I'm in Savannah, GA at the moment for my son Simon's graduation. I absolutely love Savannah with its parks, historical buildings and amazing atmosphere. Tourists flock here to enjoy Southern hospitality - and drinks. In fact, Savannah is one of a handful of cities/districts in the US (alongside for example New Orleans) that allows alcohol consumption in public. However, drinks have to be poured into a cup - no bottles allowed as you stroll along the river. People seem to be making the most of this 'open container opportunity' and enjoy their drinks on the go. But what's the market like for sober people visiting? Frankly a bit disappointing! I know that zero-proof spirits are widely available in some parts of the US, Sober events are starting to pop up and the are even supposed to be huge alcohol-free bottle shops. Needless to say that I'm dying to shop in one of those!
Hopeful to find something delicious to drink and celebrate the graduation with, I hit the stores of Savannah. 3 liquor stores carried exactly the same "selection" of AF drinks: A sixpack of Heineken 0.0 beer! "Ok", I thought "fair enough, they are liquor stores, let me try the supermarket". So, I headed to a huge Kroger grocery store - but alas - only my trusted and beautiful friend Kombucha was available. No Nosecco, no AF wine, no AF spirits. A couple of restaurants we've been to here offer some sort of mocktail - but mostly the good old Shirley Temple or Virgin Mojito. So much can be done. Remember we all deserve something pretty and delicious to drink. In the words of Janey Lee Grace from The Sober Club: Keep the ritual, change the ingredients. Savannah, let's be inclusive and make you even more awesome! Cheers (in soda water) to that!
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