Dry January in The Duke City

By Robin Babb
Photos by Stephanie Cameron

At the beginning of last year, I participated in the time-honored tradition of Dry January—a month of no booze. Now that I’m in my thirties, I increasingly feel the ways in which any amount of drinking hits me, and not just in the form of a temporary, morning-after hangover. After a month of sobriety, I had better sleep, more energy, and increased focus in my day-to-day—not to mention the clearest skin of my life. I felt so good that I kept it going for a few more months, and was feeling even better.

There are countless good reasons to abstain: from the minor physical health concerns to the increasingly apparent connection between alcohol consumption and cancer; alcohol’s depressive effects in even small amounts; and, of course, the bite it can take out of your monthly budget. Whatever their various reasons, more and more young people are drinking less, or abstaining from drinking altogether. Since 2001, the percentage of young adults (ages 18–34) who drink has dropped from 72 percent to 62 percent nationwide, according to a 2023 poll by Gallup. I have a theory, too, that the millennials and Zoomers of the “let’s normalize going to therapy” era just find less use for alcohol—we are, dare I say, a tad more accustomed than past generations to having genuine conversations without the social lubrication that alcohol is often used for.

A whole sweeping movement of young (and not so young) sober folks are looking for better nonalcoholic options at bars and in their own fridges. When I did Dry January last year, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much the NA beer game has improved in the last few years. Not only does every big multinational brewery have their own NA beer, but some NA-specific brewers (Athletic Brewing is the best known) have sprung up as well. Many liquor stores, including Albuquerque’s Jubilation Wine & Spirits and Quarters Discount Liquors, now have an entire section dedicated to NA beers. It seems that there’s something new every time I stop in. I would love to see some local breweries give it a shot as well, but from what little I know of the process involved in making NA beer, I understand that it is still cost-prohibitive for smaller enterprises.

NA beer and wine are both, typically, made the same way their alcoholic versions are, and then have the alcohol removed by a process such as vacuum distillation—which is why they, ideally, have the same flavor profiles as leaded beer and wine. That said, NA spirits generally have some catching up to do in terms of quality, and many on the market currently are not so much one-for-one replacements for specific liquors but their own products entirely, with mixed herbal and vegetal compounds. Still, the fact that there are more and more brands making them, seemingly every day, clearly indicates that there’s a demand here.

But both the dedicated sober and those just taking a break from drinking often struggle to find “third spaces” that have more than cursory NA options on their menus, much less places that are specifically dedicated to being nonalcoholic. Sure, there are coffee shops—but those are mostly for the morning hours, and these days they’re almost always full of remote workers on their laptops rather than friends trying to catch up. So what about a social space for those who want to unwind after work without the aid of alcohol?

In Albuquerque, Lost Cultures Tea Bar is one such space.

Ryan Brown, owner and manager of Lost Cultures, says that he went sober in 2022—but, after working in bars for fifteen years, he had developed quite a skill for making drinks. Lost Cultures was born largely of a desire for balance: pairing his own health and sobriety with what he did well.

“We tend to go a little truer to the bar aspect of it, versus a kombucha place that just serves kombucha or a kava place that just serves kava,” Brown says. The menu does include a significant tea list, and tea finds its way into some of their NA cocktails as well—all of which are made with the care and curation that you’d expect from a classy cocktail joint. The Lavender Clouds, made with Earl Grey tea, lavender bitters, and a chilled coconut cream foam on top, is my current favorite of their hot drinks; the Ancient Fashioned is their tea-based spin on an old fashioned, with orange bitters and woodsmoke. None of these drinks taste like a compromise, or even like a simple knockoff of their alcoholic counterparts. They’re each unique and complex. And, guaranteed, they won’t give you a headache or dry mouth the next morning.

Though Lost Cultures is open earlier in the day than most bars and is sometimes host to the laptop-wielding crowd, it also has, as Brown indicates, more of an evening-hours clientele that’s looking for a social space with a relaxed vibe. It’s a good place to go on a date or to meet up with a friend, and have something delicious and exquisitely made while you do it. Not exactly like a bar, perhaps, but like a vision of how bars could be.

I’m doing Dry January again this year. It’s a nice change to start off the year—intentionality, better health, and a bit of a reprieve on my finances, already stretched from holiday traveling and gifts. Plus, I admit I enjoy the novelty and challenge of mixing mocktails at home, or trying new things from the NA section at the liquor store. I don’t know if I’ll ever go 100 percent sober 100 percent of the time, honestly, but I know that I’ve certainly never regretted taking a break.

1761 Bellamah NW, Ste C, Albuquerque, 505-582-2117