Octsober doesn’t have to boring – these are the low and no-alcohol alternatives we’re drinking --[Reported by Umva mag]

Taking four weeks off booze on the run-up to silly season always sounds like a good idea. To recharge and reset, ready for the avalanche of boozy scenarios ahead. What’s not to be on board with?

The research has never been clearer, even a modest reduction in drinking can lead to improvements in blood pressure, mental health and liver function. It can lower the risk of cancer and heart disease and improve your sleep, skin and energy levels.

But to many of us, the thought of a month-long alcohol abstinence is darker than a Scandinavian crime drama in peak winter, and trust me, that’s bleak.

How so? Because until recently, decent zero-proof alternatives were hard to come by. Most of the non-alcoholic shockers were made by the devil’s hand (and not in a good way), and even those were ruinously expensive.

Wine substitutes were flawed, the whites were off dry and floral while the reds were giving bittersweet and tannic. Spirit alternatives were the emperor’s new clothes, bland botanical water packaged and priced like a bottle of your favourite booze brand, relying on the tonic water to do the heavy lifting.

But why so expensive? Because building a non-alcoholic drink that mimics the mouthfeel of alcohol is often the space of high-quality, specialist ingredients that are handcrafted in small batches, resulting in a costly process. While there’s always going to be a hole where the alcohol should be, the trick is to fill it with something comparable.  

Back in the day, it was pretty much limited to sugar or citric acid. Nowadays, there’s a raft of alternatives to plug the alcohol gap, from chilli, ginger, apple cider vinegar, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) or CBD, ingredients that give the drink a bite and the drinker a bit of a tingly or relaxing sensation.  

Fortunately for us, the quality and selection have never been better. This has a lot to do with supply and demand, as the low/no alcohol sector outperformed the alcohol market at +47% in volume in 2023.

And though there are still many I’d give a wide berth, here are the best in glass 2024.

Bristol Beer Factory Clear Head 0.5%, £2.25, Ocado

Zero alcohol, well anything, can be a bit insipid. Particularly beer which suffers without the sweet, warming effect of booze, which also influences its distinctive flavour by affecting how other flavours evaporate.

They’ve added lactose to this, ramping up the body and giving it a creamy sweetness. It works, this is full flavoured with grapefruit and lemon notes and a hoppy, nutty finish. Good work.  

Nice Session Merlot 3.4%, £7.50, Ocado

If you’re gagging for a cushiony glass of Merlot but don’t want all the booze, gag no more, this isn’t a bad replacement. It’s on the lean side with a kick of spice to warm your cockles, a punnet of plums and some spiced oak notes.

Not quite zero alcohol, but at 3.4% it’s session lager adjacent. You try persuading a beer drinker to choose wine, when the average bottle is 37% stronger than a pint of lager. It’s a tough one, though not anymore.

Extra Special Rhubarb and Ginger Botanical Drink 0%, £10, Asda

One of only two gold medals handed out at a recent awards ceremony, this bottle scooped 92 points out of 100. You can see why, the product is based on a complex blend of botanicals, including alpine ginger, angelica, orris root, Indian coriander and Sicilian lemon, with Yorkshire rhubarb and African ginger.

It’s warming and fruity with only a mere touch of sweetness, I’ve been sipping it neat with a large cube of ice and loving it.

Pentire Coastal Spritz 0% 4 x 200ml cans, £11.25, Waitrose

Aperol Spritz fans will take to this like a duck to water. Pentire is a nifty non-alcoholic brand, based in Cornwall. They whip up botanical spirits which use the local Cornish flora and fauna, with a lick of a coastal influence.

This one is more in line with an aperitif-style drink, midway between that and a sparkling Negroni (Sbagliato). Blood orange, sea rosemary and oakwood are among the botanicals and bubbly spring water is the base.

Real Peony Blush Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Tea 0.5%, £11.50, Ocado

I was unexpectedly blown away by this sparking drink, made from a base of White Peony tea. With notes of hibiscus, ginger, red flowers and tea, this is a delicate and satisfying alternative to rosé. 

Fermented non-alcoholic tea delivers complexity and texture without the need to add sugar. Especially when it’s rare and expensive tea from specific regions of Fujian province in China, like this one. The leaves are wok-roasted to stop oxidation and retain their flavour, steeped and naturally fermented in Buckinghamshire, of all places.

Bölle Rosé 0.5%, £19.99, bolledrinks.com

I’m usually suspicious of sparkling wine replacements but am super impressed with Bolle’s sparkling Rosé (they also do a Blanc de Blanc at the same price).

Close your eyes and you could be sipping a youthful English sparkling rosé, all wild strawberries and blood orange sherbet. There’s a touch of a yeasty nuttiness for added authenticity, given it’s been twice fermented in a patent-pending technique. It’s definitely a new fave.  

Everleaf Forest 0%, £20 (Save £2), Ocado

This is a grown-up non-alcoholic drink, founded by a conservation biologist, no less. So, he’s no stranger to researching plants like acacia trees and seaweed to replace the viscosity missing from the alcohol vacuum.

Enter Everleaf Forest, made with saffron, vanilla, citrus blossom, gentian and other botanicals. It’s mildly bitter with notes of orange zest, coriander seed and fennel with the warming and slightly medicinal notes of saffron.  

Clean Co Clean G 0%, £12.95 (25% off until 22/10), Waitrose

I’ve had to come back to this, as I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a fan when I first tasted it last year. Sorry Spencer Matthews from Made in Chelsea, aka the founder.

Whether they’ve since changed the recipe, it’s definitely more complex and substantial nowadays. This is squarely aimed as a gin alternative, distilled in copper pot stills like a regular gin with botanicals like juniper, lemongrass, English cucumber and sweet basil. There are warming spices, like ginger, to cover for the alcohol and I think it works pretty well.

Botivo 0%, £27.50, Botivo Drinks

Whatever the time of year or day of the week, I drink Botivo even if I’m not cutting down on booze, it’s seriously tasty.

Inspired by bitter aperitif-style drinks and made by infusing 5 bittersweet, herbal and citrus botanicals (including rosemary, orange zest and wildflower honey) into a fermented apple base (aged apple cider vinegar). I serve mine with tonic garnished with an orange wedge, but that’s just me. You can add soda or whack it in as the basis to a mocktail (or a cocktail when Octsober finishes).

The following news has been carefully analyzed, curated, and compiled by Umva Mag from a diverse range of people, sources, and reputable platforms. Our editorial team strives to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information we provide. By combining insights from multiple perspectives, we aim to offer a well-rounded and comprehensive understanding of the events and stories that shape our world. Umva Mag values transparency, accountability, and journalistic integrity, ensuring that each piece of content is delivered with the utmost professionalism.