In Saudi Arabia, Locals and Wellness Travelers Alike Are Embracing NA Cocktails

Mocktails may have once been a bit of a joke in the Western world, left on menus for children or diners who had one too many the night before.

But now, non-alcoholic (NA) beverages have risen to mainstream acceptance, from NA beer to craft NA cocktails. And that’s catching on around the world.

As tourism soars in Saudi Arabia, the prominence of non-alcoholic drinks within the Kingdom is rising in tandem — both due to international travelers turning to more health- and wellness-minded options, and domestic travelers choosing to revel in an alcohol-free taste of cocktail culture.

The early days of a growing industry

While non-alcoholic drinks are now firmly established in the Kingdom, even a few years ago, that wasn’t the case. Nick Crutchfield was on the ground in Saudi Arabia in 2022 when tourism and NA drinks were both far more nascent than they are today. In his role as global director of education and trade engagement for Lyre’s, a non-alcoholic spirits brand, he spent eight weeks engaging with the local market to increase awareness about cocktails and cocktail culture.

“It was f–ing wild,” Crutchfield, who left Lyre’s in 2025, says. “Back then, it was a real weird, fine line between ‘harem’ and ‘halal.’”

Crutchfield worked with local distributor networks to reach clients such as Four Seasons, Fairmont, Zuma Riyadh, and many others, educating and training their staff on non-alcoholic spirit options. “What I found fascinating was the willingness of everyone that was on staff to embrace it and figure out that their customers might be interested in it,” he says.

There were no shortage of hurdles to overcome, including pushing against the boundaries of legality and morality alike. But even beyond that, the flavors of NA cocktails were largely unfamiliar within Saudi Arabia, and a dearth of social gathering spaces in the form of bars meant there were no established ways to enjoy them.

“The adoption of non-alcoholic was more difficult because there were no western-style bars,” Crutchfield says. “But the coffee and cafe culture is huge, and it’s a very nocturnal society, because it’s so hot in the daytime. So, coffee cafes are going off until two or three in the morning.”

He says that NA espresso martinis were a logical entry point into the category, along with less-bitter drinks, such as spritzes and mojitos. Non-alcoholic drinks started to become an alternative means of social consumption, and found their way, in particular, with western-style luxury hotels.

Since then, growth in the non-alcoholic drinks space has been swift within Saudi Arabia. Non-alcoholic spirits have grown by 15 percent annually in the Kingdom since 2019, with projected continued growth of 10 percent per year through 2029, according to data provided by IWSR, which tracks and quantifies alcohol sales and consumption trends around the world. Saudi Arabia is also the dominant player in the region in this regard, with its sales accounting for 78 percent of the total volume of NA products consumed and tracked in the Middle East in 2024.

Non-alcoholic drinks and luxury tourism

As high-end hotels and resorts in Saudi Arabia straddle the line between appealing to international and domestic visitors, they have become a natural home for the non-alcoholic movement. The swanky Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, opened in 2024, has a dedicated NA cocktail bar called Maia. Its celestial-minded decor calls to mind the cultural importance of the night sky, while the drinks themselves showcase myriad ingredients such as house-made sodas, shrubs, and syrups deployed with balanced construction. Service and storytelling are elevated further as each drink is prepared in front of guests via a tableside cart. NA cocktails are priced around SAR 95, or roughly $25.

According to its hospitality team, the hotel believes that such a venue enables Saudi travelers to enjoy a well-made offering with their families and friends that is aligned with societal norms. Staff also shared that they think NA drinks appeal to international guests eager to experience local customs while dipping into the growing trend toward wellness on vacation.

At The St. Regis Riyadh, the hotel offers its signature nightly Champagne sabering ritual just like at any other St. Regis in the world. However, in this case, it’s with a bottle of booze-free bubbles. The property uses Bella Prosecco 0.0, made in the fashion of Italian Prosecco.

Each St. Regis also has its own signature Bloody Mary riff, and in Riyadh, it’s in the form of the non-alcoholic “Regal Mary.” The NA libation is made with tomato juice, traditional Saudi spices such as cloves and cardamom, date puree, and what’s described by its bar team as an elaborate “fried rice cloud garnish topped with tomato, cream cheese, and basil, symbolizing a royal crown.”

Tonic Bar, within the Four Seasons Riyadh at Kingdom Centre, is another dedicated NA drinks hub. Tonic showcases a selection of signature mocktails and, playing to its name, also offers a lineup of different tonics available to be served with zero-proof Beefeater gin for a diverse set of NA gin and tonic-style drinks. Tonic Bar’s mocktails start at SAR 55, or about $14.50.

The future of cocktails in Saudi Arabia

If future development is any indication, the non-alcoholic drinks movement in the country will likely continue to expand. The country’s Red Sea Project alone will have international hotel brands, including Ritz-Carlton Reserve, The St. Regis, Six Senses, Four Seasons, Raffles, Fairmont, SLS, InterContinental, Rosewood, and Miraval, among others.

Outside of luxe hotels, there’s also been a shift towards broader adoption of the NA movement. Last year, A12 Cafe opened in Riyadh, stylized as a pub serving non-alcoholic beers. The establishment drew local crowds and international attention for its new approach to the idea of drinks culture, non-alcoholic or otherwise, in Saudi Arabia.

The government has even recently opened up a liquor store in Riyadh serving non-Muslim diplomats, and is considering two others: an outlet for diplomats in Jeddah as well as a store in Dhahran on an Aramco site for its non-Muslim employees. It raises a question, especially in light of the growth of general cocktail culture: would alcoholic drinks ever be legalized in Saudi Arabia?

“I think [the current Saudi rulers] understand that tourism is the future driver, but I also think they understand the amount of money that ends up in Bahrain or Dubai in the ‘sin dens’ that they could capitalize on,” Crutchfield says. “It’s a difficult conversation.”

He’s also heard unofficial chatter, he says, about the potential of a French Concession-type development – a neighborhood or larger, foreigner-focused district with different laws and regulations. “I don’t know if it will happen, but I could foresee that it could,” Crutchfield says.

However, some Saudis, even those with a somewhat westernized point of view, don’t want things to change that much. Ohoud Mosuily serves as Nujuma’s culture and heritage experience manager, serving as a go-between for curious guests looking to learn more about Saudi culture and history. She also spent time living and studying in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She doesn’t think such an immediate, drastic change could or should take place. “Most people agree that they don’t want alcohol in the country,” she says. “But as tourism grows, there is chatter among that side of the fence.”

Modern non-alcoholic cocktails, though, are right at home. After all, in the arid environs of a place such as Saudi Arabia, the idea of a refreshing, non-alcoholic beverage isn’t a new thing. “We have a drink called ‘Saudi champagne,’” Mosuily says. “It’s basically apple juice with sparkling water and cut-up fruit. That’s been an option since I was a young girl.”