Have you ever wondered how one person's journey can ignite a movement? Join me as I share my conversation with a truly inspiring guest all the way from Canada, Courtney Johnson of Discovering Mocktails. After hitting rock bottom in 2022, Courtney began her sober journey on January 1, 2023, and founded Discovering Mocktails to prove that life without alcohol can be vibrant and fun. She's now a passionate advocate for alcohol-free inclusivity, hosting special events like mocktail competitions and industry nights in Hamilton, near Toronto.
In this episode, Courtney shares her powerful story, from growing up with alcoholism in her family to her journey through sobriety. She shares her struggles, triumphs, and the pivotal moment when she decided to embrace a sober lifestyle after a frightening DUI experience. We also discuss the stigma around sobriety, the challenges of social situations, and the joy of discovering delicious and creative mocktails. Courtney's journey is a testament to the possibilities of a fulfilling sober life, filled with creativity and adventure. Remember to follow her on Instagram for more inspiration!
Have you ever wondered how one person's journey can ignite a movement? Join me as I share my conversation with a truly inspiring guest all the way from Canada, Courtney Johnson of Discovering Mocktails. After hitting rock bottom in 2022, Courtney began her sober journey on January 1, 2023, and founded Discovering Mocktails to prove that life without alcohol can be vibrant and fun. She's now a passionate advocate for alcohol-free inclusivity, hosting special events like mocktail competitions and industry nights in Hamilton, near Toronto.
In this episode, Courtney shares her powerful story, from growing up with alcoholism in her family to her journey through sobriety. She shares her struggles, triumphs, and the pivotal moment when she decided to embrace a sober lifestyle after a frightening DUI experience. We also discuss the stigma around sobriety, the challenges of social situations, and the joy of discovering delicious and creative mocktails. Courtney's journey is a testament to the possibilities of a fulfilling sober life, filled with creativity and adventure. Remember to follow her on Instagram for more inspiration!
Buckle up, friends, and welcome to the Thriving Alcohol-Free Podcast. I'm your host, deb, otherwise known as Mocktail Mom, a retired wine drinker that finally got sick and tired of spinning on life's broken record called Detox to Retox. Let this podcast be an encouragement to you. If alcohol is maybe a form of self-care for you, where you find yourself dragging through the day waiting to pour another glass, I am excited to share with you the fun of discovering new things to drink when you aren't drinking and the joy of waking up each day without a hangover. It is an honor to serve as your sober, fun guide. So sit back and relax or keep doing whatever it is you're doing. This show is produced for you with love from the great state of Kentucky. Thanks so much for being here and big time cheers. Hey friends, welcome back to Thriving Alcohol Free. I am Deb. I'm your host. I'm so happy you're here today. I am so excited to meet our guest today, courtney of Discovering Mocktails. Her Instagram handle is discovering underscore. Mocktails is her Instagram handle, so make sure you're following her, but I am really, really excited to chat with her. Let me give you her bio before we get started so you guys know who I'm talking to.
Deb:
Courtney is an advocate for alcohol-free, inclusivity and ending the stigma around sobriety. I love that. After her rock bottom moment in 2022, she researched sobriety and only found things that told her life was about to become really boring Boy. That was how I felt. Six months later, she found mocktails and decided to create Discovering Mocktails, with the intention of being sober on January 1st 2023. Sure enough, january 1 came and she had her first mocktail. Since then, her passion for the lifestyle took over and she started hosting sober, curious events, such as mocktail competitions and industry nights. I love it. I love what you're doing and you're up in Canada.
Courtney:
Yes, let's tell everybody.
Deb:
You're a Canuck, I'm a Canuck.
Courtney:
Yes, I'm close to Toronto, close to Toronto area.
Deb:
Okay, okay, so you're like a suburb of Toronto. Is that where you are?
Courtney:
Yeah, hamilton is the city that I'm close to, yeah.
Deb:
My niece lives in Toronto. Oh okay, yeah, I'm there. I'm there pretty often, are you?
Courtney:
Okay, and there's a supermarket there, right, isn't that a big bottle shop there? Yes, it's the biggest one in Canada, and they actually just opened a second location. I'm not sure if it's a permanent one, but it's right on the waterfront. It opened up this past weekend. So, yeah, it's really starting to boom in Toronto, which is so exciting to see.
Deb:
Oh, I'm so glad. I'm so glad. Okay, I can't wait to hear your story. I want to. I just want to know about, like, how you became alcohol free and whatever you're willing to share. I mean, I just the listeners are everywhere, from sober curious to you know, sober serious, to in recovery, yeah, so I grew up with alcoholism in my family.
Courtney:
So you know, I was always thinking about it and in my 20s I actually went alcohol free for about five or six years, not because I felt dependent on alcohol, but when I had that first drink there was no off switch and then I would wake up, you know, super hungover or not remembering what I did the night before. So I did quit and I didn't say sober or anything like that, because I didn't really feel at the time that I identified as sober. But it was funny because there were so many people around me that were just like, just have a drink, it's just a wedding, you know, just just have a drink, like it's fine, it's fine, we're all one together. And so after I had my son, I mommy, wine culture really did get me and you know everybody would get together. We were in a new suburb and everyone was having wine around the fire and I was like I can just have like a couple drinks, it's no big deal. And then I found that I was becoming not dependent on alcohol but dependent on the feeling of escaping my feelings, so escaping the things that were going on around me.
Courtney:
And then, you know, just before COVID, I, you know, separated from my ex of 20 years and I got into kind of a relationship that wasn't you know great. It didn't end well and my drinking just kind of started progressing from there and I started drinking, you know, a lot by myself, a lot through the day. I would, you know, get somewhere and then drink a bunch of vodka, soda, seltzers in the car before I would leave, like get out of the parking garage just so I would feel like calm. And then I ended up having a DUI. I crashed my car into a tree and I was actually unaware that I was driving at that time. I had been very good at calling Ubers and things like that. I didn't even know that. I hit the tree until the next morning. And still after that it took me about six months to become sober. Because when you look online it's saying you know, don't go to a club, go to a library, don't do this do this?
Deb:
Go to a library.
Courtney:
Yeah, and I mean that's great, like I also want to do the fun things, right, yeah. So it was really really hard. And then, because of that, I started hiding it from people even more, because people started to realize that maybe I did have a problem. People started to realize that maybe I did have a problem and I didn't want to show people that I was still drinking. So it just got even worse after that. So once I found mocktails, I thought I can do this. As long as I have something in my hand where people aren't questioning me what I'm drinking, then it will be fine.
Courtney:
So New Year's Eve into 2023, I went out, I had my last drinks and then January 1, I went out and had a mocktail and my intention was just to post mocktails at different restaurants I went to. I wasn't planning on doing any you know, influencer things or anything like that. And then I just saw there was a lot of people that were kind of in similar situations that I was prior to becoming sober, where they wanted to either moderate or cut back or become sober. But you know, there's so much pressure, there's so much stigma around the word sober.
Courtney:
As soon as you stay sober, everybody thinks that you had this huge alcohol problem before and I just I want to make it okay for somebody to go to a bar and ask for a drink and not be questioned. Are you sure you don't want vodka in that, are you sure? Are you sure? Because I still get that from bartenders and you know I'm comfortable in my sobriety. So somebody who's not so comfortable in their sobriety, you know it would be difficult for them to turn that down for sure. So that's kind of where I'm at now.
Deb:
I love it. How was it that first time you went out and ordering a mocktail, what did you order and what was that like for you? What did you feel like ordering a mocktail in January?
Courtney:
I went out for brunch and I ordered a mojito a virgin mojito and it was exciting for me, you know, because it was like it's a new chapter and it was an exciting day. It was my very first post, january 1st 2023.
Deb:
Wow.
Courtney:
Wow yeah, and it's almost become like a scavenger hunt to me now. When I go out to a place, I'm like I'm excited to see what kind of options Because it's very much hit or miss, right, yeah, when you go out, you never really know what you're going to get.
Deb:
This is true, I love that kind of like gamifying, you know, finding mocktails right, like it's a scavenger hunt, like, yeah, what am I going to find? Yeah, has it changed in the last year and a half of what you're finding? Like are more restaurants up in Toronto having mocktails, or there are more.
Courtney:
There are some. I went out for my 500 days sober last month.
Deb:
Oh congratulations.
Courtney:
Thank you Huge. I asked Huge.
Deb:
It Congratulations. Thank you Huge. I asked huge.
Courtney:
It was very exciting for me, yeah, emotional, I mean, like that's a huge it was, and it was on my mom's birthday too, so that made it even more special, yeah. But yeah, I went out to a to a bar and I asked you know, what do you have on the menu? That's 0%. And they were kind of like, oh, we thought you know Corona zero. So I said, okay, I'll have that. And then I'm sitting at the bar and I'm looking in the frame below and I could see a brand of alcohol-free drinks that I recognized, oh really. And so I finished my, my non-alcoholic beer, and I and I said to the bartender I said, are those for sale down there? And he goes, oh yeah, but there's no alcohol in them. And I was like, okay, so it's not on the menu. And when I asked, that's hilarious.
Courtney:
You don't offer it.
Deb:
You don't want this.
Courtney:
Yeah, so I asked. So you know I had an espresso martini and alcohol-free espresso martini. He asked if I wanted in a glass. I said yes, please, and he dumped it into a water glass wah, wah no so that's what I'm trying to change everything wrong.
Deb:
Yes, you are. We're trying to change that exactly.
Courtney:
Yes yeah, yes, and I and I've met a few really amazing bartenders who are very passionate about alcohol free, and I've even had some of them have spoken at events that I called just to other bartenders. You know, like it's not your business, what's in their cup, is it? There could be a variety of reasons that they're not drinking that particular night. Yeah, so that that's my, that's my. My mission now is kind of end the stigma around sobriety and also get it into more, uh, bars and restaurants.
Deb:
I love that, I love that, I love that and I love that. Like it's not your business, you know why. What's my cup? It's not your business, it doesn't matter.
Courtney:
It's not your business, it shouldn't matter, right? And actually when I first became sober, I would go out with one of my friends who does drink alcohol and we would order the same drink, but mine would be alcohol free and hers would have alcohol. So they would look exactly the same and nobody could tell who was the sober one and who wasn't. So that was always really fun for us, yeah.
Deb:
Don't you love that, because it's like it's. I mean, I'm having more fun now, not drinking, you know I'm having a better time. Yes, yes, experience the whole evening, right Like we're not, and you remember the next day we're not missing anything, we're not. You know we're not sending out texts that we didn't mean to send, whatever, but I mean we can still go and have fun. So okay, tell me about the events that you do. What do you host?
Courtney:
Yeah. So I started out doing events where I would have alcohol, but the exact same amount of alcohol free. Often asked for a drink on the menu, the bartender would ask which one you wanted.
Deb:
That's so cool.
Courtney:
Yeah, and then last year I held Hamilton's first mocktail competition so I had a few restaurants participate. They did amazing jobs. They were like dancing when they were shaking them and so that was really, really fun. Wow, I did some. You know I do some mocktail classes. And then this year just in March I held my first industry night so I had a representative from each kind of type of drink. So alcohol free beer, wine, spirits, bitters, okay, everybody talks for five minutes. They just had five minutes to get everybody kind of the quick, quick overview, and I was shocked at how many people were there that do drink alcohol, who learn things new, like what do you look for on a bottle of non-alcoholic wine to know that you're actually getting a premium product? That's not just grape juice, because it's really easy to find the grape juice option.
Deb:
Oh, yeah, yeah, they're everywhere. Okay. So what do you tell people? What's the tip?
Courtney:
Look for de-alkalized on the label and then you know you're getting something good.
Deb:
Getting a wine. Yeah, you're actually getting wine. Okay, yes, yes, yes, because, exactly like you said, there's plenty of grape juice that we can find in pretty wine bottles, right, they're just, they're marketed. You know just perfectly. Yes, that's awesome. So it was at a, you had it, you hosted it like in person. It was in person event industry.
Courtney:
Yeah, I had a location. Every, every brand that was there had their own table and then I had just like a wireless mic and I walked around and talked to everybody and everybody was sampling things and I actually even had a couple of bartenders doing a collab mocktail. So there was a Yerba Mate brand there as the energy drink and then they collaborated with one of the alcohol-free spirits and they made a like it was a peach margarita Yerba mate mocktail. I love it Because I also want to show, I was trying to show restaurants. You know you could use products in different ways to the more premium options and there was quite a few restaurants there and a few of them brought on non alcoholic brands into the restaurants from that event. So I was really proud of myself. Yeah, such it was such a myself. Yeah, it was such a win. Yeah, it was such a win.
Deb:
That is so cool. Okay, what is your background Is this? Is this what you're doing full time Right now?
Courtney:
Yeah, I'm actually working with it. Hasn't really been announced totally what it is yet, but there's a bar going to open up in Hamilton and it's it's going to be alcohol free. So I'm working with them on creating a menu right now. So it's actually it's going to be alcohol-free. So I'm working with them on creating a menu right now. So it's going to be really really, really cool what they've got planned.
Deb:
Really Okay. I'm going to have to come to Canada. I am going to have to get up there. It's not that far. I could probably drive from Kentucky. I don't think it's that far, probably 10 hours Toronto, maybe, I don't know, oh wow.
Courtney:
Right.
Deb:
Yeah, okay. So I saw this beautiful post that you made earlier this month about your solo trip to Columbus. Yes, you want to share about that, I love. I do want to just say, like something that you put in the in the caption, that life is good and it's just getting started. It makes me cry to say that, right, like we've had, we've gone through hard times, or like you've been through you know divorce or you know separating, we've had, we've gone through hard times, or like you've been through you know divorce, or you know separating, and it's like you know you feel so lost. You know, I felt so lost in my drinking. I felt so alone, like my daughters would go to their dads for the weekend, and you know so now, to like, now to be on this side of it for you, you know, to be on this side of sobriety and to be traveling solo. Can you share about that and what that's meant for you?
Courtney:
Oh, yes, so, like I said, you know, my drinking was more to kind of forget things, like forget feelings, so I was staying very much stuck in the same cycle. So it was like an over and over and over again cycle. And now that I'm not drinking anymore, I'm I've been putting myself out there and I actually am more confident and I've realized that life is really short and if there's things that you want to do, you can't just wait around for everyone to want to do something with you. So I really wanted to go to this festival. I had an opportunity to be, you know, like on the stage and I thought it's a five and a half hour drive, I'm not going to be drinking, so I can drive home right after, so I can save the money on the hotel.
Courtney:
And I did. I drove all the way to Columbus by myself, had, you know, celsius with, like the sponsor of it, so they had Celsius mocktails there and you know, just water all day. So it was really, really fun. And I have only started listening to dance music since I became sober and I have found for myself that it's a great way to release ancient energy because it's chaotic but it's controlled chaotic.
Deb:
Yes, you put your headphones on. Dance in the kitchen.
Courtney:
Yes, yes, yes, yes, it does get that energy out.
Deb:
It feels so good, doesn't it? It feels so good.
Courtney:
Yeah, there's actually a girl in Toronto who started. She calls it the reunion dance party. It's for women, it's totally alcohol free, it's like a sober dance party. It's during the day, like early evening kind of thing, and it's just the woman letting loose without alcohol and it just. It's just. I love seeing that kind of thing pop up.
Deb:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, wow, wow, there's, it seems like there's. I have some, some other Instagram friends, instagram friends from Canada. So, like Sarah Kate from Some Good Clean Fun is up, I think she's in Toronto right, she spoke at my industry night actually.
Courtney:
Oh she did.
Deb:
Oh, I'm so glad.
Courtney:
Okay, okay, sorry that I missed it.
Deb:
I probably saw that you guys were together that night. I apologize. And then Marathon, was it Luke Luke? Yeah, yes, he was also at my event. Seriously, was luke luke? Yeah, yes, also, he was also at my, seriously, okay, so who else was there? Yes, this was like a who's who at your event.
Courtney:
That's incredible. Yeah, luke and sarah kate were speaking, and then, uh, there's another one. Uh, staz stack the sauce is another one of my favorite. Uh, from toronto as well. She's like one of my best friends. Now. I've met the best people since becoming sober. Everybody's so genuine, everybody. There's no judgment, right, because why would they judge you? Yep, totally, totally, and they want to live life Like they just want to live. They want to live and be happy and like authentically free. You know, as you say, and yeah, yeah, it's great.
Deb:
Yes, do you feel that, like I, I really experienced such a sense of authentic freedom when I broke up with alcohol. Yeah, incredible, it's incredible.
Courtney:
Yeah, yeah, it's been really great. I mean, there was a little bit of a struggle at the end of last year because I felt, as somebody who was, you know, drinking, to not deal with my feelings. Like, eventually you have to deal with those feelings right, and when you don't have alcohol it's really really, really hard, and I was actually off of work for a while because it was just a lot to take in. So, you know, definitely having some support when you're going through that is key, because it does get tough, but then it gets even better.
Deb:
Yeah, no, it's definitely not all sunshine and rainbows. Yeah, I just think about like, yeah, you have to feel you're feeling things that you've numbed for years, whether it's grief or it's yeah. Yeah, there's so many, so many things. Okay, as you guys know, I love Giesen 0% Wines. Their Sauvignon Blanc is my go-to on a regular basis, but they recently launched a delicious sparkling brute 0%, which is quickly becoming a fan favorite. I am so proud to have Giesen as the exclusive non-alcoholic wine sponsor of the Thriving Alcohol-Free Podcast.
Deb:
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Deb:
My personal favorite although I do love them all is the Sauvignon Blanc, coming in at only 100 calories for the entire bottle. And, not to be missed, the other members of their 0% family the Riesling, the Premium Red Blend, the Rosé, the Pinot Gris. With Giesen zero percent wines, there's a de-alcoholized wine for everyone and every occasion. Give Gießen a try and let me know how much you love it. And if you want to meet their winemaker, go back to episode 33 of the podcast, where Duncan Shuler joined me to share about the Giesen story. Okay, so uh, when you go into a restaurant and if they don't have anything on the menu and you don't see in the refrigerator behind the bar that there's something there, yeah, what kind of mocktail will you ask them to make for you?
Courtney:
I usually will ask them for something I'll usually say spicy or sour, because if I get something that's fruity or sweet I'll tend to drink it really fast. So I like to go. Usually I'll ask for like a virgin spicy margarita or something like that, and that's, that's my go-to.
Deb:
Okay, all the time. And do you use that? You say virgin, like I feel, like people in the state, I feel like they don't say that as much anymore Like I did in the beginning. I feel like it's not as common now. Do you see people still using that word? Nothing against the word virgin, I'm just curious, like how people are asking for a mocktail.
Courtney:
It changes depending on where I am, because sometimes, when it's really loud, if you say, make sure they heard you that word they know. Yeah, that means alcohol free.
Deb:
There's no like, yeah, no, there's no wondering, yeah, what kind of drink you want.
Courtney:
Yeah, you're exactly right, that's true. That's true, yeah, because there have been a couple they've served me alcohol and I'm oh, no, thank you. Yeah, mocktail can sound like cocktail if it's loud in a restaurant or somewhere. Yeah, that's very true. Okay, good to know.
Deb:
Yeah, Okay, so like a spicy margarita, alcohol-free. Okay, and do you have like a favorite non-alcoholic wine, favorite non-alcoholic beer or a couple of that you'd love to share?
Courtney:
yes, wine, I'm really into the odd bird block to block yeah love that one. And then recently I picked up, actually at the sober market, athletic brewing has this one. It's called chilada nada, I think. Yeah, yes, it's like the. It's like a bloody mary beer mix tomato. Yes, yep, it's, it's so good. I think that's going to be my drink this summer, honestly, because it's very refreshing and it's easy with the cans to bring it around and stuff. So that's been my go-to lately.
Deb:
Okay, my go-to lately, speaking of beer mocktails, is I got the recipe from Ritual, which I'm sure it's just a basic recipe. I think it's called a spaghet. I don't even know. It's a beer mocktail. But you mix, I pour non-alcoholic beer over ice and then I added maybe an ounce and a half of aperitif and then a squeeze of lemon like half a lemon, courtney, it is so good, it is so good and like you can totally measure with your heart. You don't have to do it Just put a little, aperitif, put a little beer, put a little lemon juice, you are good to go.
Deb:
And if you don't just add a little more lemon, whatever it is so good. I've probably had 15 of them since I discovered that little drink from.
Courtney:
Ritual. That's amazing. I'm going to have to try that.
Deb:
Yeah, you'll love it, you will love it yeah, yeah. Okay, athletic.
Courtney:
Do you like the sours?
Deb:
I do.
Courtney:
There's a brewery in Toronto called Bellwoods and they have one called Jelly King and they've actually posted that they've done some blind taste tests and people could not tell the difference which one had alcohol and which one didn't. It's crazy, I know it's amazing.
Deb:
We have gotten to a place now where we're like blind test people. Yeah, I mean Joyous won against alcoholic wines.
Courtney:
It's incredible, it's crazy. I love it. I'd love to see it.
Deb:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's so, so, so, so exciting. What's going on? So do you make drinks at home? Are you drinking like mocktails at home, or it's more like when you go out you like to feature things that are out and about?
Courtney:
I do drink mocktails at home. I have a little bar set up with a bunch of stuff, and so whenever I have friends over, they'll always ask me to make drinks for them. So, yeah, we shake up drinks. I go to my friend's place, I have a little bag that I bring with me and we make cocktails at their place, like alcohol-free cocktails.
Courtney:
I love that, yes, and I keep a bottle of like three spirits in the fridge. So if my friends are over and they're all doing shots, that's kind of what I'll do, my shot of.
Deb:
Okay. So what are you doing? You're doing the tequila.
Courtney:
Three spirits is like a functional alcohol, functional drink, and free spirits Okay, free spirits, sorry, yes. Yes, there's two of those free spirits and three spirits. There's two different ones, two different ones, okay, okay, but yeah. So I'll do kind of just shots of that. But yes, I do do mocktails at home, although I do like to have like oops, like the canned stuff as well.
Deb:
I love the cans. I feel like the ready to drinks, the RTDs. I didn't even know what that meant. They saved the day for me, because it's like you're tired or you just don't feel like thinking about anything, you know, and it's just like, okay, I have this little beverage refrigerators I call them Jack and Diane and I can grab, you know, something out of there. It's just nice to be able to pop something open, have something in my hand, have something to drink, and not feel like I'm not tempted to go back to my old ways.
Deb:
you know, yes, so um, all right.
Courtney:
So if one of your friends is just getting started in mocktails, yeah, I usually go over like a few of my favorites and I. I've actually taken a couple of people over to the sober market because a lot of the bottle stops will let you sample things yeah yeah, and everybody's taste buds are kind of different. But, um, I usually tell them to grab a non-alcoholic tequila I'd like to have, because that one is just really easy to put into, kind of anything.
Deb:
Yeah.
Courtney:
That's usually what I do, and then I'll give them like a little variety of the mix, like the cans, just so that they could try like a little care package.
Deb:
Yeah, oh, that's so nice, that's so nice. Yeah, have you mastered all of the shaker cups?
Courtney:
I'm the worst I know. I tried to make some drinks the other day in front of people and I put too much liquid in it, and then I went to shake it and it went everywhere.
Deb:
Did you baptize all your friends? I did, yes, I did. Keeping it fun. Keeping it fun, you know what? Yeah, isn't that the best, and I love that. It's so fun. It's so fun. You don't have to be professional, you don't have to become a mixologist. You can, if you want to, but you can just start experimenting, find what you love, find those flavors that you like. Everybody's palate's different, so find what you really, really enjoy. So, yeah, yeah.
Courtney:
I even have my son. My son is 11, so I've been very open with him about my journey. So he calls himself the mini mixologist and he's a little sure and I help him just with different juice flavors and things like that. Like, obviously we don't use the alternatives with him, but it's fun for him to know that you can make you know complex flavors and we're having fun and we're not drinking alcohol and I'm very proud of that actually.
Deb:
Yeah, oh, so proud. I mean really it's like that you can have those experiences with him and he can leave your home, you know, in seven years or so, whenever he, you know, moves out of the house and know that like you can have fun.
Courtney:
There are good things to drink without alcohol right, yes, and my first drink I had in grade seven and that was and I actually was very drunk that night and my, my baby, very first time. And my son is going into grade seven next year. So I've been, you know, very open and we have a safe word if he wants to be picked up, and he knows that he can come to me with anything. So some good things have come from it.
Deb:
For sure so good, yeah, yeah, yeah. And to have to have that for your kids, because, yeah, many nights I'm like numbed out, like let me read this story as fast as possible. Did you do that, like when he was little, like like you'd be putting him to bed, and it was like, okay, how fast can I get him to bed so that I can like get on with my evening, cause I have a whole evening in front of me I have.
Courtney:
my whole evening is planned with this bottle of Chardonnay Chardonnay. Chardonnay Yep Chardonnay. Were you a wine drinker? Were you a Chardonnay drinker?
Deb:
No, I just remember you saying that it was my best friend.
Courtney:
Yes, we had a hard breakup.
Deb:
Okay, yeah, did you miss For me. I remember when I first went out to I think it was Trader Joe's actually I was shopping that January 2021. I was alcohol-free for maybe two weeks, whatever. And I'm looking at the wine store where I used to go. Every time I would go over to shop and I mean I wanted to lay down on the floor, I wanted to flail around and cry.
Courtney:
I mean I literally was like I wanted to like shake the Chardonnay, Like do you miss me, Cause I miss you.
Deb:
Like did you miss? Did you miss that?
Courtney:
I see it's a little bit different in Canada because there are some grocery stores you can get it in now, but typically you have to go into a LCO to pick it up. Okay, so it's not like I go to Walmart and there's, you know, an aisle of alcohol, but I definitely have been past it and you look and it's like, oh, I just have one, like no one will know and but I know, I know that because.
Courtney:
I didn't even really like the taste of alcohol. I didn't like the taste of ethanol. It was just the feeling that I would get.
Deb:
So yeah, yeah, that makes sense. So where do you buy it? So the non-alcoholic stuff, is it at those state stores that you have to go to buy alcohol, or can you buy it at like Walmart? Can you buy non-alcoholic stuff at Walmart and things?
Courtney:
like that. To get the premium stuff you have to go to a bottle shop. There isn't a lot of options in stores. Seedlip is kind of the only spirit that you can get, but it's mostly just alcohol-free beer when you go to the big box stores.
Deb:
Yeah, interesting, that's so interesting. And what about online? Where do you guys shop online for non-alcoholic spirits?
Courtney:
Yeah, clear Sips is actually out of hamilton this is the town that I'm in and they they're the ones that sponsored my mocktail competition and, uh, they bring in premium. That's where I found out about the odd bird. Actually is from clear steps, um, their family owned. They're amazing. Uh, sober market obviously has over 500 products in their lineup, so they're they're a great one to go to, uh, and you can actually go in there. Yeah, that's awesome and tasty.
Deb:
Okay, but online clear sips is what you'd recommend in Canada. Yeah, absolutely yeah, shout out to the Canadian listeners because it's really good. I'm really really thankful to have you on today, not just to get to know you, but to know like where in Canada, because I feel like I get asked that and I'm like I don't always know. All right, so, clear sips, good to know. Good, yeah, okay, before we go, what are you super excited about for the rest of 2024? Because you are just getting started, courtney, I can feel your energy.
Courtney:
Yeah.
Deb:
I'm so excited for you. I am so excited for you. I feel like your future is so bright.
Courtney:
Yes, I've got some collaboration events happening that are kind of in the works. The alcohol free bar is something I'm super excited about. It has something to do with a very popular netflix show, um, so that's really exciting, yeah, um. And then I just want to do a lot of traveling now that I have my, my car back. I didn't have my car for two years, so now I'm just like, after this, I'm heading to Montreal for two nights. Actually, like I just I want to go and I, you know, I asked the recommendations and people give me recommendations for where to try drinks, and great, you know, I went to Cleveland last weekend and somebody told me where to go for bottle shops, and so I just I love finding new places, new drinks to try that I can share with people.
Deb:
And uh yeah that's awesome, we're in Cleveland. Where'd you go in Cleveland?
Courtney:
I took my mom and her friend to the rock and roll hall of fame.
Deb:
Oh really, oh yeah, oh, that's so fun, yeah, oh, that's so fun yeah.
Courtney:
We went to the I love Lucy museum in Jamestown and the Comedy Museum and then we continue to Cleveland so you can do the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And then we came back.
Deb:
Oh, that's awesome Okay. I hope you have the best time in Montreal. Thank, you.
Courtney:
I hope you have the best trip.
Deb:
I want everybody to be following you, Discovering underscore mocktails on Instagram. Please follow Courtney. I am just cheering you on. I'm so happy to meet you, so thank you. Thank you for being our guest today. Thank you so much for having me Big time. Cheers to you for tuning in to the Thriving Alcohol-Free Podcast. I hope you will take something from today's episode and make one small change that will help you to thrive and have fun in life without alcohol. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others. Post about it on social, send up a flare or leave a rating and a review. I am cheering for you as you discover the world of non-alcoholic drinks and as you journey towards authentic freedom.
