Not Drinking Socially Is The New Social Drinking

The world is changing, and that's not entirely bad.

Like many millennials, I was brought up in a culture that largely glorified a pro-drinking lifestyle. I was shown Animal House at an unusually young age, and dreamed of smashing a handle of whiskey just like John Belushi. While I didn’t start actually drinking alcohol until college, once I got a taste of it, I took to it pretty quickly.

I was an awkward high school kid, and drinking in college allowed me to loosen up and make friends. It served a purpose, even as I got older and tried to navigate more adult scenarios, but at a certain point, I didn’t feel like I needed it anymore. I don’t fault anyone who drinks. If you enjoy it, and you’re happy, go you, just be safe.

Last summer, after turning 40, I finally pulled the trigger and decided to stop drinking alcohol. It was a big decision, influenced by many other things going on in my life, but ultimately I made it. I didn’t do anything special; I just one day said I was done, and that was it.

Nearly a year later, I feel incredible, and cannot imagine going back to drinking alcohol. It’s opened up a whole new world of people and things for me! So, here are some observations and musings.

THC Drinks Rule

When I first stopped drinking, I was POUNDING THC drinks on a regular basis. I was still looking for some kind of buzz to satiate the alcohol craving, and with THC drinks legal and plentiful on the shelves, I was trying everything out. It was nothing for me to spend a Saturday with a few hundred milligrams flowing through my system.

After a few months, I began to realize I was just swapping one vice for another, and really didn’t need to be pushing the THC stuff so hard. I still drink them, but now I am a lot more likely to grab a 5 MG can than a 100 MG one. As I have spoken to more of my friends who have stopped drinking alcohol, many have said they went through a similar cycle with THC drinks. Don’t judge yourself if you do the same.

The good news is that at the moment, most bars in Chicago have some kind of 5- to 10-MG THC drink available. Go Marz! So, if you are out and want to share a drink with everyone, you don’t need to get something with alcohol in it; grab one with weed instead!

The social stigma of not drinking is such a barrier for so many to kick alcohol to the curb, and I think it is great that Chicago bars, and others across the United States, have started offering THC alternatives. Once I got past what I was drinking at the bar, I looked around and realized that a lot more people than I expected didn’t have alcohol in their hands. Something I’m becoming a lot more aware of these days.

The bad news is that THC drinks are currently under attack. As part of the bipartisan deal to end the government shutdown in November 2025, businesses were given one year to remove THC drinks from their shelves, with a ban on them on the horizon unless something is done. HOW THE FUCK DID DEMOCRATS AGREE TO THIS?!

With so much money already flowing through the industry, I find it hard to believe that SOMEONE in the Trump Administration won’t be getting a kickback to keep them on the shelves, but who knows? It breaks my heart to think that people looking to take the path I did to stop drinking alcohol may have it blocked off to them.

Non-Alcoholic Cocktails Have Come A Long Way

When I stopped drinking, I didn’t want to drink things that tasted like alcohol. What’s the point? If I’m not getting blasted, then why drink something with the bitter taste of alcohol?

I was such a fool. A damned fool.

One delight that I thought would never be replicated for me was beer. I love beer. I’ve brewed beer at home. I’ve drunk beer at bars around the world and gotten kinda snotty with some about what hops may or may not be in the IPA I was drinking. Beer brings people together. I love beer.

So, after being skeptical of the N/A beer space, I finally caved and got a Heineken 0.0 at a bar. I’d seen Max Verstappen repeatedly advertise them to me during F1 races, and figured, “Why not?”

Man, I tell you what, that stuff tastes almost exactly like a real Heineken. It blew my mind, and from then on out, whenever I could, I was exploring N/A beer the same way I was regular beer months before. Having tried a lot of them, I’ll say that Athletic is probably the king of making N/A beer that tastes like real beer, and there’s usually a twelve-pack of their Golden in my fridge.

Once I was fully sold on the N/A beer space, I began to really let my guard down and gave N/A spirits a second chance.

Chicago’s a food town, and when I am at a fancy restaurant with my wife, I want a cocktail. I like feeling like an adult, and when I think of an adult night out, I still think of cocktails. What’s cool about the Chicago food scene is that so many of our great restaurants have taken to the N/A trend, and they have helped me see the light.

I’ll use Valhalla, one of Chicago’s latest Michelin-starred restaurants, as an example. We were fortunate to get seats for their tasting menu, which came with an N/A cocktail pairing option.

Over the course of two hours, I was treated to drinks that were sweet, sour, bitter, savory, and more, which all perfectly complemented the food and made me totally forget the concept of alcohol. It was all about the flavor, not the buzz.

Ice Cream And Cookies Are The Way

Alcohol contains sugar, and when you stop drinking it, you crave sugar like a crazy person. That’s okay. I’ve leaned into it.

At night, when I feel like I need a little late-night sugar, I go to the bodega near my place and get ice cream. It rules.

Rather than staying up to have that one last drink or getting restless sleep because of it, I just have a half pint of some random Ben & Jerry’s or Jeni’s and kick off happily.

Not drinking has led me back to ice cream. ICE CREAM. I’m like Joe Biden up in here, sans the support for Israel.

You can also eat cookies, candy, Nutella, or whatever else your heart desires. You aren’t drinking alcohol! Treat yourself to some sugar!

And while you are at it, use your newfound, non-alcoholic energy to go out and find a local ice cream shop. You’re not a sloppy embarrassment to yourself; enjoy ice cream around others!

Cookie places are also plentiful these days. I don’t understand it, but there are so many cookie shops in my neighborhood now. Cookie shops on top of cookie shops, across the street from cookie shops.

But I say, wonderful. I always see people in the cookie shops, laughing and enjoying each other’s company, with no alcohol in hand. Just cookies. That can be your life.