Pentire Drinks (coastal botanical drinks from Cornwall)

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 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.