MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Y'all, we made it. It is week two of January. And for those of you abstaining from alcohol, you may be looking for fun alternatives. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports on a high-profile bartender who helped popularize the idea of mindful drinking.
ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: A decade ago, Derek Brown was serving up cocktails as the owner of one of the most celebrated bars in the country.
DEREK BROWN: I used to own the Columbia Room in Washington, D.C., which, in 2017, was named the best American cocktail bar - Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. So really proud of that.
AUBREY: He'd grown up in the restaurant industry and loves creating community and connections around food and drink. But in his late 30s, he came to the realization that his lifestyle with alcohol at the center of it wasn't sustainable.
BROWN: My health wasn't good. My finances weren't good. My relationships were strained. And while alcohol wasn't the sole cause of that, it certainly wasn't helping. And when I stopped to really think about the role of alcohol in my life, I realized it was a problem.
AUBREY: He had alcohol use disorder. And as he began a process of recovery and changed his relationship with alcohol, he realized there were lots of people like him. Professionally, he saw an opportunity to steer people towards alternatives, and he's helped put a new spin on what it means to abstain or cut back.
BROWN: Dry January shouldn't be this, you know, retreat into your bedroom and sip soda water while you scroll your phone.
AUBREY: Instead of isolating yourself, Derek Brown sees opportunities to engage. He now stages a festival each January to bring people together around the concept of mindful drinking and social wellness.
BROWN: What we would like to see is people going to restaurants, going out, having parties, spending time together, just not making alcohol at the center it.
AUBREY: At the festival, which will be held next weekend in Washington, D.C., people can try dozens of drinks, options that Brown says are sophisticated and tasty without alcohol. There are workshops and speakers and dance parties. The festival is expected to be 10 times the size it was the first year. This fits the trend of sober-curious events and gatherings around the country, showing that giving up alcohol doesn't mean giving up a social life.
BROWN: The fact is that people, they don't want to just retreat. They actually want to embrace something. And actually, in a way, it really sucks to give things up. But it's really fun to embrace things, and that's what we're really about.
AUBREY: All this comes amid a growing consensus of the health benefits of cutting back. Just last week, the surgeon general warned about cancer risks linked to alcohol. Dr. Mike Sevilla, a family physician in Ohio, says it can be tough to talk to patients about cutting back if the conversation is only about what you have to give up. Over the years, he's seen people swap drinking for all kinds of new activities.
MIKE SEVILLA: They've started, like, a book reading club, or they've started knitting, or they're painting or a sporting event like bowling.
AUBREY: Creating social opportunities can really make a difference.
SEVILLA: And I've found that my patients have had better luck trying to cut back on their alcohol use or even eliminate it completely.
AUBREY: And beginning with a sober month can serve as a reset. Here's Dr. Jamie Koprivnikar of Hackensack University Medical Center.
JAMIE KOPRIVNIKAR: So I think one of the most important aspects of Dry January is that it kind of can shift our perspectives. You know, you may actually find yourself feeling much better, sleeping better, having a clearer head.
AUBREY: All benefits that may help you reassess your relationship with alcohol.
Allison Aubrey, NPR News.
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