Overview:
We break down the Dry January trend, explain why people are detoxing and provide information on some of the venues in Denver participating.
As the calendar flips to a new year, people across the Denver area begin their journey with dry January: a month dedicated to soberness. Matisse Schanno, a junior at the University of Denver, shared her reasons for participating in the trend.
“I’m trying to challenge myself to do something out of the norm,” Schanno said. “I felt a little brain fogged, so I decided that I wanted to have a bit more mental clarity and wanted to accomplish something this year.”
Schanno noted that she has seen significant benefits in her everyday life, including more energy, less anxiety and the ability to function better in her academic settings. Schanno also said that alcohol consumption amongst college students is highly normalized, explaining that it is used in most social gatherings and can be hard to turn away from.
Dry January is becoming increasingly popular in the United States as a way to detox from the excesses of the holiday season. In a recent survey conducted by YouGov, approximately 29% of young adults aged 18-29 said they would be abstaining from alcohol this January, compared to just 17% among adults aged 45-64.
Dry January is also a reflection of changing attitudes towards alcohol consumption. According to data collected by CivicScience, 54% of respondents in the U.S. indicated that they were “somewhat” likely to participate in dry January in 2025. Studies have shown that these public health campaigns have had increasingly beneficial effects, with participants reporting weight loss, better rest and monetary savings.
The Marigold, a bar in Five Points, is offering events for those tackling the month-long trend. “It was kind of already in line with our brand mission,” said Spencer Foreman, owner of the Marigold. “We serve cocktails and we sell plants, but we wanted to have a space that’s more wellness-oriented.”
The Marigold’s Dry January program includes a variety of non-alcoholic beverages, alongside events such as their vision board night, aimed at promoting self-care.
“We wanted a place where people can come in, not get all messed up, make some plans for the year and maybe see if we can help anybody actualize self-improvement,” Foreman said.
Foreman says that feedback from his customers and the well-being of his employees have been the driving factors encouraging the Marigold to provide more N/A beverages.
“Especially for our staff, our employees, it’s a rough environment to be around 24/7, and if you don’t have anything else to do when your life becomes the bar, you need to find ways to insert sobriety in where you can,” Foreman said. “So, I think that’s more of where all this stuff is birthed from.”
Nocturne, a jazz bar in the RiNo area, has also embraced dry January. Nicole Mattson, the owner of Nocturne, says that the option for non-alcoholic beverages spreads beyond the month-long challenge.
“We have always had thoughtful non-alcoholic beverages on our menu, but in 2022, I challenged the bar team to create a full flight of spirit-free cocktails that would provide a delicious pairing with our three-course dinners,” Mattson said. “We’ve had the option of adding spirit-free pairings since then. The inspiration came from how many people in our community were choosing to limit or discontinue alcohol in their lives.”
Although the month may be dry, Mattson says that there isn’t a significant spike in N/A sales. But Mattson did note that since 2022, she has noticed an uptick in N/A sales with the addition of Nocturne’s new spirit-free menu.
“I’m enjoying seeing more and more quality spirit-free options on menus,” Mattson said. “I personally don’t mind paying the same price for a quality spirit-free drink as I would for a cocktail. If it’s crafted with care, intention, and balance, it deserves a place on the menu.”
Mocktails, or cocktails without alcohol, have been used as a way to enjoy nightlife, parties and other gatherings without having to actually drink. Kori McKenzie, a local engineer and Denver food influencer, has spent her January reviewing mocktails for her audience on social media and offered some insight into her favorites.
“Gruvi, who I only ever knew to do non-alcoholic champagne, but they also do wine and beer,” McKenzie said. “And theirs are actually de-spirited drinks, so it’s still produced the same way as the alcohol; they just remove the alcohol from it. And then Corpse Reviver is another local brand— they’re like kind of a replacement. So it’s a tea-based electrolyte beverage; they’re bubbly, so it’s got all those buzzwords in it that people are looking for in an N/A beverage.”
McKenzie expressed that Denver is a great place to have fun without alcoholic beverages and that the opportunities are endless when it comes to enjoying yourself without the pressure of drinking. The parts of a successful sober journey are the roles of community and friendship.
“I think building a strong community for yourself and being comfortable around the people you’re spending time with makes it so that alcohol isn’t a necessity,” McKenzie said.
