Sober Curious: Why Mocktails Are Taking Over Happy Hour?

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We’re in an age where health and fitness are trending from a lifestyle perspective. Many related trends deviate from traditional methods — think about healthy takeaway meals, natural body fitness techniques instead of gym work and personalized nutrition through custom monthly supplement kits. These trends may provide some clues as to why mocktails are becoming popular, especially among younger Americans.

What is a Mocktail?

 For those unfamiliar with the name, a mocktail is a beverage that resembles an alcoholic drink without including the gin, rum, tequila, vodka and whiskey so popular in the most popular cocktails. Mocktails are entirely non-alcoholic drinks that provide drinkers with much of the bite and taste of their alcoholic counterparts to tickle their senses in similar ways. Hence, the “mock” moniker attached to them.

If you’re drinking a mocktail, you’ll still enjoy the transcendental and exotic feeling that accompanies drinking a cocktail. In addition, you’ll enjoy healthy ingredients that encourage hydration and energy instead of becoming dehydrated and suffering impaired judgment on your night out. And, guess what else? No hangovers in the morning!

Why Are Mocktails Becoming More Popular?

You can likely think of many reasons mocktails are popular, especially among the Gen Z generation members. For many younger consumers, having a good time and drinking alcohol don’t have the same connection that many young revelers over decades have adhered to. Simply put, you no longer have to get drunk to have fun. So what has caused the popularity of mocktails in recent years?   

1. An Increased Focus on Health and Well-Being

Staying mentally and physically healthy is essential, and the growing openness about the former has encouraged people to feel more willing to seek and follow advice in these areas. You no longer feel “ashamed” to have or admit to a mental health condition. As a consequence of this recent openness, you’re also more aware that being physically fit and active reduces your chances of developing mental illness. 

Of course, that’s over and above the physical benefits — reduced chances of diabetes, heart disease and weakened immunity, among others. Add to that how keeping physically healthy also reduces the chances of mental health conditions like burnout, depression and anxiety disorders. 

In years past, many people used dieting to lose weight and then gradually picked it up again before dieting again. Although this activity still happens, nowadays, the principle involves losing weight and maintaining a nutritious, balanced dietary regimen combined with daily exercise to keep your ideal body. 

How do mocktails fit into these principles? People now recognize the negative impact that alcohol can have on their lives. It can add to stress levels, increase lethargy, damage vital body organs and increase the chances of a mental health condition through addiction or worse. 

When you enjoy a healthy and tasty mocktail at a social gathering instead of an alcoholic drink, you substantially reduce these risks. You’ll also wake up clear-headed, enjoy a productive working day, and complete regular exercise and training without a heavy head discouraging you.

2. Alignment With Cultural Shifts in Socializing

For years, the United States’ diversity has excluded many people from social gatherings. Practices and beliefs that different cultures and religions hold dear either encourage or enforce moderate use or total alcohol abstinence, often resulting in non-inclusive practices by patrons.

While you could always drink soft drinks and other non-alcoholic drinks in clubs and bars, many drinkers may have excluded you from their festivities if you constantly did so. With the shift to mocktail consumption by so many, your inclusion in social circles is more likely within traditionally alcohol-oriented establishments. 

The U.S. non-alcoholic drinks market is booming with a 33% increase in alcohol-free adult beverage sales in 2024. Online, the rise was even higher, climbing by 313% compared to the previous year. 

Gen Zers and Millennials are mostly encouraging the trend. Their culturally diverse natures mean mixologists and bartenders are busier now than ever, serving mocktails. From an establishment’s perspective, mocktails promote inclusivity and a more accepting and welcoming environment.

3. A Diverse Range of Choices

Mocktails allow you to choose drinks that truly suit your palate. Their popularity is growing because of the levels of experimentation afforded to mixologists in bars, clubs and restaurants. They’ll grow with you, too, should you make them at home. Ingredients, flavors and garnishes are practically limitless and offer a handcrafted sophistication level not afforded to the traditional non-alcoholic drinks that came before them. 

Happy hours were traditionally specific times when you’d try and load enough alcohol into your system at cut-rate prices. Doing so often meant you were in no condition to enjoy the evening afterward or wake up feeling great the next morning. 

With mocktails, happy hours are more about experimenting — trying enough different flavorful drinks economically without worrying about their effect on your social night thereafter or the working day following.

Some of the more well-known mocktails follow, but remember — you can boldly experiment with endless combinations of different fruits, mixes, cordials and garnishes for all party occasions. Think about it, from corporate events or informal get-togethers to a girls’ night out at the bar or one at home to accompany your epic charcuterie board idea, a mocktail will ensure a safe and fun social occasion. And you won’t need a designated driver afterward, either. 

Some Popular Mocktails

More original mocktail recipes are available daily, but see if you remember these from past and present samplings while on the town. 

Shirley Temple

While mocktails are more popular than ever, remember that some have been around for a long time. You’ve probably heard of the Shirley Temple — it’s almost 100 years old! Legend has it that the child star of the same name wanted something to enjoy with her of-age peers at Hollywood restaurants. The result was a ginger ale or lime soda mixed with grenadine and garnished with a maraschino cherry. It remains popular as a mocktail today.

Arnold Palmer

In the 1960s, legendary golfer Arnold Palmer mixed lemonade and iced tea, creating his namesake drink. By simply mixing lemonade and iced tea, the Arnold Palmer made a resurgence in 2001, when the sports personality and the AriZona Beverage Company shook hands and began bottling the mocktail. It now produces 400 million cans annually in eight flavors.

Virgin Margarita

The virgin margarita uses orange juice instead of liqueur, lemon and lime juice, a syrup cordial, and sparkling water to create a fruity, refreshing mocktail. Of course, you’ll leave out the tequila from the original margarita recipe.

Virgin Piña Colada

The original piña colada cocktail usually includes 80% proof white rum and coconut cream. When you go the mocktail route, you leave out both in favor of milk, blended coconut chunks, pineapple juice and a few tablespoons of brown sugar. This mocktail provides a refreshing tropical flavor without the kick.

Happy Hour is Over and You’re More Sober Than Curious

Mocktails let you own the night without compromising your health, fitness, cultural restraints or whether you’ll find a drink that suits your taste during the evening. The options for bar, restaurant and home consumption are vast and varied. What’s more, you’ll never have to worry about being late for work, missing your morning run or how you’ll fetch your car from outside the club the next day.