Little Rock, Arkansas – Many people are choosing to live a Sober Curious lifestyle, and it appears that one generation is driving this trend.
Most people are familiar with Dry January, which is a challenge to abstain from alcohol for the whole month. A common New Year’s resolve for many people is to enhance their general health and well-being. But a new movement is taking shape, urging individuals to cut back on their alcohol use or give it up completely.
Recently, Downtown Little Rock’s specialty coffee business Fidel and Co. held its first-ever mocktail night, creating inventive and entertaining non-alcoholic beverages.
According to Conley Smith, Director of Beverages at Fidel and Co., “mocktails are very in right now.”
According to Smith, the purpose of the mocktail night was to foster community ties by providing something enjoyable for all with a playful twist.
“There is something for everyone, which is kind of the beauty of it,” Smith remarked. “I believe that, as a culture, we’re all realizing that, while we don’t necessarily want to drink that much or get wasted very often, we do enjoy a good craft beverage.”
Ashlyn Chaffin doesn’t drink a lot. The 28-year-old observes that her other Generation Z acquaintances also favor mocktails over booze.
“I obviously use TikTok, and my feed is filled with a lot of sober, interesting videos,” Chaffin remarked. “If you want to feel better and avoid the toxins that alcohol contains, mocktails are a great substitute.”
The sober curious movement, which pushes people to be more conscious of their drinking habits, appears to have its roots in Gen Z.
According to an NC Solutions study, 39% of Gen Zers intend to live a dry lifestyle this year, while 65% of them intend to reduce their alcohol consumption in 2025. According to the same study, Americans are cutting back on alcohol in 2025 for five main reasons: weight loss, lifestyle changes, financial savings, mental health improvements, and physical health improvements.
Michae Orfanos stated, “I believe it is a first step for a lot of people.”
Orfanos, also known as Mocktail Mo, is fighting to make the realm of alcohol-free culture more popular.
She promotes alcohol-free entertainment options for both home and restaurant settings on her new YouTube channel, Zero=More.
“Educating and sort of hand-holding with people who entertain is the main goal,” Mo stated.
For health reasons, Mo stopped drinking seven years ago, yet she can still clearly recall one thing.
“I felt really excluded. I couldn’t rejoice or enjoy people’s company the way I used to, and it made me feel very unhappy,” she added.
The biggest misperception, she added, is that selecting alcohol-free means you’re not having fun. For this reason, she loves to see restaurants going above and beyond the standard offerings of water, soda, and Shirley Temples.
“That the same attention to detail that a mixologist or bartender would put into a craft cocktail with alcohol is beginning to happen in the alcohol-free space as well is something I love,” Mo added.
That’s just what Smith intends to achieve. He is eager to throw more mocktail parties and create inventive drinks that are not only aesthetically pleasing and delicious, but also won’t give you a hangover.
“Everyone is safely returning home, everyone is completely aware, and we’re still grinning,” Smith remarked.
58% of Gen Z respondents to the NC Solutions poll stated that they intended to cut back on alcohol in 2025 in order to enhance their mental health, a 45% rise from the previous year.
