3 non-alcoholic drinks so delicious you won’t miss the booze
Un-boring-ing your options for Dry January and beyond
Dry January is here again. If you’re thinking of signing up, you’re not alone. Some 9 million people took part in the UK alone last year. About the same number are expected to kick off 2024 by keeping January booze-free.
Before the month is out as many as one in three will have gone back on that pledge. I don’t blame them. Kicking the booze can be a real challenge if your usual dry stretch is only the odd day or two and you’re not used to seeking out more engaging non-alc options to keep you going for the long haul.
If this is where you’re at, fret not: the fact is, your options have got an awful lot better of late. I’ve picked just three but even then it’s enough to demonstrate the wide range of drinks available beyond the same old diet coke or lime and soda.
REAL drinks sparkling tea
Sparkling fermented tea. It’s not one that I would have thought up but I’m glad someone else did. This makes for a deliciously dry and delicate alternative to Champagne and sparkling wine.
It comes in four varieties: Royal Flush, Dry Dragon, Peony Blush and the recently released Tiger Hill. Each is made with loose-leaf tea and has no additives or flavourings. The first two varieties have been around the longest and may be easier to find. Royal Flush is fruitier, with rhubarb and white peach notes. Dry Dragon is a little more acidic, with lemon meringue and hay notes.
These are all great on their own straight from the fridge, but you can also have some good results if you play about. Try mixing some Royal Flush with a slug of Botivo (more on which in a moment) to bring a bit more complexity to your glass.
Royal Flush, £7.50 for 750ml at Sainsbury’s
Dry Dragon, £9.00 for 750ml at Waitrose
Botivo
Botivo is an oxymel — the sort of tart, herbal drink once taken as a home remedy to boost your immune system. It has a base of apple cider vinegar and honey that is slowly infused with aromatic botanicals: wormwood, rosemary, orange zest, gentian and thyme. (There’s also a little extra sugar in there just for balance.)
Quick word of warning: It’s not one to sip neat. This is made to be lengthened and a little goes a long way. But use the right amount and it makes for a sophisticated and complex drink every bit as interesting and nuanced as any boozy options.
It’s great just with apple juice and soda water and perhaps a chunk or two of fresh orange in there. I really like a slug of it mixed in with a non-alc lager to make a bittersweet almost michelada-like drink. Lucky Saint and Mash Gang Stoop (see below) are both great options for this treatment.
£26.95 for 70cl, which makes 20 servings, direct from Botivo Drinks.
Stoop
Beer has led the world of non-alcoholic drinks for decades. That’s because beer is simply better at booze-free than any other formerly-alcoholic drink yet developed. Alcohol-free wine is generally terrible, sad to report, and spirits are not truly quite there yet either. Meanwhile non-alcoholic beer just goes from strength to strength.
So to say an alcohol-free beer tastes good is no longer enough to make it noteworthy. What’s good about Mash Gang is they start at tasty and add what a lot of non-alcoholic beer has hitherto lacked: fun, excitement, vibrancy.
Stoop is a superb alcohol-free fridge-beer. One to reach in and grab without looking. One to pop and chug before the door’s even closed behind you. One to glug while you cook. Start the night with it if you don’t want to feel too mashed later on. End the night with it too perhaps, if you want to wake up fresh in the morning. And at no point will you feel like you’re drinking a lesser version of the lager you really wanted. This is the lager you really wanted, just without the booze.
£14 for 4 x 440ml, direct from Mash Gang. Also available as a 12-pack for £33.
A final word
Just because there’s no booze, it doesn’t mean your drink doesn’t merit a bit of attention. Don’t skimp on the serve. Garnish and ice just like you would with an alcoholic drink. Make it just as special. You’ll find it easier to stick the month out if you do.
And finally, really finally this time, a reward for making it all the way to the end. While it’s not one of my picks this time, Lucky Saint remains a thoroughly decent choice when it comes to a non-alcoholic lager. You can get 15% off orders over £30 with the code ECDRYJAN15 until 10 January. There’s also 15% off with the code DRINKDRY15, again for order over £30. I suspect this one might last the whole month.