If you don’t drink alcohol you can still toast New Year’s Eve with one of many nonalcoholic options. Alcohol-free beers, wines, spirits, and even premade cocktails taste good and are often healthier than the traditional kind. Here are 9 RD-approved picks.
Updated / Friday, 8 Jan 2021
10:55
Here s what s stirring our interest.
What to drink when you’re not drinking? It’s a question we’ve been asking ourselves for quite some time. In the past, we would rely on sparkling water, juice, fizzy drinks, energy frinks or even just a cup of tea.
These days, however, we have many more options at our disposal. Thanks to the demand for ‘low and no’ libations, higher quality, no-abv spirits, UK sales are at a record high, according to market researchers Nielsen.
In Ireland, sales of low and non-alcoholic beer jumped by 60% in 2018 alone. And the arrival of non-alcoholic venues, such as The Virgin Mary in Dublin, has shown that many are looking for a booze-free experience.
If the residues of seasonal excess have you ready to recalibrate your alcohol consumption, you can be sure you’re not alone.
Hungover new year’s resolutions aside, the trend towards no- and low-alcohol alternatives (or ‘nolo’ as they’re dubbed) has been one of the strongest in the global beverages markets in recent years.
While the category is still in its infancy, it has serious potential for growth, thanks in particular to a growing cohort of millennials choosing ‘nolo’ beers and cocktails for lifestyle reasons of perceived health, well-being and uncompromised performance.
Of course there have always been many people who choose not to drink alcohol and for all sorts of reasons, from pregnant women to designated drivers to teetotallers.