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Best mocktails and non-alcoholic drinks with the glam factor

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Its January which means it’s ‘Dry January’. Are you taking on the challenge this 2020? We tasted the best mocktails and non-alcoholic drinks for the growing number of you choosing a Soberista life

With a staggering one in five Brits reportedly giving up drinking back in 2017, it’s clear the Soberista trend is here to stay.

But when you’re not drinking, there was not long ago a time when the only options on offer were obscenely sugary soft drinks or soda water. Not anymore.

The last few years have seen the launch of an increasing number of non-alcoholic drinks for grown ups who are health-conscious but still want great taste without a tonne of sugar.

So, if you want to give up alcohol or cut back we’ve rounded up the best alcohol free alternatives with a healthy edge, great taste and also a hint of the glam factor.

We tested some of the best non-alcoholic drinks to help you drink mindfully. These are our top eight favourites:

Best Non-Alcoholic punch – Punchy Drinks

non alcoholic drinks - best mocktail - punchys
Punchy Drinks Non-Alcoholic Punch

Who doesn’t love a sweet, fruity drink every once in awhile?

Here at Healthista, we were impressed by how much flavour was packed into each of these little bottles. Punchy Drinks have a spicy-sweet taste that make you want to keep drinking them – which is not a problem at less than 60 calories per bottle.

These mocktails come in two different flavours – my personal favourite was the Tequila Punch. Give it a try if you love margaritas (like us) but don’t want the alcohol.

Punchy drinks are made up of a blend of five all-natural flavours. You can buy them non-alcoholic or four percent ABV – depending on your preference.

Nutrition Info (per 100 ml):

Spiced Rum Punch: Calories – 20 kcal, Sugar – 4.4g

Tequila Punch: Calories – 19 kcal, Sugar – 3.6g

£1.95 available at Ocado or on their website.

Best Non-Alcoholic Spirit – Ceder’s Gin

non alcoholic drinks - ceders - best spirit
Ceder’s Classic Alt-Gin

The gin and tonic is without a doubt the drink of the moment, so why not give the non-alcoholic option a try?

This Alt-Gin is blended with South African botanicals and Swedish water, resulting in a distilled non-alcoholic concoction that we loved at Healthista HQ. In fact, some of us couldn’t tell the difference between a real Gin and Tonic and the Ceder’s version.

It’s easy to tell that quality ingredients went into crafting this non-alcoholic gin – making it well worth the £20 per bottle price tag.

Nutrition Info (per 100g): Calories – 7 kcal, Sugar – 0g

£20 available at Sainsbury’s.

Best Non-Alcoholic Aperitif – Everleaf

non alcoholic drinks -everleaf - best apertif
Everleaf Non-Alcoholic Aperitif

Who needs an Aperol Spritz when you have its non-alcoholic counterpart – the Everleaf Spritz?

This aperitif is created using a unique ingredient – Voodoo Lily from China. This gives it a silky-smooth texture that works well in cocktails. As an added bonus, the ingredients in Everleaf are sustainably sourced, making it eco-friendly as well as tasty.

The perfect Everleaf Spritz is one part Everleaf, two parts soda and an orange wedge.

We mixed a few Everleaf Spritzes together here in the office, and noticed that Everleaf has a bittersweet aftertaste with a hint of vanilla.

Nutrition Info (per 100 ml): Calories – 51 kcal, Sugar – 12g

£18 available at Sainsbury’s.

Best Non-Alcoholic Beer – Big Drop Brewing Co.

non alcoholic drinks big drop brew - best beer
Big Drop Brewing Co. Beer

Not all of us at the Healthista office are beer drinkers, but those of us who are loved the low-ABV beer from Big Drop Brewing Co. The blend of barley, rye, wheat and oats was nearly impossible to tell apart from the full-strength thing.

Big Drop’s beers are all 0.5 percent ABV. They have a variety of different craft beers – including stout, lager and IPA. Our favourite was the Citra IPA because of its smooth and refreshing taste.

At between about 40 and 100 calories per bottle (compared to around 150 per bottle in a typical lager such as Heineken), Big Drop is a healthy alternative to many beers out there – it is definitely worth a try if you love beer and want to cut back on the alcohol.

Nutrition Info (per 100ml):

Stout: Calories – 27.5 kcal, Sugar – 0.1g

Lager: Calories – 11.8 kcal, Sugar – 0.1g

Pale Ale: Calories – 18.5 kcal, Sugar – 0.1g

Citra IPA: Calories – 18.5 kcal. Sugar – 0.1g

Brown Ale: Calories – 30.1 kcal, Sugar – 0.1g

Sour: Calories – 16 kcal, Sugar – 0.1g

Winter Ale: Calories – 30.1, Sugar – 0.1g

£1.89 available here.

Best Non-Alcoholic Wine – Lindeman’s

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Lindeman’s Alcohol Free Wine

When I first saw the bottles of Lindeman’s non-alcoholic wine in the office – I was sceptical. Who knew that non-alcoholic wine could be nearly the same in taste to its alcoholic counterpart?

Lindeman’s released their three non-alcoholic wines last year – a Semillon Chardonnay, Chardonnay Pinot Noir Muscat and Cabernet Sauvignon.

All are impressingly low-cal (just over 100 calories per BOTTLE), and could pass as the real thing in any pub.

One of our staff members is a self-proclaimed Chardonnay hater, and even she enjoyed Lindeman’s non-alcoholic version. We also liked the Cabernet – it was dry, but tasted very smooth and warming.

Nutriton Info (per 100ml):

Cabernet Sauvignon: Calories – 17 kcal, Sugar – 3.5g

Semillon Chardonnay: Calories – 15 kcal, Sugar – 3g

Chardonnay Pinot Noir Muscat – 13 kcal, Sugar – 2.7g

£3.98 available at ASDA.

Best Non-Alcoholic Spritzer – Shloer Spritzed

non alcoholic drinks - shloer - best spritzer
Shloer Spritzed Grapefruit and Mint

When we popped open the bottle of Shloer, its refreshingly sweet taste made some of us nostalgic for warm summer days in our childhood.

Shloer is a refreshing, fizzy drink that you can get it in three different flavours: Grapefruit and Mint, Bitter Orange, and Bitter Lemon and Lime. The favourite in our office was the Grapefruit and Mint, which is pleasantly fruity and works well as a mixer (try adding non-alcoholic gin).

This drink is non-alcoholic, gluten free and vegan, so basically anyone can enjoy it. They also have a range of other sparkling fruit drinks that we’re looking forward to trying next.

Nutrition Info (per 100ml):

Bitter Orange: Calories – 21 kcal, Sugar – 4.8g

Bitter Lemon and Lime: Calories – 21 kcal, Sugar – 4.8g

Grapefruit and Mint: Calories – 18 kcal, Sugar – 4g

£1.50 available at Sainsbury’s and most supermarkets.

Best Non-Alcoholic Kombucha – Left Field Kombucha

non alcoholic drinks - left field - best kombucha
Left Field Kombucha

At Healthista some of us had never tasted kombucha before trying Left Field, and we were definitely pleasantly surprised. If you were looking for a natural alternative to alcoholic drinks that makes you feel good – look no further.

Kombucha is a blend of tea, sugar and water that is fermented to bring out the great taste and health benefits. It’s full of beneficial probiotics which will improve your gut health and make you feel healthier and more energetic overall.

This non-alcoholic fizzy drink was created by a couple that saw a gap in the non-alcoholic, non-sugary drink market. It’s a great drink to have in the pub (or any other place), because it’s low-calorie and not too sweet.

Nutrition Info (per 100 ml):

No.1 Yunnan Black: Calories – 14 kcal, Sugar – 3.2g

No. 2 Sencha Green: Calories – 14 kcal, Sugar – 3.2g

No.3 Oolong: Calories – 14 kcal, Sugar – 3.2g

No.4 Darjeeling: Calories – 14 kcal, Sugar – 3.2g

£2.40 – £2.60 available on their website.

Best Soft Drink – Chillio

chillio - non alcoholic drinks
Chillio

If you’re bored of drinking Coke or ginger beer – try Chillio. We absolutely loved the blend of fruity sweetness and hint of spice that makes Chillio different from other soft drinks.

Chillio comes in three different flavours, each with gradually increasing spiciness from the chillis – Pasilla, Habanero and Jalapeno blended with complimentary fruits.

Our favourite was the spiciest – the Pink Grapefruit, Ginger and Jalapeno. It woke up the taste buds and felt like we were really drinking cocktails because of the interesting blend of flavours.

Eating chilli peppers also comes with health benefits. They are known to aid in weight loss, boost your mood and help fight cancer.

Nutrition Info (per 100 ml):

Pineapple, Coconut and Lime Pasilla: Calories – 34 kcal, Sugar – 6.8g

Pink Grapefruit, Ginger and Jalapeno: Calories – 33 kcal, Sugar – 6.8g

Watermelon, Prickly Pear and Habanero: Calories – 32 kcal, Sugar – 6.8g

£2.29 available on their website.

Club Soda’s Mindful Drinking Festival will take place on the 20th of July at Spitalfield’s Market in London. Learn more about the festival here

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