![]() ![]() Julia also seamlessly applies a critical culinary angle to the non-alcoholic drink that did not exist before. ![]() "Julia Bainbridge! She paved the way for people talking about sobriety as well as loneliness and drinking, and how closely intertwined these two are. Not drinking was considered taboo for so long and that messaging is finally starting to change, giving people the freedom to not drink (alcohol) in a social setting without feeling othered."Įvery one of the other women I interviewed cited Masarin as one of the women who inspired them. My hope is that it becomes just as 'normal' to opt for a non-alc option at a bar as an alcoholic beverage. "The best way to change these messages is to really normalize not drinking and having more options. One of Ghia's major strengths is the company's charming brand identity, a kind of laid back version of la dolce vita that is at once comfortable and glamorous, an aesthetic that used to be dominated by ideas of limoncello and balloon shaped glasses of Aperol spritz. ![]() Growing up, Masarin spent summers in Italy with her grandparents, and the influence shows in the flavor profile of Ghia, a bracing, bitter apéritif, available straight or in cans of ready to drink spritz. This inspired me to find an alternative to alcohol for those who decided it wasn't for them." As someone who loves to host, I was always questioned for not drinking and I really wanted to change the way we thought about eating and drinking. Mélanie Masarin, founder of Ghia, agrees that "alcohol in America is often marketed as a coping mechanism," but also that "you can feel the big social pressure with drinking. While men still drink more alcohol than women, women are more likely to drink as a response to negative emotions, like anger, sadness, and, of course, being overwhelmed with the stress of modern life, a trend that was happening before the pandemic exacerbated the stressful conditions for women who try to "have it all." A recent survey by, the online platform for the Today Show, revealed that "almost 40 percent of respondents said drinking helps them cope with the stress of being a parent and more than one-third said they have mom friends who they think have a problem with alcohol." For Elkovich's customer's, switching to For Bitter For Worse, a non-alcoholic beverage with a sophisticated, adult flavor profile, helped pull them out of destructive drinking habits, while giving them a treat to look forward to at the end of the day. "I blame it on Enjoli," she says only half jokingly, referencing the 1970s perfume commercial that said, "I can bring home the bacon, fry it in the pan, and never let you forget that you're a man,"and which Elkovich was reminded of by Kristi Coulter's collection of essays on sobriety, Nothing Good Can Come from This. Though this move was born of necessity, Elkovich says the experience has been unexpectedly fulfilling, as she frequently receives touching and grateful messages, almost entirely from women, who found themselves drinking too much in response to the loneliness of lockdowns, or the stress of juggling working from home with kids who were remotely learning. But as COVID-19 shut down dining all over the world, the company pivoted to selling online in early 2020. "We decided flavor, celebration, and occasion were the main focal points for us," which is why the initial plan was to start by selling For Better For Worse to restaurants in the Portland area, rather than direct to consumers. The base is then blended with local ingredients to produce each of the three different expressions. To craft the complex and flavorful liquids, For Bitter For Worse uses a process Elkovich calls "reverse bootlegging." After infusing water and plain alcohol with a blend of botanical ingredients, they use a still to extract the alcohol, leaving behind a concentrated and flavorful zero proof base that gives For Bitter For Worse expressions their distinctive, grown up flavor. Disappointed with the non-alcoholic options available at the time, she says, "Nothing met my standards for ingredients and was pleasing to my palate." So she set about creating intensely flavored, non-alcoholic options "using the best possible ingredients for you and the land." A self-professed amaro lover, she was obviously concerned about her health, but also about the ecological impact of her drinks. Drinking alcohol doesn't cause mal d'embarquement, but Elkovich found that drinking made her symptoms worse. Shelley Elkovich, co-founder of For Bitter For WorseĪ few years ago, Shelley Elkovich, co-founder of For Bitter For Worse, found herself suddenly forced to stop drinking due to the sudden onset of mal d'embarquement, a rare vestibular condition where the brain thinks the body is constantly swaying, bobbing, or rocking, as if on a boat, even when completely still and on dry land. ![]()
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