One way to help curb the craving for booze is by supplementing your typical drink with something carbonated. Sparkling wine alternatives, like Töst, might offer more satisfaction than drinking a de-alcoholized wine because of the sensation of the bubbles. These “wines” are made with a white tea base, and flavored with ginger and elderberry for the rosé or white cranberry and ginger if you’re trying the brand’s flagship bottle. The rosé is on the drier side, while the original offers a sweeter, fruitier flavor like a fancier version of Martinelli’s.
The Best Non-Alcoholic Spirits
What to try: Garden 108, Spice 94, Grove 42
How to drink: Craft a classic cocktail suggested by Seedlip or mix up one of your own
Seedlip makes non-alcoholic liquors that are flavorful and sugar-free. Currently there are three flavor profiles: Garden 108 (with pea, hay, spearmint, rosemary, and thyme flavors); Spice 94 (flavored with all spice, bark, citrus, berries, cardamom, lemon and grapefruit peel, and oak); and Grove 42 (made from a blend of three types of orange, lemongrass, and ginger). Seedlip Garden is one of our favorites for its vegetal flavor, though you’re sure to find a bottle that suits your tastes. The NA liquors are perfect for mixing into classic cocktails (or, mocktails), including an espresso martini, toddy, and apple highball.
What to try: Aperitif, Le Spritz, First Sip Kit
How to drink: Mix Ghia with a bubbly mixer (equal parts) or pop open a can of Le Spritz for a ready-made mixture
Ghia is a spirits-free apéritif for these modern times that’s flavorful enough to sip on its own or stir up into a mixed drink. It’s made of plants and botanicals that possess “potent” and “heady” flavors—like you’ve combined citrus fruits (peel and all), leaving you with a pleasant sweetness that’s tempered by some bitterness, too. Ghia has even expanded its line of Mediterranean-inspired apéritifs with three ready-to-drink cocktails, or canned spritzes—Ghia Ginger, Ghia Soda, and Ghia Lime and Salt—that riff on the OG recipe.
What to try: Whiskey, Gin, or Mezcal
How to drink: Create your go-to recipes or try something new like a Mezcal Mule or The Fitz
Monday is an award-winning zero-proof liquor maker that offers a non-alcoholic whiskey, gin, and mezcal that are made in small batches in California with botanical ingredients. It’s a little vague on how exactly these are produced, so it’s unclear whether these are de-alcoholized distillations or not. Either way, the taste profiles are still on point for blending into your favorite cocktails or sipping neat, and there’s even a Monday Trio if you want to try all three at once.
What to try: Smokey, Fresh, Bright
How to drink: Create your go-to recipes or simply enjoy with a club soda for a quick highball
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