Feel Free Botanic Tonic

On Saturday, I had a long conversation with the owner of The Wellness Bar, Mikey, about adding more items to the experience. I suggested adding non-alcoholic wellness drinks to accompany the treatments, which would be true to the name and spirit of the place. He seemed open to the idea.

The whole reason I discovered The Wellness Bar in February of this year was because my friend Steve was visiting, and we were discussing the idea of opening a location or a pop-up concept associated with non-alcoholic drinks. I don’t think this concept has caught on yet, but it might be something that could work in the right location. There are many people not interested in drinking alcohol, but they still want a social experience and drinks that resemble cocktails. There are “mocktails” that are alcohol-free and designed to mimic the taste of real cocktails, but I’m more interested in functional drinks with active ingredients that are designed to give you the feeling of drinking alcohol without the negative consequences.

I had forgotten that my friend Scott, who stayed with me for a week, left some items in the refrigerator. He brought a few bottles of something called Feel Free Classic, a plant-based wellness tonic. This drink is designed as an alternative to alcohol or energy drinks and is aimed for when you want to be more social, want a clean boost of energy, or want to focus. I had not tried the drink, so I grabbed two of them and headed off to The Wellness Bar.

I gave one to Mikey, and we did quick cheers and then went down the hatch. Neither of us had qualms about taking this elixir without knowing much about it or even all the ingredients. I knew it had kava root and something called kratom leaf. I went straight into my routine of sauna, red light bed, and cryotherapy. I felt slightly more relaxed than normal coming out of the sauna, and I was a bit buzzed in the red light bed. Other than that, I’m not quite sure how I felt taking this shot. I know there are going to be some vendors with various drinks at the conference, and I’m looking forward to trying some out and reporting back to Mikey.