In partnership and gratitude, we write this blog to Kristi Tanner, owner of Sober Social.
A Sober Curious Generation
If you had said a few years ago you were opening a non-alcoholic bottle shop in the heart of Wisconsin, you’d have gotten some confused and concerned looks. You would have been asked, “Is there demand?” “Are there even enough products to fill a cooler, let alone a store rack?” A few years ago, you’d have been right to ask. Today, it’s written everywhere: Gen Z is consuming less alcohol and demanding other options. It’s fueled a market many had not considered viable a few years ago. Enter Sober Social, a first-of-its-kind bottle shop dedicated to the non-alcoholic movement where all are welcome no matter their reason or journey to being there.
“A huge thing was, when I got sober, how am I ever gonna find my people, where are they and who are they? I know there are certain places that I can find them but they’re anonymous, right?” Kristi Tanner
WMTV15 News
Sobriety and Society
Kristi Tanner celebrated five years sober this year, an inspiring milestone for me on my own journey in recovery. In a few months, I’ll be celebrating two years sober. I had kicked around the idea of going alcohol-free for a few years before taking the step. I think I always knew that even though I wasn’t necessarily abusing alcohol when I drank, my relationship with it wasn’t exactly good. Then, two years ago, I started to notice a switch in my drinking. When I was drinking, I was drinking faster and drinking more. This, mixed with the medication I was taking at the time, led to feeling terrible any time I had more than two beers. Around that same time, I found Athletic Brewing Company—a brand at the forefront of the NA Beer movement in the United States. It was the first time I realized other options could be just as good. It made that transition from drinking into recovery a much smoother road. Today, the number of options for the sober and sober curious is multiplying. When I first quit drinking, I would miss having a traditional Wisconsin Old Fashioned. Today, the mocktail world has stepped in to answer that call again. In restaurants and bars, the trend of NA Brews and Mocktails is finding its way out of big cities and onto menus in small towns.
Brands from Near and Far
Sober Social is bringing so many great options worth checking out. They have popular brands like Ghia and Seedlip and local options from Untitled Art (Waunakee, WI) and Forward Beverage Co (Wausau, WI.) When you step inside the shop, you’ll see a lot of color in the decor and the racks. The mocktail world brings its’ best to the packaging and design of its bottles and cans. We’ve enjoyed buying the single cans from the fridge to compare different brands. We bought one thing that we have to tell you about. Recently, when we went in, Kristi was sampling an NA Spirit from Amethyst. The Watermelon Lime spirit from Amethyst is a refreshing option with a slightly spicy finish. It’s made the perfect summer mocktail in our eyes. We highly recommend checking it out when you stop in.
More than a shop
Tanner strives for Sober Social to be a communal place where all are welcome and empowered regardless of their relationship with alcohol. You don’t have to be sober; you don’t have to be in recovery to have a place here. As a still somewhat recently sober person, I can’t tell you how much this place means to me, though. There aren’t many, but I still do encounter places where the only NA Option they’ve got for me is lemonade, and it’s hard not to be frustrated or feel left out at that moment. I hope you’ll go with me and check out Sober Social. Take whatever slice of this store feels like it’s for you, embrace it, and support it. It’s giving another option to us all and also opening a conversation that maybe you haven’t yet had around alcohol.
Cheers to Kristi and Sober Social
From all of us here at Madison Musts, we want to congratulate and thank Kristi for taking the leap and opening her shop. Seeing and hearing the buzz of people around Madison has been so fun. We wish you so many years of success and good conversation.
Connect with Sober Social and Kristi Tanner
