An interview with Tawny Lara & Nick Mechak, the “Sober S*xpert” & non-alc beverage brand founders
I remember exactly how I met Tawny: In December 2022, I was new to the world of non-alc - and sobriety. I attended the After magazine launch party at Hekate as one of my first ever sober events and was excited to meet Aqxyl, the owner of Minus Moonshine, who I had found on Instagram as part of my research into the non-alc world. We had been chatting for a few minutes when all of a sudden, Aqxyl pointed at the person next to them and asked me: “Do you know Tawny? YOU DON’T KNOW TAWNY?! YOU NEED TO KNOW TAWNY!” - and that’s how I met Tawny.
Since then, Tawny has published a book with the amazing title “Dry Humping” and successfully launched a non-alcoholic vinegar-based botanical drink with her partner Nick Mechak - what a wild ride! I’m excited to feature Tawny and Nick in this interview to talk about their journey through sobriety, publishing a book, and launching their own non-alcoholic beverage brand.
Hi there! How’s it going?
Tawny: Pretty great, tbh. I'm on the train to Boston for a book signing/drink tasting at Dray Bottleshop. The book tour and drink tour goes on!
Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
T: I’m Tawny, author of Dry Humping and co-author of The Sobriety Deck, co-host of the Recovery Rocks podcast, and co-founder of the vinegar-based botanical beverage, (parentheses). I've reported on the sober/sober curious/mindful drinking scene since 2015. I began with blogging and an event series called Readings on Recovery. I eventually pivoted into podcasting, publishing and now have my own drink! Life is wild.
My husband and co-founder, Nick is a sommelier who got into fermentation when he quit drinking. He's the reason (parentheses) tastes so complex and nuanced. He also has a cooking vinegar called Sour Humanoid.
What’s your sobriety story?
Tawny: I quit drinking in 2015 as a social experiment. I wanted to see if my relationship with alcohol hindered my writing and creativity. Spoiler alert... I WAS RIGHT. After that first year, my sobriety evolved from a social experiment to finally addressing the mental health issues that I suppressed with alcohol. Now I'm more than 8 years alcohol-free.
Tawny! Tell me about the work you do as a “sober sexpert”, what does that look like?
T: When I quit drinking, the thought of dating—let alone hooking up without booze scared the hell out of me. So, as a proper Millennial journalist, I took my questions to the internet. I quickly became the internet's "Sober Sexpert" not because I know everything about the intersection of sex and sobriety (I DON'T!), but because I ask all the questions.
Writing my book also helped me zoom out of just sober sex and dating to research the role liquid courage plays in our interpersonal relationships. Now, my work is more inclusive of coworkers, family dynamics, friendships, and all other interpersonal relationships.
I heard you two also just launched a non-alcoholic drink - what inspired that?
T: My first sobriety blog was called SobrieTea Party because (a) I love wordplay and (b) I love tea. I always wanted to have my own herbal tea line called SobrieTea. My new drink (parentheses) is a version of that dream. While it's not tea, it's still loaded with botanicals. Hubby and I eventually put our brains together to launch (parentheses), a vinegar-based botanical beverage.
How did you approach developing the drink, what was your influence there?
N: Tons of everyday beverages started from herbal medicine, so we used ages-old botanical infusions as a jumping off point. We used organic kelp vinegar as a base which has some deep and interesting flavors and textures. We grouped botanical ingredients together by their traditional medicinal use and then balanced the flavors from those herbs using ingredients that don't necessarily do anything other than add flavor. We wanted a drink that's strong, complex, caffeine-free, and not sweet or carbonated. I think we did that well.
T: As someone who's been in the NA scene since 2015, I've tried damn near every. single. drink. What both Nick and I felt was missing was a drink that was strong AF, packed a punch, and wasn't carbonated. Several folks who tried early versions of (parentheses) said they've never had something so strong since they quit drinking. Sometimes, at tastings, people do a little wiggle or get tears in their eyes because of the intentional bitterness. That visceral reaction usually leads to them buying at least one bottle.
Nick is very humble; let me brag on him for a moment: Where most vinegar-based drinks include apple cider vinegar, Nick actually makes our seaweed vinegar! Once the vinegar is made, then we add the botanicals. Every bottle of (parentheses) comes with a great deal of care and artisanal craftsmanship.
“What both Nick and I felt was missing was a drink that was strong AF, packed a punch, and wasn’t carbonated. ”
What challenges did you run into when developing (parentheses)?
N: The laws regarding vinegar production and the safety of ingredients, specifically botanicals, are antiquated and scattered. We did a lot of extra work to make sure that (parentheses) is safe, treated as a food product, and not an unregulated dietary supplement. To be clear, there are safe and well-made drinks out there categorized as dietary supplements, but that's because the people making them have integrity.
What’s your favorite way of serving (parentheses)?
T: I was a whiskey drinker, so I like (parentheses) served on the rocks or neatly. Shaken and strained is also delish because the seaweed reacts to the shaking, creating a nice foam on the top.
N: The recipes you made are excellent, Sam! My "everyday" way to drink (parentheses) is shaken and served neat with some salty snacks or cheese. I've also been drinking (before) with Antidotes' "deep red" apertivo and a big ice cube lately.
What future plans do you have for the drink?
N: Right now we're pretty focused on growing the flavors that are out since (parentheses) is so new. We have tons of ideas. We'd love to partner with local farms, experiment with barrel ageing, or make really specific and interesting limited releases that tap into specific qualities of some of the wonderful plants out there that might be too difficult to source regularly.
T: We also want to keep the literary theme going. We're curious to experiment with what other punctuation marks "taste" like.
How can we get our hands on Parentheses? Are they in any bars or restaurants yet?
(parentheses) is currently available online at drinkparentheses.com or in NYC at Spirited Away and Minus Moonshine, in Boston at Dray bottle shop, and in the DMV with Hopscotch. Philly and Jersey coming soon!
Thank you so much Tawny & Nick for the amazing interview!
