Might as well get cozy by the fireplace and a) crack open a cold one (I’ve got some excellent NA beer recs below) or b) sip on something toasty like herbal tea, mulled cider, or a hot toddy (made with NA whiskey / bourbon, of course. Try Free Spirits, Spiritless Kentucky 74, Cut Above Zero Proof Whiskey, or NKd Distillery for starters).

So without further ado, let’s get into today’s Friday Five! 👇

1. Five celeb-backed NA beers

NA beer seems to be just the ticket for the Middle-aged Celebrity White Man (in his early 30s, Tom Holland just barely escapes this). But listen, I’m not mad at it. For a celebrity to endorse a non-alcoholic beer means that a) NA beer has hit mainstream, b) it de-stigmatizes the liquid itself, which I’m sure makes many a grown man (or woman! I love NA beer!) happy, and c) people, celebs included, are choosing healthier ways to party. Let’s see who the celebrity fellas are, shall we?

Years - John Mulaney - comedian / actor

Ted Segers - Dax Shepard - comedian / actor / podcaster

Wild AF - Charlie Sheen, actor / inventor of “Tiger Blood” and “winning”

Easy Does It - Erik Ellington, professional skateboarder

BERO - Tom Holland, actor and superbero, I mean, hero

Have you had any of these beers? 🍻 What are your thoughts?

Leave a comment

2. Five quick and dirty NA bev reviews

People seem to love my reviews. And I love writing them. (Both hightail and Proxies have included said reviews in their newsletters, which is, of course, the ultimate praise!) As a 3x non-alc competition judge, sometimes I take a more thorough and nuanced look (and taste) at the beverages I’m reviewing and will include notes on aroma, appearance, mouthfeel, and taste. Sometimes I take a sip or two and immediately know the vibe I’m getting. I realized this week that the best way for me to keep track of what I’m drinking as I drink it, and review in real time, is my phone’s notes app. God, I love that app. So from my phone to yours, here are some products I’ve been liking / loving.

Mariona - Vivid (2.5mg THC / 6 oz. serving)

Sunshine in a bottle. Notes of hibiscus, golden, kiwi, and lemongrass. A bright nose; you can smell the golden kiwi and citrus, maybe a bit of a peach/apricot aroma too? I think I’m getting honeysuckle. Definitely feel relaxxxxxxed.

Blind Tiger - Grapefruit Fizz

A POW! and BAM! of grapefruit and lime, earthiness from the added tequila flavor, and only 30 calories for the whole can! This is a guilt-free, crushable fizz for all the dolls and hepcats out there.

Five Corners Beverage Co. - Salted Lemonade

Spicy, herbaceous, a touch salty, and super lemony — this take on a Nimbu Pani clocks in at 50 calories and is delightfully refreshing…and just a touch warming. Gets an “ooh, interesting” from me.

Hippie Water - Island Getaway (5mg THC)

Lovely taste of refreshing watermelon with a slight warm breeze, courtesy of lime and chili. Like laying out on a tropical isle, getting fanned by a palm frond. Not too sweet, but just enough to scratch that itch. 5mg of THC for ultimate relaxation vibes, although strangely I didn’t really feel anything. 🤷‍♀️

BTW - all of Hippie Water’s products appear to be sold out on their website, so you can buy Island Getaway at Sèchey Noir, the THC / functional side of Charleston bottle shop Sèchey.

Plaid Circus - Bubblegum Fantasy

A bubblegum spritz?! Like Bazooka? Like the kiddie gum flavor at the dentist? How? Why!? WHY NOT, I SAY. Because when you mix unmistakable bubblegum flavor with ingredients like Himalayan white tea, moroccan orange peel, lemon-peel and hibiscus-infused vinegar, pure cane sugar, and wildflower honey, you get something otherworldly. It’s both nostalgically familiar and also incredibly fresh and new.

Plaid Circus is generously sponsoring my Substack this quarter. I only work with brands I love and truly believe in, so consider this my 100% vetting of PC. Use promo code ZPN15 whenever you want 15% off this magical brand. Get the Bubblegum Fantasy spirit here, and the RTD here.

🗓️ 🗽 NYC Event: Potion Workshop!

(Class offered multiple dates: 12/8, 12/16, 12/23)

Want to make your own shrubs? Don’t miss this potion workshop at Hekate, a witchy booze-free bar on the Lower East Side of the city. (parentheses) co-founders / #powerspouses and Nick Mechak will walk attendees through making their own botanical concoctions. Class participants take home their own goodies.

GET TIX HERE!

A few NA bevs coming soon to a website / shelf near you:

Kavi (pre-order this sparkling kava soda here)

Tropetails - powdered drink mixes inspired by book genres; goes perfectly with accompanying cocktail or mocktail recipe books.

hightail HALO - Sparkling Strawberry Hibiscus Tea (no THC)

As always, subscribe to Dry Atlas, the drī edit, The Modern Substitute, and Mock the Toast to get a fully comprehensive view of the state of NA.

That’s it for now. Sending my love to all of you!

xo,
Laura

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Hard to believe tomorrow is the first day not just of 2025, but of Dry January. Are you 100% sober already? Sober curious? A mindful drinker? Zebra striper? Bookender? Are you planning on participating for the whole month or longer? Do you partake in New Year’s resolutions or prefer setting bite-sized goals? Share in the comments!

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*Great article via Newsweek, even if the magazine missed out on interviewing fellow pioneers and writers on the ‘Stack , , — as well as Dry Atlas’s Victoria and Douglas Watters, and, of course, yours truly. But they *did* get pioneer Chris Marshall of Sans Bar, so, match point.

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Today’s issue of the Friday Five is brought to you by some of the finest global non-alc experts ever to walk into a (booze-free 😂) bar, curated by Camille “Cami” Vidal, a Londoner by way of France.

’s Instagram, @mindfullycami, is chock-full of fantastic content, ranging from cocktail recipes to her own recommendations - and what to miss in “what’s good (and not).”

But my favorite thing she’s got going on is her Ask the Expert series. So let’s meet some of these fine folks. ⤵️

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Whether the election results make you want to cry tears of rage or tears of happiness, alcohol doesn’t have to be part of the equation. It historically has been a part of celebration, a part of drowning sorrows, a part of commiserating, a part of toasting. But it doesn’t have to be part of the equation anymore, which at its core is really about the ritual of coming together and enjoying delicious beverages.

After all, alcohol-free is for everyone.

So let’s take a trip around the NA world with Victoria Watters of ever-so-aptly named Dry Atlas (the synergy with Zero Proof Nation is 💯) to some spots that offer up alcohol-free on the menu and aren’t exclusively non-alcoholic establishments.

Which brings me to an exciting announcement ⤵️

Welcome two new categories to the Zero Proof Nation Global Map: NA-forward hospitality (much like the places Victoria will be walking us through) and NA-friendly retail (shops with an equitable focus on …

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It’s the end of another week on my new job and my ADHD is in peak form. So enjoy this random assortment of five (5) happenings in NA (and NA adjacent worlds) categorized by the theme of being a) random, and b) part of the Friday Five. You’re welcome.

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I’m baaaack. Missed me? 😇

I took a break last week, which happened to be another big week for celebrity-founded NA brands*. Sometimes you just need to listen to your mind/body when it says take the damn break — so I did. And now, here I am, sitting on my turquoise loveseat with my Croc-ed feet kicked up. It’s 11:05pm** on a Thursday, and believe it or not, this is me writing my Friday newsletter “in advance.”

So with another week behind us and another celebrity-founded NA brand launched, I thought I’d take us on a little trip down memory lane to revisit some other celeb-founded (or co-founded) non-alc beverage brands that you may or may not already know and love.

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Hi, friends. I’m tired and sore from having my COVID and flu shots in the same arm on the same day, so I’m totally pulling a lazy move here. Here’s a glimpse at five past issues of Zero Proof Nation by Laura . Think of this is as your time to flip the pages of a digital magazine and sip on something tasty (and non-alc, of course). If you’re a free subscriber, you’ll have to upgrade to fully unlock the archive, otherwise, enjoy the sneak peak and see you next week!

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Happy Friday, y’all. 🥳

Today’s a shorter issue to get you ready for the weekend. So let’s whiz through this one because after all, attention spans on Friday at 5pm are, well, spent.

Today we’ll be digging into some new arrivals at ZPN HQ that are sure to keep you cozy for fall and are the perfect cure for mixology laziness.

Want to get recipes of the month and flex your creative mixology muscles on a Monday, say? Subscribe to ’s . He’s got you, boo. 👻

Alright, let’s goooooo 🚀

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There are SO many fantastic NA1-forward and sobriety-forward podcasts out there in the airwaves. I’ve talked about some of them already - check out the issue below on the best NA / AF pods. But these shows today all feature ME. 😉

For all you paid subscribers, you have access to my archive in perpetuity and can open this one, naturally. Are you a free subscriber and having trouble accessing the content? Have I got a deal for you! Upgrade to paid to unlock the archive. Just to go over how this works, each article I publish is open to everyone for one (1) month. After that month, the post whooshes into the archive and you have to be a paid subscriber to access posts older than a month. You can upgrade to a monthly or annual subscriber — or become a founding member. Remember, keep ZPN the NPR of NA 👇⤵️

Subscribe now

Alright, let’s dig in.

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This piece is adapted from a post on the ZPN blog in October 2023 and contains some updates from members of the non-alc ecosystem / dry economy. The next issue will contain even more! 🍻

Craft non-alcoholic beer is having a moment. Once upon a (recent) time, all you could find was O’Doul’s. Now, craft NA is everywhere. Here’s a look at some of the best non-alc dark brews (ports, stouts, seasonals) around for those crisp, cozy fall vibes.

Narrowing things down was a practically impossible task. Not even four to five years ago, our list would have been much, much shorter. And yes, O’Doul’s gets its fair share of grief, but that little beer that could, in fact, well, did. It was the only option available in the USA for almost 30 years until a small craft brewery in Connecticut launched in 2017. Athletic Brewing — maybe you’ve heard of it?

Since then, NA beer is widely available across the coun…

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Welcome back to the Friday Five! Today’s issue is all about the Norwegian Cruise Line Booze Free in Bermuda Cruise in July 2025.

I’m super stoked to be collaborating with Chrissy Gates, an alcohol-free travel advisor of Where is Chrissy Today?, in bringing you this unforgettable adventure to Bermuda.

Why should you join us? Find out after the jump. 👇

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Welcome to the Friday Five!

No, this isn’t a “5 o’clock somewhere” post. Although, it is 5 somewhere, and yes, there are plenty of NA beverages suitable for a happier hour, at any hour.

🥂 *clinks glasses* 🍻

But I digress.

I used to have a podcast called Bad Story in the mid ‘10s (anyone1 remember?) where I would, in my stream of consciousness way, go through five segments live, allowing five minutes for each, and I’d time myself. When the timer dinged, I moved on to the next topic. Even if it cut me off mid-sentence. It was an exercise in off the cuff narration, impromptu speaking, and most of all, in practicing imperfection.

So in a way, I’m coming back to myself. Just with a fresh set of eyes, an updated lens, and several more years under my belt. 😉

Every Friday, I’ll be bringing you The Friday Five. M…

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