5 Tasty Mocktails To Toast The New Year For Dry January
If your head is spinning from a season packed with spiked eggnog, mulled wine, and hot toddies, Dry January might be a refreshing respite for you.
During this time, people abstain from alcoholic beverages for the month, as a chance to “reset” and focus on health. If it sounds like just what the doctor ordered, you’re not alone: A survey found that 23 percent of U.S. adults who drink planned to participate in Dry January last year, with millennials being the largest group to participate.
According to Pauline Idogho, founder of Mocktail Club, the sober-curious movement is growing bigger than just one month at the beginning of the year. “Dry January has allowed people to be mindful, focus on eating better, and take care of themselves,” she said. “But it’s starting to grow beyond Dry January. People are reevaluating their relationships with alcohol.”
Drinking less doesn’t have the same stigma it once did, Idogho added, with many great options for adult beverages that don’t contain booze. Even for those who drink, more adults are having one cocktail, then switching to mocktails for their health and to avoid “waking up with a hangover and feeling sluggish.”
Idogho came up with the concept of Mocktail Club when she was pregnant and found she lacked a “sophisticated, non-alcoholic, but still healthy” option for sipping. Rather than sticking to seltzer with lime or juice packed with sugar, she created her own line of drinks with the “nuance, complexity, and boldness of a cocktail without the alcohol.”
Mocktail Club uses superfruits and prebiotics, as health was an important aspect when Idogho created her recipes. “We infused a lot of functional benefits without sacrificing taste,” she said. “Alcohol is hard for the body and it’s hard to digest, get through your hangover, and feel good the next day. By cutting your level of alcohol, you’re more productive and mindful.”
She also points out that millennials are leading the charge in the “sober-curious” movement, moving away from heavy drinking. “Millennials care about what they put in their body, the ingredients, and how they treat themselves,” she said. “That’s been driving the non-alcoholic movement.”
Over the last few years, demand for sophisticated non-alcoholic beverages has spiked because people simply want more options. “There are much better offerings for people who don’t want to drink than there were five years ago,” she said. “Before, I almost felt like companies treated adults like they were at the kiddie table, not appreciating their sophisticated palette.”
5 Scrumptious Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Try
If you’d like to give non-alcoholic adult beverages a try for Dry January and beyond, consider one of these companies. Whether you’re pregnant, on a diet, a designated driver, have health restrictions, or are trying to be more mindful about alcohol intake, you don’t have to feel like you’re missing out thanks to these tasty options.
1. Mocktail Club
Made in the US with the highest quality and natural ingredients, Mocktail Club creates healthy, refreshing drinks reminiscent of classic cocktails, but with a modern twist. Each of their sophisticated drinks are created with functional benefits and include antioxidants and prebiotics for digestive health. Mocktail Club gives back 1 percent of all sales to Water For People, a global charity that provides free and clean drinking water across the world.
2. Unspiked
Unspiked bubbly beverages are made with just a few simple ingredients: carbonated water, not-from-concentrate juice, agave nectar, and all-natural flavor, creating a refreshing drink with complex flavors. Flavors include lemon lavender, grapefruit rosemary, and blood orange cardamom. Whether you drink out of the can or in a tall glass with a pretty garnish, you’ll enjoy a delicious party drink without the next-day hangover.
3. Acid League Wine Proxies
Acid League’s wine proxies are an ideal choice for wine lovers everywhere embarking on a month of sobriety. Layered blends of juices, teas, spices, and bitters, wine proxies offer all the complexity of your favorite wine with none of the alcohol. There are plenty of varieties to taste, and while proxies don’t necessarily taste exactly like any specific wine, they’re made to look, feel, and drink like wine. They’re designed to pair with food and be enjoyed in wine glasses.
4. Mingle Mocktails
If you find yourself craving a familiar cocktail during Dry January, reach for a Mingle Mocktail for your favorite flavors without the headache. These low-calorie drinks are available in flavors including blackberry hibiscus bellini, cranberry cosmo, cucumber melon mojito, and blood orange elderflower mimosa. Mingle Mocktails were made to foster inclusion, social connection, and fun that includes everyone, whether or not you choose to drink. They’re crafted with natural and clean ingredients, and have only 20 calories per 4-oz serving.
5. Seedlip
Seedlip specializes in distilled non-alcoholic spirits, so you can make delicious cocktails at home or gift a beautiful bottle of spirits for any occasion. The company prides themselves on offering high quality non-alcoholic options, made with carefully sourced ingredients. Each spirit has a unique, natural tasting flavor and was based on the distilled non-alcoholic remedies from The Art of Distillation, written in 1651. Rather than trying to mimic alcohol, the plants offer unique and complex flavor profiles that you’re sure to be obsessed with.
