Caleño (a Latin-inspired drink from Bristol)

Caleño (Bristol) makes Latin-inspirated spirits for people who like to party, without the alcohol. The range includes:

White coconut
Dark & Spicy
Light and zesty
Mango and passionfruit

The founder has Columbian heritage, a country with the most biodiversity on earth (after Brazil). A third of the country is rainforest, where pink dolphins leap out of the water. Having said that, the locals won’t be drinking this spirit – their national drink is made from sugar cane, and very much not alcohol-free!

Most artisan spirits are mixed with tonic water, and quinine should be avoided for some medical conditions and pregnancy/nursing. Some brands advise not consuming their drinks due to a little alcohol (stick to soda water or soft drinks – no caffeine for pregnancy/nursing). Also check medication before consuming grapefruit or rhubarb tonic waters.

Most of these drinks are served in glass bottles, which are easy to recycle. Cork is too dense to compost, so recycle at off licenses or send off in bulk to Recorked (don’t leave them lying around, they are choking hazards).

For cans, pop ring-pulls back over the holes (and pinch tops shut) before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.

Many people enjoy a gin and tonic, but some people would prefer to drink less (or no) alcohol, and then of course there are those who don’t drink due to driving. Our laws in England are pretty lenient compared to some (in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Estonia, you can’t drink any alcohol at all before getting behind the wheel).

England is considering making laws stricter to mimic Scotland, whereas Reform UK are against this policy, saying it will ‘hammer rural pubs’. What would help rural pubs is for them to offer good low-alcohol and no-alcohol options and provide better public transport (instead of being obsessed by car transport).

No drink can be called zero alcohol really, as even fruit and bread have a little booze. So usually it’s something along the lines of 0.5% that is classed as no-alcohol (your body processed the alcohol too fast, to become blootered!)

Do you drink too much booze?

The advice regarding how much alcohol to consume safely is confusing. So here is a super-simple guide to make it easy for you, without complicated ‘units’.

In a nutshell, the average healthy adult can consume safely: