What started out as a movement to promote reducing the consumption of alcohol (while still having something special to drink) has become a way of life. No longer just relegated to “Dry January,” alcohol-free drinks are big business and can be found on restaurant menus and on beverage shelves everywhere. In this episode of the Real Food Traveler Podcast, we meet the couple behind Madame Mocktail, makers of bottled mocktails that can be enjoyed on their own, or as the foundation of other drinks. Get to know co-owners, Alena Brook Mahoney and James Mahoney and hear the powerful story of what’s behind their business, what’s so unique about the Madame Mocktails and what the future holds for them, as they take their place in the mocktail market.

Save this article and podcast episode to Pinterest so you can listen and learn about Madame Mocktail anytime. Photos by Madame Mocktail and Courtney Drake-McDonough. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.

“Madame Mocktail” was the moniker Alena adopted for her social media account that reviewed mocktails at restaurants and bars. With a strong following, it became something more when Alena met James. What she thought would just be a fun thing they could do together, tasting and reviewing mocktails, since they both had strong reasons for wanting to live an alcohol-free life, turned into a product.

Alena Brook Mahoney, co-founder of Madame Mocktail and the face behind the brand (and logo).

James Mahoney, co-founder of Madame Mocktail. Photo courtesy of Madame Mocktail.

Alena immediately knew what each of the initial, four flavors would be for bottled Madame Mocktail products: Lemon Drop Martini, Cranberry Cosmo not, Black Cherry Moscow Mule and Passionfruit Mojito. And she knew that the logo and branding would be based on herself – slightly retro, totally fun.

Alena, an international model, and James, an entrepreneur, married within a few months of meeting and, along with a new life, the new business was born, DESPITE neither of them having any professional experience in the food and beverage realm! In this Real Food Traveler Podcast episode, we learn more about the beginnings of Madame Mocktail including how intentional the couple was about, not only the flavors, but the way the drinks looked in a glass (with a certain amount of body, the same as their alcohol-ful counterparts) and how they felt in the mouth. Alena and James didn’t want people to feel they were settling for an alcohol-free version of cocktails they knew and loved. And, in fact, they wanted consumers to prefer the mocktails.

Restaurants and bars started to catch on and stores and suppliers too. Madame Mocktail has enjoyed great popularity and rapid growth in a short time.

There’s so much more to this story than just something tasty to drink. And it goes beyond the mocktail movement. I had a heartfelt, moving, fun, fascinating conversation with Alena and James. Click on the player above to listen.

To learn more about Madame Mocktail and their products, visit their website and follow them on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok @MadameMocktail. My thanks to Alena and James and Madame Mocktail for sponsoring this episode of the Real Food Traveler Podcast, helping to make it possible. The Real Food Traveler Podcast is available wherever you like to listen to podcasts, including iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and more.

-Courtney Drake-McDonough, Host of the Real Food Traveler Podcast and Publisher/Managing Editor of RealFoodTraveler.com

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