There was a time when ordering a nonalcoholic cocktail meant soda water, a single drop of bitters, and a lackadaisical squeeze of lime — if the bartender was feeling generous. These days, drinkers can do a little better, especially if they reside in Boulder. Crystal Sagan, longtime beverage caterer, mocktail maximalist, and founder of Cocktail Caravan, has made sure of that.

Cocktail Caravan is a beverage-maker-slash-catering-company that operates out of Boulder Junction, where Sagan and her team design cocktail and mocktail programs for weddings, private events, corporate gatherings and community celebrations across the Front Range. The business will celebrate its 10th anniversary in January.

“We’re a boutique beverage catering operation,” Sagan said. “That’s essentially a way to say we’re bartenders, but offering a more elevated experience.”

That elevation has less to do with rare spirits or elaborate glassware than with making sure everyone at the bar feels accounted for, whether they’re imbibing or teetotaling.

Long before Dry January became a cultural shorthand and long before nonalcoholic spirits started occupying serious shelf space, Sagan was already building menus that treated mocktails as something more than an afterthought.

“We’ve always had mocktails as an option,” she said. “But it used to be rare for them to actually be on the menu. Now I would say about half of our events have a mocktail or zero-proof cocktail listed.”She added, “For me, it’s about inclusivity. Just because somebody doesn’t want alcohol, for whatever reason, they shouldn’t have less of a meaningful experience. The mocktails we serve are just as beautiful and well thought out as the cocktails. I want people to feel special regardless of whether they’re having alcohol or not.”

For Sagan, that philosophy extends beyond the bar. Earlier this holiday season, she launched Shop Small Boulder, a new online hub that gathers local businesses offering holiday deals in one place, with participating businesses pledging to donate a portion of each sale to local food banks. It is not a marketing platform so much as a mutual aid project with a checkout button.

“When SNAP benefits went away, I kind of had a panic attack,” Sagan said. “People are struggling, and small businesses are struggling too. This felt like a way to support both.”

Sagan’s own path into beverage catering was less strategic than it might sound in hindsight. Her first business, which predated Cocktail Caravan, started with a single wedding for a friend of a friend.

“When I first started, there really wasn’t anyone doing anything like this locally,” she said. “Event bar programs hadn’t really been elevated yet.”

However, after her first event, the calls kept coming in, and her business grew without marketing, without a business plan, and without much time to overthink it.

After four years of running the business alongside a full-time job, she decided to commit to it fully. Cocktail Caravan followed, with more intention behind its structure and scope, and a clearer sense of what kind of experiences she wanted to create.

“What we’re really interested in is creating experiences for people around a beverage program,” Sagan said.

Over time, the language around that work shifted. What once centered almost exclusively on alcohol began to expand, reflecting changes in both customer preferences and Sagan’s own priorities.

“I used to say that meant alcohol, but it really doesn’t anymore,” she said. “Even though we’ve always offered mocktails, the last couple years that’s really taken off.”

That evolution eventually led to Sip Society, Cocktail Caravan’s newest project and the one currently commanding the most attention. Launched just ahead of Dry January, Sip Society is a membership program that delivers fresh-pressed, produce-forward cocktail and mocktail mixers to members each month, either through local delivery or pickup.

On paper, the idea is straightforward. In practice, it distills more than a decade of experience into something designed for home use, without asking people to become mixologists in the process.

“I think it’s important to note that fresh-pressed mixers aren’t the same as fresh juice,” Sagan said. “If you’re mixing a cocktail or mocktail, it needs structure and it needs to stand up to a spirit.”

Sagan’s not just building flavors around seasonality — she’s also building restraint. The company’s most popular mixer, a cucumber-lavender concoction called Good Vibes Only, is regularly requested at holiday markets — and regularly denied.

“Cucumbers aren’t in season in the winter,” she said, almost apologetically. “We want to stick to what’s fresh.”

In January, that means citrus. All three mixers on the Dry January menu start with a citrus base and build out from there. The Primrose mixer is floral and pairs well with lighter spirits, while the King Sour works with bourbon or whiskey. Then there is The Pleaser, a pineapple, carrot and red chili blend that often requires reassurance, and Sagan’s favorite.

“People get weird about carrot,” Sagan said. “But The Pleaser is really pineapple-forward. The carrot adds earthiness, and the red chili isn’t spicy, it just adds complexity.”

Sip Society’s Dry January package includes a bottle of MockOne nonalcoholic spirit made by Breckenridge Distillery, an addition that highlights a distinction Sagan is careful to explain.

“If you add the mixers to soda water, that’s a mocktail,” she said. “But when you mix with a nonalcoholic spirit, it really elevates the experience. The flavor becomes more complex and feels much more adult.”

But you don’t need to be an adult to drink the mixers. In fact, the younger set seem to enjoy them as much as adults.

While most of us grew up drinking apple juice or the uncanny horror of “fruit cocktail,” Sagan’s 4-year-old has a far more advanced palate. At home, she samples mixers like a tiny bartender with a crayon behind one ear, choosing strictly based on color.

“She loves anything red,” Sagan said.

And whether you’re choosing to shake the mixers into a finger of vodka, opting for a version with the nonalcoholic spirits, or pouring a measure over some ice for your preschooler, Cocktail Caravan’s concoctions are for anyone with a sophisticated palette, or trying to elevate their typical Tuesday evening takeout Chipotle dinner.

Sip Society is a membership rather than a one-off product, a choice driven by both logistics and philosophy. For Sagan, it offers a way to build longer-term relationships with customers and maintain continuity outside the event calendar.

“For me, it really comes down to community,” she said. “I’m very aware that what I do isn’t essential, and I feel lucky to be able to make a living doing it. I want to give back and build connections.”

That focus remains even as the initial Sip Society sign-up window runs through late December and early January. Outside of January, Cocktail Caravan continues to operate year-round through online ordering, local delivery, pickup, and pop-up appearances around town.

To sign up, or visit Cocktail Caravan in person, visit https://cocktailcaravan.square.site/ or head to 2805 Wilderness Place, Suite 700, Boulder.