No-Alcohol Tipples (for special days)

If you like a boozy tipple but would prefer to drink less alcohol, here are some nice artisan companies that offer no-alcohol alternatives. Even fruit and bread has some alcohol, but these are as low as you can go.

Due to quinine, avoid tonic water for pregnancy/nursing and certain medical conditions (liver failure, blood thinners, antibiotics and anti-depressants). Avoid grapefruit and rhubarb tonic waters, if on certain medications (check paper inserts).

For cans, just pop the ring-pulls back over the can before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.

Pentire Drinks (coastal botanical drinks from Cornwall)

Pentire Drinks is an amazing company that makes beautiful botanical drinks (with no alcohol) on the Cornish coast. All the drinks from this company are vegan and gluten-free. The drinks are sold in easy-to-recycle bottles or cans.

The Cornish coast has a unique climate, soil and air moisture, meaning key botanicals thrive here. Everything is sustainably-sourced and uses Fair Trade organic ingredients, sold in sustainable packaging. The botanicals are even rich in vitamins.

The company also donates to Blue Marine Foundation to help protect the world’s oceans. Everything is also made locally with seasonal ingredients, a wonderful way to support local agriculture, and keep jobs in communities.

There are three drinks in the range:

• Pentire Adrift is made from unique coastal plants with a fresh herby taste. Contains rock samphire, sage, lemon citrus and Cornish sea salt. Serve with light tonic, and a slice of lemon peel or sprig of rosemary.
• Pentire Seaward is a refreshing blend of sea rosemary, woodruff, sea buckthorn, wild seaweed and pink grapefruit. Serve with ice in a high glass, top with light tonic and garnish with a slice of grapefruit.
• Pentire Coastal Spritz contains natural bitter taste with coastal tones, blending the botanics with blood orange, sea rosemary and oakwood. Serve with soda or light tonic, and garnish with a wedge of orange and/or bay leaf. A nice local alternative to Italian negroni.

No-alcohol Margaritas (from Cornwall!)

Pentire Margarita is a Cornish sustainable drink, with no-booze. This is a healthy riff on the classic Margarita, blending coastal botanicals with lime, agave (a natural sweetener related to cactus), sea salt and a dash of Mexican chilli. To create a fantastic ready-to-drink cocktail.

If you prefer a boozy Margarita, know that most tequila bottles don’t have a ‘worm in the bottle’, but their cousin mezcal may). 

To serve, pour 100ml into a rock glass over ice. Garnish with a lime wedge, and a slice of chilli.

The drink is also sold in cans. 

Do You Drink Too Much Booze?!

If you like to drink spirits, and are wondering whether you need to cut down (and perhaps sub with a few alcohol-free beers through the week), here is a simple guide (none of that confusing ‘unit’ stuff):

For a normal sized adult, NHS recommendations are (these are either/or – not all together!):

• 12 measures of spirits (not all on the same day!)
• 6 pints of beer a week
• 6 glasses of wine a week

So in plain English, if you drink a double gin and tonic 6 days a week, that’s the limit. Any more could be alcohol-free (leaving one day alcohol-free). Or mix and match if you also drink wine or beer.

Clean Co (no-alcohol spirit alternative drinks)

CleanCo offers no alcohol alternatives to gin, whisky, rum, vodka and tequila. This brand invests in flavour profiles to create like-for-like alternatives to alcohol spirits. For age 18 and over, as they replicate spirit drinks.

Just 2 to 3 calories per single measure. Made in Manchester, drinks are packed in recycled glass bottles with Flexi-Hex compostable packaging. Once opened, drink within 3 months.

Unlike many independent no-alcohol drinks, this one has not sold out, and is now the largest independent no-alcohol spirit brands in the world. It’s great when we hear of rags-to-riches stories.

But sometimes it’s just as uplifting to hear of rich people with good business acumen, who use their skills, education, experience and connections to create something good, to help others.

Use these drinks as you would normal spirit drinks (with mixers or in cocktails, not neat).

Live tonight, thrive tomorrow. Company motto!

The range includes:

• Clean G – to replace gin. Made with notes of juniper, lemon, orange, rosemary and lavender for a fruity herby finish.
• Clean R – to replace rum. Ideal for a no-alcohol mojito. With notes of caramel, apricot, vanilla, star anise, orange, pimento and cinnamon.
• Clean T – to replace tequila. Ideal for a no-alcohol margarita. With notes of green agave, sweet melon, black pepper and cedarwood.
• Clean W – to replace whisky. With notes of oak, vanilla, spice, fresh apple and fig. A good knock-on advantage is that unlike most whisky, this is not destroying peat bogs (home to endangered butterflies and helps to prevent floods).

You can find Clean G drinks in shops, or shop online (regular shoppers get loyalty points, depending on the club you join – the host, the bartender or the mixologist!)

Try Some Clean G Cocktails

If you fancy some mocktails (no-alcohol cocktails) there are many simple recipes to try, using Clean G Drinks including:

• Strawberry Daiquiri
• Ginger Mojito
• Gin Spritz
• Dark & Stormy
• Pina Colada

Usually, no alcohol can really be 0% booze, as even fruit and bread contains a little alcohol. But 0.5% is as low as you can get. But Clean G has recently formulated their drinks to actually be 0%. It’s officially safe to drive (but still best to avoid for pregnancy/nursing).

Who Founded Clean G Drinks?

The brand was founded by Eton-educated Spencer Matthews. If you think you know him, it’s because he was one of the original stars of Made in Chelsea, a documentary focusing on the lives of affluent young men and women in London.

He had a reputation as a bit of a party boy, then decided to give up drinking. Offered water, sugary soft drinks or juicy ‘mocktails’, he missed a cheeky G & T and margarita, so decided to invent his own, without the booze.

One of Spencer’s older brothers died age 22, just 3 hours short of reaching the summit of Mount Everest. He  took part in a documentary where he also climbed the mountain, to try to find his brother’s body to return home for burial).

He did not find him, but did find the body of a local sherpa (and as the family could not afford it, mounted an operation to bring his body back to his family for burial).

In an interview at Alcohol Change, he writes that ‘I wouldn’t be friends with the drinking Spencer of years ago’. He says he was dishonest and unproductive while drinking, and told lies to cover up the extent of his drinking. He thought his time on Made in Chelsea entitled him to everything, and he would blame others for anything that didn’t go right.

All that has now changed, since going alcohol-free. He says he used to sweat ‘tying his shoelaces’, but recently ran 30 marathons in 30 days, to raise money for men’s suicide prevention charity James’ Place.

He says that giving up the booze not only dropped excess weight, but literally turned him into a better person.

If you are somebody who is drinking a lot, you owe yourself the understanding of also just being sober for a while, in my opinion. You will be very pleasantly surprised, if you’ve not done it before.

Try replacing your alcohol drinks with a Clean Co cocktail and see if that does the trick. No one’s really going to bother you with ‘why aren’t you drinking?’, because it looks the same, feels the same and can help you fit in. Spencer Matthews 

The brand has recently welcomed on board Ben Stokes OBE, a former cricketer who campaigns for men’s mental health. Also previously a bit of a drinker, he knows that giving up alcohol is a good step in the right direction, for men suffering from anxiety and depression.

Just like its awful reports on the Hillsborough football stadium disaster, The Sun newspaper showed it had not learned, when publicly reporting on a family tragedy in Ben’s family, which he condemned as ‘the lowest form of journalism’. His family took legal action, with the paper having to pay damages to Stokes and his mother, to cover legal costs and the immense stress and heartache caused.

Caleño (a Latin-inspired Drink from Bristol)

Caleño (Bristol) is a Latin-inspired tropical drink in light and zesty version (nice with tonic and pineapple) or a dark spicy version (good with ginger ale and lime).

Designed for people who like to party, but without the alcohol. This is free from the sickly sweet artificial ingredients in similar brands.

Colombia has more bird diversity than anywhere on earth, and is the world’s second most biodiverse country for wildlife (after Brazil). One tenth of all the world’s species live in one of the world’s happiest countries.

A third of the country is made up on rainforest, where pink dolphins leap out of the water. The locals don’t drink the spirit above. Their national drink is made from sugar cane, that is very much not alcohol-free!

Everleaf: No-Alcohol Artisan Aperitifs

Everleaf is a brand of award-winning no-alcohol aperitifs, ideal for making mocktails (no drink can be 0% alcohol, as even fruit has a little booze). Just mix one part with 3 parts mixer over ice, then add a garnish, for summer in a glass.

Choose from:

• Forest (saffron, vanilla, orange blossom)
• Mountain (cherry blossom, bittersweet rosehip)
• Marine (sea buckthorn, bergamot, kelp – avoid for thyroid issues)

This brand was founded by a conservation biologist, who spent years learning how to observe and learn from the natural world. All ingredients are sustainably-harvested, and the brand gives back to conservation causes worldwide.

Strykk (bold-tasting no-alcohol spirit drinks)

Strykk is a unique range of no-alcohol spirits with bold tastes. Ideal for parties or alternative drinks to serve at restaurants and pubs.

The range includes:

• Not Aperitivo (bitter orange and sweet Prosecco-like notes, with wormwood & Quassia). Serve with one part soda or tonic over ice.
• Not Gin combines juniper, basil & rosemary
• Not Rum is made with vanilla, raise & oakwood for a spiced rum alternative.
• Not Vodka combines cucumber, coriander & warming pepper. Also in a vanilla vodka version.

Once open, store in the fridge and consume within 12 weeks. Before opening, store in a cool dark place. Wholesale orders are welcome for shops, restaurants and hotels.

Herbarium: No-Alcohol Botanical Spirits (from Suffolk)

Herbarium is an artisan company that makes tasty alcohol-free botanical spirits in Suffolk.  Hand-crafted in copper stills, serve with mixers for a tasty yet healthy drink for special occasions.

There are just 2 drinks in the range:

• Herbarium Distillation 29 contains spice, jumper and citrus. Ideal as a cocktail mixer base.
• Herbarium Distillation 8 contains floral herbs of rosemary, lemongrass, lavender and hints of pink pepper for a punch of warmth. Again a good cocktail mixer, or just pair with soda or tonic water.

This brand was founded by two friends who liked going to the pub, but wondered if there was a way to create a gin-type drink, without the alcohol.

So they began experimenting and eventually came up with these two wonderful creations.  Wholesale orders are welcome for shops, restaurants and hotels.

Atopia (artisan fruit no-alcohol gin alternatives)

Atopia is a wonderful range of no-alcohol gin alternatives, made with fresh fruity and hedgerow-inspired flavours. Crafted in a copper still, these are crafted by master distillers, with generations of experience, suing natural botanicals.

The range includes:

• Hedgerow berry – a compote of berries, with notes of rosehip & a little spice
• Rhubarb & ginger – crispy juicy fruits with a warm ginger finish
• Spiced citrus – zesty flavours with a gentle spiced finish

Sea Arch (botanical gin alternatives from Devon)

Sea Arch Drinks come from Devon, founded by people who care deeply about the sea, land and sharing good times together. These drinks are made with care using fresh herbs, hand-harvested sugar kelp (a crinkly seaweed that often washes up on beaches, after rough seas) and samphire )often found around rocky Devon coasts and marsh flats).

Each sip feels light and crisp, like a walk along the Devon coast, when the air smells of wildflowers and salt. The range includes a rose raspberry flavour, both sold in eco-friendly bottles, or ready-to-drink mixer cans.

The brand name refers to a stone arch along the Devon shore. Which stands tall after centuries of wind and waves – a steady symbol of the natural world, and its power to endure.

No-Alcohol Botanical Drinks from Wiltshire

Bax Botanics is an artisan company offering lovely herby botanical spirits from Yorkshire, made ethically with wild herbs and organic ingredients, all sent in zero-waste packaging.

By law, no drink can be called 0% alcohol (there’s a little alcohol in bananas and bread), but this is as low as you can go. Even the bottle labels are made from biodegradable sugar-cane.

The founders spend years learning about botanical flavours and now use their skills to create unique blends using herbs, roots, berries and flowers, for spirits and cocktails with complex tastes. Serve with tonic water, to make the drinks come to life!

There are two drinks in the range:

• Sea Buckthorn contains fragrant herbs, Seville oranges and has a warm ‘buttery baked’ flavour.
• Verbena is a light fresh herby flavour, with notes of citrus and menthol.

You can also buy both drinks in ready-to-drink cans already containing tonic water. Wholesale orders are welcome for restaurants, shops and hotels.

Sprigster is a unique artisan company that produces botanically infused drinks in Wiltshire, inspired by English country gardens. These drinks are expertly crafted and bottled in-house by cooks and gardeners at a Victorian walled kitchen garden.

The signature infused drink is made with local fruits with no added sugar. Includes notes of ginger, rhubarb, fennel and hops, slow-cooked in apple-cider vinegar then blended with orchard apple reduction, and topped with Wiltshire spring water. Serve a single or double measure over ice, add soda or tonic water, then garnish with seasonal fruits and a sprig from the garden.

Garden Brut is a sparkling fizz alternative to champagne, made with English country garden ingredients, with an apple cider vinegar backdrop. Sprigster Hedgerow Blush is a pale pink sparkling fizz, with rhubarb flavours.

The Victorian walled garden is at the source of everything made. The south-facing layout and intelligent design of the beds, yield plump peaches and other fruits that make up these delicious no-alcohol tipples! Wholesale orders are welcome for shops, restaurants and hotels.

Talonmore (no-alcohol ‘hot toddies’ from Scotland!)

Talonmore (use code englandnaturally for 5% discount) is a delicious ginger cinnamon warming drink inspired by historic Edinburgh. It’s alcohol-free, so ideal to cut back on the booze.

Due to caffeine and high levels of ginger, this drink is not for pregnancy/nursing. 

This family business blends Assam tea with ginger, prickly pear and hawthorn berry, for a fiery taste that replicates the ‘pleasant burn’ of alcohol, but without the alcohol. Designed to replicate whisky or rum, all packaging is easy to recycle.

Brewed with Scottish water, it also contains notes of cactus juice, with fig and watermelon flavours. Once open, keep chilled (for up to 4 months). Serve neat or on the rocks, or serve warm on cold winter nights. 28 servings per bottle.

Almost half of people in England now opt for alcohol-free alternatives. Talonmore was voted the best no-alcohol spirit in blind taste tests by Good Housekeeping and Men’s Health.

Talonmore’s Hot Toddy Recipe

For a Hot Toddy, just combine 50ml of Talonmore with 150ml of hot water, 25ml each of lemon juice and agave syrup. Then serve with a lemon wheel and cinnamon stick.

Brewed with Scottish water, it’s 0% ABV and includes:

• Ginger
• Prickly pear
• Hawthorn berry
• Assam tea
• Cactus juice

The ingredients blend are designed to replicate the experience of drinking a dark spirit (like whisky, rum, cognac or tequila reposado).

The unique distilling process does not use ethanol, so avoids the typical watery taste and weak smell of substitute.

Talonmore is best serve neat on the rocks. Or use it in your favourite cocktail recipes. Store Talonmore in a cool dark place before opening. After opening, keep in the fridge and consume within 45 days at correct temperatures. Shake the bottle, before opening! All packaging is easy to recycle. Bartenders can join Talonmore’s Ambassador Community for referral discounts and financial incentives, across the UK.

Feragaia (a no-alcohol spirit from Scotland)

Feragaia is an artisan no-alcohol spirit from Scotland, made with 14 sea and land botanicals including blackcurrant leaf, lemon verbena, sugar kelp and pink peppercorn. Serve neat over ice with a slice of orange peel, or with your favourite mixer. Everything is locally and sustainably-sourced.

Almost half of people in England now opt for alcohol-free alternatives.

You can use this drink to make homemade no-alcohol Margaritas. Just mix with pineapple, lime, agave syrup and optional jalapeno, shake and double strain, and serve with fresh lime or jalapenos.

The bottle is made from partly recycled glass, and the cap from easily recycled biodegradable plastic.