No Booze, No Problem: Designing Experiences in a Sober-Curious Age

Need It Shaken, Not Stirred? Here's the TLDR:

• The industry’s shifting

  At a recent meeting with local business owners, the big takeaway was clear: Gen Z isn’t drinking like previous generations. With alcohol consumption at a 25-year low, breweries and restaurants are rethinking how to stay relevant, facing the classic chicken-or-the-egg problem: invest in a new market (like non-alcoholic options) or wait for demand to grow?

• Diners expect more

  Even though fewer people are drinking, alcohol still accounts for 21% of restaurant sales. That means cocktails have to do more than just get the job done—they need to taste amazing, come out fast, and be social media ready. The experience has to match the price tag, especially with Gen Z becoming the primary dining demographic.

• We craft experiences for All

  At Ambrosia and Nectar, our cocktails are designed to be both beautiful and intentional. Every drink tells a story, from flavor to garnish. Whether it’s The Imperial—a fig-grapefruit Negroni with fig as a garnish to guide your experience — or Flora’s Blessing, an elegant non-alocholic blueberry martini, we create cocktails that feel memorable and taste even better.

I recently attended a local business owner’s meeting to discuss marketing, networking, and sharing advice about the current status of the local food industry here in Southern California. Restaurant owners, brewery managers, and catering professionals all shared a common fear - gen z’s reluctance to buy cocktails. To invest or not invest, that is the question a brewery owner was debating over during these meetings as he was looking to invest in expanding his operations, specifically he was looking into a machine that removes the alcohol content from any beer as it’s being poured. He went on to explain that it was too risky for his business to expand into brewing alcohol-free beer, and that this alcohol-removal method would be the safer decision. The problem: he doesn’t have enough patrons that drink non-alcoholic beer. With the equipment, he believes a market can be created for a younger crowd.

The classic chicken or the egg problem.

California is home to 39.9 million people, approximately 28.8 million are of drinking age. Despite the number of people drinking is staggeringly large, alcohol producers are experiencing the lowest consumption of alcohol since 2001. This is proving to be a challenge for restaurants and producers alike as alcoholic purchases account for 21% of total restaurant sales. Diners expect their cocktails to taste good, be consistent, come quickly, and be social media ready. This is true of most things in life, but when a diner is going to spend roughly 20% of their bill on alcohol - an experience that lends itself to be shorter in time than the time it takes for them to enjoy their meal - the pressure for restaurants to execute on their menus is immense. 

Cocktail designing is an art form in of itself -  and as a result beauty is held in the beholder, and in our world the beholder is you

Even more daunting is the shift that will come when Gen Z becomes the dominant diner demographic. Currently, almost half of gen z persons have never had an alcoholic beverage whereas 70% of those aged 35 and older enjoy them almost 4 times a week (coincidentally, also a 25 year all time low). The gen z demographic has largely transitioned into enjoying marijuana products, such as vapes, gummies, and traditional joints significantly more than any other generation and are increasingly enjoying non-alcoholic cocktails. Data shows that over 35% of gen z persons have enjoyed a non-alcoholic cocktail in the previous month and from 2023 to 2024 there was a 120% increase in non-alcoholic cocktail sales.

So where does this leave the restaurants and their futures? Well, where there’s pressure there’s transformation - the industry is branching out to find solutions, some traditional, others innovative, some restaurants are leaning towards crafting a menu that’s dedicated to story-telling, be it the story of the food, culture, or a local artist, others are leaning towards minimizing waste and increasing efficiency of alcohol preparation in the form of “batching” cocktails (where cocktails are made in large quantities, batches, and poured/shaken to order), and some restaurants are focusing on the spectacle of the drink’s presentation. 

A clear trend is emerging: optimization of the experience. When diners are spending over $100 on a meal for two, they want the memory to last. Therefore, we at Ambrosia and Nectar focus on crafting cocktails that are both delicious to drink and visually delicious (read: social-media worthy) and every cocktail tells a story that is in-line with our greco-roman inspirations. We are constantly designing cocktails that go beyond the drinks and step into the world of experiences. 

That doesn’t mean a long list of obscure ingredients. We keep things simple and approachable, with every element meant to be tasted and understood. Even our garnishes serve a purpose. If a guest isn’t familiar with a flavor, the garnish exists to guide them. Take The Imperial: a fig-grapefruit Negroni. Many aren’t familiar with fig’s flavor profile, so we garnish with fig to help the guest understand and appreciate the drink.

Another area we’re innovating in is non-alcoholic cocktails. Too often, zero-proof drinks are just juice and syrup topped with soda, finished with an oversized garnish to justify the price, while the flavors come out unbalanced and muddled. At Ambrosia and Nectar, our non-alcoholic cocktails are just as refined and elegant as our traditional offerings. Flora’s Blessing, for example, is a subtle, sultry blueberry martini that’s delicate on the palate and stunning in the glass.

Imaged left is The Imperial and the right is Flora’s Blessing.

So while I couldn’t give my brewery friend a definitive answer about his investment, what I can say is this: there is space to innovate, and innovate we will. Though this new world is a bit different than what the restaurant industry is used to, there is still plenty of demand for newer experiences. Cocktail designing is an art form in of itself -  and beauty is held in the eye of the beholder, and in our world the beholder is you. So experience this art form by reaching out to us to turn your event into a lasting memory.

Written By Isaiah on April 12, 2025

Reach out to him directly at inquiries@ambrosianectarbar.com

(Yes I read every single email)