Dry January isn’t just a fleeting trend anymore — it’s a full-on movement. With nearly half of Gen Z Canadians opting to take a break from booze and interest in going alcohol-free skyrocketing, more people are swapping cocktails for mocktails and hangovers for hydration. It’s the perfect time to dive into the Sobar Social Club’s second annual Mocktail Competition, where Toronto’s best mixologists will show you just how fun being sober-curious can be.
The event is the brainchild of Toronto content creator Renesha Monaco, who launched the mocktail event series Sobar Social Club in spring 2023 after challenging herself to a year of sobriety. Recently laid off from her tech job of five years, Monaco used her severance to reassess her path and embrace her lifelong dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
Inspiration struck during her annual dry January challenge — this time, she wondered if she could extend the practice. With the sober curiosity movement gaining momentum and Toronto lacking options for sober nightlife, she saw an opportunity. Monaco got to work and quickly launched the city’s first mocktail pop-up event series.
“Toronto is very much about the new and cool thing; experiences that people can try for the first time,” she says. “And for me, that was the idea of having a sober bar or event where you get to take it all in and remember it the next day — where the point is to genuinely have fun, without getting wasted.”
Monaco spent the year securing collaborations with non-alcoholic beverage brands, building buzz on social media, and juggling content creation—all while planning her magnum opus: Toronto’s first-ever mocktail competition, set for the following January to mark the one-year anniversary of her personal sobriety challenge.
“When you host an event that doesn’t revolve around alcohol, you have to have other aspects to overcompensate for that,” Monaco says of her thought process leading up to the inaugural event. “If people aren’t drinking to have fun, what are they doing to have fun?” The answer is a combination of elements.
The competition took place at the El Mocambo, drawing 500 guests who enjoyed a live band, a photo booth, a live crepe station and of course, mocktails.
“At that moment, I knew this was something I had to keep doing every year, showcasing other non-alc brands along the way,” she says.
This year’s competition celebrates her two-year anniversary of sobriety (she sailed past that one-year challenge), and she says she doesn’t miss it at all.
“I’m on a whole other level now. I’m vibrating on a very high frequency,” she says. These days, she balances Sobar Social Club with a separate full-time job.
She calls the Mocktail Competition the biggest event of the year, and with no competition in the sober community, it truly is.
“January is the biggest non-alcoholic month of the year, so it’s the perfect time for people who are sober-curious to experiment with the lifestyle,” she says. “If you’re not drinking this month anyway, great. The questions are: where will you go? How will you have fun? And what’s available to you?”
“It’s important for people to have a form of entertainment in the city that doesn’t revolve around alcohol,” she adds. “I love showing people that they don’t have to drink to have fun, because it’s all about the company you’re with. It’s about enjoying the moment and feeling like you still be yourself.”
On Jan. 15th at Offworld , the Mocktail Competition kicks off. Tickets are selling fast and include four mocktails — one from each competing mixologist — and food. While the competition takes place, enjoy a photo booth, live DJ, and ginger shot station (because what’s a party without shots?).
This year’s competition features four Toronto mixologists using Noa non-alcoholic spirits to create original concoctions. Cocktail Emporium sponsors the prize, awarding the winner a $500 cocktail pack. Guests can watch the bartenders work their magic, vote for their favourite mocktail and enjoy snacks from Offworld and ginger shots from local supplier Juice Concepts.
You can purchase tickets to the competition here before they sell out.
