A “dry bar” is a bar that does not serve alcoholic drinks—the opposite of a “wet bar.” Liverpool’s Brink opened in 2011 and was the first modern dry bar in Britain. Brink served sodas, smoothies, juices, teas, coffees and virgin cocktails. “Dry bars: will they be the next big thing?” appeared in The Guardian (UK) on August 11, 2013.
 
“Dry bar” has been cited in print since at least 1980.
 
   
Google Books
Public Relations News
Glenn Griswold
1957
Pg. 612:
The “dry” bar was one of the most popular extra-curricular attractions of the meeting.
 
Google News Archive
7 July 1980, Miami (FL) News, “Who needs it?”, pg. 1A, col. 1:
Speaking of imbibing—some barflies aren’t, it seems—the customers at Woody’s place in Waukegan, Ill., for example. Which is just fine with owner Woody Woodhull, a burly Milwaukee boilermaker and former bouncer and bartender who runs what he calls the only “dry bar” in the Midwest.
 
Google News Archive
15 July 1987, Tuscaloosa (AL) News, “Non-alcoholic Drinks Can Quench Thirst, Too” by Denise Shepherd, pg. 33, col. 1:
When entertaining, have a “wet bar” with alcohol and a “dry bar” with Juices at separate locations.
 
The Guardian (UK)
Liverpool’s first dry bar opens
Guest blogger Declan McSweeney visits Brink which aims to combat the city’s alcohol problem
Posted by Declan McSweeney
Monday 7 November 2011 06.01 EST
The problems of alcohol abuse in Merseyside are well-known, with a study by Liverpool John Moores University showing the city to have the highest level of hospital admissions in Britain linked to alcohol.
 
However, Liverpool is also “the recovery capital”, according to Carl Alderdice, manager of Brink, in Parr Street, which is Britain’s first “dry” bar.
     
The Independent (UK)
Is Britain’s first modern dry bar any fun?
It has slick decor, exotic cocktails and regular gig nights – but The Brink serves no alcohol.
Will Dean
Friday 09 December 2011
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The result is a drinks menu that features items such as traditional pop from the Oldham firm Mawson’s, Peter Spanton’s range of bitters and tonics and shots of cordials made by Mister Fitzpatrick’s (who, incidentally, run one of the last remaining temperance bars in the country, in Rawtenstall, Lancashire).
 
There are also smoothies, juices, teas and coffees and virgin cocktails such as the “Driver’s Dream” (apple and pineapple juices; lemongrass tonic; elderflower and bramley apple). Most cost no more than £2.20 and waiters are trained to match soft drinks with Gill’s meals.
 
“The biggest seller,” Johnston-Lynch says, “is Bundaberg – an Australian drink that’s lemon and lime bitters. It looks like pink champagne, and it’s got a really strong aftertaste that people seem to love.”
 
Click (Liverpool)
Liverpool’s alcohol & drug-free bar, The Brink, create cocktail for a future King
by Paige Gardiner. Published Tue 23 Jul 2013 10:41
The Brink, Liverpool’s dry café bar, has created a special cocktail fit for a future king to celebrate the birth of the Royal baby.
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The Brink is a revolutionary social venture, which opened in September 2011, and is the UK’s first dry bar and restaurant, serving locally sourced fresh food, an imaginative array of non-alcoholic drinks and hosting events to showcase the talent of local artists
 
The Guardian (UK)
Dry bars: will they be the next big thing?
Alcohol-free cocktail bars are springing up across the country, but can they lure punters away from pubs and clubs?
Posted by Paula Cocozza
Sunday 11 August 2013 14.00 EDT
The drinks look good: vibrant reds and greens; fresh mint and crushed ice bursting from the glass; petals; a rim of salt. The drinks taste good, too. But there is something missing. The soporific burn of alcohol. As anyone coming to the Redemption bar in east London is warned on arrival, these drinks are dry. Although if you didn’t get the warning, you could work it out from the names of the cocktails (“mocktails”). Here’s a “mock-jito” – muddled fresh mint and lime – or a “coco-rita”, based on coconut water.
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Salway is not the first to start an alcohol-free bar. In Liverpool, the Brink opened in 2011, as a social enterprise to help those recovering from alcohol addiction.