CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — After Cecilia Rios Murrieta stopped drinking alcohol, she still wanted to participate in the social ritual of drinking — being able to have a beverage that made her feel excited.

So she created Joie Avec Sans, better known as JAS, an alcohol-free beverage brand. Pre-orders of its Paloma Libre cocktail just launched.

“I really think that this is a category of drinks that has been missing from our lives,” Murrieta said. “I think it has a lot to do with misconceptions of sobriety, and when we see someone who doesn’t drink we think they’re boring, and they’re really not. They’re actually living their best life.”

This isn’t Murrieta’s first dip into the beverage world. The now-student at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business started a mezcal company in 2012.

“I fell in love with mezcal and decided to make it my life,” she said.

In the beginning, it was an avocation — she learned about mezcal and would talk about it with friends. It became a passion for her, she said, and then became her vocation.

“I really love this side of beverages that people identify with — what you drink, what does it say about you?” she said.