Posted
By Ron Bechtol
on Wed, Jan 20, 2021 at 1:00 PM
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Ron Bechtol
As the Dry January phenomenon picks up steam, we’ve thankfully moved well beyond the virtuous Virgin Mary and the simpering Shirley Temple — neither of which most of us want to be overheard ordering during any month of the year.
To be sure, whether driven by folks swearing off alcohol for a month or embracing sobriety as a lifestyle, booze-free “spirits” are proliferating in the marketplace, and alcohol-absent cocktails are cropping up on the fanciest of bar menus.
But with the pandemic having driven a lot of drinking underground — by which I mean to your home bar — some of us feel a need for self-imposed abstinence to seem more like an exploration, not a punishment. As refreshing as a Topo and lime may be, it’s not something one necessarily looks forward to after a hard day of Zoom meetings.