Raising The Bar Review

There's nothing like a good cocktail. Successfully preparing your own, with fancy bartending tools and mixologist techniques, can be half the fun. But not all situations call for booze—whether you're cutting it out altogether or just looking for a weeknight alternative. That's where Raising the Bar (available at Raising The Bar) comes in.

This mocktail kit subscription ships monthly boxes with alcohol-free spirits, mixers, canned mocktails, tools, and recipes to help you concoct your own zero-proof beverages at home. We tested this service, and did some trial mixing and sipping, to see whether it can truly help you achieve expert-level beverages—sans booze—from home.

About Raising the Bar

Abbie Romanul launched Raising the Bar back in September 2020, after she quit drinking and was frustrated by the lack of tasty mocktail options on the market. It was also during a time when we were getting everything from groceries to bottles of liquor delivered to our door.

Romanul and her husband Devin decided to take the opportunity of having extra time during the pandemic to launch their business into reality, providing themed boxes of mocktail ingredients to folks across the country every month. And three years into their journey, the brand is going strong with monthly subscriptions and thousands of social media followers.

Each month, subscribers receive a themed package with enough ingredients to make three or four seasonal recipes and up to 16 total drinks. Beyond subscriptions, Raising the Bar also offers options for one-time boxes, corporate events, and gifts.

What we like

The mocktails are tasty and unique

We received the August Free Bird cocktail kit, which features a bottle of rum-like Fluère Spiced Cane Blend and a variety of mixers, garnishes, and tools.

There were three featured recipes to incorporate all the ingredients in the box: The Free Bird (inspired by the Jungle Bird tiki cocktail), Clear & Stormy (a play on a Dark 'n' Stormy), and an ISH lime daiquiri—which is a ready-to-drink mocktail but can be enhanced with Fluère and a garnish for a fancier beverage.

We followed each of the provided recipes to the letter—even following the brand's suggestion for glassware. The resulting drinks were all delicious.

Fluère brings a complex flavor that's highly reminiscent of spiced rum, offering an experience that made us feel like we were sitting at a bar (when we were really at home in our PJs). Everything was well balanced, without being too sweet, syrupy, or acidic.

Plus, all of the directions were simple and easy to follow, making this kit ideal even for mixology beginners.

The subscription comes with fun add-ons

We weren't sure what to expect from our first Raising the Bar package, so we were pretty surprised to unbox a wooden mallet from the box.

Beyond edible ingredients, this month's box also came with a Lewis bag and mallet for crushing ice by hand. We followed the brand's instructions to achieve crushed ice and got to have a unique experience along the way. (Who cares if your fridge already produces crushed ice? This is way more fun!)

Raising the Bar boxes also come with some garnishes for authentic bartender flair. This one came with a small jar of maraschino cherries and wooden cocktail picks to help you achieve photo-worthy drinks.

Another unexpectedly fun detail is the accompanying curated playlist that gets sent to subscribers with each shipment. August's Free Bird vibe was a mix of artists like Steely Dan, The Police, and The Beach Boys to go along with the end-of-summer poolside theme.

It's great for gifting

Gifting a bottle of wine is not always a good choice (even if it's admittedly easy). If you're planning a gift for someone and are unsure of their alcohol-drinking status, Raising the Bar is a fun option that's suitable for anyone.

There's a one-time Blueberry Shrub box, which includes all the ingredients needed for one of the brand's more popular non-alcoholic drinks.

You can also choose to send a subscription to anyone and include a gift message before checking out. There's also the gift card option to let the giftee decide when they want to receive their box.

What we don't like

Not all recipes are included in the box

Upon unboxing our package, we were surprised to see that not all of the accompanying recipes and information were physically stored in the box. Instead, there's a postcard-sized paper with one recipe and a QR code that's meant to help you access "additional recipes."

But navigating through that link only brought us to a confusing page on the site with links to past month's boxes—not information about the current one.

We had to dig through our email to access the link to the recipes, monthly Spotify playlist, and other informative guidance we needed to get the most out of the subscription box.

As long as you're able to access your email, you shouldn't have trouble finding all this info. But we think it could be confusing for some folks; we would have preferred to have all of the physical recipes and list of necessary ingredients in one place.

You'll need some of your own tools

Every monthly box that gets shipped out to Raising the Bar subscribers is the same. That means there's no beginner box that first-timers receive with basics like a jigger for measurements, a shaker, or glassware.

There have been similar tools in past boxes, but because those are no longer available, you're on your own when it comes to stocking your home bar.

You'll also need to fend for yourself for certain garnishes, like fresh fruit. Luckily, Raising the Bar gives you a heads-up and offers a full list of ingredients and tools you'll need that are not included in the box. So it's easy enough to prepare your stock beforehand.

Should you subscribe to Raising the Bar?

Yes, if you're looking to up your mocktail game

Whether you're looking to cut out alcohol or just indulge in a zero-proof happy hour drink that isn't a boring seltzer, Raising the Bar could be a fun way to mix up your routine.

Each monthly box offers a different flavor profile that will get you out of your comfort zone, and you'll be able to sharpen your mixology skills at home—without worrying about hangovers.

As long as you're okay with doing some preparation (and possibly some cocktail tool shopping) beforehand, you'll be able to get the most out of every month's box and embark on a journey of flavor discovery.