6 Must-Try No and Low Drinks

Whether you’re doing Dry January, have quit alcohol entirely, are trying to moderate or just after some new, non-alcoholic, drinky treats to try, we are always on the lookout for fabulous no-low drink options to share with you. Here are some more we have tried recently and thoroughly enjoyed.

Lockdown Liquor Co., Grove Picante

The Lockdown Liquor Co. was launched in 2020 as a premium blended cocktail company, with expert mixologists using top ingredients for their offerings. What’s more, they are a great company to support as they were set up to provide financial support to NHS Charities throughout the pandemic as well as helping other charitable communities throughout the pandemic with COVID-19 related initiatives.  

Their Grove Picante is a limited-edition, alcohol-free blend created in collaboration with Seedlip and contains lime, chilli, agave nectar, orange blossom water and coriander. It packs a serious chilli punch and has a wonderful tang - a great non-alcoholic alternative for Picante lovers. 

Serve it over a large chunk of ice with the end of a chopped chilli pepper on top if you dare...

Find here: £25 for 50cl

Crossip Non-Alcoholic ‘Spirit’

According to Crossip founder and renowned cocktail creator Carl Anthony Brown, “not drinking is not just a one-off; it’s a way of life”. He created Crossip to combine a career in cocktails and passion for socialising with a healthier, sports-based lifestyle without the negative effects of alcohol. What’s more, Crossip donates 5% of all sales to good social causes ranging from mental health to addiction. These are flavoursome, complex drinks with a significant mouthfeel that pack enough punch to feel like a proper treat. Crossip also creates some interesting and very smart-looking mixers, such as violet tonic and fiery ginger beer. 

Pure Hibiscus is bittersweet, a bit like a negroni, based on hibiscus with rhubarb and finished with wormwood and cayenne for that powerful kick. There’s also a great viscosity - this is no weedy drink! Try it with tonic or soda water with a slice of orange. 

Dandy Smoke is the non-alcoholic choice for lovers of brown spirits, such as whisky or dark rum. Powerful and smoky, with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and a refreshing, cool mid note of menthol, the finish ends with a punchy chilli and ginger kick. Fabulous. Try it with ginger ale and a lime wedge.

Fresh Citrus is essentially the gin alternative and a great all-round choice. Complex and refreshing with natural flavours of mandarin, grapefruit, lemon, herbs and spices it again, has great mouthfeel and a fiery ginger kick. Have it with tonic and a citrus slice.

Find here: £22 for 50cl (there are bundles available with tonics too or just all the spirit flavours.)

Maria & Craig’s Distilled, Non-alcoholic CBD Botanical Spirit

Now, here’s an interesting concept: an alcohol-free ‘spirit’ with CBD! Maria & Craig’s is brand new to the market from Maria & Craig; the founders of CEDER’S and CELTIC SOUL distilled, non-alcoholic spirits. Together, they blend premium broad spectrum CBD from the USA with distilled juniper, sage, camomile and orange blossom as well as a few additional, other classic gin botanicals. The drink is handcrafted in small batches and the result is a subtly complex, refreshing; a little like a more herbaceous lemon barley water with benefits. Try it with premium tonic and garnish with an orange twist.

Find here:  £22.99

Mcguigan ZERO, premium alcohol-free wine

It’s fair to say that alcohol-free wine has taken rather a long time to get right! Thankfully though, we are seeing some great brands step up in this domain including much-loved Australian winery, Mcguigan. 

The range includes a still Chardonnay, a still Rosé, a still Sauvignon Blanc, a still Shiraz and a sparkling white blend. Last week, I polished off an entire bottle of the Shiraz, slightly chilled over the course of an afternoon and it felt like a light wine and actually tasted of Shiraz. Happy days! 

Find them at most supermarkets for around £5 a bottle.

Thomson and Scott ‘Noughty’ Alcohol-Free Sparkling Chardonnay

In terms of premium sparkling wine with the alcohol removed, Noughty has proved itself to be a very smart option. Looking serious on the outside, it’s made with organic Chardonnay grapes from Spain in traditional stainless steel vats and then de-alcoholised by vacuum distillation with aroma recovery. 

Vegan and with impressive B Corp credentials, this is a crisp, elegant fizz with notes of baked, golden delicious apples and brioche. 

They also make an organic Prosecco! We’ll try that soon and let you know what we think.

ABV: 0.05%
Find here: £8.99

UNLTD Alcohol Free Lager (0.05%)

Finally! A no-alcohol beer that’s also low on carbs and calories (and also vegan). Enter, UNLTD. Looking super smart with it’s black and silver label, this is a very light, refreshing and elegant beer. It’s flavour is fairly subtle but we found it absolutely did what you want a cold beer to do at the end of a stressful day, when you also want to avoid the booze and carb load. UNLTD will be brewing a no alcohol IPA soon too, so watch this space. We shall we stocking up! Highly recommended.

Find here: £24.99 for 12 x 330ml

See more of our recommended no and low drinks here.

The Best No-Low Alcohol To Drink and Gift for Christmas

With Lockdown 2 moving seamlessly into Christmas, the period of extended drinking just got a whole lot bigger! We find that having a stash of genuinely delicious, no and low alcohol drinks in the fridge make it much easier to take breaks and have nights off from the booze, while still feeling like you’re treating yourself. Here are the no and low drinks we’ve fallen in love with this year. 

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!

Size: 50cl
Gifting: Various delicious gift bundles available
Find here: Bottle £18

Small Beer

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? 

ABV: Under 2.8%
Gifting: For a limited time from now until 20th Dec, they are also offering a 6-month gift subscription, complete with brilliant videos and a gift pouch for under the tree!
Find here

OTO CBD Drinks

Meaning 'sound' in Japanese, OTO feel they represent ‘the space between sound and silence’. These are subtly flavoured soft drinks that promote focus, relaxation and balance throughout the day and into the night. Each drink contains 25mg CBD, which is proven to promote balance within the body, which ultimately keeps our bodies functioning properly and helps us get more sleep. 

ABV: 0%
Gifting: Discovery 3 packs available along with lots of other gorgeous CBD products
Find here: Currently on offer at £8.25 for 3 (usually £11)

Saicho Tea

Saicho is a brand new sparkling cold-brewed tea brand that comes in a range of three sparkling teas; Jasmine, Darjeeling and Hojicha. Made sparkling with a hint of sweetness, this has more of a distinctive tea flavour than Fortnum’s sparkling tea below and is a great sparkling wine alternative for fine tea lovers. 

ABV: 0%
Gifting: Luxury gifting box and selection boxes available.
Find here: £7.99

Mooze low alcohol low calorie Gin - 12% ABV

A great concept from founder Mel Sims, this is a much lower alcohol (and therefore calorie) gin than the usual suspects of around 40% ABV. It does a great job at keeping the mouthfeel, crispness and botanical flavour of a full proof gin too and is a perfect way to be a little more mindful about your consumption. It’s also vegan, sugar and sweetener free so all in all, that’s 36 calories for a double Mooze & Tonic compared to 154 for a regular double G&T plus less of a hangover. Win-win.

Size: 70cl Mooze alt gin
ABV: 12%
Gift idea: Can be sent to your recipient without pricing.
Find here: £24

Fortnum’s Sparkling Tea

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.

ABV: 0%
Size: 75cl
Find here: £16.95 

Gibsons Goodology CBD Drinks

Gibson’s Goodology is an exciting new entry in the wellness market with their palate-pleasing drink with superior CBD quality. Created by award-winning, London-based mixologist Oskar Kinberg and renowned tea expert Stefan Gieschke, these drinks are already making waves on the CBD scene with their original flavours: Shiso Tea and Blueberry, Green Tea and Passionfruit and Jasmine Tea and Rhubarb.

ABV: 0%
Gifting: Available in packs of 3 and packs of 6.
Find here: £14.99 for 3

Aecorn Aromatic

The three Aecorn drinks could be described as aperitifs and are made with wine grapes (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay). They are more silky and full-bodied than wine and you can drink them neat, chilled or with a splash of sparkling water as a spritzer. The most wine-like (and my favourite) is the ‘aromatic’, which is warm, woody and smoky. They also have a ‘bitter’, which reminds us of Campari and a ‘dry’, which is more for Sauvignon Blanc or Gin lovers.

ABV: 0%
Size: 50cl
Find here: £19.99

Three Spirit

There is no category to put these in, but I love them. Three styles of plant-based alternatives to alcohol with a different attitude, that, as they say ‘celebrates what you put into a drink, rather than what you take out.’ Using plants traditionally used in potions and ceremonies around the world, these are non-alcoholic drinks 'with benefits’ such as the addition of ashwagandha to relax in Nightcap or guayusa, guava leaf and green tea in Livener. It’s alchemy, it’s different and it’s delicious. You’ll want to keep the bottles too as they’re so pretty!

ABV: 0%
Gifting: Triple bottle gift packs available.
Find here: £24.99

Lucky Saint Beer

This is a bubbly beer that actually tastes like a fully fledged, flavoursome full-alcohol beer. In a slow and meticulous process, Lucky Saint delicately extracts the fermentable sugars from the mash as temperatures increase and leave it unfiltered to keep all the flavour and complexity. The beer is then distilled in a vacuum, which avoids the burnt and oxidised flavours many other non alcoholic beers have. I tested it with a bunch of beer drinkers and we all thought it was the best ‘ non-alcoholic’ beer we’ve tried (0.5% is considered to be alcohol-free). Now available on draught too.

ABV: 0.5%
Gifting: Find it in boxes of 4 or 48. 
Find here: £25 for 12 x 300ml

Brancott Estate Flight - Low Alcohol Sauvignon Blanc

Sitting at an ABV of 9% as opposed to 13 - 13.5%, this wine is lighter on the alcohol and therefore lighter on the calories that other Sauvignon Blancs. Made with grapes that are harvested earlier than usual before all their sugars develop, it is crisp, lean and clean but still packs the flavour punch you would expect from Sauvignon. Try it with goats cheese, salads and smoked salmon.

ABV: 9%
Find at most supermarkets for £7. Here’s Sainsburys.

Bax Botanics - Alcohol-free spirits

New to the market, this sustainable, Yorkshire-based company distills plants along with other botanicals to create an aromatic, clear non-spirit with lots of flavour that can simply be served with ice and a slice. We love the herbaceous verbena and the quirky sea buckthorn which has a fresh rosemary and orange citrus vibe. Lovely packaging too and apparently, it’s made with waste sugar cane!

ABV: 0%
Size: 70cl
Find them here and here.

Looking for more Christmas wine and spirits inspiration? Then take a look at these guides: wine, gin, vodka.

Mindful Drinking: Premium no and low alcohol drinks you'll want to sip all evening

With Lent now in full swing after Dry-January and as we slowly head up to Sober October, times of abstention from alcohol are so much easier to bear now thanks to a new wave of truly delicious, premium, non-alcoholic drinks. Some of these no and low beverages are simply lower alcohol versions of what we would like to drink anyway; some plant themselves clearly as alternatives to alcohol and others, cleverly, describe the enemy simply as ‘bad soft drinks’. Whether you can’t drink or are just trying to be more mindful of your alcohol intake, here are some delicious drinks that feel like a treat to taste. 

BEER

Lucky Saint
Alcohol: 0.5% 

This is a bubbly beer that actually tastes like a fully fledged, flavoursome full-alcohol beer. In a slow and meticulous process, Lucky Saint delicately extracts the fermentable sugars from the mash as temperatures increase and leave it unfiltered  to keep all the flavour and complexity. The beer is then distilled in a vacuum, which avoids the burnt and oxidised flavours many other non alcoholic beers have. I tested it with a bunch of beer drinkers and we all thought it was the best ‘non alcoholic’ beer we’ve’ tried (0.5% is considered to be alcohol-free). Now available on draught too.

Find it on Amazon or luckysaint.co for £25 for 12 x 330ml

Small Beer Co.
Alcohol content: 1%-2.8% 

The Small Beer company have ingeniously revived the lost tradition of creating ‘small beer’ that was popular in the 1700’s, when drinking water was dangerous. These are very low alcohol beers brewed between 0.5 and 2.8%. All under 3%, these beers are isotonic, so they are actually good for you! Tonnes of flavour without the hangover. There are four to choose from: Lager, Dark lager, Steam, and Session Pale. See our longer article on them here. 

Find them on Ocado or theoriginalsmallbeer.com for £2.15 per bottle (350ml). £11.99 for 6.

WINE-LIKE

Woodstar
Alcohol content: 1% 

This unique tipple looks like a wine and definitely does the job of wine, but it’s made with açai berries, blackcurrant and blueberries infused with cocoa extract instead of grapes. The result is a moreish, grippy, wine-like red juice. The small amount of alcohol comes from the açai berries being steeped in macerated in alcohol for twelve weeks to help release colour and flavour.

Find it Fortnum & Mason and Sainsburys for £8.50 (75cl).

Aecorn Aromatic
Alcohol content: 0% 

The three Aecorn drinks could be described as aperitifs and are made with wine grapes (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay). They are more silky and full-bodied than wine and you can drink them neat, chilled or with a splash of sparkling water as a spritzer. The most wine-like (and my favourite) is the ‘aromatic’, which is warm, woody and smoky. They also have a ‘bitter’, which reminds me of Campari and a ‘dry’, which is more for Sauvignon Blanc or Gin lovers.

£19.99 from aecorndrinks.com

Everleaf

Everleaf is the result of two passions for founder, Paul Mathew: bartending and botany. A conservationist biologist by trade, Paul wanted to create an aperitif that was plant-based and uplifting with warmth and aromatics. In Everleaf, you’ll find notes of vanilla, gentian, vetiver and orange blossom. There’s even the essence of voodoo lily in there. I’ve no idea what voodoo lily is, but I like the sound of it. Serve with Mediterranean tonic or use in cocktails like non-alcoholic negronis.

Find it on everleafdrinks.com and Sainsburys for £18 

SPIRIT

Hayman’s Small Gin

A great concept, this is a gin with a regular amount of alcohol in it BUT the botanical flavours are so concentrated, you only need - literally - one thimble full for your G&T to taste pucker. They even provide the thimble hanging around the bottle neck. It’s not the strongest, most powerfully flavoured gin, but it definitely does the job. What this means is that you can mix a normal gin and tonic but only consume  0.2 units of alcohol and 15 calories. A great, lower alcohol -and calorie- option.

Find it at Waitrose for  £25 (20cl)

SPIRIT-LIKE

Caleño

A happy, tropical, non-alcoholic spirit, which is actually rather tasty by itself over ice, Caleño makes a stonking, more fruity version of something like a Gin and Tonic. Created by Ellie Webb and inspired by her Colombian heritage, this is an infusion of juniper and inca berry with spice and citrus. There are some fantastic mocktail recipes on the site too. 

Find it at calenodrinks.com for £18.88 (50cl) £24.99 (70cl)

Seedlip Garden

The original, premium, non-alcoholic spirit, Seedlip Garden is the go-to herbaceous choice when you don’t want a Gin and Tonic and soft drinks are too dull. Have over ice with a spritz of any tonic, garnish with mint or basil and you’re away. It’s super refreshing and has that all important bitterness to kill any cravings for alcohol.

Find it at Waitrose for £26.50 (70cl)

TOTALLY UNIQUE

Three Spirit 

There is no category to put these in, but I love them. Three styles of plant-based alternatives to alcohol with a different attitude, that, as they say ‘celebrates what you put into a drink, rather than what you take out.’ Using plants traditionally used in potions and ceremonies around the world, these are non-alcoholic drinks 'with benefits’ such as the addition of ashwagandha to relax in Nightcap or guayusa, guava leaf and green tea in Livener. It’s alchemy, it’s different and delicious. You’ll want to keep the bottles too. 

Memento

Somewhere between a non-alcoholic spirit and a flavoured water, Memento is super dry in taste, like pure water that’s been infused gently with rosemary, verbena and other botanical elements. Inspired by a publication from 1498 that tells of the benefits of blending botanical essences, Memento is very refreshing and pretty bitter. It fares better in cocktails than alone in my opinion, or even just with a spritz of lemonade. 

FInd it at mementodrink.com for 30€

By Helena Nicklin

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