Alcohol alternatives?

[k3am]

Has anyone tried any alcohol alternatives and want to brag about them? Recess, apokethary, curious elixirs, I’m sure there are others..

Any thoughts? Ones you like or hate? Yays or nays? FB clearly knows that alcohol messes with my sleep cycles and has been suggesting so many things that I can’t tell if they’re worth the cost or if it’s just another case of me wanting to throw money at a perceived problem.

[isabel]

I haven't tried any of the liquor alternatives, but have been drinking NA beers, mostly fruited sour styles. I like the Athletic Brewing beers and just bought an Untitled Art sour that is tasty. They're really pretty good across the board and I feel so much better when I don't drink. I don't think I've had a drink at home in at least a month. I am still drinking socially when we go out, but not at home.

I'm curious about the liquor alternatives though. The main reason I won't fully commit to not drinking at home is that I love gin cocktails during the summer. If I could find a decent gin alternative, I'd probably quit it altogether except when hosting friends or something like that.

[scribellesam]

I tried Ritual Zero Proof tequila and Seedlip Grove a year or so ago. They both had an approximate flavor of the liquor they were replacing (gin for the Seedlip) but it was such a bland vague one that I wasn’t convinced. If you think La Croix tastes like the flavor it’s supposed to be then you would probably be happy with NA liquor.

I am usually content to stick with ginger beer or tonic and lime when I’m looking for a mocktail. I also like NA margarita mix with seltzer.

[al dente]

I haven't, but when I go through times of not drinking I like having kombucha at night. It has a tang, little fizz, and is different then water lol.

[underwaterrhymes]

I’ve tried various ones and haven’t liked any of them.

My go to replacement is seltzer with ice and lime in a wine glass.

[joy]

I haven’t been able to drink since my daughter was born. I replaced with CBD tea for awhile (Buddha Teas) and now drink boring decaf raspberry tea. I never found anything that really “replaced” alcohol, unfortunately.

[gummybear]

Apr 19, 2024 2:50:35 GMT -5 al dente said:

I haven't, but when I go through times of not drinking I like having kombucha at night. It has a tang, little fizz, and is different then water lol.

Kombucha is also my go-to as an alcohol replacement. It’s got good flavor, fizz, can be foamy and even appear like a beer, and there an endless varieties and brands to try.

I’ve had the Mingle cucumber mojito and it was good. It wasn’t overly sweet which I appreciated. I’ve found that the premade mocktails are kind of a rip-off (like, why am I paying craft beer prices for juice and seltzer?) and often cloyingly sweet or artificial tasting. I like to make my own and experiment with different fizzy bases (World Market has an excellent selection and all the “sodas” from overseas are way less sweet than our garbage). Fever Tree also has very good base sodas. Add fresh herbs (basil, mint, rosemary, lavender etc.) or fruit, yum. It’s also really fun and easy to make your own simple syrups, which you can just add to seltzer.

[gummybear]

Oh also there’s a lot of mocktail accounts on Insta (and I’m sure Tik Tok as well but I don’t go there 👵🏼). They make endless delicious looking mocktaiks, always give recipes, and lean in hard on the liquor alternatives.

[rachers]

I really like the Poppi sodas - the Raspberry Rose is my favorite and what I've been taking when I want something fun to drink without drinking.

Fever Tree makes really good tonic flavors.

[icedcoffee]

I've tried Seedlip gin and it tastes fine but is missing the bite I look for. Agree that kombucha or Poppi sodas give me more of that bite I look for.

[lavenderblue]

If I want a "drink" but not alcohol, I like to make Mocktails. My favorite right now is 2 parts OJ, 2 parts pineapple juice, 1 part cranberry juice, and seltzer of choice. The seltzer gives it that nice tang but the juices make it nice and sweet.

[mae0111]

I stopped having a nightly wine/spiked seltzer/cocktail on Jan 1. It has made a pretty big difference in my sleep.

I started drinking Spindrift sparkling water instead of a High Noon or White Claw. I think it's a little better than a regular flavored seltzer/sparkling water - it actually has a little bit of juice in it to flavor it, so no chemical taste. I don't know if it's available everywhere, here's the site: drinkspindrift.com/

One of my friends swears by Fre wine. She started when we both did dry January and she never went back to her regular wine during the week. I just bought a bottle but I haven't tried it yet.

[mpc]

We went on a cruise a few months ago and I ordered a bottle of Fre wine with dinner. It's been almost two years since I stopped drinking, so maybe I don't remember exactly, but I thought it was a pretty good substitute. Minus the buzz of course. I've given up on trying to have something to drink at home, but sometimes when out for a special occasion I really miss it.

[waverly]

Nothing really. I was into sparking water for a while like La Croix or Bubbly.

I've tried mocktails at lots of places and were mostly unimpressed. But I did like one that was a raspberry mint fizz: raspberry puree, cran juice, mint simple syrup, sparkling water, lime. Provided that you like those flavors.

[cattledogkisses]

Apr 19, 2024 8:26:49 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

I've tried Seedlip gin and it tastes fine but is missing the bite I look for. Agree that kombucha or Poppi sodas give me more of that bite I look for.

This has been the downside for me of all the non-alcoholic liquors that I've tried.  None of them have been able to replicate the "bite" of actual liquor. 

I mostly just drink flavored (non-alcoholic) seltzer, and enjoy a real cocktail once in awhile on special occasions. 

[litskispeciality]

I don't do a lot of mocktails or non-alcoholic traditional mixed drinks if that makes sense, but I will pour water in to a wine glass when I want to feel like I drank but don't want the alcohol. You should be able to buy non-alcoholic drink mix like Bloody Mary, Margarita, maybe even Mai Tai etc., however I often find those so sweet the booze help cut the taste. Maybe pour a smaller serving, or add a lot of ice to water it down?

I believe there are non-alcohol wine brands? I also saw some wine brands that are selling much lower alcohol content, fruit flavored wine. Probably a good idea if you like to drink in the heat, but don't want to get drunk.

Sorry not super helpful.

[gardengal]

I had a mocktail in a restaurant made with the Seedlip “gin” & I enjoyed it. But it was more herbaly than gin-y from what I recall?

Anywho, I mostly lean into fun bitters, which can contain alcohol but you’re just using drops of it. Like, Bittman’s Hellfire in grapefruit seltzer with lime (or Fever Tree Sparkling grapefruit which seems to have a little grapefruit juice in it?) for a “Paloma”. I also like Bitterman’s Burlesque & 1821 Bitters’ Earl Grey. Either with plain or flavored seltzer or thatwith pineapple juice or lemonade, respectively. If you want more of a bite back, look into shrubs (basically fruit & vinegar). With strawberries in season near me, I’m going to do a strawberry one this weekend.

ETA: re non alcoholic wine, I think I read somewhere that they lean into cherry juice (at least the reds) so that’s another thought to try just generally 

[liverandonions]

I like NA beers - my favorite is Brooklyn Special Effects Hoppy Amber. But a Green O'Douls is good too - I'll even put them in a dressed glass.

Fre NA Sparkling wine is pretty decent but their Cab tastes like balsamic vinegar

brooklynbrewery.com/brooklyn-beers/non-alcoholic/special-effects-hoppy-amber/

[liverandonions]

I also like the a good mocktail with fancy juices, example: cucumber, basil, pineapple, lemon, local honey, soda

and a nice go-to for an easy drink that looks fancy is club soda with a splash of cranberry with a lime

[liverandonions]

Apr 19, 2024 9:06:44 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

Apr 19, 2024 8:26:49 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

I've tried Seedlip gin and it tastes fine but is missing the bite I look for. Agree that kombucha or Poppi sodas give me more of that bite I look for.

This has been the downside for me of all the non-alcoholic liquors that I've tried.  None of them have been able to replicate the "bite" of actual liquor. 

I mostly just drink flavored (non-alcoholic) seltzer, and enjoy a real cocktail once in awhile on special occasions. 

Find one that uses Ginger beer, especially fever tree - that will give you a good bite

[acr]

My brother gave me a bunch of Ghia drinks for Christmas, and I really like them. They have the right kind of bite that is reminiscent of gin. They're pricey, so I don't drink them super often. The cans can be found at Target, so easily accessible 

[mrsukyankee]

I like making mocktails - so many you can find online. And I do love ginger beer (non-alc).

[rhian]

I'm pregnant, and have been really pleasantly surprised by the mocktails available at restaurants and bars these days! It's a lot better than even during my last pregnancy 2 years ago. I appreciate that the mocktails are now balanced in terms of flavors (bitterness, acid, etc) rather than basically just being super sweet juice mixes like they used to be.

I recently had a gin mocktail that I was pretty impressed by. Unfortunately, the menu doesn't list the brand they used, but it said was a London dry gin, and Google pretty much exclusively pulls up this when I search for non-alcoholic London dry gin: lyres.com/range/dry-london-spirit/

At home, I usually don't bother with real alcohol alternatives and just drink sparkling water or coconut water if I want something other than plain water.

I'd maybe try ordering some mocktails while out so you can test out things without necessarily committing to a whole bottle? It would also give you a sense of how mixologists/bartenders are putting together NA drinks and maybe give you some inspiration for home.

[rachers]

Apr 19, 2024 10:03:38 GMT -5 rhian said:

I'm pregnant, and have been really pleasantly surprised by the mocktails available at restaurants and bars these days! It's a lot better than even during my last pregnancy 2 years ago. I appreciate that the mocktails are now balanced in terms of flavors (bitterness, acid, etc) rather than basically just being super sweet juice mixes like they used to be.

I recently had a gin mocktail that I was pretty impressed by. Unfortunately, the menu doesn't list the brand they used, but it said was a London dry gin, and Google pretty much exclusively pulls up this when I search for non-alcoholic London dry gin: lyres.com/range/dry-london-spirit/

At home, I usually don't bother with real alcohol alternatives and just drink sparkling water or coconut water if I want something other than plain water.

I'd maybe try ordering some mocktails while out so you can test out things without necessarily committing to a whole bottle? It would also give you a sense of how mixologists/bartenders are putting together NA drinks and maybe give you some inspiration for home.

I remember when I was pregnant 6+ years ago I ordered a ginger beer at a restaurant and everyone was amazed and kept saying “they didn’t have that when I was pregnant!”

It’s come a long way since then! Restaurants here now have fun mocktail menus.

[k3am]

I think I'm going to order the Apokethary mini kit. It's supposedly loaded with adaptogens and you can use them to make a mocktail to still get the experience of drinking but also get some benefits of calm and deeper sleep that alcohol tends to mess with.  

[simpsongal]

Apr 19, 2024 3:55:27 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

I’ve tried various ones and haven’t liked any of them.

My go to replacement is seltzer with ice and lime in a wine glass.

This - with maybe a splash of pomegranate or cranberry.  I also like mixing ginger ale, cran and OJ w/a splash of seltzer.  Mocktails can be tasty!  My dad's go to was a ginger club - mix of ginger and seltzer, maybe w/citrus twist.

here's a Wapo lineup: www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/04/04/best-nonalcoholic-beers-ipas-pilsners/

The Guinness NA is pretty tasty.  The commenters on the Wapo post had good recs too.

[jane6672]

I like Athletic brewing for beer (the golden ale is my favorite so far).

Just last night we went to the non-alcohol store, because I miss wine the most and wanted some that actually tastes like wine and not syrupy perfume or vinegar piss.

I’ve tried this: www.drinksurely.com/products/non-alcoholic-bubbly-red-cabernet-pinot-noir/

Very good! like a dry Lambrusco.

Also bought (but haven’t tried yet), a bottle of NON no. 1 - NON wine has good reviews from culinary sites. And a bottle of Saint Viviana Sauvignon Blanc.

Some general tips they gave me:
- many non-alcoholic wines are best (taste most wine-y) 2-3 days after opening.
- for red not-wines, a drop or two of aromatic bitters in the glass can help round it out and not taste too sweet.

[jane6672]

Mostly I’m sad that it’s more expensive to buy a decent non-alcohol alcohol/wine than it is to buy decent real alcohol/wine 🥲

[k3am]

Apr 19, 2024 11:06:59 GMT -5 k3am said:

I think I'm going to order the Apokethary mini kit. It's supposedly loaded with adaptogens and you can use them to make a mocktail to still get the experience of drinking but also get some benefits of calm and deeper sleep that alcohol tends to mess with.  

I ordered it and the ingredients to make one of their recommended mocktails. Will report back sometime next week. (Should arrive tomorrow, but tomorrow is a performance day and will be a LONG day at the rink, so I foresee at least one G&T in my future to help me tolerate all stupidity I'll have to deal with)

[rosiebear]

I love Curious Elixirs, but they are pricey. I like getting the “extra spicy” ginger beer and mixing it with orange or grapefruit juice. The ginger a beer gives it that alcoholic “bite” I missed.