More Baltimore bars are offering alcohol-free drinks year-round – Baltimore Sun

Scott Lanphear didn’t expect much of a reaction when he posted on Facebook earlier this month about the non-alcoholic cocktails available at Paterson Public House.

“It was a split second decision,” Lanphear said. Patterson, the owner of the park’s bar and restaurant, enjoys coming up with clever mocktail names like “Nohito” and “Cosnopolitan,” and decided to share the list with his followers online. bottom.

Surprisingly, mocktail list short messages and gritty photos garnered more attention than many other professionally shot messages involving food and drink. Some praised the non-alcoholic offering, while others planned to visit the izakaya.

“I want it to continue every month!” wrote one person.

In fact, Lanphear offers year-round non-alcoholic options at Paterson Public House. His business is he’s one of a growing number of bars and restaurants in Baltimore and across the country. These bars and restaurants are turning their January dry him special into an everyday staple.

“There’s no reason not to,” says Lanphear. “It’s easy enough and it means a lot to people.”

According to a recent survey by market research firm Morning Consult, nearly a quarter of American adults are taking a dry 1 month, a month-long sobriety challenge launched 10 years ago by British charity Alcohol Change UK. I know you’ve heard about

The survey also found that participation in Dry January has dropped slightly this year, with 15% of respondents saying they are participating in the challenge compared to 19% in 2022. Lifestyle changes for some participants. A Morning Consult survey found that 3 out of 10 of her respondents plan to cut back on her drinking in 2023. Millennials, a generation who drink frequently, are also more likely to abstain from drinking, with 62% saying they drink alcohol, down from 69% last year.

Bars, restaurants and even some breweries, wineries and distilleries are taking notice. Cocktail bars such as Dutch Kurage, Sugar Bale, and Bluebird Cocktail Room advertise spirit-free beverages alongside alcoholic beverages. You can find a mocktail in the back (“great taste, no sake”) for $6. Hampden brewery Waverly Brewing Co. has curated a list of non-alcoholic options, from non-alcoholic beers to other fizzy drinks like seltzer water and sparkling cider.

Dry January is by no means a new movement, but “I think this year is probably the biggest year yet,” said Amy Ward, president of the Baltimore Bartenders Guild. We are promoting.”

There are many reasons for not drinking alcohol. Some are dealing with addictions, some are pregnant, and some simply don’t like the taste. Health was the main motivation for participants surveyed by Morning Consult. Medical researchers have found that quitting alcohol has significant benefits, including better sleep quality and improved metabolic health.

But while refusing to drink, which was previously considered abstinence, there’s a lot less stigma around the sober lifestyle these days, Ward said.

“We’re seeing more choice, less people being blamed or ridiculed for choosing not to drink, more normalization,” she said. It’s more of a celebration.”

Anna Welker, topside bar manager at Hotel Revival in Mount Vernon, has seen the landscape evolve in just a few short years. In 2020, she launched a “Zero Proof Zero Judgment” menu at Topside, offering five spirit-free cocktails.The bar and restaurant now offer non-alcoholic beers and two of her non-alcoholic wines (Sparkling rosé and red) are also offered.

“The pandemic, for better or worse, has forced people to reassess their relationship with alcohol,” Welker said. “This is definitely a trend that I think people are aware of staying here, both from a social perspective and from a business perspective.”

One of the big developments in mocktails is the steady improvement in the quality and availability of alternatives to alcohol. According to NielsenIQ research, U.S. non-alcoholic beverage sales will reach $395 million between August 2021 and August 2022, a year-on-year increase of 20.6%. We have grown. According to Statista, the US non-alcoholic beverage market is expected to grow 3.9% annually from 2023 to 2027, and those numbers are expected to grow further.

Welker and her staff use the Ritual brand for many of their drinks, including “Dorothy in the Daytime,” a mix of gin substitute, elderflower tonic, lime and ginger beer. Other zero-proof her cocktails infuse ingredients such as ginger turmeric her tea and pineapple shrub. This is a far more complex flavor than lemonade or Shirley Her Temple, which were the only alcoholic alternatives on the menu.

Topside bartender Christian Parent said, “Definitely it inspires us to be creative.

Lanphear dresses up mocktails with restaurant ingredients like nutmeg, lime and molasses. Fresh and creative garnishes also justify higher prices for non-alcoholic beverages, helping to make up for the slump in sales in the early months of the year.

Lanphear and other industry insiders say it’s hard to tell whether a dry January has had a big impact on sales. Business generally slows down across the board in January and his February.

“People used up virtually all of their money in the last two months before that for vacations and parties,” Ward says.

Lanphear said his New Year’s resolution to spend less money on food and drink would take a direct hit to his business. But he added, “The mocktail thing is definitely very easy to handle.”

Welker said bars can profit from leaning on trends and spreading information about their non-alcoholic offerings, adding, “A good way to stay competitive is to participate. You can just run

Craft breweries known for their stronger beers may be next to jump on the trend. Zero-proof O’Dools has been on the market for years, but more breweries are offering non-alcoholic options, such as Guinness 0, an alcohol-free stout, and Flying Dog Brewery’s Deep Fake, a non-alcoholic IPA. are beginning to be produced.

Jim Buckman, communications director for Glow & Fortify, an umbrella organization that includes the Maryland Brewers Association, Maryland Wineries Association and Maryland Distillers Guild, said: . “There is a serious perception that alcohol consumers are becoming more health conscious.”

Welker likens the prevalence of alcohol-free options to having vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free items on the menu.

“It’s a valid choice that people are asking for and that people from all walks of life are choosing,” she said.

Lanphear, on the other hand, will continue to add to the mocktail list. He expects his dry January to continue.