My Life As a Mindful Drinking Advocate

When I was younger, I would have never imagined my life today, but I'm glad things have changed for the better.

John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler in “Say Anything” (1989)

Advocating for mindful drinking can be a particularly strange job. Sometimes I joke to my friends that my job is to sell “not drinking alcohol,” which isn’t exactly true but also not exactly false. Like the fictional character in the movie “Say Anything,” Lloyd Dobler (see above), I do not “...sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't… sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed…”

Well, you get it. 

As an advocate for mindful drinking, I teach classes, consult with bars and brands, and create content around mindful drinking, social wellness, and no- and low-alcohol cocktails. What I do not do is tell people to drink less alcohol. Instead, I suggest people do what feels right to them and give them options to consider. In that way, I’m more of a “choose your own adventure” advocate for drinking adult beverages than anything else. Though certainly not a job I expected to have when I was younger, it definitely feels like a growth-field these days. 

Take, for example, the call I got a few weeks ago. It was from a cruise line about supporting a non-alcoholic cocktail program. Cruises are better known for open bars than non-alcoholic options. A decade ago, cruise-goers wouldn’t have even considered drinking more mindfully between their poolside Piña Coladas and dinnertime bottles of Bordeaux.

A young me who had no expectation of becoming a mindful drinker.

I also recently did a seminar on mindful drinking for a large law firm. Being a lawyer used to be a “Scotch on the rocks” profession. However, I was peppered with questions from the associates on how to make non-alcoholic drinks. One even shared that they’d been playing around with non-alcoholic drinks at home, becoming somewhat of a 'mindful mixologist' themselves.

Of course, I also write this Substack that shares information on mindful drinking and subscriptions have been up. I used to write on spirits and cocktails for The Atlantic. Now I get an amazing array of questions from readers ranging from “What is the best non-alcoholic wine?” to “How should I approach Dry January?,” a month-long celebration of mindful drinking.

A month-long celebration of mindful drinking?! (Happy Sober October, BTW)

Thank you to Oar Health for sponsoring Positive Damage!

When I was young, getting your hands on a six-pack of beer was to be a minor deity. You could expect the adoration of your friends and may even win the affection of a popular girl. You would definitely defy the pecking order of disparate high school groups. If there was one thing stoners, jocks, and punks could all unite behind, it was drinking beer. 

I was straight edge for a few years, but that phase faded, and I eventually returned to drinking with wild abandon. Back into the fold of my generation, who is reported to be binge drinking at the highest recorded level since NIDA started monitoring it in 2008.

My Heart (Still) Belongs to the Edge

That’s Gen X. However, Gen Z is drinking less than ever with over 50% not drinking any alcohol in the last 6 months of 2023, according to the international beverage research firm IWSR. Gen Alpha is expected to follow suit. If you’re somewhere in between (aka a Millennial), you’re likely to fall one way or the other. Though, generally, you’re also drinking less, too. I guess my generation may have taught them that it can look a little silly to have a lampshade on your head—the quintessential sign a party has reached its apex—especially when someone is waiting to snap a picture of you and post it on social media.

Either way, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to help people find their own path with alcohol. It doesn’t matter to me what generation they’re from. Maybe it’s my Gen X roots that led me here to begin with—we were rebels, of course, just like Lloyd Dobler. But I suppose it’s also inevitable that one generation’s rebellion is another generation’s status quo. Honestly, that doesn’t seem so bad anymore. Or as Morrissey, the poet of my generation, once wrote, “Is it really so strange?”

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What’s happening and what’s next….

1. My latest The Mindful Drinking podcast is on the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Changed every five years, it’s important to know what they’re saying and how those guidelines may change. It’s also important to know what works for you. Listen here. 🎧

2. Rachel King from Forbes writes about the growing prevalence of Sober October in “It’s Not Just Dry January: The Rise Of Sober October.” King writes, “The growth of the non-alcoholic movement shows no signs of slowing… ‘More and more people are leaning toward a ‘mindful drinking’ lifestyle.’" ✍🏻

3. The NO FUN cocktail competition is still accepting submissions from bartenders, bar managers, and cocktail creators. Prizes include an expense paid trip to the Athens Bar Show and $1,000. If you know anyone who makes great non-alcoholic cocktails and has a flair for entertainment, let them know. Deadline is 10/15. 🍹

4. Mindful Drinking Fest has released a Save the Date for January 10-12, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Make sure to mark your calendar to attend the largest mindful drinking festival in the U.S. with parties, seminars, wellness events, and over 100+ NA products to taste. 🎉

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Thank you to Oar Health for your important work and sponsorship of Positive Damage! Learn more about how Oar Health can help you drink less or quit here.