8 Alcohol Free Alternatives for When You’re Not Drinking.

What to drink when you’re not drinking?

Decided to live hangover free but not sure where to start?

Want to cut down on your wine consumption but don’t fancy fizzy water? Fed up of nights out on diet coke and water? Even more fed up of people asking if you’re pregnant or trying to persuade you to just have one?

FYI – I answered yes to all of the above.

Stopping drinking, or taking a break, can be hard enough without well-meaning friends and less well intentioned colleagues (in my own experience) edging you closer to a drink.

Even when it’s not hard, when you’re enjoying your Sunday mornings, the extra money in your bank account and your new found extra hours in the day; sparkling water and soft drinks can get more than a tiny bit boring.

So what else to drink?

(Note: if you find alcohol free alternatives trigger, this post may be best avoided)

I usually stick to the aforementioned sparkling water and lots and lots of green tea, but every once in a while I’ll get a bottle of something in for a treat. My suggestions are aligned on the wine (and gin train) and for now you’re at home drinking, unless you can persuade your local pub to stock them or ask the restaurant to allow you to bring your own drink – I have been known to do this. Club Soda are also doing a great job of encouraging more venue’s to stock alcohol free options and you can find your nearest with their Club Soda Guide. 

There are also lots of alcohol free beers on the market – Becks Blue has been a staple on supermarket shelves for a while & Brewdog’s Nanny State is becoming ever more popular in pubs (finally!) – but as I never really drank beer they’re not something I’ve actively hunted out. However, if you’re looking for beer’s I can’t recommend Dry Drinker enough! I met Stuart, the man behind Dry Drinker, at a One Year No Beer meet up (read more about the awesomeness that is One Year No Beer here) and what he’s doing is awesome + his website offers huge variety and very reasonable delivery charges.

For previous prosecco lovers …

• The Bee’s Knees This non alcoholic sparkling wine is yummy and great for celebrations, you can buy a case of 3 for 13.99 on Amazon
• DIY: Schloer Low Sugar + Perrier (great if you only want to pop to the corner shop!)

White wino no more?

• The best I’ve found is M&S’s Alcohol Free White, they don’t seem to sell it online so pop in to your local store to have a look …
• Eisberg is a more available option but better if you have a very sweet tooth! 

Partial to a glass of red in the past?

• Again, M&S’s Alcohol Free Red is my favourite option, as before they don’t seem to sell it online.
• They’ve also introduced a mulled wine punch for Christmas which I drank at the weekend – festive celebrations without the unwanted side effects.
• Belvoir have a “Hangover free shiraz”. My not-sober housemate, who regularly drinks alcohol free with me and has the kind of moderate relationship with alcohol that I can only dream of, has refused to drink this she dislikes it so much but I don’t think it’s too bad.

For the spirit fans who are rediscovering their sparkle:

• Seedlip. Solving the “what to drink when you’re not drinking dilemma”. On first glance this may seem a bit pricey, but the bottle lasts for ages and it makes a great dinner party drink. Added bonus – the bottle is beautiful and looks fantastic on your shelf!
• It would also make a wonderful and thoughtful gift for your newly teetotal friend. Seedlip is my favourite thing to drink at the moment. I like to mix it with a 7up free but the recommended serve is fever tree tonic – also delish!

Start small. Next steps.

When you’re in the supermarket next, or doing your online supermarket shopping, add a bottle of something alcohol free to your basket. All of the options above are yummy alternatives to alcohol, great for a treat if you’re teetotal, having a night off or simply trying to drink more mindfully.

What are your favourite alcohol free alternatives? I’d love to try some more!

All my love, L xx