We are entering a golden age of no-proof drinking. Never before have so many exciting and delicious non-alcoholic beverages been available on cocktail menus in bars and restaurants throughout the Garden State.
The numbers reflect this. The market for nonalcoholic products in the United States grew by 29 percent in 2022-2023, and the no-alcohol market in the United States was valued at over $1.8 billion in 2023, according to IWSR, global beverage alcohol data analysts. And many people are going alcohol free in response to growing health concerns about how drinking can affect the body.
It’s one thing to see the numbers, and it’s another to experience firsthand the specialness of the moment. One such place is the cozy, cabin-like space of Catbird, a new BYO restaurant with a wood-fired kitchen, right on scenic Deal Lake in Asbury Park. Sit on their lakeside porch and sip a bright, refreshing ISH gin, a London Botanical Spirit, mixed with Fever-Tree Indian Tonic and garnished with a lemon twist. There’s no alcohol in this tipple (or anywhere in the restaurant), and instead of registering what’s missing, you delight in the zingy herbal complexity of this gin-and-tonic alternative.
Catbird owner Aimée McElroy mixes up a Pathfinder Spritz mocktail. Photo: James J. Connolly
The ISH Gin is just one of the nine nonalcoholic drinks offered at the Mocking Bar, Catbird’s curated collection of zero-proof and botanical beverages sourced from small producers, many of whom come from mixology or culinary backgrounds. “They have such beautiful flavors with a lot of creativity and passion behind them,” says Aimée McElroy, the owner of Catbird.
With an equally playful name, Nettie’s House of Spaghetti in Tinton Falls has the Placebo Effect, a lineup of thoughtfully prepared nonalcoholic cocktails. For the Sunrise mocktail, the bar team squeezes fresh juice every day. “Because who doesn’t want fresh juice?” asks Tania Calabrese, Nettie’s owner/operator. The Placebo Effect lineup of mocktails reflects Nettie’s ethos of making everything from scratch.
At the Ebbitt Room, one of NJM’s favorite restaurants in Cape May, the bar swaps out the high-octane versions of traditional spirits, such as tequila or gin, for alcohol-free ones in their cocktails. But it isn’t a simple swap. Since there are so many non-alcoholic spirits on the market these days—a testament to the growing popularity of zero-proof drinks—you have to be careful about choosing one that will complement the other flavors in the drink, explains Billy Scott, general manager of the Virginia Hotel and Ebbitt Room.
The Ebbitt Room strives to do more than just model their nonalcoholic refreshments on familiar flavor profiles, such as a gin and tonic or Moscow Mule. “Many of our drinks include fun, tasty elements that people have never drunk before,” says Scott. Many are created seasonally with ingredients from their own Beach Plum Farm. “It’s an opportunity to tie the farm-to-table to the bar’s cocktails.”
Restaurant Latour at Crystal Springs Resort also offers mocktails on their menu. They’re currently serving a Stingless Nettle, made from a house-made stinging-nettle cordial, and a Spruced Fizz, which is made from Spruce Tip Verjus and honey.
So, how did we arrive at this golden age?
The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have been a turning point, at least anecdotally. That’s when Calabrese noticed a big shift. “It was an opportunity to not drink. It’s a lifestyle thing. If you live a healthier lifestyle, then you may want to drink less.”
It’s also being driven generationally. While over two-thirds of all adults of drinking age are moderating their alcohol intake, the group that’s really behind the moderation and sober-curious movements are Gen Z and Millennials, observes Susie Goldspink, head of No- and Low-Alcohol Insights at IWSR.
It’s worth noting that these generation groups often engage in moderation, not all-out teetotalism. Goldspink explains that, for the younger no/low-alcohol consumers, “the choice to moderate does not necessarily translate to an all-or-nothing approach. These age groups are more likely than older cohorts to switch between alcohol and no-alcohol products, either in the same occasion (blenders) or across different occasions (substituters).” This can mean starting the evening at a restaurant with a full-octane Negroni and then switching to a Phony Negroni for the second round.
Whatever the reason, the demand is there, and New Jersey bars and restaurants are responding to it.
“It’s an opportunity for us to make all guests feel welcome, no matter what they’re drinking. We want a non-drinker to feel just as important as those who want to have an Old Fashioned,” Scott says of their nonalcoholic refreshments.
“It says, ‘Hey, we thought of you, too,’ when someone orders a club soda when they’re not drinking,” shares Calabrese. A lot of non-drinkers won’t even look at the cocktail menu. “There’s now something for everyone,” says Calabrese.
Catbird’s Gin-ish & Tonic mocktail Photo: James J. Connolly
For McElroy, the Mocking Bar is a tribute to the restaurant’s location: “It’s an athletic community.” This includes surfers who aren’t going out to drink like they once did. And it’s what customers want, now and in the future. “We want to grow with our community, and we want to grow in new ways with the generations coming up behind us. If this is what they want, what a beautiful way to showcase it,” says McElroy.
