proof options). Before the party, I met another friend for dinner at the now-closed Dos Urban Cantina (now atta girl). Waiting for her to arrive, I looked around at the packed restaurant, people two deep at the bar having drinks before sitting down for dinner. One server picked up a tray nearly overflowing with cocktails, glasses of wine, and beers headed for people eager to drink. At that moment, I realized just how much socializing revolves around imbibing. Did it make me jittery and want to order something? Perhaps a little, but I had made a commitment and dammit I was keeping it.
We got seated and I, somewhat sheepishly, told our server I was doing Dry January. She quickly quelled my anxiety, telling me she, too, stopped drinking for the month and offered me a virgin Margarita. When it arrived — on the rocks, with salt as I like a margarita — it looked legit. But then I took a sip and the wind quickly left my sails. A margarita without the tequila simply was not a marg. But I enjoyed it with my meal and headed off to dance where everyone around me continued to drink. And drink. And sweat and laugh and dance and drink some more.
Over the course of the next few weeks, not drinking got easier and Drew and I felt and saw the benefits. We both lost weight and slept better. Did I feel more clear headed and have more energy? Not really, but it was nice to know we made healthier choices for our bodies.
We decided to break our Dry January a couple of days shy of the end of the month. Matt Rucins’ 40th birthday dinner was January 29 at the also-now-closed Nellcote in Fulton Market (my god, everything closes!). Drew and I each had a very light pour of some cocktail at home to help ease us back in. At the restaurant, I ordered a Manhattan. Up. After a couple of sips, I started feeling a buzz. I asked the bartender to make it on the rocks to help tamper the booze by diluting it. Not drinking for nearly 30 days has an impact and doing a cannonball into the pool is not recommended.
The following year, we took up the task of not drinking again, but this time, gave ourselves a little more grace through the process. Instead of not drinking at all during January, we didn’t — and still don’t — really drink during the week and then may have a cocktail or some wine on the weekend. Back then, we jokingly started calling our process Damp January, a name now some folks feel we can do without. The idea of “damp” January essentially means we’re just drinking in more moderation. Basically a concept we can do throughout the year. So why not?
The rise of spirit-free brands
For too long, ordering something non-boozy at a restaurant or bar basically meant you got water, sparkling water, or some bartender-concocted liquid sugar. But, in the last decade since British non-alcoholic spirit brand Seedlip hit the scene and non-alcoholic beer, like Athletic Brewing, actually significantly improved (at least according to friends who drink the occasional NA beer since I rarely drink beer), spirit-free and low-ABV drinks options — not to mention the proliferation of cannabis, CBD drinks, and hop water — have gotten better and become seemingly ubiquitous.
While NA products still only comprise 0.6% of total alcohol sales, off–premise (that’s anywhere other than a bar or restaurant where booze is sold) sales jumped 31% over the last year to a total of $510 million. And this is mostly people who buffer their alcohol intake with the occasional NA drink since 94% of people buying these products still consume alcohol, according to NielsenIQ.
Those numbers coincide with a rise in better-quality options. When I initially explored NA drinks over the last few years, I was often unimpressed. Many canned NA cocktails were too sweet and cloying and the NA wine simply tasted like, well, grape juice. But as more people tapped into their sober curiosity and younger people even abstain from alcohol, more brands stepped up their NA game. You can now find booze-free options everywhere. Seriously, just click on one Proxies Instagram ad and you’ll quickly see the range out there: canned cocktails, dealcoholized wine, hemp-infused seltzers like Happi and WYNK, and more.
That has helped taking a break from drinking in 2024 that much easier and, frankly, more pleasurable. Drew and I have had everything from a spirit-free Spritz to sparkling wine to THC- and CBD-based seltzers over ice. We’ve had Italian grapefruit soda and kombucha. And yes, good ol’ water.
Unlike years past, I am not instinctively going for a glass of wine at 5:30 while I work a little more and catch the evening news. It’s nice to have something to mix things up after drinking water all day. I haven’t necessarily lost any weight and I don’t have total clarity. But I’ve had a brain shift. I am more aware of how much or little I am drinking. I can have a boozy drink when I feel like it and know that it’s OK when I don’t. It really is about having more moderation when it comes to my alcohol intake. Now if I can just figure out how to do that with tortilla chips and french fries, I’ll be making progress.
14 non-alcoholic drink options for anytime of the year
Below is a list of just a sampling of what’s available in the marketplace.
Spirit-free wine
Proxies
Proxies launched to offer a wine alternative that doesn’t necessarily taste like wine, but captures characteristics we love about wine: acid, tannin, balance, fruit, and spice. They’ve exploded into the culinary world, often teaming with chefs and somms for new offerings including Chicago’s Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark, San Francisco’s Dominique Creen, winemaker Andre Hueston Mack, and Nashville’s Sean Brock.
ISH
I recently learned about Danish-brand ISH and immediately fell for it. In addition to their dealcoholized still and sparkling wines (they ferment them in the same way as traditional wine, but then remove the alcohol) that have loads of bubbles and zero buzz, they also have spirits and canned cocktails. I’m a big fan of the Spritz and also like the G&T (although it does taste a bit like a fancy Sprite with more personality and way less sugar).
Oddbird
If you’re a fan of natural wines, this may be the line for you. Oddbird makes wine in the traditional method with minimal intervention and ages each — whether riesling, Rhone blend, sparkling rose from chardonnay and syrah, or merlot and pinot blend — for 12 months and then removes the alcohol, or as they say, “gently liberate” the wine from alcohol.
Leitz Eins Zwei Zero
From renowned German winemaker Johannes Leitz, this line reflects the same precision as their acclaimed wines, but without alcohol. It’s best known for its still and sparkling riesling, but also offers chardonnay, pinot noir, and a white blend.
NON
What started in Melbourne, Australia has landed at some of the world’s top restaurants, but you can get it, too. NON offers a range of bottles — salted raspberry and chamomile; toasted cinnamon and yuzu; caramelized pear and kombu, for example — that start with fresh produce that gets cooked down before mixing with verjus (unfermented grape juice). The result is NA wine that’s bright, tart, balanced, savory, acid-driven, tannic, and more.
Surely
Another wine that acts like traditional wine, but removes the alcohol and adding in botanicals and organic teas to add body and depth, Surely recently introduced Blanc, a blend of riesling and gewurztraminer. It joins the others in the collection, including a red blend of cabernet and petite sirah.
FRE
FRE has something for everyone: chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, rose, moscato — even white zin. So yes, you can switch out your aunt’s favorite white zin when she starts getting a bit too animated.
Spirit-free soft drinks, cocktails, and spirits
Curious Elixirs
OK, these are fun. They were created to truly replace alcohol-based drinks, but definitely do not match those flavors — which is kind of the point. Instead of remembering a name, they’re simply called by a number. So Curious No. 6 (one of my favorites), is sort of like a piña colada with pineapple, oat milk, chicory root, coconut cream, and nutmeg. The Curious No. 1 is reminiscent of a Negroni Sbagliato, and Curious No. 3 is like a G&T with lemon, cucumber, Alpine flowers, and herbs.
Marz Brewing
While known more for its IPAs, pale ales, and stouts, Chicago-based Marz also makes a line of non-alcoholic shrub sodas, tonics, coffee, and seltzers — and some drinks with CBD, others with THC. The Citrus Party and Flower Power are both light, lovely, and super refreshing, especially poured out over ice.
Heywell
Another Chicago company, Heywell offers canned adaptogenic, functional and flavored sparkling waters made from organic, non-GMO plant-based ingredients. So things like ashwagandha, ginseng, lemon balm, and alma berry form the base before getting added to grapefruit, blackberry, orange mango, and other refreshing flavors.
Wilderton Spritz
Love an Aperol Spritz? Yes, you could pop an ISH Spritz, but you could also make something yourself. The blend of grapefruit, orange blossom, and numerous herbs like gentian root, rosemary, cassia cinnamon, and cascarilla creates the lightly sweet, bitter base for a variety of cocktails.
St. Agrestis Phony Negroni
I’m not a Negroni fan (Campari is just too bitter for my liking), but if you are, this is your drink. I have heard a few friends rave about its balance of bitterness with just enough sweet and herbal notes.
Trejo Spirits Tequila Alternative
You didn’t think there’d be a NA drink list without at least one celebrity brand, did you? Yes Katy Perry and Blake Lively each have one. But so does awesome character actor Danny Trejo, who has been sober for 50 years and also owns LA restaurant Trejo’s Tacos. He wanted something other than a seltzer so he made a spirit he could toast and sip with a Paloma or Margarita with friends.
SG List: Things I’m high fiving this week
The Mocktail Club
This is a great book to up your own spirit-free home bartending game. SoCal mixologist Derick Santiago released this book late last year and it offers 75 recipes with fresh ingredients. When you want to skip the booze, but want a fun drink like a blackberry gin basil smash, spicy pineapple margarita, or whiskey sidecar, you can make it yourself.
The Zero Proof and Boisson online spirit-free shops
Depending where you live, it may not be easy to pop down to the local store and grab a bottle of booze-free wine or spirit. These two online shops stock many of the better brands around and ship directly. So whether wine or canned cocktails — even bitters — there’s a lot here.
"Booze-free Bottles" article in Chicago mag
Last year, I wrote this story about non-alcoholic wine and spoke with three beverage experts around town at Esme, Parachute, and Foxtrot offering their bottle picks.
Is the new Double Door finally, actually coming?
When iconic rock club Double Door closed in 2017 after being evicted, news broke the following year it would reopen in Uptown in the former Wilson Theater building at 1050 W. Wilson. Then it sat, and sat, collecting dust. But now Uptown Update reported the city finally issued Double Door its building permit to proceed with a $7.5 million renovation.
Fruit Stripe gum is no more?!
OK, this is decidedly not a high five, but rather a kick-the-dirt and pout story. I grew up chewing Fruit Stripe. I loved the oversized pack with multi-colored, various flavored zebra striped gum that lost its flavor way too quickly. It’s nostalgic. I haven’t chewed a single piece in years, and I’d love just one more pack. Now that would be a high five. Sadly I may have to settle for this candle. If you see a pack, grab it for me, will ya?
I'd also add Unified Ferments to your N/A drinking rotation! I tried them at an industry tasting and was blown away by their complexity. I actually just published a interview with one of their co-founders recently!
https://www.readonhand.com/p/young-stowe-unified-ferments-non-alcoholic
Ah right on -- thank you. I’ll check them out. And your interview.