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Kentucky native kicks off mocktail movement

The Mocktail Project is hosting its first party Wednesday night, March 14, at Mint on Mellwood from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. There will be plenty of cocktails, coffee, mocktails, and food.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) - Bourbon and the Bluegrass go hand in hand, but what happens when you can't or don't want to drink? A Kentucky native all too familiar with the dilemma decided to do something about it.

Jesse Hawkins is the founder of the S.V. Foundation and The Mocktail Project.

"I made the choice on April 16. 2014 to personally become a nondrinker,” Hawkins said.

Fast forward three years to the day, and Hawkins decided it was time to tackle those social settings head on.

“On April 16 of this past year, coinciding with three years of recovery for myself, I started the Mocktail Project where I work directly with restaurants, social environments, and beautiful spaces like here at Copper and Kings just to offer the nondrinker that day just an elevated nonalcoholic choice,” Hawkins said. “For myself, the biggest fear was day one when I start living my life, what do I do. So, that’s really the Mocktail Project is that afterthought of let’s get them help and then when we’re starting to get back into our normal everyday lives and enjoying ourselves, the Mocktail Project is that next step in how do we live our life back in society.”

You'll see mocktails on the menu at local spots like Copper and Kings.

"A mocktail is particularly an expression of hospitality,” Copper and Kings Lead Bartender Eron Plevan said. “These are very elegant, crafted beverages that aren’t simply just juice and sugars, but just as much thought and creativity and expression and welcome are in each crafted mocktail. That’s the goal and the outreach is everyone is included.”

“It takes a bartender just as much time to build and craft these beautiful, tasty elevated drinks as it does a cocktail, and it’s really about the craft and the spirit,” Hawkins said. “It’s all about being inclusive and just offering us that elevated choice.”

His is now a very literal one. Last April, Hawkins bought a van to start spreading his message across the country.

"I'm doing 50 states in 50 weeks. My goal was to do one bucket list item in every single state that I never thought was possible without a drink in my hand,” Hawkins said.

Visits to recovery centers and meetings with restaurants and bars are also included in every trip. It's a journey Hawkins never planned for, but one he pours his whole heart into now.

"What really started as a movement very selfishly for me in recovery has really expanded into so much more,” Hawkins said.

The Mocktail Project is hosting its first party Wednesday night, March 14, at Mint on Mellwood from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. There will be plenty of cocktails, coffee, mocktails, and food. They're also trying to break two world records for the largest mocktail ever made and the most mocktails ever drank at a charity event. Tickets are $65, and that money supports the Healing Place and the Morton Center. Click here to register.

tner is promised back to Hawkins’ foundation to help others on the road to recovery. A portion of the profits from each par

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