Just like so many New Year's resolutions, Dry January is often thought of as a challenge: Can you make it through a month without your favorite cocktail or a glass of wine with dinner? It makes sense to want to take a break from the spirited sips that are a hallmark of so many celebrations.
So, what is “Dry January?” It’s a public health initiative launched in 2013 by Alcohol Change UK. The challenge? Remove alcohol from your diet for 31 days. The idea is for people concerned they drink too much or too often to slow things down. It’s also for anyone looking to start the year on a refreshed, healthier note.
2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the campaign.
This initiative has gained popularity worldwide and now companies are manufacturing nonalcoholic spirits. For too long, the options in the nonalcoholic section of restaurant menus or liquor stores were cloying “mocktails” and syrupy fruit sodas, or maybe a dusty bottle of barely-hoppy 0 percent ABV beer. Not the case these days. As sobriety, “dry” months, or even just saying “I’m not drinking tonight” become more socially acceptable than ever before, the beverages had to catch up.
There’s a distinct vibe that the new crop of nonalcoholic beverages occupy: They’re just cool. They don’t taste like the glorified Shirley Temples of the past. Cocktails have become part of the present and the future.
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