It was a gorgeous, crisp October day in 2018. I wandered around a fall farmer’s market at the Mosaic District in Fairfax, and stumbled — by pure happenstance — upon two fellow pioneers of the booze-free movement in D.C.: Charlie Berkinshaw of Element Shrub and Pauline Idogho of Mocktail Club.
As we geeked out about the burgeoning non-alcoholic beverage movement, we couldn’t have imagined the DMV’s transformation into an oasis of inclusive beverage options just three years later.
I recently sat down with Pauline to talk about Mocktail Club and her reasons for starting a non-alcoholic beverage company in a booze-soaked world.
District Fray: How and why did you start Mocktail Club? Pauline Idogho: I came up with the concept of Mocktail Club when I was expecting and found limited sophisticated non-alcoholic options on the market. I came to appreciate I was not alone and there were a lot of people that didn’t drink or were sober-curious and looking to cut down on alcohol for health and wellness reasons. So, I started Mocktail Club, which is a line of ready-to-drink non-alcoholic cocktails which are inspired by my global travels and culinary passion. I created original recipes using shrubs, spices and superfruits to create the right balance of sweet, tart, bold and savory notes needed for great complex non-alcoholic cocktails. Our beverages also have prebiotics and antioxidants, so they actually work for you. Our mission is to redefine the social drinking experience so everyone can feel included and celebrate together. We are sold at Whole Foods, restaurants and other specialty stores in the region.
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