Something’s shifting after dark. The old script (shots, cheap beer, blurry memories) is losing its grip. People aren’t chasing blackouts anymore; they’re chasing better nights. Nights that feel good in the moment and the morning after.
That’s where mocktails step in. And before you roll your eyes, this isn’t about Shirley Temples with a lime wedge. These days, mocktails are running the same playbook as cocktails: layered flavors, sharp presentation, the whole ritual. The only thing missing is the regret.
Call it sober-curious, call it burnout from hangovers, call it culture catching up. But whatever it is, it’s real. The future of nightlife doesn’t live at the bottom of a bottle. It’s in the hands of people who want the own the night without the mess in the morning.
That’s what we’re unpacking here: why mocktails aren’t just a fad, but the blueprint for where nightlife is headed. Let’s take a look:
The headlines aren’t lying: booze is slipping. Gen Z drinks about 20% less than Millennials did at the same age, and U.S. alcohol use overall is at its lowest point in decades. Cannabis, on the other hand, keeps climbing as legalization rolls on.
But if you look at it objectively, it makes a lot of sense. Look at where we’re at. Everyone’s stretched thin right now. Rent’s up, wages aren’t keeping pace, anxiety’s at an all-time high. And alcohol doesn’t fit that world anymore. It’s expensive, it wrecks your rest, and it leaves your emotions cooked for days after. A six-pack on Friday means two wasted mornings and a weekend that feels shorter than it already is. For a lot of people, that’s not worth the trade.
This isn’t just a Gen Z story either. Older generations are trimming back too. Women, in particular, are ditching alcohol faster than men. The culture of drinking as a universal baseline is eroding at every level. Even those who aren’t fully sober are leaning into the “Cali sober” lane by cutting booze, keeping cannabis, and realizing they don’t miss much.
What comes next isn’t about drinking less fun, but about drinking smarter. Non-alcoholic beers, elevated mocktails, THC seltzers and lemonades—they all scratch the same itch: ritual, flavor, and connection. They keep the social engine running, but they don’t demand a hangover as payment. And the more people make that swap, the more the old drinking culture starts to look dated.
The point is simple: alcohol takes more than it gives, and people are tired of footing the bill. The sober-curious shift isn’t some wellness fad, but a cultural reset. A pivot away from numbing out and toward something that actually fits the times.
Half the pull of alcohol was never the liquid. It was the ritual. Humans are wired for community. We look for buffers, cues, little shared habits that make it easier to loosen up and belong. A drink in your hand does all of that before you even take a sip. It says: I’m part of this.
That’s why drinking culture has held such a grip. Alcohol changes your brain chemistry, but it also smooths out social edges, at least for a while. Even people who don’t want to drink often cave once they’re in the room, because not holding a glass can feel like not having a seat at the table.
The stigma around being “the sober one” in nightlife is real. Ask anyone who’s quit drinking and they’ll tell you “sometimes it costs friendships,” because if the only glue in the group is booze, stepping out of that cycle leaves you on the outside.
Mocktails have started to patch that gap. They give people something to hold, a way to still signal “I’m in this with you.” But the bigger breakthrough is cannabis drinks. They’re the middle ground between full sobriety and booze culture, giving you the same buffer, the same ritual, the same sense of belonging, without the wreckage. THC seltzers and lemonades mimic the look of a cocktail, but also provide their own version of the buzz. You’re part of the scene, you’re loose, you’re present, but you’re not destroying your body for the privilege.
That’s what makes this shift cultural, not just trendy. People aren’t only rejecting alcohol because it’s bad for them; they’re finding new ways to keep the ritual alive without paying the hangover tax. And in nightlife, where ritual and belonging matter most, that swap hits hardest.
Mocktails cracked open the idea that you don’t need booze to belong. They gave people a way to stay in the ritual without stepping out of the room. But at the end of the day, not everyone wants to be fully sober. For a lot of people, drinking less is the goal, not quitting outright. And until now, that space between “alcohol” and “nothing” has been hard to live in.
That’s where cannabis drinks shift the whole equation. They take everything mocktails do well (flavor, ritual, presentation) and layer in something more: the buzz. Not the blackout spiral, not the next-day hangover, just enough of a lift to take the edge off and keep the night moving. A THC lemonade or seltzer in your hand says the same thing a beer or cocktail always did: I’m here, I’m part of this. The difference is, you can still wake up in the morning with your head clear and your body intact.
This is where culture is landing: somewhere between sober and smashed. People want connection, they want to have a good time, they want the buffer of a drink in hand. They just don’t want to pay the alcohol tax anymore: the wrecked sleep, the gut punch to your anxiety, the money drain, the physical wear-and-tear that adds up fast. Cannabis drinks cut that dead weight without cutting you off from the table.
And the best part? They feel good in the moment and in the morning. That balance, being able to have your night and the next day, is what makes this movement so much more than a trend. It’s a cultural reset. It’s a recognition that we don’t need to torch ourselves for the sake of being social.
Public cannabis consumption isn’t fully legal everywhere yet, but the cracks in the old system are showing. Pop-up events are serving THC mocktails. Certain bars are adding infused options to the menu. House parties are stocking coolers with seltzers right next to the beer. The culture’s already making room.
And it matters. Because when you show up sober-curious or just not in the mood to drink, it’s easy to feel like the odd one out. Alcohol has always carried that unspoken rule: if you’re not drinking, you’re not really part of the night. THC drinks tear that stigma down. They give people a way to stay in the ritual, to still participate in the clink of glasses and the looseness of the night, without having to sell their tomorrow for it.
At the same time, they shift the way we treat each other. Having a few infused seltzers on hand at a party is cultural shorthand for “everyone’s welcome here.” Whether your friends are Cali sober, cutting back, or just curious, nobody has to feel like the outsider with a sad cup of water in the corner.
That’s the real frontier. Not just swapping alcohol for cannabis, but reshaping nightlife into something more inclusive, less punishing, and way more in tune with the times. The bars and restaurants that get this early will feel ahead of the curve. The ones that don’t will start to look dated. Because the future of going out is simple: if the drink in your hand feels good now and tomorrow, you’re doing it right.
The future of nightlife is already on tap. It just looks different than it used to. That’s the lane Barfly lives in. Our THC seltzers and lemonades aren’t a backup plan or a compromise; but they’re part of the reset. A way to keep the glass full, keep the night alive, and still wake up ready for tomorrow.
Belonging was never about the booze. It was about having something in your hand that says I’m here for this. And now, that something doesn’t have to wreck your tomorrow.
