EP 98 From Bartender to Mocktail Innovator: Elaine’s Booze-Free Glow-Up

Get ready to fall in love with Elaine Empalmado, the powerhouse behind Mocktail Hour and one of the freshest voices in the alcohol-free world! After seven years of slinging drinks in Toronto’s nightlife scene, Elaine got sober in January 2024 (cheers to almost a year!) and realized something big: mocktails needed a serious glow-up.

Now, she’s on a mission to make sobriety not just a choice but a full-on celebration. Elaine dishes on everything—from her wild bartending days (firepoles and all!) to how she’s now inspiring the restaurant world to up their mocktail game. Oh, and she’s spilling her fave booze-free picks, like NA gin, Heineken 0.0, and Kin Euphorics.

This convo is just a sneak peek of the longer conversation Elaine and I had for the upcoming Mocktail Summit, happening January 2025! Elaine’s summit session is packed with even more juicy stories, tips, and inspiration—you won’t want to miss it!

Get in touch with Elaine!
Website | Instagram

Click HERE to get a copy of my FREE Mocktail Resource Guide.

• Instagram: @Mocktail.Mom
• Mocktail Book: The Happiest Hour
• Website: MocktailMom.com

You are loved. Big Time Cheers!

Chapters

• 0:01 Intro
• 0:49 Meet Elaine Empalmado
• 3:07 Early Start In The Bar Scene
• 8:30 Sponsor Message: Giesen 0% Wine
• 9:52 Finding Your Personal Triggers
• 13:05 Favorite NA Beverages
• 15:09 Outro

Transcript

Deb: 0:01

Buckle up, friends, and welcome to the Thriving Alcohol-Free Podcast. I'm your host, deb, otherwise known as Mocktail Mom, a retired wine drinker that finally got sick and tired of spinning on life's broken record called Detox to Retox. Let this podcast be an encouragement to you. If alcohol is maybe a form of self-care for you, where you find yourself dragging through the day waiting to pour another glass, I am excited to share with you the fun of discovering new things to drink when you aren't drinking and the joy of waking up each day without a hangover. It is an honor to serve as your sober, fun guide. So sit back and relax or keep doing whatever it is you're doing. This show is produced for you with love from the great state of Kentucky. Thanks so much for being here and big time cheers. Okay, we are back. Elaine of Mocktail Hour is in the house. I am so happy you're here, elaine. This is so exciting.

Elaine: 0:58

It's a dream come true. Honestly, I can't believe I'm here after I just started this. What back in April, may, yeah?

Deb: 1:05

Incredible. Okay, yes. So before we, I am going to read your bio, but you have just splashed into the Instagram mocktail creator scene. It is so fun to watch you. I love the drinks that you make. Your energy and enthusiasm just pours out from your page. So, everybody, make sure that you're following Elaine. If you're not following her, her Instagram handle is Elaine Mocktail Hour, so make sure you're following her. Her website is mocktailhourca. Is that right? You're up in Canada?

Elaine: 1:33

Yes, I am in Toronto, right in the heart of it, oh.

Deb: 1:35

I love it. I love it. We love having Canucks in the house, so welcome. Yes, all right. Elaine spent seven years in the hospitality industry as a bartender and bar manager at various venues within Toronto, from creating cocktail menus for upscale cocktail bars and working at clubs. She suffered through substance abuse. She's been sober since January of 2024. I get chills saying that. So congratulations and happy one year soberversary. Thank you Quit her last bar job in May of 2024. And she's been a full-time content creator ever since, working with non-alcoholic brands to further elevate the mocktail world. I can't thank you enough for being here today. It gives me chills to say that you're on your sober journey and it's just so, so exciting. So congratulations to you and you're newly engaged.

Elaine: 2:22

I see you on that finger there. Yes, thank you so much. Yeah, that's literally. It was a big surprise. It was only probably, I think, two, three weeks ago now two weeks ago, okay, yeah, he was also in the industry as well, like we had known each other from the club, you know, like the club bartending, because it's such a small industry here in Toronto, so everyone knows everybody. But we kind of actually went sober almost around the same time without even really knowing each other, and then reconnected and here we are, oh my gosh, okay, congratulations.

Deb: 2:55

I can't wait to see the drink menu, the mocktail menu for your wedding. Yes, yeah, I'm definitely going to create something. Yeah, there's going to be some amazing signature drinks at your wedding, I know that. So how did you get started in the industry, becoming, you know, a creator of cocktails?

Elaine: 3:11

So actually I started when I was 19. So I was a makeup artist at Sephora, like 17, 18. And then I ended up like I dated this guy who was like a bartender in Toronto and I was like you know I had been. I grew up right outside of Toronto and I was, like you know, this is such a big city. I fell in love with the city immediately.

Deb: 3:32

Really.

Elaine: 3:33

So, like, I started off like trying to find like little odd jobs, because it's kind of hard, especially in Toronto. It's such a saturated market, so you kind of have to start off as like a hostess or something. But then I ended up getting a job at a dive bar in this place called Kensington Market. It was like I walked in my first day of work and he goes okay, so these are your light, like your light alcohols, your vodka, your gin, your white rum. These are your darks. I'm going to go get drunk now. The floor is yours and so, yeah. So from there I ended up actually moving upstairs on top of the bar, oh my God, and I had a fire pole going down to work. No, you didn't, yes, I did.

Elaine: 4:20

And like, on top of that, I'm like 19 years old and I have free reign to drink as much as I want, because there's no computers. Like, it's a dive bar, right, it's socially acceptable, especially if you're in Toronto, to drink and get drunk while you're at work. So I ended up doing that and, like, even though I drank a lot at work, it also taught me how to run a floor really well, because I was usually alone and we would have, you know, like club events, house music events, that kind of thing. So from there, like because I had that experience under my belt, it was very easy for me to start working in more of like a cocktail bar setting. It was kind of almost like fake it till you make it. Like. If they say, do you know how to make a Moscow Mule? And I had never made one in my life, I'm just like yeah, like I'll just Google it right.

Deb: 4:58

You go behind the bar and like you're Googling like Moscow Mule.

Elaine: 5:01

Yeah, well, actually like in like my first cocktail bar, I was so nervous that I ended up actually just studying a bunch of the classics. So, like I was like I memorized the Manhattan, the Old Fashioned, the Negroni, like literally Moscow Mule everything under the sun. That was a classic. And when it came time I was just like, okay, like after you get a few reps under your belt of making that classic, it was great. So by the time I was like 24, I ended up managing like my first bar and creating a menu for them and it just kept going and like by the time I was like 26, 27, it was almost getting like, yes, I was managing bars and I was a really fast bartender, but it started kind of getting dark because I was just always drinking at work and then also in Toronto it's socially acceptable to maybe partake in something else than just alcohol while you're at work, right. So it does take a toll on you very fast and you can either let it break you or you can thrive from it. So I decided to one day just make a mocktail just for me. Really, and yeah, it was a I was like really craving. This was when I was already sober and I was like, man, I really want an espresso martini. And I walked into our place called Cocktail Emporium, which, like all bartenders love going to, and I found I think it was like an amaretto or something like that, and I remember just being like, oh, I should try that. Like, that sounds really cool. And I just I didn't even know about the non-alcoholic world because I had just come from bars. Right Like, we didn't like making mocktails.

Elaine: 6:39

In all honesty, like bartenders for me, especially like my whole way of thinking, if someone ordered a mocktail from me, I was like dude, why are you here? Why are you here? You know what I mean? Yep, yep. Like what is the point? Yeah, I was like, what's the point? Like, and on top of that, like, unfortunately, I'm going to make, I'm going to charge you what? Six bucks for a mocktail. But the problem and I figured this out later on in my sobriety journey was that we just didn't have the like.

Elaine: 7:11

You know, we don't know that the non-alcoholic bottles exist. Right Like you couldn't mark those prices up and you can pretty much make as much of a tip as you would as a cocktail, right? So we're slowly starting to catch on in Toronto, like they're starting to implement more and more non-alcoholic and I think also with my following, I have a lot of bartenders that I'm still friends with, great yeah, and I'm just seeing little videos of them online and it's just like one of my friends is taking a video of like my other friend that's bartending and I saw a Noah bottle and I was like, oh my god, like that Noah bottle's now at like one of the most popular bars right now in Toronto. Like it's just yeah, it's great to see that there might just be, like you know, some of the like the people here in Toronto that are starting to see it. It's starting to flourish. It's definitely not at the same pace as the US, but hopefully, soon.

Deb: 8:07

It's incredible. It's incredible, yeah. And to go into the bars and to see the non-alcoholic bottles there, yes, it's the change, the incredible change. I mean, I've only been alcohol-free since. Well, december 31st 2020 was my first day alcohol-free, so really, all of 2021 was my first year alcohol-free. And so now to see so many options is so incredible, yeah, okay, as you guys know, I love Giesen 0% wines.

Deb: 8:32

Their Sauvignon Blanc is my go-to on a regular basis. They recently launched a delicious sparkling fruit 0%, which is quickly becoming a fan favorite. I am so proud to have Giesen, thank you. Their family of alcohol-free wines include the most effervescent member of the family, the sparkling Brut 0%, which is absolutely delicious for any celebration. My personal favorite although I do love them all is the Sauvignon Blanc, coming in at only 100 calories for the entire bottle and, not to be missed, the other members of their 0% family the Riesling, the Premium Red Blend, the Rosé, the Pinot Gris. With Giesen's 0% wines, there's a de-alcoholized wine for everyone and every occasion.

Deb: 9:44

Give Giesen a try and let me know how much you love it. And if you want to meet their winemaker, go back to episode 33 of the podcast, where Duncan Schouler joined me to share about the Giesen story. So how is it now going into a restaurant or going into a bar and you're, when you order a drink, when you order a mocktail, and let's say there isn't a mocktail on the menu like coming from the perspective of like before. Like, why are you here? What is that feeling from a bartender? Like, why are you here?

Elaine: 10:07

Well, for me personally I'm not going to lie I don't really go to bars that often anymore, so I haven't come across really that kind of like thing Cause just because for me personally too, it's almost kind of like a trigger in a way for me to go to a bar. So when we do go out, it's just like restaurants that are not really within here, because I'm actually like my fiancé now and I we live. You just didn't air call Fiancé.

Deb: 10:35

I'm like because I'm still trying to get used to saying it. It feels so strange to say that, right, you're like, you're so cutely. Yeah, fiance.

Elaine: 10:42

Yeah, so let me hold my boyfriend for two seconds. Yeah, so we live still in King and Portland, which is, if anyone knows, toronto it is, or even people in New York. Like if you say you're from King and Portland, you're like they're like you're in the club district, like if I step, maybe like two minutes out my door, there's a club or not a club, but like a bar that turns into a club. So because of that, we know everybody, right, like my fiance and I we both worked on King Street. That's how we met each other, which is the most like we, our clubs, do bottle service, right, like they have 4 am last calls, like we just yeah, so we. And because of the fact that everyone knew us on this street, we were given kind of almost like I, like we like to call it the keys to the kingdom. So you walk into any bar and immediately they're like elaine, you want three shots yeah, they're like we got you we got you.

Elaine: 11:39

You like you don't, you don't have to pay, Just kind of tip the bartender, right? So because of that we try to just go out for dinner, if we do, farther away from this area. So I haven't, unfortunately, had the experience of having that. But I also see that the places that I have gone, even as far as Mississauga, which is on the outskirts of Toronto, there's a Mocktails on the menu Really and they are offering like I remember when I went out for dinner with my parents it was seed lip, so like it was still in the same price range as a regular cocktail and I was more than happy to pay back.

Deb: 12:13

You know, I think that's good, though just recognizing, like this would be a huge trigger, you know and I think that's encouraging that we all have to figure out what it is for us. You know, like in the very beginning, it was very hard for me to walk into the non-alcoholic bottle shop, you know, because I had to go all the way to the back of the store, walk through all the wines that I used to purchase, you know, and so just recognizing, like okay, this would be a big trigger to go in here.

Elaine: 12:35

Exactly. Yeah, it's just like it's time and place, maybe like one day when I'm cause again. I'm I'm just been sober since January, so I'm just trying to be a little bit more careful. Elaine, you're doing great. You're doing great. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Deb: 12:49

Yeah, yeah. And just I. I'm so excited for the thousands of people that you are inspiring, especially in the restaurant industry, the hospitality industry. So many people need to see your shining example of sobriety and the fun that you can have making drinks. So okay, if you had to pick favorite non-alcoholic spirit, if you could only buy one. Is there a favorite non-alcoholic spirit that you have?

Elaine: 13:12

Yes, I would say I used to be a great big fan of gin, so I would do the non-alcoholic gin from Noah. I find that the juniper the amount of juniper actually really mimics the real gin.

Deb: 13:27

Okay, nice to know. Okay, how about a non-alcoholic beer? Do you like non-alcoholic beers?

Elaine: 13:31

Yes, I'm a big fan of beer and pizza recently and, yeah, I don't know, I never was like that when I drank. But, yeah, beer and pizza, and I love the Heineken. Yeah, heineken Zero is good.

Deb: 13:45

And it's so nice that that's available so many places. I mean you can find that all over.

Elaine: 13:49

Literally? Yeah, I don't know. I find that for me. I can't even tell the difference.

Deb: 13:53

Oh good, okay, Very nice. How about alcohol-free wine? Do you like the wines at all?

Elaine: 13:58

I do like alcohol-free wine. I haven't experimented too much with it. One of my girlfriends actually came out with the Vino Collection, where she uses grapes Tempranillo grapes, which are from Spain, Yep, and I made a mocktail menu for her for those, and I tried her which one. It was the white wine that she uses. It was so good. So the Vino Collection.

Deb: 14:21

The Vino Collection Very nice. And is that that's Canadian? I don't think I've.

Elaine: 14:24

I don't know, that is Canadian as well, that's perfect.

Deb: 14:26

We have people from Canada. How about a ready to drink? Last question Kin Euphorics.

Elaine: 14:32

Okay, yeah, kin, I know it's the adaptogen functional drinks, that one. I think it's the adaptogen functional drinks, that one. I think it's the pink one. I think it's called Blossom. Yeah, okay, kin, blossom.

Deb: 14:44

The Blossom. Okay, thank you so much, elaine. Seriously such a delight to meet you, thank you. Thank you for being here, thank you for sharing delicious drinks with the world, and I just am so excited for your bright, bright future. So thank you for being here and sharing.

Elaine: 15:00

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me Honestly such a pleasure and an honor to be on your podcast. Thank, you.

Deb: 15:06

Thank you. Yes, so fun Big time. Cheers to you for tuning into the Thriving Alcohol-Free Podcast. I hope you will take something from today's episode and make one small change that will help you to thrive and have fun in life without alcohol. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social, send up a flare or leave a rating and a review. I am cheering for you as you discover the world of non-alcoholic drinks and as you journey towards authentic freedom. See you in the next episode.