Like the best New Yorkers, Julia Bainbridge is comfortable living with contradictions and batting down fixed ideas with visionary determination. The highly social writer and editor launched a podcast called The Lonely Hour to explore the joys of solitude — well before alone time became the ultimate luxury. And this month she is publishing a cocktail book that contains not an ounce of booze. Granted, when the James Beard Award–nominated author pitched Good Drinks: Alcohol-Free Recipes for When You’re Not Drinking for Whatever Reason, Sober October wasn’t yet a thing, and let’s just say the biggest-selling non-alc book out there was called Preggatinis.
Thanks to her stylish and thoughtful look at the fast-growing world of creative, alcohol-free beverages, non-drinkers will, says Bainbridge, no longer “feel like second-class citizens who are given — even at a Michelin-starred restaurant with a white tablecloth — a Collins glass with a stripey straw in it.” It’s such honesty and insight that make Bainbridge, like the drinks in her book, so refreshing.
What was the journey to this book?
I certainly have a complicated relationship with alcohol, and navigating that is ongoing. There have been a few times that I removed alcohol from my life completely, and I was going out to bars and restaurants, looking for things to drink that weren't water or soda. I was in these spaces and very much wanting to hold a stem glass and feel like an adult! And as somebody who follows food and drink trends, I was really noticing that there was more effort being put into this category—and that, oh my gosh, some of these drinks are quite complicated, and they’re being given names. Some of them are taking up real estate on the menu in ways they weren't before. It was like, wow, what a good time to be a non-drinker!
What was going on in the spirits world that led you to this proposal?
Not only that I was seeing these drinks being offered in bars and restaurants, but also noticing the language around this whole thing changing — noticing some people creating non-alcoholic bars or other kind of social spaces, noticing some of the shift away from alcohol, especially with younger people.
What social factors have led to the shift?
I think we’re overall more attuned to wellness. Also, I think our standards are higher than ever. Like, juice won't cut it any more! That’s part of the whole foodie movement. I also think we're waking up to some of the dangers of alcohol. I very much don't want to demonize alcohol — I'm not anti-booze — but I do think the argument could be made that the popularity of Dry January shows just how difficult it is to consume alcohol, which is a highly addictive substance, in a healthy way or with ease. Now we have Sober October in addition, and eventually my hope is that there won't need to be a dedicated month. Like many in my circle are already doing, people will evaluate their relationships to alcohol in an ongoing fashion.
