Attendees are drinking less than ever before, and with Gen Z overtaking Baby Boomers in the workforce in late 2023, meeting and event planners need to think about how this demographic shift will impact their meetings.
Open bars remain a major component for most networking events, but many planners are realizing it’s time to consider creative zero-proof options that aren’t just soda and water as the younger generations opt not to drink.
And the trend is not just limited to Gen Z, as a recent Surgeon General advisory ratcheted up concerns about the health dangers of alcohol.
Here are some tips for planners on what the benefits of zero-proof options are and how they can seamlessly incorporate them into their next meeting or event.
The Benefit of Mocktails
While Alyssa May Hart’s day job is global sales manager at OTHR Management Company and Fifth Street DMC, she is also a vocal advocate for sober-inclusivity. Hart has been sober for the past seven years and she says that one of the benefits of incorporating zero-proof options is that more people may be sober than you realize, and they all can have different reasons for that.
“People are sober for so many different reasons,” Hart explained. “It could be religious, some people may be in recovery and other people may just be sober-curious for health reasons.”
Alcohol can also pose safety concerns for attendees at events, with not only the potential to cause alcohol poisoning if people drink too much, but also when returning home after an event.
Kasi Tenborg is the director of food and beverage at Hotel Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and says that providing mocktail options at events can actually make people feel more safe and comfortable.
“I think people feel more comfortable enjoying the evening with a mocktail,” Tenborg said. “We’ve even seen people come up to the bar with a cocktail and they’ll switch to a mocktail. So, you’re still able to be out and be social and then are also able to get home safely, and it’s not just safety for yourself but also safety for the rest of the community where you might be driving.”
Hart also thinks meeting planners might need to change their mindset and make non-alcoholic drink options more of a priority at their events.
“Meeting planners are all human beings with their own capacities,” Hart explained. “It’s one more thing for them to worry about, and so I’m conscious of that. And so, I think a lot of it is the positioning in your brain of thinking about this in the same way that you would think about F&B inclusion or sustainability efforts.”
How to Incorporate Zero-Proof Drinks in Events
For those who might be sober or are uncomfortable drinking, mocktails provide the ability to still engage on a social level at networking events. But Hart thinks that sometimes those zero-proof options feel like an afterthought.
“You’ll see large industry events that you go to where they have great inclusive food options, and then the non-alcoholic options are water and pop,” Hart said. “I think that even people who don’t drink still want to drink something that tastes good. And I think it’s also about having something in your hand, like those habitual things when you’re at a gathering or networking.”
In order to help bridge the gap between drinkers and non-drinkers at events, it’s important to make ordering mocktails a smooth and painless process. While some bar staff may be reluctant to prioritize zero-proof drinks over regular cocktails, Tenborg has found great success with integrating mocktails into Hotel Kirkwood’s beverage options.
“A mocktail or a cocktail coming out of our bar or restaurant is equivalent to the same thing,” Tenborg noted. “People should not feel shamed for not wanting to have a drink. Often there’s this social component to having a cocktail that you feel like you miss out on, whereas now you just walk up to the bar and you’re like, ‘I’ll have a Black Cherry Mule’ and the bartender knows that’s a mocktail and there doesn’t have to be a conversation. People may not even know that you’re having a mocktail.”
Tenborg also stressed the importance of mocktails tasting the same as regular cocktails, saying that mocktails being on the same menu and being equivalent to cocktails is important in creating a judgement-free zone around not drinking at events.
“The judgement-free zone comes from the mocktail being on the menu,” Tenborg said. “The drink has a name, it looks like a cocktail, it tastes like a cocktail. It makes you feel like you’re a part of whatever’s happening. And a lot of times you just want something to taste good, and water and Diet Coke can only taste good for so long.”
Mocktail Mixology
Robert Bjorn Taylor is a beverage specialist and consultant in Austin, Texas, and the brand ambassador for The Zero Proof, one of the leading non-alcoholic beverage distributors. He’s worked to help ensure that mocktails are often just as tasty, if not tastier, than regular cocktails.
Taylor noted multiple ways that bartenders and mixologists can make mocktails taste better, including adding herbs like rosemary, thyme, cloves or cinnamon to add more flavor. Taylor also said that adding ingredients like honey or even maple syrup can help bring a nice texture to the beverage, which is something that gets lost when not using alcohol.
Taylor also said there are multiple non-alcoholic replacements people can use to replicate the taste and flavors of alcoholic beverages, just minus the alcohol.
“I like using non-alcoholic replacements; I think there’s a few that are pretty good,” he said. “I think Ritual is a good one--they do like a replacement for whiskey, tequila, gin. If you want to make a wine cocktail, things like that exist now, too, like really good non-alcoholic wines. The replacements are there for almost everything.”
You can even try making your own mocktail at home! Taylor recommends starting with a “sour” cocktail, which is just a base liquor (or non-alcoholic substitute), citrus juice and a sweetener. He says that a non-alcoholic spirit may not even be necessary, as simple syrups mixed with citrus can also qualify as a sour cocktail. Experimenting with different mocktail recipes can not only be a fun at-home activity, but can also give planners a sense of just how easy incorporating these zero-proof options can be.
Become a Master Mixologist!
Try some of these mocktail recipes courtesy Russell Clayton, assistant beverage manager at Hotel Kirkwood, and Kasi Tenborg, director of food and beverage for The Hotel at Kirkwood Center:
Clarified Mint Cherry Refresher
Ingredients
- 3 ounces of mint
- 3 ounces of green tea infusion
- 1½ ounces of Tillen Cherry Shrub
- ½ ounce of rich simple syrup
- 1½ ounces of whole milk
Directions
- Add the first three ingredients to the whole milk.
- Strain through a coffee filter, discarding the whey protein solids in the filter.
- Stir filtered contents with ice and strain into a coupe glass.
- Top with ginger ale.
Blueberry Pie Sour
Ingredients
- 3 ounces of blueberry
- 3 ounces of vanilla
- 3 ounces of black tea infusion
- 1 ounce of fresh lemon juice
- ¾ ounces of cinnamon
- ¾ ounces of vanilla-infused simple syrup
- 5 muddled blueberries
Directions
- Add all ingredients into a shaker glass.
- Pour into a rocks glass with fresh ice.
- Garnish with fresh blueberries.
