9 great alcohol free drinks to have at home this Dry January
Ah, Dry January, the time when either you or one of your friends puts a spanner in the works by demanding to go to a pubs or restaurant that ‘does decent alcohol free drinks.’
There are loads – here is a big list of some of London’s best venues and events for a low or no alcohol drink – but if you’re fearing the boozed-up crowds may tempt you to get back on the sauce, you could also stay at home. It’s grim out, so why not? Here are some sophisticated alcohol free drinks to have at home.
Sprigster ‘Garden Brut’
Sprigster’s wines are served in some of the best pubs and restaurants in the UK, including The Newt in Somerset, Petersham Nurseries, The Pig and Soho House. They incorporate British garden hops, rhubarb, ginger, and fennel seeds and infuse them together for several weeks to create great botanical flavours. For the dry fizz, aka the Garden Brut, they add a gooseberry reduction and carbonate.
Sprigster also lay claim to being the first non alcoholic drinks makers to have created a single estate non-alcoholic product, created exclusively with ingredients from their private garden. sprigsterdrinks.com
Read more: London is getting a new alcohol free bar with incredible-sounding drinks
Wild Idol White and Rosé
Even though it’s entirely free from alcohol, Wild Idol wine is crafted and blended by traditional winemakers. Vegan, gluten free and with fine bubbles, it’s a thoroughly convincing switch up for the boozier stuff, and comes in white and rose sparkling varieties. Wildidol.com
Three Spirit
These makers say their drinks enhance your mood, even though some scientists claim the science doesn’t yet back this claim up. Whatever your thought on that topic, there’s no denying their Nightcap, which features valerian, can help some people get to sleep. With wood, spice and citrus notes, it also sports a mature mouthfeel, so it’s something like a whisky nightcap without the booze. They also have a Livener, with supposedly ‘euphoric’ guayusa and ‘balancing’ green tea. threespiritdrinks.com/products
Sentia
Sentia contains GABA enhancers to offer non-drinkers another sort of high. Their products, best served on the rocks, contain “complex botanicals… perfect serve for sophisticated hedonists to get what we want from drinking (connection and harmony), without the downsides.” There are sweet, bitter, and smoky variants depending on what you feel like drinking. sentiaspirits.com
Read more: London pubs with alcohol free beer in pints for Dry January
Rebellious Cream Soda
This “nostalgic” cream soda drink is lightly sparkling and laced with 15mg of CBD. It also has coconut oil, sweetener and vanilla extract for an adult’s take on a family drink. rebeliciousdrinks.co.uk/product/cream-soda
Others to try
Big Drop Galactic Milk Stout, Butcombe Brewing Company’s IPA, Zero Lush sparkling rose, and the Big Drop Pine Trail Pale Ale have all won at the annual World of Alcohol Free Awards and are all crafted in the UK.