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Coachella 2023: The New Bar offers a cocktail experience without the hangover

April 15, 2023

There’s something new brewing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio this year when it comes to cold beverages.

Decked out with a bright red bar top and stools and with eye-catching bottles lining the back shelves, The New Bar, located within the 12 Peaks VIP area and the general admission Indio Central Market on-site, looks and pretty much feels like a regular, but higher-end bar.

On Friday, April 14 — the first day of the first weekend of Coachella, which returns April 21-23 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio — New Bar bartenders were meticulously mixing crafted cocktails like the tequila-flavored Mojave Agave, the whiskey inspired Polo Buck and the sparkling Super Bloom Spritz wine drink.

Scenes from non-alcoholic bar New Bar in the Indio Central Market during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio on Friday, April 14, 2023. (Photo by David Brendan Hall, Contributing Photographer)

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While these drinks packed in a lot of flavor, none of them packed an alcoholic punch because all of the booze at The New Bar was not really booze at all.

“It’s really unique and exciting because usually when you go somewhere and there’s a non-alcoholic option it’s usually one thing and it’s usually a beer, but in this case we have a full menu the way you would expect at a typical bar, but without a hangover,” said Brianda Gonzalez, the 28-year-old founder of the Venice-based alcohol-free bottle shop. The New Bar is making its Coachella debut in 2023, marking the first time the festival has partnered with a fully non-alcoholic bar.

“We noticed a non-alcohol trend so we wanted to have New Bar on site,” said Lizzy Curnen, culinary director for the festival. “Their cocktails are delicious; I definitely recommend hitting up The New Bar.”

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Gonzalez grew up on Catalina Island and now lives in Venice three blocks from her bottle shop, which she opened in July 2022.

She was inspired to open the alcohol-free shop after her father came down with an illness.

“My father was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and he had to give up alcohol. Food and drink had always played a big role in how we gathered and bonded together and so that kind of threw me into this whole category,” she said.

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“So what we do is source and taste and curate the best non-alcoholic drinks you can find from all over the world and we bring them to people in a way that is accessible and very personalized to their likes and tastes.”

While he was hesitant at first, 35-year-old Armando Delgado decided to give one of the drinks a shot during the festival.

“I’ve been drinking a bit today, so I wanted to slow down and this just hits the spot,” he said as he sat on a stool and took a sip of the whiskey inspired Polo Buck.

Gonzalez said it was her dream from day one to serve her non-boozy drinks at Coachella.

“It is a huge deal for us,” she said. “It’s always been about being where people are and where the fun is being had and bringing these options to people and Coachella was the perfect match.”

The New Bar isn’t the only place where people can get alcoholic-free drinks at the festival. Other places include the Heineken House where they were serving their zero alcohol beer.

But The New Bar was the main one offering mixology-style drinks like the Mojave Agave, which is made with Spiritless Jalisco 55, the “tequila” in the drink, which is mixed with Hibiscus tea, lime and agave.

The Polo Buck is The New Bar’s version of a whiskey drink made with Spiritless Kentucky 74, ginger beer, strawberry, mint and lime.

Wine drinkers can enjoy the Super Bloom Spritz, which is French Bloom Le Blanc Sparkling Wine, Optimist Cali Amaro Aperitif and soda.

“For me, I’ve learned that the true joy I get from a drink really comes from the flavor profile, from creating something, from crafting a cocktail and that can be accomplished without the alcohol and these products are getting so good that you really don’t miss out on much,” she said.

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Orange County Register

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Coachella 2023: The New Bar offers a cocktail experience without the hangover

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