So which alcohol-free snifters don’t taste like drain cleaner?
Once hard to stomach, tipples that won’t get you tipsy are suddenly fashionable . . .
For YEArS, booze-free drink options were thin on the ground. Not to mention thin in the glass. The beers were watery and the wines dull and tasteless, often with a fair whack of sugar to make up for the missing alcohol.
But after decades of being left on the (bottom) shelf, alcohol-free beers, wines and even spirits have had a makeover thanks to growing consumer demand for booze without the actual booze.
As the healthy eating trend has grown, so has our thirst for healthy drinks. recent data from market analyst Nielsen shows sales are up by almost 40 per cent in the no and low-alcohol category.
Last month, Tesco unveiled a dedicated booze-free zone in its stores with a range of 30 beers, wines and ciders all under 0.5 per cent alcohol, making Tesco the first UK supermarket to do so.
And the boozy appearance of many of these products, from the label to what’s inside, means drinkers don’t have to feel they’re missing out even when everyone else has a proper drink in their hand.
However, looks aren’t everything — what matters is how they taste. So can you really imbibe with abandon and keep a clear head? The Mail’s drinks expert HELEN McGINN puts some of them to the test.
RACY RED Rawson’s Retreat Cabernet Sauvignon 0.5 per cent 75cl, £4, Tesco
THIS looks no different from the ‘normal’ reds it sits alongside on the shelves. The smell is almost jam-like, with juicy blackcurrant aromas. And the taste is fresh, bright and moreish. All that’s missing is the warm hug of alcohol. But with alcoholfree, you really can have it all. This is seriously smooth.
SPINNING A ROSE Torres Natureo Rose 0.5 per cent 75cl, £5.99, Ocado
FroM one of the biggest names in Spanish wine, the Torres Natureo brand was one of the first to do alcohol-free wines well. Using clever technology, the alcohol is removed via a spinning cone machine, meaning it doesn’t lose so much flavour compared with more common methods.
With warmer days ahead, this is your rose of choice if you want wine but not the alcohol. Made from two red grapes, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, it’s got plenty of colour and bright, fresh red cherry flavours.
Both the white and red wines in the range are good, too, but think pink for now.
A WEIRD WHITE Ebony Vale Chardonnay 0.05 per cent 75cl, £2.99, Waitrose
THIS is medium- dry in style and, although it has a slightly weird chemical aroma, at least there is something pleasingly winelike about the flavour.
Made in Germany, it’s fresh and tropical-fruity, but you definitely feel the hole left by the strippedout alcohol.
To be honest, the best way to enjoy this is in a big glass filled with ice, poured to the halfway mark and topped up with soda water and a wedge of lime. Yes, I’m talking spritzer.
FAVOURITE FIZZ Rawson’s Retreat Sparkling 0.5 per cent 75cl, £4, Tesco
Good alcohol- free sparkling wines are really few and far between, so this is a game-changer.
In the same range as the red above, it’s made from a blend of Australian Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes (the same varieties used in many top champagnes), but with the addition of the floral Muscat grape.
This adds aroma and flavour — a great way to divert attention from the missing alcohol. Fresh, citrusy and crisp, serve this well chilled. There’s a bit of natural sugar in there, equivalent to about half a teaspoon per glass. But alcohol is more calorific than sugar, so you’re good on that count.
There’s a white and red wine in the range too, both really drinkable, but this one’s my favourite.
Pri Secco Organic Cuvée Nr 25 Alcohol Free 37.5cl, £5.99, Vintage Roots
MAdE by an ex-winemaker, this is just sparkling fruit juice. But it sneaks in here for good reason.
First, the taste: it’s made from apples and pears, with hawthorn, blackcurrant and douglas fir tips. There are spices and herbs, too. Not your average blend, but it totally works in a bonkers fruity way, with the sweet balanced by the savoury flavours.
Also, it’s organic ( the stockist sells only organic products) and comes in a handy-sized bottle with a popping cork. Extra points for the name, too. Just don’t expect anything like prosecco!
ALE DOESN’T PALE Innis & None Pale Ale 0 per cent 330ml, £1.29, Tesco
THIS pioneering Scottish brewer has been making oak-aged beer for years, but Innis & None is its first ever booze-free brew.
described as a citrus pale ale, it has added ginseng and vitamin C to boost the immune system. All good, but what I love the most is that it tastes so much like the real thing. You get such a lovely hit of hoppy bitterness that you don’t really notice the missing alcohol. Properly refreshing and at around 60 calories per can, it’s less than half as much compared with a normal can of beer.
A DROP OF STOUT Big Drop Chocolate Milk Stout 0.5 per cent, 12 x 330ml, £29.99, Drydrinker.com
WHAT it lacks in alcohol, it makes up for in flavour. And it really does smell of chocolate! Made with cocoa nibs, it’s like malty chocolate (think soupedup Horlicks), with hints of coffee and vanilla in there, too.
The taste is big and bold, as it should be given that it’s a stout. And each bottle has just 155 calories, far less than an actual chocolate bar.
BEER AND HOT DOGS Brewdog Nanny State 0.5 per cent 330ml, £1.25, Sainsbury’s
BrEWdoG makes its low alcohol beer differently to most. rather than producing a beer and removing the alcohol, it brews a 0.5 per cent beer from the ground up using a variety of eight speciality malts. It’s really hoppy — again, this means you don’t notice the lack of alcohol so much — but with great balance and plenty of citrus, spice and woody flavours. Food-friendly, try it with posh hot dogs.
RUSTIC CIDER Stowford Press Cider 0.5 per cent 330ml, £1, Tesco
FIvE generations of the Weston family have been making cider in Herefordshire for more than 100 years, but the current one is the first to make a cider without alcohol.
The drink still manages to be pleasingly rustic with ripe apple flavours, but there is something slightly boiled-sweetish about it. Nice enough if only cider, even if it is alcohol-free, will do.
And even though purists would be horrified at the thought of serving real cider over ice, this one definitely tastes better when it is chilled.
TRENDY SPIRIT Seedlip Garden 108 70cl, £27.99, Waitrose
BrANdEd as the world’s first non-alcoholic spirit, the sugar- free, sweetener- free, calorie- free Seedlip took booze-free by the horns when it launched just over a year ago and ran. And ran. And ran.
Now popping up in smart cocktail bars on the alcohol-free part of the drinks list, you can also buy it and make up a Seedlip & tonic at home. Garden 108 is the more floral of the two available styles (the original Spice 94 is more woody).
Made with botanicals including peas and hay from founder Ben Branson’s family farm, this is one way to do booze-free in (rather expensive) style.
GINLESS WONDER Teetotal GnT 12 x 200ml, £29.99, The Temperence Spirit Company (ttscompany.co.uk)
THE idea of three friends who wanted to create a grown-up soft drink. So they took some of the same botanicals used in gin and blended them with tonic, creating non-alcoholic G&T.
Such a simple idea! So you go about building your drink just as you would if you were having a stiff one — nice glass, plenty of ice, slice of lemon or lime — then simply pour the Teetotal GnT over the top.
The slight sweetness makes it feel more like lemonade than tonic, but it’s only got 52 calories in a bottle and definitely delivers that all- important savoury botanical hit, too. Serve it straight from the fridge for best results.
BOTTOMS UP!
So, THESE drinks are not exactly like the real thing. But some of them are not far off. There are still some shockers around, but thankfully, a new generation of alcoholfree drinks means more choice for drinkers wanting to enjoy a glass of wine or beer without the booze — and without that headache.
Teetotal Tipples by Helen McGinn (Robinson, £9.99). For wine recommendations every week, visit Helen’s blog, knackeredmotherswineclub.com