Not Tying One On
John deBary has worked / developed cocktail programs for some of New York City's most influential restaurants. His latest project is Proteau, a line of zero-proof botanical drinks.
Photograph by Alexandra Rowley | Styling by Mariana Velasquez
Q: What was the inspiration for the company / drink?
A: I started my career in a fancy cocktail bar, PDT, and then transitioned to Momofuku, where I eventually became the company’s first bar director and opened ten restaurants and trained dozens if not hundreds of people not just how to bartend, but how to think and talk about cocktails and spirits. One thing I noticed early on in my career was the lack of viable cocktail recipes that didn’t have alcohol in them. Toward the end of my time at Momofuku, we started to get more serious about zero-proof drinks and saw a really positive reaction. There were a lot of people who had been previously left out of the drinking and dining experience that we connected with.
With Proteau I wanted to create something that was ready to drink and food friendly. It was important to make it without alcohol because the essence of hospitality to me is accessibility. Also making zero-proof drinks is technically a lot more challenging, since alcohol carries flavors really well and people generally enjoy drinking it.
I’ve lived on the Lower East Side for the last 15 years and one of the things I love most about the neighborhood is the overlapping of different culinary traditions and the extraordinary access to ingredients we have here. I wanted to combine botanicals, fruits, and artisanal vinegar in a way that was familiar and yet completely new and unexpected.
Q: How long did it take to launch?
A: A little over two years, from early test batches in my kitchen to a full scale commercial launch.
Q: What has the reaction been?
A: Really positive! Things are obviously a bit different than I had planned given that the pandemic has decimated the restaurant industry. Having servers, sommeliers, and bartenders as your evangelists is one of the best ways of getting the word out, so for now all of our connection happens online.
To me the response has shown that there has been a latent demand for credible, interesting zero-proof drinks, whether they’re completely novel formats like Proteau, or substitutions for things like spirits, wine or beer. It’s a case of many people realizing this is something they didn’t know they needed, that the idea of “fancy” equaling alcohol is not necessarily true, and having more options is better for everybody.
Q: Choosing not to drink can make me feel like a weirdo. How do you get over that?
A: I am not a teetotaler but I am a very infrequent drinker and regularly go weeks or months without drinking alcohol, so it’s not weird for me at all. In fact it would be super weird to me to just have a glass or two of wine on a weeknight with dinner. If someone has an issue with my drink of choice, that’s their problem.
Q: We’ve been on lockdown for awhile now. What has changed for the better in your world?
A: 2020 has been the best and worst year of my life. It's seen the release of my first cocktail book, Drink What You Want, the full launch of Proteau, and the massive amount of fundraising that the nonprofit I started, Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, was able to do for Covid relief.
Q: Tell me about your perfect day:
A: This is a tough question to answer because my tendency is toward contentment regardless of circumstances. I’m just as happy getting up early to go to a yoga-inspired fitness class as I am staying up until 2 am watching music videos with my friends.