Happy Hour: Mocktails

Dry January is upon us again. Mocktails season. As the original binge-drinking generation, this comes as quite a challenge for us Gen Xers. Now a little bit older, however, we may want to take part in this fairly new tradition. This year is my first year committing to it so wish me luck. For those of you who will be joining me in this endeavor, following are some beautiful looking alcohol-free cocktails to keep us inspired.

What it is Dry January?

The term was registered as a trademark by the group Alcohol Change in 2013 when they held their first official month-long event. Basically, the idea is that you give up drinking alcohol (yes completely) for the entire month. You can also sign up to raise money for Alcohol Change or one of the other charities they support.

Benefits of Dry January

Excessive drinking and binge-drinking can cause many health issues such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It may also impair your sleeping patterns and increases the risk for diseases such as breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, and liver problems. Quitting or at least significantly cutting back permanently (as in not just for the one month a year) can improve or prevent these issues. Not to mention you will almost certainly lose weight. The average alcoholic beverage is about 150 calories which adds up over a night of drinking. Cosmetically speaking, drinking less can help if you want to look younger as alcohol dries out the skin. Financially you will find you are saving money. Most mocktails are half the price of any regular adult beverage.

Does taking time out from alcohol work?

From what I understand, whether or not this annual abstinence works depends on what you hope to get out of it. We are warned that if we are just going to white-knuckle through the month just to drink heavily for the rest of the year it’s not really worth it. If what you want is to understand your relationship with/dependency on alcohol this is a good way to do it. It’s also good way to gauge how much more energy or how much less anxiety/depression you may have without it. You can learn what life would be like with less hangovers. It is also possible that you may learn to relate to your friends or social situations in a different way without alcohol. Last but not least, it’s a great way to detox after a festive holiday season.

Here is a list of the official charities associated with Dry January

Mocktail bars seem to be sprouting up all over large cities. Very creative mixologists are concocting booze alternatives that look just as artistic and tasty as their alcoholic siblings.

Fun tip for while at home: Get a shaker and strainer. Add your ingredients over ice and shake vigorously. Pour the mixture through the strainer into a glass and you will get the foam on top look you see in the drinks below. It looks just as cool with alcohol or alcohol-free drinks.