BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A drink on the rocks is second nature for Ebonee Gabhart, who has been a bartender at Hilligan’s in Bowling Green for the last four years. The Bowling Green native is used to serving drinks, usually with alcohol.

But as “Dry January” is well underway, she’s also pouring non-alcoholic drinks.

What You Need To Know

  • Dry January encourages people to cut out alcohol for the first month of the year 

  • Carrie Speck suggests drinking mocktails when out with friends

  • Before you quit drinking, it's important to know if you're at risk for severe withdrawal symptoms

  • Landmark Recovery has two facilities and a suboxone clinic in Louisville

“Any cocktail really you can turn into a mocktail,” Gabhart says. 

Though Gabhart says this bar specifically doesn’t serve many mocktails, since it serves a lot of college students, she has seen people who don’t drink buy non-alcoholic beverages when out with friends. 

“For like big groups, that’s mixed. Not just our college kids who want to hang out with their friends and not drink.” Gabhart said. 

Dry January can be a useful tool to reset before the year starts. Carrie Speck, a manager at Landmark Recovery, says because alcohol is a toxin, there are not a lot of bad things that happen when you cut it out.  

“You’re going to get better sleep. You’re going to have greater energy, and I would expect that almost everybody at the end of the 30-day challenge be happy that they did it,” Speck said. 

And while the name of the challenge limits itself to one month, some may ditch alcohol for a longer period. Speck says finding out why you drink can help sustain the practice of not drinking. 

“Finding the root cause, for that drinking, especially troublesome drinking, is going to be the key to changing your behavior,” Speck said.  

But before you partake in the challenge, Speck says to be cautious when stopping cold turkey.

“Anytime you’re thinking about stopping alcohol is to make sure you’re not at risk for any serious withdrawal symptoms,” Speck explained.

For those that are “sober-curious”, Speck suggests drinking mocktails when out with friends. And for how mocktails taste compared to an alcoholic drink.

“Well, it tastes better, but if a mocktail is done right and a cocktail is made correctly, there should be no difference in taste,” Speck said.  

Landmark Recovery has two facilities and a Suboxone clinic in Louisville. To find out if you’re at risk of any severe withdrawal symptoms, click here.

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