Festive Pop-Up Brings Alcohol-Free Holiday Cheer to Northern Colorado

Today’s hottest drink trend is mixing up holiday nights out in Fort Collins with The Holly Jolly Hideway popup.

For four weeks this holiday season, Taylar Stultz of Herbal Mocktails will blend up juicy, herbal drinks for booze-free happy hours with friends and fundraising for FoCo Cafe.

How big is the alcohol-free drinks trend?

The low- and no-alcohol trend started brewing back before COVID-19 in health-conscious corners of Manhattan and California.

Alcohol-free “bars” and events were popping up, too, in pockets across the country, including in Illinois and Nebraska.

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And while it seems like we all might have wanted to drink our COVID sorrows away, instead, the alcohol-free trend blossomed, reaching new heights earlier this year, if Google is any indicator.

Sales are expected to see 15% compound annual growth 2023-2027, according to beverage industry analyst firm IWSR.

It’s growing here in Northern Colorado, too. Mocktails appear more and more on drink menus at local establishments and chain restaurants alike. And fundraising is taking place to open a whole sober bar in Loveland, Colorado.

What’s causing the spike in mocktails?

A blend of promotion, age and innovation.

Sober promotions grow the no-alcohol movement

Dry January started in 2012 in the UK and then jumped the pond to grow in the United States. It started as a sobriety movement but crossed to a health effort as alcohol also became target of clean eating efforts like the Whole 30.

Meanwhile, Sober October started as an Australian fundraiser in 2010 that then got adopted by a U.K. cancer support group.

Sober October really took off, some say, when Joe Rogan invited his listeners to join him in the challenge in 2016.

Millennials are drinking less

Gallup recently reported that 62% of those younger than 35 say they drink. That’s down from 72% two decades ago.

Not only are fewer drinking, they do so less frequently and not as much as previous generations.

Some eschew alcohol, joining sober or sober-curious movements. Many, though, across generations, imide both boozy and booze-free bevs.

Ingredient and packaged product innovation

Today’s mocktails aren’t fizzy beverages with sugary flavors added in. Instead, they are herb-forward blends that replicate the “burn” of alcohol with health benefits rather than bad morning afters.

Brands like Seedlip and Ritual Zero Proof packaged up the growing trend in Instagram-worthy packaging and pushed products beyond in-the-know beverage connoisseurs.

The innovations grew alongside a craft cocktail trend that challenged mixologists to push flavor profiles with and without boozy additions.

Northern Colorado’s Herbal Mocktails and the Holiday-Themed Pop-up Mocktail Bar

Stultz decided to stop drinking in 2018. She longed for elaborate drinks that weren’t all sugar, so she solved her need and decided to share starting in 2022.

You can find her and her creations at farmers' markets and catered events. This is the first pop-up.

What: Holly Jolly Hideway pop-up

Time: 6-10 p.m.

Dates: Fridays and Saturdays from Nov. 28 through Dec. 21

Where: FoCo Café, 225 Maple St., Fort Collins

Reservations: Required with 45-minute seating limit. 25 spots are available each hour. To-gos available for those without reservations.

Cost: $5 per person, with complimentary first cocktail

Shots, hot drinks and cold concoctions ranging from $3 to $6. A flight is $15.

Benefits: A portion of proceeds benefit the FoCo Café.

RELATED: Is Colorado's Favorite Seltzer Going Booze-Free?