Toronto’s first mocktail competition encourages people to choose healthier drinks.
Those observing dry January had the opportunity to make the most of the month at Toronto’s first mocktail competition.
Dry January is a campaign that started in the United Kingdom that aims at changing people’s alcohol related harmful behaviours.
The competition was hosted by Sobar Social Club, an alcohol-free event series founded by Renesha Monaco.
The event series aims to spread awareness on the importance of drinking healthy and making non-alcoholic drinks fun.
Monaco, CEO and founder of Sobar says, “I noticed that there was a gap in the market and a real need in the city and people are looking for events that don’t revolve around alcohol.”
The competition took place on Jan. 13 at El Mocambo, featuring six mixologists who offered their drinks to more than 400 attendees.
“People are looking to be more mindful about their drinking habits and want to start the year off on healthier notes,” said Monaco.
“A mocktail event is not usually somewhere I would go. But the event is amazing and the mocktails are fantastic. I am here with my fiancée and we decided to use it as a date night as my birthday is next week,” said Michelle Milgram, an attendee at the event who also helped make the winner’s trophy.
The Sobar Social Club was started in 2023 and its first event was a Beyonce themed launch party last summer.
“Beyonce was actually in Toronto during that time,” Monaco shared. “So, we had six different non-alcoholic cocktails that were named after Beyonce songs. And we had performers and different giveaways and fun stuff, food DJ all that stuff.”
The mocktail competition was similar in nature to the launch party but featured a live crepe station, a DJ, an interactive photo booth, and a wellness market that featured various products and giveaways.
Michael Smith, another attendee, shared that their favourite part of the event was the energy at the event.
However, the main activity of the night was for attendees to try all six mocktails prepared for the competition.
Each person was able to submit their votes for their favourite mocktails.
At the end of the night, Adam Sammut, lead mixologist at DELIXIR, had most votes out of the six mixologists and won a $500 cocktail emporium prize pack and a trophy.
Sammut’s drink was named ‘Violet it be’ – a purple coloured drink infused with butterfly pea flower syrup and garnished with a fresh edible flower.
The other mixologists who took part in the competition were Brian Liew (Mix6ix), Gail Lynch (Zero Proof Bar), Jess-Anne Grey (Top Shelf Spirit), Max Vyshnivetsky (Sauka Events), and Sam Babzani (Drinks on Sam).
Monaco shared that the six mixologists are all well-known and were selected after a lot of research on her part.
“I wanted to make sure that these are mixologists that will be able to really highlight the non-alcoholic cocktails since this is something that a lot of people might be new to, you want to make sure that it’s experience that is top notch,” she said.
The event was aimed to be an open space for anyone to attend but targeted the younger generation.
“We want to make sure that all of our experiences are very inclusive and equitable, but at the same time, we do find that Gen Z is the target audience. They are the ones who are drinking less. And it’s really the reason why I think this movement has been growing so quickly, because they’re the ones that are going out with their friends and asking for a non-alcoholic cocktail at the bar or non-alcoholic beer,” Monaco said.
Monaco shared her hopes of using her business to build a culture that does not revolve around alcohol, by hosting more of similar events in the future.
More information on Sobar Social Club and their future events can be found on their website www.sobarsocialclub.ca.
