Kentucky is the bourbon capital of the world, but one man hopes to make it the mocktail capital. Jesse Hawkins is a recovering alcoholic. "My liver was shutting down at the age of, as I said, 25," Hawkins said. After a friend helped him get to the Morton Center for rehabilitation, he still struggled to be around alcohol. "I didn't believe that I could walk back into a social setting, a bar, a restaurant," he said. Then he heard of the mocktail, a crafted drink but without alcohol. "It was getting back to walking up to your bartender, ordering a drink, feeling inclusive," Hawkins said. The idea isn't new, but non-alcoholic drinks have always been an afterthought for many. Now three years sober, Hawkins hopes to make them a feature. He’s already partnered with The Hub and Fork and Barrel on Frankfort Avenue and Anoosh Bistro on Brownsboro Road. His most important partner so far, though, might be the Kentucky Distiller’s Association. "It's just something that people haven't intentionally thought of before," Ali Edelstein, the director of
"It's just something that people haven't intentionally thought of before" -Ali Edelstein director of social responsibility
social responsibility at the KDA said. The group that typically lobbies for and promotes bourbon is already providing marketing help, recipe kits and stickers so businesses can advertise being a partner. "You think that everyone always has a drink in their hand," Edelstein said. "The reality is the more you ask around, the more you'll find that there are people everywhere that are touched by addiction." "Let's not hide our friends and family away from it," Hawkins said. "Let's make it more inclusive and let’s offer these choices." For each mocktail sold, $1 goes to the S.V. foundation which Hawkins set up. It helps support the Morton Center and people who can't afford recovery options. In March, Hawkins and the KDA are planning to hold a mocktail recipe competition.
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