What to drink when you are not drinking

Whether you have decided to cut down on alcohol, are doing Dry July or have been selected as the designated driver, this is your guide to what to drink when you are not drinking.

What are non-alcoholic drinks

In the broadest sense, a non-alcoholic drink is any beverage that does not contain alcohol. By this definition, water, soft drinks, juice and cordial have always been there, as well as coffee, tea, etc.

However, in the more modern sense, non-alcoholic drinks, a.k.a. NA drinks or zero alcohol drinks refer to alternatives to alcohol-containing beverages. A non-alcoholic drink is defined as “a beverage containing less than 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) that features the branding of established alcohol companies, and/or is designed to imitate the flavour, packaging, or overall appearance of alcohol products.” (1)

Different countries have different regulations regarding the maximum amount of ABV that this class of beverages can have (2).

What to drink when you are not drinking

Soda water (plus optional add-ins)

Soda water feels a bit more special than plain tap water. I like to order mine with lemon or lime if available and sometimes also bitters. That bitters have a small amount of alcohol, but it is negligible when diluted in water.

Fancy sodas

These days many establishments offer fancy sodas (including tonic water and ginger beer) made by specialty brands (e.g. Fever Tree) or in house. These can be a fun alternative to regular soft drinks, however most of them have high sugar content.

Mocktails

These are a common offering in most restaurants, pubs and bars these days. They are not always labelled as “mocktails” so ask your server for non-alcoholic drinks.

Generally speaking, there are 2 types of mocktails:

• Overpriced juice
• A regular cocktail made with zero alcohol alternatives

A lot of mocktails tend to be on the sweet side. I would like to see more dry alternatives, such as NA dirty martinis in menus.

Fermented low alcohol drinks

These include kefir, kvass, kombucha, ginger beer and chicha de jora. Some of these drinks may contain small amounts of alcohol produced by the fermentation process. The final ABV in the beverage is difficult to measure, especially when dealing with artisanal fermentation processes.

NA beer

This is the category of non-alcoholic alternative beverages that seems to be the closest to the alcohol-containing version. This is possibly due to the carbonation and the fact that regular beer is lower in alcohol than other beverages, making the gap between versions smaller.

NA beer can be produced without alcohol but is more often produced by removing the alcohol after fermentation via processes such as distillation and reverse osmosis (2).

There are also a few NA gluten-free or low-gluten options in Australia.

NA wine

Unfortunately for wine lovers, many NA wines are not great. Many taste like not very good grape juice or, even worse, cordial.

The 2 main types of NA wine are:

• Alcohol-removed wine, made as regular wines but with the alcohol removed after fermentation
• Wine alternatives, made with ingredients that have nothing to do with wine, but that may share taste profiles with certain types of wine or compliment a meal like wine would

There are bad and good products in both categories, so it’s a matter of trying different products.

NA spirits

NA spirit alternatives are typically made as an infusion of botanicals or other flavourings in water or by distillation (3).

Similarly to wines, there are bad and good products. Among the bad ones, I have tried a product that tasted like soapy water and one that tasted like water with a bunch of strong herbs dumped in it.

NA mixed drinks

NA mixed drinks are alternatives to regular mixed drinks and cocktails, often made with NA spirits and sold in single serve cans or small format bottles. Examples include rum and Coke, gin and tonic, negroni, cosmopolitan, margarita. When shopping for NA mixed drinks it is important to check for sugar content and the presence of artificial sweeteners or flavours if this is a concern.

Again, a major problem I have with mixed drinks is the sweetness. I would like to see alternatives that are not only sugar free but also less sweet.

Potential cons of NA drinks

While switching to NA drinks is likely to have positive effects on your overall health, there are a few potential cons.

Price

NA drinks can be as expensive as their alcohol-containing counterparts, or even more expensive. This is likely due to the cost of manufacturing and lower demand.

If you are on a budget, look for sales and stock up.

Energy content

NA drinks are lower in energy than their alcohol-containing counterparts because each gram of alcohol contributes approximately 7 kilocalories. However, the energy content of some NA drinks can be high due to its carbohydrate (including sugar) content.

Make sure you read labels to find out how much energy is in a drink.

Sugar content

Some NA drinks contain sugar, so read labels if this is of concern to you.

Make sure you read labels to find out how much sugar is in a drink.

Finally, the potential cons above can be mitigated by not overindulging in these drinks, but rather enjoying them in moderation.

Some recommendations

Below are recommendations of products I have personally tried. I am trying to build a database of recommendations, so

• NA beer: Sobah Davidson plum gluten free ale, Sobah wattleseed gold gluten free ale
• NA wine: Vinada sparkling chardonnay, NON wine alternatives
• NA spirits: Seedlip spirits
• NA mixed drinks: Naked Life mixed drinks

If you have any recommendations, please enter them in the survey below.

References

1. Alcohol and Drug Foundation. What are zero alcohol drinks? [Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://adf.org.au/reducing-risk/alcohol/zero-alcohol-drinks/what-zero-alcohol/
2. Okaru AO, Lachenmeier DW. Defining No and Low (NoLo) Alcohol Products. Nutrients. 2022 Sep;14(18).
3. Craftzero. How Are Non-Alcoholic Spirits Made? [Internet]. Available from: https://www.craftzero.com.au/blogs/craftzero-life/how-are-non-alcoholic-spirits-made

---

This website is for educational and informational purposes only. Click here if you need personalised nutrition advice.