Dry January So Far...

Non-Alcoholic Drinks That Slap, Mindful Drinking Fest, The Surgeon General Going Gangsta, and Proof of Life

Damn. 2025 came in hot and she’s low-key spinning out, not gonna lie. My heart goes out to everyone on the west coast dealing with fires and unimaginable loss. We have drones and orbs in the skies, tragedy from NOLA to LA, and a presidential inauguration on the horizon. Let’s all take a collective deep breath and settle into this third week of the year real slow and easy.

Amidst the chaos there has been light, as there always is, shining ever so brightly on what has become a mainstream phenomena, “Dry January.” From the wellness corners of social media to major network morning shows, the dry movement and non-alcoholic beverage boom is on full display in 2025. I meet with my private community every Tuesday to check in and talk about the current vibes and we’ve been discussing the excitement around the sober/sober-curious movement this year and how that growth can positively affect our society at large. As the message of modern sobriety and wellness-informed consumption expands its reach, folks who find themselves on the fringe of these conversations will have an opportunity to participate or at the very least become more educated and aware when it comes to alcohol trends and the abundance of quality non-alcoholic drinks and alternatives. I feel an energy from the current collective of steady focus, intentional action, and piqued curiosity. We are asking a lot of questions right now. We are questioning the “why,” and the “who,” of it all, carefully considering “what” we are inviting into the new year with us.

In a real world example of just how massive this movement has become and how much the interest in the NA and functional drinks sector has grown, Mindful Drinking Fest welcomed over 1,500 people to DC’s Union Market District last weekend for three days of NA tastings, social wellness events and education, and raging parties-all minus booze. I attended MDF for the first time this year to speak on a panel discussing the rise of functional beverages, specifically their role within the modern sobriety movement. My take was pretty simple: the modern sobriety movement is, at its foundation, a modern wellness movement. People are not only quitting drinking, they are actively seeking health-positive products, holistic and natural remedies, and feel-good herbs, roots, and adaptogens to destress and enhance their moods and social experiences. This is not your old-fashioned sober club. These people reject the idea that not drinking alcohol equals not drinking sophisticated, adult beverages. A fascinating piece of this intersection of modern sobriety and modern wellness is a resurgence of herbalism and apothecary style elixirs. These consumers not only want to stop harming their bodies with toxic substances like alcohol, they want to heal them.

I’m personally a huge fan of functional drinks in sobriety and while I don’t incorporate any psychoactive substances or ingredients into my own arsenal, I do appreciate anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety properties of CBD and “brain food” like ashwagandha and lion’s mane mushroom. My current favorite, for NA cocktail building, is Tweedle, a non-alcoholic hemp spirit from female founders, Catherine Hall and Jessica Trombley. Tweedle features 25mg of CBD per serving and the flavor notes they’ve achieved are outstanding. Hints of orange, vanilla, cardamom, and ginger pair well with a simple tonic and orange twist. I was honored to sit on the functional beverage panel at MDF alongside Joshua James of Ocean Beach Cafe and Stephanie Bricken of Seraphim Social Beverage. Stephanie is making unique social beverages using high quality, natural ingredients like sour cherries, mood-boosting cacao, and Reishi mushroom. Joshua, an importer of an incredible non-alc Austrian wine brand, Zeronimo, is a big fan of the functional mushroom-infused aperitif, Ceybon, which Josh says would be killer in a non-alc cocktail mixed with Tweedle.

Folks are drinking less. We’ve known that for a while now, but there’s a new bombshell entering the villa this year, well, “making an appearance on the way out” is probably more accurate-Dr. Vivek Murthy. The U.S. surgeon general’s January 3rd advisory on alcohol consumption and cancer risk sent shockwaves through an already rattled alcohol industry, emboldened Dry January enthusiasts, and added pressure to the governing bodies responsible for revising dietary guidelines later this year. Dr. Murthy minced no words in an interview with PBS after his advisory was released to the public, calling for “changes to the warning labels on alcohol,” and “a reassessment of the guideline limits around alcohol.” Why is this so important? Because it comes at the beginning of a year set to change the landscape of the alcohol industry, an industry used to “white glove treatment” by our government and, quite frankly, unprepared for the consequences of an unfavorable health ruling from HHS. The alcohol industry has spent the last five years railing against the reality that booze culture is dying and people are choosing sober and sober-curious lifestyles for reasons ranging from health and wellness to feminism. Instead of innovating, pivoting, and collaborating, they’ve spent precious time and energy spouting Neo-Prohibitionist propaganda. Simply acknowledging that folks want more mindful options when it comes to socializing would have better served their business. I’m afraid we are entering “F around and find out” territory for Big Alcohol. Dr. Murthy’s statement in the first week of January says so much more than the actual graphics and numbers on the pages, it says we aren’t playing by the old rules anymore. I’ll be following this story all year long and I have a feeling it’s going to get wild.

Someone’s always gotta go first when change is needed. We need the proof. Proof that another way is feasible, desirable, possible. Dry January has gone from a fringe health fad to a mainstream movement embodying holistic wellness and collective mindfulness.

Derek Brown

and his team of rebels have shown the world that people have a burning desire to connect on a deeper level and celebrate life, art, creativity and wellness in rooms without booze. Beautiful functional beverage brands have erupted onto the market and solidified the demand for healing elixirs in place of boozy libations at every occasion. Dr. Murthy has stood up to the tired ways of the past, politicians and policymakers coddling alcohol execs and their empires in return for lined pockets and campaign donations. In truth, we are all proof to each other, walking proof of something. We can be proof of possibility or limitation, a blueprint for evolution or a relic stuck in a world that doesn’t work anymore. I want to be proof of life. I want to be walking evidence of joy beyond the performative recklessness of the escape dance, proof of zero-proof pleasure, proof of courage beyond the liquid. I salute all of you out there “going first.” We need you to keep showing up, keep leaving your beautiful little breadcrumbs for us to follow, and keep proving wrong the naysayers and joy-snatchers. 2025 is going to become quite uncomfortable quite quickly for anyone holding too tightly to the status quo. I’m feeling a collective “let go,” coming on. Let’s fly.