Maybe you've heard a lot about the trends #sinalcohol, #sobercurious, #mindfuldrinking, and many others, or maybe not. While drinking alcohol has always existed, so has not drinking. Even in 1920 and until 1933 in the United States there was the "Prohibition Era" that aimed to prohibit the consumption of substances such as alcohol and tobacco, they were the result of a series of legislations that were intended to promote the temperance movement. , a movement that promoted moderation and even total abstinence, and was a movement that was quite accepted by the majority of the millions of US citizens. However, during the Prohibition era he also encountered rebels who definitely did not agree and preferred to put their freedom at risk in order to drink alcohol, which gave rise to the existence of clandestine alcohol distilleries (bootlegging) and the famous speakeasy , secret places to drink alcohol. And before the prohibition era in the 18th century there was also a pro-abstinence movement. So like everything in this life, there are cycles, and now we are returning to one of them, that of alcohol abstinence.

Although today we are very far from being able to imagine what our lives would be like without access to alcohol, the truth is that many of us are seriously questioning whether alcohol really - even though it enters our ears through advertisements on magazines, full shelves, liquor stores and bars packed with millions of labels, and a culture completely aligned with alcohol consumption as an innate part of socializing – it really has positive effects on our lives. In 2013, a group of people started the Dry January challenge for personal reasons related to giving up alcohol, running a marathon, losing weight, saving money after the Christmas holidays, etc. In 2014, the UK government joined in promoting the Dry January campaign from a public health perspective, inviting English citizens to reduce their post-holiday alcohol consumption, emphasizing several personal benefits of enter this "movement" , but really devised with the idea of ​​​​reducing the rates of cases that the UK Ministry of Health had to absorb that were related to alcohol in one way or another, car accidents being the most notorious, but followed by many diseases that arose from a careless and addictive lifestyle.

This year the Dry January movement turned 10 years old and it is only a few years ago that it began to be heard from this side of the world with more people joining the annual challenge on the Alcohol Change UK page, the NGO that started the campaign, and accompanied by new movements like Sober October promoted by another American NGO. Thus, individuals, NGOs and governments have been joining this movement that aims to help people realize the positive effects of stopping drinking for a while.

Shortly after the pandemic began, there was a lot in the news about the alcohol abuse that the confinement was having as a havoc, the uncertainty, the loss of employment and the family circumstances that forced many people to avoid their problems with alcohol, and of course that must have been true. But as in everything, we never hear the positive side in the news, many people began to realize the negative effects that a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet and alcohol consumption were causing them and the largest trend companies in the world have recognized that in all countries, to a greater or lesser extent, there was an important change in behavior regarding alcohol consumption. And that can be seen today in the more than 250 adult category beverage brands (wines, spirits, beers, ready-to-drinks, apéritifs, and more) that have emerged in just the last 3 years.

And of course not everyone is going to stop drinking, nor is it necessary to do so for many, the reality is that more and more people today want to lead a much healthier lifestyle and alcohol is definitely one of the aggravating factors of a healthy lifestyle. So if you are one of the people who, for temporary or permanent reasons, has decided to give up alcohol, or if you are a person who never liked to drink alcohol but did so because there were not many alternatives, today we want you to know that now There are and we are here to support you!

In 2022 alone, more than 50 brands were born in the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico and Europe. Asia has the largest predicted growth of the non-alcoholic sector in the coming years and Mexico plays an important role because it is the country with the highest exponential consumption of alcoholic beverages in the world. Germany has bet so much on non-alcoholic products that 2023 is the trade sector with the greatest anticipated growth. And this doesn't just stop at direct alternatives to well-known liquors, wines and beers. We are beginning to see a strong and important trend in the world of functional drinks that not only do not contain any of the bad, but actually provide good things to the brain, the body and the mood.

On the other hand, the stores specializing in non-alcoholic, the teetotal bars, the menus of mixology bars that are beginning to put the non-alcoholic trend on the map are worth following. You will increasingly find more non-alcoholic options in bars and restaurants and even at music festivals. There are more and more events designed exclusively to promote a healthy lifestyle, including a non-alcoholic or moderate lifestyle. Mocktails were present in the lives of permanent or temporary teetotalers for many years but were unattractive, generally they were ultra-sweet drinks or juices with mineral water or uninteresting and really overpriced mixes. So get ready to start hearing more about drinks with alternatives to your favorite liquor, as well as many other super creative and interesting ones that we at Sober Bar want to bring to you.

Join us to live this movement together!