Ah, January. A fresh start to a brand new year. At the risk of sounding like a self help book, we say the past is the past, but the future is ahead of you, so make it your own! 2019 could be your most incredible year yet. Seriously, though. We cannot wait for a new set of challenges, adventures and, inevitably, lessons. It couldn’t be more important that we start the new year off right.
Which brings us to a meeting we had two years ago, during which our Founder & CEO, Sharelle Klaus, made a confession. Although she’s a self-professed cocktail lover, she was skipping on alcohol for a month and staying “dry” in January. GASP. “Seriously?” we asked Sharelle. “Yup. I have some friends in England that introduced me to the idea and I couldn’t help but challenge myself. And I have DRY Sparkling and DRY Zero Sugar sodas to drink in place of alcohol, so it’s actually less difficult than I thought it would be,” she said, making us wonder why we ever questioned her in the first place. Soon after we learned of her secret 1/1 – 1/31 lifestyle, we decided our whole team would be invited to hop on the bandwagon that is DRY January. And guess what? You’re invited, too!
So what is DRY January?
The short story: it’s 31 days sans alcohol. And no, we didn’t make this up.
England did. Some find it controversial, some tout the health benefits, and others do it for more personal reasons. Regardless, we certainly think the positives outweigh any negatives.
Why is DRY Soda Co. participating and why should you?
We’re offering an alternative to alcohol, encouraging you to try DRY Sparkling sodas or DRY Zero Sugar sodas in place of your beer, wine, and cocktails. Our sodas are drinkable every day and are perfect for when you want to treat yo’self, meaning they’re great temporary replacements for a boozy drink.
In a broader sense, after a season of overindulgence, we want a chance to start off a shiny new year with clear heads and zero of a hangover. We want to be conscious about our drink choices, thinking about what we’re drinking and why we’re drinking it. And of course, there are immediate benefits to cutting back on the alcohol: at a minimum, you’ll save some cash and some calories! Ultimately, individuals go dry in January for many different reasons. Here are a few from our own team:
- Hangovers are my worst enemy and they strike more often and more aggressively than ever. Sometimes just after a beer or two! I’m excited to 100% avoid them for a month. Why haven’t I thought of this before?
- I’m looking forward to a January detox to reset the body and mentally kick start me back into making healthy decisions.
- I’m not a huge drinker anyways, but I do drink in social settings. This is a good chance to me to start the year fresh and not drink at all. It also takes me a day or two to recover from a night of drinking, which isn’t easy with a toddler running around!
- It’s partially an excuse to use my fancy glasses every night. There’s something really fun about drinking a non-alcoholic beverage from a champagne flute, martini or wine glass. Who ever said these are only meant for booze?
- I’m in it for the story. Will my friends still like me when I don’t drink? Um, I hope so! But will my weekend calendar look very different? Yes! I’ll have to get creative and plan some new activities.
- 2019 is an important year and I plan to treat DRY January as a fast to help me commit and focus on spiritual growth.
What is DRY Soda Co. doing to “celebrate”? We’ll be documenting our experience on our Instagram, publishing DRY Sparkling and DRY Zero Sugar pairings and mocktail recipes all month long, participating in sans-alcohol events and will even be giving away some DRY Soda Co. goods via contests on our social media handles. To get started, check out our Five Best Mocktails For Any Season and mix up a delicious drink to kick off DRY January!
If you agree to join us on the DRY January journey, we’ll want to hear from you! Email us at info@drysoda.com or hashtag your social posts with #DRYJanuary for us to find. Going at this together will certainly be better than trying alone.
Cheers!