""Oh, I love bars." It's an interesting off-hand admission from JW Wiseman, the founder of booze-free craft cocktail company Curious Elixirs. Launched in 2015, Brooklyn-based Curious is both a trailblazer in the non-alcoholic drinks world - seriously, there was pretty much nothing worthwhile in that space a decade ago - and a leading brand in our new sober curious present. According to Curious Elixirs' their revenue topped $47 million during the past five years, versus $2.2 million in the business's first five."
"I met up with Wiseman near the end of 2025 at Club Curious, the company's semi-hidden office/speakeasy in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood. Besides celebrating a decade of business, the timing of our talk marked the beginning of a new era for the brand. After releasing a new, numbered flavor every year - all their non-alc drinks are infused with adaptogens and are primarily riffs on classic cocktails - Curious had just launched Curious Zero, their first beer."
JW Wiseman founded Curious Elixirs in Brooklyn in 2015 as a booze-free craft cocktail company that infuses drinks with adaptogens and riffs on classic cocktails. The brand's revenue rose from $2.2 million in its first five years to roughly $47 million over the most recent five. Club Curious operates as the company's semi-hidden office and speakeasy in Williamsburg. Curious released an annual numbered flavor series and has now ended that series after launching Curious Zero, its first beer. The non-alcoholic category has seen quality products and strong growth but presently feels oversaturated. Wiseman's background includes early bar work, ownership of a whiskey bar and a nightclub, and roles at media and food companies.
Read at InsideHook
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]