What is Damp January? How the alcohol trend differs from Dry January

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You’ve probably noticed (or even rolled your eyes at) a Dry January variant entering the lexicon: Damp January. Think of it as dry-ish. Mindful drinking without the hard line. A mostly sober one-month period when all drinks are considered.

Just like flexitarianism is driving the growth of plant-based products, a more inclusive drinking culture is spurring the rise of non-alcoholic options. For the most part, people aren’t opting for alcohol or zero proof — they’re choosing both.

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“They are the same consumer,” says Andrea Grand, co-founder of Toronto-based sparkling water company Barbet. A whopping 94 per cent of non-alcoholic consumers still buy alcoholic offerings, she adds, citing Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association data. “It’s just a more mindful drinking of alcohol that’s happening.”

Low-proof and non-alcoholic options are quickly becoming the norm. “Most restaurants now have a carved-out (non-alcoholic) menu. It’s no longer, ‘Hey, can I have a margarita but hold the tequila.’ It is a perfectly crafted, non-alc drink with all the components you would expect from your regular alcohol-based cocktail,” says Grand.

Zero-proof cocktails aren’t just taking up more space on restaurant menus. From 2022 to 2023, the non-alcoholic category increased by 62 per cent on Drizly, the soon-to-be-shuttered alcohol delivery service owned by Uber. Even White Claw has launched a zero-alcohol product — and no, it’s apparently not regular seltzer but “a radically new beverage.”

Los Angeles’s alcohol-free drink shop The New Bar had #soberchella guests lining up when it became Coachella’s first non-alcoholic partner last year. In Greater Vancouver, alcohol-free bar and bottle shop Bevees recently opened its doors. Calgary has Santé Dry Bottle Shop and Montreal Apéro à zéro. In Toronto, there’s The Sobr Market (which also has a Winnipeg location) and Bevvy’s bottle shop, and Collective Arts is holding a pop-up Sober Speakeasy.

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Since launching in 2006, Dry January has taken off. This year, one in three Canadians 18 to 34 plan to participate in Dry or Damp January, either by abstaining or being more mindful of their alcohol consumption, a Tinder survey shows. Seventy-three per cent said alcohol isn’t as significant to them as it once was, 67 per cent are actively keeping their intake in check, and more than half (56 per cent) noticed their friends had cut back on drinking.

“The trends are going down, especially with younger generations,” says Jo-Ann McArthur, president of Nourish Food Marketing, who wasn’t involved in the survey. “They’re drinking less. They’re drinking differently than their boomer parents.”

The “sober curious” movement set the stage, she adds, and growing up with legal cannabis has affected behaviour. The word is also getting out about the health risks of drinking alcohol. In 2026, Ireland will become the first country in the EU to label alcohol products with health warnings, including the risks of liver disease and developing cancers, and experts have been exploring whether the same should happen in Canada.

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Drinking less alcohol or abstaining altogether isn’t about cost, underscores McArthur. Younger generations are still going to bars and paying for low-proof or non-alcoholic beverages, and there are more robust offerings than ever. “You’ve got products that are tasting better. There’s a lot more product development going into these products. You now have non-alcoholic beer that tastes pretty darn good. And you’re starting to see lower-alcohol wines come out and be marketed that way.”

Grand has also noted the change. Even in 2020, when she and her sister, Katie Fielding, launched Barbet (which ships across Canada and is stocked by more than 200 Ontario retailers and Foxtrot stores in Chicago, Dallas, Austin and the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia), the options were much more limited.

“Now you have this flow of aesthetic, product-driven, health-driven products coming into the non-alc space that is probably resonating with that younger generation a little bit differently. And so shifting what is seen as cool to be holding in your hands at a social gathering or elevating a solo one,” says Grand. “It’s about having choices. We want to create spaces where people feel comfortable coming into and making the choice that’s right for them. Everyone’s adults. We don’t necessarily need to tell them how to choose, but it’s providing those options.”

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