One saleswoman’s journey to sobriety and entrepreneurship

IMAGINATION –

April 19, 2021 – From the outside, she said, she was keeping it all together, but internally, she said she realized she was “not doing so good.”

But Taylor, who now considers herself in recovery, realized when she stopped drinking how integral it had been to both her social and business lives. She was inspired to learn about drink options for people in recovery that would still allow them to feel included, and came up with a few nonalcoholic “mocktail” recipes while researching business options. Taylor also wondered, after working for years in tech, if she was ready to end her career without the chance at working for herself.

A real-life test came in 2017, when she was invited on a trip with some friends, and brought along what is now called the Cranberry Cosmo.

“At first I felt weird,” Taylor said. “They opened up their stuff and made drinks, but I had mine, and I poured my own drink and had this internal spark like, ”This is really special.’ I’m still participating but on my own terms.”

Shortly after, Taylor launched Mingle Mocktails, a line of alcohol-free bottled cocktails with the goal of inclusion in social events for folks who are sober, taking a break from alcohol, are pregnant or who are too young to drink.