But one Jersey woman is hoping to offer something new by organising a bar night with a difference – no booze. Alcohol-free lifestyles are growing in popularity, according to Jo Ferbrache who ditched booze as part of a year-long challenge and is now sober.
She is organising a second Sober Sessions bar event. The event is due to take place at Project 52 on Waterloo Street on Thursday 27 February.
The 34-year-old raised £15,000 for charity after going a year alcohol-free but such was the positive impact the lifestyle change had on her she is now teetotal.
And she says there is a growing movement among people who want to abstain from alcohol for good or for longer periods than the month-long Dry January or Sober October challenges.
‘It’s not just the real health fanatics that I am seeing wanting to do it, I have some friends who were real party animals who are giving it a go. At the end of the day, it only takes one person to do it and others see the changes and it carries on from there.
‘You see with things like the One Year No Beer challenge and Brewdog, which opened an alcohol-free bar on Old Street [London], there is a market for this now.’
Speaking about the event at Project 52 she said it’s not just for people with an alcohol problem or who are abstaining from drink – although all drinks on the night will be booze-free.
‘There was this sort of placebo effect last time. We were in a setting with a DJ and there was animation going on at the bar with the cocktail making and naturally, in that environment, the noise level was rising in the same way as it would had we all been drinking,’ said Mrs Ferbrache who documents her sobriety through her blog, soberjo.com.
Tickets are £20 for the event, which includes a curry and one drink. Doors open at 6pm and it will finish at 9pm. Some of the alcohol-free spirits on sale are made by ISH Spirits which produce drinks including GinISH and RumISH.
The company was founded by Morten Sørensen after he decided to do a 100-day alcohol-free challenge and realised how limited his options were at a bar.
For more information on the event, search Sober Sessions on Facebook.
