I Went to Hekate, a Zero-Alcohol Bar in NYC

In May 2022, I decided to stop drinking alcohol. But the conundrum I now face is that I actually liked the taste and experience of drinking.

I love a cold beer on a warm day, appreciate a bourbon on the rocks in a cozy, dim-lit bar, and think there's something so uniquely baffling about the chokehold a summertime Aperol spritz has on me. 

Many people I know drink for the effects of alcohol, but they tell me they don't actually enjoy what they're sipping on most of the time. If that were me, I think I would have given up alcohol a long time ago.

Instead, I'd find myself going out to dinner and ordering a glass of soju at my favorite Korean spot because it was just so tasty. I felt like it was part of the experience, but I'd simultaneously wish that this drink wouldn't affect how I was feeling.

I also love going to bars and being in that environment. It's how I connect with friends, build community, and feel like I'm a part of something bigger than my little world. 

So for the past eightish months, I've gone to the bars, ordered seltzer water with an orange (if they have it, sometimes I've got to stick with lime), and pretended like it wasn't just something I'd drink in my kitchen. 

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