Herbal teas and drinking vinegars add creative edge to new wave of non-alcoholic cocktails

When developing shrubs and tisane blends, Higher Vibration Tonics co-owners Lauren Lucek and Angelina Keselburg are constantly hunting for locally grown ingredients

From observing Dry January, to those just aiming to be healthier, alcohol consumption in America has been in decline for decades, especially among younger generations.

Pew Research Center reported earlier this year that only 62% of American adults say they ever drink alcohol, while 38% completely abstain. That’s down from when 71% of adults said they drank during the peak of alcohol consumption in the 1970s.

Alcohol avoidance is highest among the youngest cohort of adults — those aged 18 to 34 — 41% of whom report they totally abstain from drinking. 

Despite a 233% increase in the presence of mocktails on menus over the past four years, according to Sociallyin, it can still be fairly difficult to find creative, non-alcoholic drinks featured at restaurants and bars. 

Cue Higher Vibration Tonics, a San Diego company specializing in herbal teas and other beverage options for the sober-curious. 

Higher Vibration Tonics owners Angelina Keselburg and Lauren Lucek pose for a photograph in their U…