“Oh, I love bars.” It’s an interesting off-hand admission from JW Wiseman, the founder of booze-free craft cocktail company Curious Elixirs. Launched in 2015, Brooklyn-based Curious is both a trailblazer in the non-alcoholic drinks world — seriously, there was pretty much nothing worthwhile in that space a decade ago — and a leading brand in our new sober curious present. According to the brand, Curious Elixirs’s revenue topped $47 million during the past five years, versus $2.2 million in the business’s first five.
I met up with Wiseman near the end of 2025 at Club Curious, the company’s semi-hidden office/speakeasy in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. Besides celebrating a decade of business, the timing of our talk marked the beginning of a new era for the brand. After releasing a new, numbered flavor every year — all their non-alc drinks are infused with adaptogens and are primarily riffs on classic cocktails — Curious had just launched Curious Zero, their first beer. “And now the number series is done,” Wiseman says. “The big mystery is, what comes next?”
That might be a larger question for the non-alc space, which has seen some impressive growth and genuinely good products in the past few years, but feels oversaturated at the moment.
Wiseman certainly has some thoughts here. He’s well-versed in the ebbs and flows of the hospitality world, having worked in bars starting at 19 and as a former owner of both a whiskey bar and a nightclub (among other gigs, which also included media-based stops at Thrillist and Daily Harvest). “I love hospitality and bringing people together,” he says. “And I’m a flavor slut. I love flavors from all over the world. When I was helping clean food companies grow, that’s when I started Curious.”
During our interview, I received a piece of drinking advice from Wiseman that I’m taking to heart, advice that’s decidedly not just for teetotalers (more on this below). “You don’t have to stop drinking alcohol to enjoy non-alcoholic drinks,” he says. “I drink very rarely now. But if something is on a menu and it’s spectacular, then I have to try it.”
Below, Wiseman (in his own words) on ingredient choices, the justifiable cost of booze-less drinks and how to start drinking less without sacrificing flavor or good times.
The Key to Good Non-Alc Drinks? Unexpected Ingredients.
There are a lot of good non-alcoholic beers out there, but so many of them are hop bombs. Ours is more like a crisp, refreshing lager. We wanted to make something drinkable, approachable and subtly complex. That’s why I highlight the barley and the maca root, which lift your libido and help with muscle recovery. Lion’s mane is for boosting the brain. We used golden apple for the base, so it gives some of that rounded mouthfeel. It doesn’t feel like sparkling water with hops in it. I want something more substantial than that.
One Night Can Change Your Drinking Habits Forever
I had 20 drinks in a night, really chasing the dragon. I was picking up people’s drinks from the bar. And the next day I woke up with no hangover. That was terrifying. So I wanted to change and did some research — how long does alcohol take to metabolize out of your body? It was like 30 hours for the median human. So I was like, okay, I’m going to take off two days. It will probably reset my tolerance to a degree. And that worked great for a while.
The First Curious Elixir Came From Boredom
There are people in the last 10 years thinking, “Where do I want to be on the sober curious spectrum? What does my life look like with less alcohol?” And maybe they’re bored with all of the things they’re drinking. Not to be bored, I just started making things in my kitchen.
And I was getting really bored with drinking bitters and soda. So I thought, can I make a Negroni that has no alcohol but the best fucking ingredients? And that led to the first Curious release. My friend had been at WD50 and made me a force-pressurized Negroni at one point, so I was like, I want to make it lightly sparkling, too. A bit like a Sbagliato but finishes like a dry Lambrusco.
The Pandemic Helped Popularize the Non-Alc Movement
During the pandemic, some people thought, “I have to stop drinking completely.” Other people were like, “I’m gonna drink a shit ton more.” Some decided to cut back. It’s interesting — the people who drink alcohol, the top 10% of drinkers, drink 75% of it. Meanwhile, there might be up to 200 million Americans who are drinking less or are totally sober.
Using Adaptogens Is a Game-Changer
They’re incredible things. They’re like supporting characters that make your body work a little better. They’re effective and non-toxic. Rhodiola was the first one we used.
You Can Throw Fun, Sober Parties
We’ve been holding Curious Cocktail Parties. We did 173 parties this last year, all in one night. We send bars a party kit and have a global toast. It’s just to show that life with less booze can be fun.
There’s a Reason Your Non-Alc Drink Costs What It Does
I can only speak to our process. We make custom alcohol-free extracts and get the best ingredients in the world — pomegranates from Turkey, blood oranges from Sicily, canna from South Africa. We’re getting stuff from six continents, so that’s pricey. You have to have things extracted in a way that’s clean but also delicious.
The Economics of Non-Alcoholic Spirits, Explained
Why a booze-free drink can cost as much (or more) than its alcoholic counterpartThe Non-Alc Space Is Due for a Shake-Up
We don’t do anything unless we make money. We’re mainly direct-to-consumer and in high-end restaurants. Going to retail is a good way to lose money. I see some brands that took on big alcohol money, and now they’re bleeding money. It’s sad, but don’t go into bed with people who aren’t mission-aligned. Ours are not the cheapest non-alcoholic drinks — they are accessible luxuries.
Finally, the Best Advice on Drinking Less I’ve Ever Received
Take at least two days off in a row each week, and it’ll reset your tolerance. And when you do go out, you’ll be able to get a nice buzz from just one or two drinks. And then you won’t need to go past one or two because at that point you’ll never get higher or feel better. After two, you get sloppier.
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