5 Zero-Proof Cocktails Worth Making This October
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What is Sober October, and how do you do it without skipping every plan on your calendar? It’s a month off alcohol (or a lighter month), not a program. No sign-up sheet, no sponsor, and no explanation owed to anyone who asks why you ordered a mocktail. The trick is knowing where to order something good.
Fast take: Sober October started as an Australian charity fundraiser and has grown into a dry-month experiment people run for whatever reason they want. Do it fully dry, damp, or only when you’re out. At the bar, look for a real zero-proof menu, or for the bottle names below, which are the best sign a bar takes N/A seriously. At home, stock one N/A beer, one aperitivo, and one zero-proof spirit. If you’re in Milwaukee or Chicago, our venue picks are in the city sections. For nights in, try our easy mocktails or zero-proof cocktails.
Some people call it alcohol-free October. Others say dry month, or damp month if that’s more accurate. Around MockTale, sober-curious gets used most, mostly because it doesn’t assume anything about why someone’s doing it.
What Sober October Actually Is (and Isn’t)
Sober October started in Australia in 2010 as Ocsober, a fundraiser from the charity Life Education. A UK charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, later borrowed the idea and gave it the name that stuck. Most people doing it now aren’t raising money for anything. They’re just taking the month off.
Here’s what it isn’t: a recovery step, or a test you can fail. Some people do all 31 days. Some do two weeks, and then a wedding happens. Some just want one good alcohol-free drink at happy hour. All of that counts.
| Approach | What It Looks Like | Good For |
| Fully dry month | Zero alcohol, all 31 days | Anyone who wants one simple rule |
| Damp month | Mostly alcohol-free, with planned exceptions (a wedding, a big game) | People who don’t want all-or-nothing |
| Event-only | Alcohol-free at bars and social events, no rule at home | Anyone whose goal is not feeling out of place when ordering out |
None of these is the “real” version. Someone doing one alcohol-free work happy hour gets the same welcome as someone doing all 31 days.
How to Order Alcohol-Free When You’re Out
The nights that get complicated are the social ones. Staying in on a Tuesday is easy. The birthday dinner, the work happy hour, and the tailgate are where you need a plan.
Start with the menu. Look for a section labeled zero-proof, spirit-free, N/A, or alcohol-free. More bars list these drinks separately now, and those drinks are usually built with the same care as the cocktails. If there’s no menu, you still have more choices than soda water.
| What the Bar Has | What to Order |
| A zero-proof or N/A menu | Anything on it. It’s the best signal that the bar takes these drinks seriously. |
| A craft cocktail program, but no N/A menu | Ask the bartender to build something alcohol-free. Fresh citrus, house syrups, and ginger beer go a long way. |
| N/A beer in the cooler | Athletic Brewing, Guinness 0, or Heineken 0.0 are the most common. |
| Only the basics | Tonic or soda with plenty of fresh lime, or a ginger beer over ice. Not glamorous, but it keeps you in the round. |
Order it the way you’d order anything else, with no preamble required. And skip the word “virgin.” Asking for a drink “without alcohol” or “zero-proof” gets you a better result.
Bottles and Cans Worth Looking For, Anywhere
These are the names that show up on the best N/A menus around the country, and most of them are easy to buy for home, too. When you spot one on a cocktail list, it’s a good sign the bar built its zero-proof drinks on purpose.
| Category | Names to Look For | What It’s Good For |
| N/A beer | Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA, Guinness 0, Heineken 0.0 | The easy order at any bar, and the easy fridge staple |
| Hop water | Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher | Beer-adjacent flavor with zero alcohol and nothing sweet |
| N/A aperitivo | Dhōs Bittersweet, Ritual Aperitif, Giffard N/A Aperitif, Lyre’s Rosso | Spritzes, and the bitter, grown-up edge in a zero-proof Negroni-style drink |
| Zero-proof spirits | Ritual Zero Proof (tequila and whiskey alternatives), Lyre’s, Seedlip, Kentucky 74 | Real cocktails: Margaritas, Old Fashioneds, highballs |
| N/A sparkling wine | Codorníu Zero Brut | Toasts, brunch, and zero-proof mimosas |
If you’re building a home bar, start with one N/A beer, one aperitivo, and one spirit alternative. That covers a cold one, a spritz, and a real cocktail. For the nights you stay in, we’ve got you covered two ways: 15 easy mocktails with five ingredients or fewer for when you want something simple, and five zero-proof cocktails for October for when you want to make a real Old Fashioned or Margarita without the alcohol.
Where to Drink Alcohol-Free in Milwaukee
MockTale started in Milwaukee, and it’s where the guide goes deepest. These are real bars with real alcohol-free drinks, from a spiritless tiki menu to house-brewed ginger beer.
| Neighborhood | Venue | Alcohol-Free Drink Worth Trying |
| Downtown | Agency Cocktail Lounge | Dealer’s Choice, from one of the first hybrid zero-proof menus in the city |
| Downtown | The Bar at Saint Kate | Spritz with No Strings |
| Downtown (Theater District) | Upper Bar | Garden No-Jito |
| East Side | Vintage | Almost 20 packaged N/A drinks and a pool table. |
| East Town (atop Hotel Metro) | Pufferfish | The Pufferfish |
| Lower East Side | Finks | 24 ready-to-drink N/As and bartenders who “get it” |
| Third Ward | The Edison | Butterscotch Espresso Notini |
| Third Ward | Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen | Strawberry Matcha Tonic |
| Walker’s Point | Pomeroy | Kul Mocks Strawberry Mock-Arita Craft Mocktail |
| Walker’s Point | POP | Sweet Honey Buckin’ |
| Walker’s Point / Harbor District | Boone & Crockett | Backseat Bingo |
| Bay View | Goodkind | Jinx & Tonic |
| Bay View | Centraal Grand Cafe and Tappery | Faux-Fashioned, part of a full “Free Spirited” N/A menu |
| Bay View | Lost Whale | Seasonal drink menu with N/A options listed in a different color to stand out. |
| Bay View | The Sugar Maple | Lakefront Riverwest Stein N/A or Zonin Prosecco N/A |
| South Side (Historic Mitchell St.) | Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge | No named mocktail on the menu, but the bar builds non-alcoholic cocktails on request |
| West Allis | Station No. 6 | Rotating house-made N/A options (right now it’s the No Limit N/A). Or, ask the bartender to build one |
Milwaukee brews its own N/A beer, too. Lakefront’s Riverwest Stein N/A is on grocery store shelves, and Eagle Park’s Solid State line is sold at Eagle Park’s Online Store or local Wisconsin grocery stores like Sendik’s Food Market.
Where to Drink Alcohol-Free in Chicago
Chicago’s zero-proof scene runs deep, and it’s also home to Ritual Zero Proof, one of the most-used spirit alternatives on bar menus nationwide. MockTale is expanding city by city, and Chicago bars have already started joining. Here’s where to start.
| Neighborhood | Venue | Alcohol-Free Drink Worth Trying |
| River North | Shaw’s Crab House | Violet Beauregarde |
| River North | Bar Goa | Guavalicious |
| Lincoln Park | Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! | La Siesta |
| West Town | In Good Spirits | A dedicated non-alcoholic bottle shop, bar, and community space with ready-to-drink options and made-to-order mocktails. |
| Bucktown | Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar | Neutral Expectations |
| Edgewater | Whiskey Girl Tavern | Zero-proof options like Best Day Lime Lager at Chicago’s OG spot for watching women’s sports |
| Lincoln Square | The Getaway | Amalfi Spritz |
Know a Chicago spot pouring a great zero-proof drink that isn’t here? Add it in the app and help build the guide for the next person looking.
Finding Alcohol-Free Events, Wherever You Are
Sober October doesn’t come with a master calendar in any city. Alcohol-free events show up as one-offs instead: a zero-proof pop-up, a mocktail night at a cocktail bar, a tasting at a bottle shop, an N/A beer release at a brewery.
Search the event platforms with the right words. On Eventbrite and Meetup, try “alcohol-free,” “zero-proof,” “mocktail,” and “N/A” with your city’s name. Each pulls different listings.
Follow the places already doing it. Dry bars, N/A bottle shops, and cocktail bars with real zero-proof menus are the most likely to host something in October. Their Instagram accounts usually post events first.
Watch your local breweries. A new N/A release often comes with a taproom launch party, and anyone can go.
Ask your bartender. They usually know which spot down the street is running a zero-proof night.
Plenty of people do the whole month solo, too. The events are there for people who want the company, not because doing it alone doesn’t count.
Not in Milwaukee or Chicago? MockTale is expanding city by city. Add a favorite spot or drink from your city in the app, and help put it on the map.
If you run a bar or restaurant: October is when people start searching for what you’ve got on the menu. Listing your alcohol-free drinks and custom mocktails on MockTale is free, with no contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to go 100% alcohol-free to do Sober October?
No. Plenty of people do a damp month instead, cutting back with a few planned exceptions. There’s no scorecard.
Is Sober October only for people who don’t normally drink?
No. Most people doing it drink the rest of the year and are just trying a month off.
How is Sober October different from Dry January?
Same idea, different month. Dry January follows the holidays and gets framed as a reset. Sober October is more of a dress rehearsal, with less pressure attached.
What if I have a drink partway through the month?
Nothing happens. It isn’t a streak to protect. Pick back up, or don’t. It’s a month you’re choosing, not a test.
What should I order at a bar with no mocktail menu?
Ask the bartender to build something alcohol-free with fresh citrus and ginger beer, or order an N/A beer if they carry one. If you see a bottle like Ritual, Lyre’s, or Seedlip behind the bar, ask what they can make with it.
