Sober October may be past but with lockdown and the festive season coming up, many of us are vowing to take it a little easier on the booze this time. Here are some great, new products that feel like a treat and in some cases, can actually do you good.
SPIRITS ALTERNATIVES
Caleño Dark & Spicy
Fresh to the market is Caleño’s new baby: Dark & Spicy! We adored the original, with its infusions of inca berry and juniper - a perfect gin alternative perhaps, though very much of its own style. This new version does the same for lovers of dark rum. Think of riper, tropical notes of pineapple with a kick of ginger, vanilla pod and a twist of lime. They’ve nailed it!
Find it for £18 for 50cl at calendodrinks.com (with discounts for multiple bottle buys!)
Warner’s Juniper Double Dry Gin - 0% ABV
Hats off to Warner’s for being the first English gin brand to bring out its own 0% ABV versions. Using 100% natural botanicals and 90% of their ingredients being sourced from their farm in Northamptonshire, its herbaceous and powerful with a kick or warm spice on the finish. Also try their Pink Berry version, which is packed full of red fruit and spice.
Find it at 31Dover.com for £17.95 for 50cl
BUBBLES
Fortnum’s Sparkling Tea - 0.0% ABV
We talked about how much we loved Fornum’s sparkling rosé tea here and in our podcast, so it was great to get to try the white! Certified organic and a blend of eight teas, this version is subtle, fragrant and elegant with both tropical notes and more darjeeling-like tea flavours. Totally refreshing! It’s worth noting that this sparkling tea contains 150mg of caffeine per litre.
Find it at Fortnumandmason.com for £16.95
Good One, Craft Hard Soda - 4 % ABV
Hot on the trails of the hard seltzer trend, Good One is an English hard soda company with three, genuinely good flavours that taste natural, where so many others feel synthetic. Its sleek, vibrant, matte packaging makes it feel like a step up from a regular soda too. We particularly loved the raspberry, lime and basil but the cloudy grapefruit and thyme and the lime and cucumber are darn good too. Gluten free, vegan, lo carb and low calorie, there’s a lot to love about these.
Find mixed packs of 12 for £33 at haveagoodone.co.uk
BEER
Small Beer - under 2.8% ABV
The Small Beer Brew Co. are going strength to strength with their low alcohol beers that are good for you (being under 3% and isotonic) and good for the planet. Given what could end up being a marathon of drinking over the next two months, wouldn't it be good to have a stash of these lower alcohol beers in the fridge? For a limited time from now until 20th Dec, they are also offering a 6-month gift subscription, compete with brilliant videos and a gift poach for under the tree!
Find the beers and the subscription pack at theoriginalsmallbeer.com