In college, I drank whatever was available. In my twenties, I set about to hone my tastes, figuring out what wine I liked, as well as what spirits I preferred in mixed drinks and stronger cocktails. Now, in my thirties, I find myself on a similar journey. Faced with a bunch of holiday parties, dry January looming, and a myriad of celebrations ahead that all could benefit from less alcohol, I found myself navigating a whole new world of non-alcoholic beverages…and a whole world it is. There are SO many options out there, from de-alcoholized wine to imitation spirits to third-category mystery options, that aren’t really either, and it can be tricky to muddle through the new terminology and overwhelming options on the market today.
To help me (and you!) figure out where to start, I turned to the experts: Victoria Watters of Dry Atlas, an online resource for non-alcoholic beverage enthusiasts; Abby Ehmann, owner of Hekate, an intimate sober bar and bottle shop in NYC, and her preeminent bartender Eliott Edge; and Aqxyl Storms of Minus Moonshine, a dry drinks and potion shop in Brooklyn.
Below, they share the products worth reaching for in every category, from non-alcoholic wines to spirits, so that you can master mocktails and more like a pro.
The Best Non-Alcoholic Spirits
Most non-alcoholic spirits go through this same distillation process as regular liquor, just with grains, fruits, etc., that have not gone through alcoholic fermentation. The options available really run the gamut, with most trying to pull out just what flavor or je ne sais quoi makes each spirit special. Is it the juniper in gin, or the caramel in rum?
“You have to be willing to deviate from the standard bartending rules, sometimes substantially,” said Edge about creating drinks in particular, but it applies well to the spirits themselves too. “Now, the only way that’s going to work is using a combination of trial and error coupled with (and this is the important part) an actual desire to make it taste great. Not good enough, but stellar.”
He talks about how “your mocktail should evoke a damn good Negroni without actually being a Negroni, because no matter what kind of magic you pull together, honey, your Phony Negroni will never ever be a tried and true Negroni because there is no gin in it. Like in AA,” the tenets of which many non-alcoholic drinkers will be familiar with, “‘accept the things I cannot change’ here. So if you’re serious about non-alcoholic bartending, you have to be willing to break nearly all the rules in an effort to make something new and amazing.” The same goes for non-alcoholic spirits. Watters reports tracking over 70 different kinds of NA gin alone. Clearly, the chase to figure out just the exact right recipe continues, and I’m personally excited to see where this industry grows.
Once you stock your bar cart with these expert-approved non-alcoholic spirits, make sure to bookmark our best mocktail recipes!
The Best Non-Alcoholic Tequila/Mezcal
Both Storms and Watters mentioned Tomonotomo as a leader in the field. “[It was] founded by an ex-bartender and cocktail developer who wanted to take a craft, truly natural, single-batch approach to non-alcoholic tequila[/mezcal]. It’s very thoughtfully crafted,” said Watters.
Reposado Style Tequila
Blue Cliff Premium Non-Alcohol Jalapeño Tequila
TOMONOTOMO Non-alcoholic Distilled Agave Spirit
Product Collections
The Best Non-Alcoholic Vodka
Apologies, there isn't one! As Edge said, “almost (almost) everything is mock-able. I mock them all. But there are caveats.” He recalled a time when someone came into Hekate without knowing it didn't serve alcohol. “‘Vodka. Martini. Triple. Up.’” It wasn’t her first rodeo—but it was her first rodeo at Hekate. I explained the situation (‘you’re in a sober bar’) and a wave of horror crossed over her face, the likes of which I’ve rarely seen elsewhere in my life. There isn’t a great vodka replacement yet that I am aware of. Vodka is flavorless, colorless. So we're really just talking chilled H2O.”
The Best Non-Alcoholic Whiskey
For whiskey, Watters recommends Kentucky 74 Spiced, saying that “unlike many others, it can be sipped neat.” Edge takes it one step further, saying that if you mix Kentucky 74 with NKD, “you get something truly special.” If you're into mixing hot cocktails, Storms suggests the Blue Cliff Bourbon-Style Whiskey, saying that it has a “butterscotch flavor that makes a fantastic hot toddy.”
Kentucky 74 SPICED
NKD Whiskey Spirit Alternative
Free Spirits The Spirit of Bourbon
Blue Cliff — Premium Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Style Whiskey, 750 ml
BARE Zero Proof Bourbon Whiskey
The Best Non-Alcoholic Gin
For an easy gin mocktail, Storm recommends DHOS Gin Free. “It has a light, floral note,” they said. “With a little splash of seltzer, slice of lemon twist... yum, easy. Toss a rosemary sprig if you’re feeling fancy!”
Monday Zero Alcohol Gin
Ritual Non-Alcoholic Gin Alternative
DHOS Gin Free
Free Spirits The Spirit of Gin
The Best Non-Alcoholic Rum
ISH Caribbean Spiced Spirit
Monday Zero Alcohol Rum
Lyre's Spiced Cane Spirit
FLUÈRE - Spiced Cane Dark Roast
Ready to make some mocktails? You won't miss the booze in these beloved recipes.
The Best Non-Alcoholic Wines
Non-alcoholic wine is wine that has been made regularly and then “dealcoholized,” a process that usually involves sending the product to a facility with the right equipment. The issue here is that the alcohol content in wine is usually something like 15 percent, and when you strip it, you lose a lot of what makes wine pleasant to drink—its mouthfeel, flavor, body, and more. It’s a risky venture since it has the potential to drastically change and potentially ruin a wine maker’s years-in-the-making product. That said, many traditional winemakers are taking the leap, and these offerings are only getting better.
For red variations, Edge favors Moderato. "They nearly made me cry when I tasted their stuff. Absolutely unbelievable victory they have there.” Watters is impressed with the Zeronimo Leonis blend and said how incredible it is that they dared to deal with a 98-point wine. “[There's is the] closest still red to really hit the mark.” More of a white fan? Storms recommends the Prima Pavé Bianca D'Or, noting its "nice stonefruit notes. “It’s smooth and absolutely lovely,” they said. Got a wine that isn't cutting it? Ehmann suggests adding bitters to give it a little more depth or turning it into something like mulled wine or sangria.
Prima Pavé BIANCA D’OR
Le Petit Béret
Zeronimo - Leonis Blend
Society de la Rassi - Neue Brut
The Best Non-Alcoholic Wine Proxies
Something really interesting in the non-alcoholic space is all the options that never technically started off as wine but still really fit into the occasions where one might serve wine, say at a nice dinner or at midnight on New Year’s. Some are still made from grapes, but most are a blend of other beverages, like juice, botanicals, or even tea. “Tea has a lot of similarities with wine; it has tannins, and that adds to that mouthfeel. Exotic teas can be even more complex and nuanced than wine itself,” explained Watters. She noted that the Copenhagen Sparkling Tea Company's Bla is consistently one of the top five sellers at Spirited Away, Dry Atlas's sister brick-and-mortar store.
Copenhagen Sparkling Tea Company BLA
UNITED FERMENTS
Seraphim Social Beverage Cacao
The Best Non-Alcoholic Aperitifs, Digestifs, & Other Wild Cards
For as many companies exist that are purporting to be making the best non-alcoholic gin or whiskey, there are an equal or larger number not trying to imitate anything at all or focusing instead on the less-exact amaro or aperitifs. In my opinion, this is where non-alcoholic beverages really shine, and my experts agreed (clearly! they had more to recommend here than in any other category).
Everyone's top, must-try pick? The Pathfinder. Watters and Storm talked about its cult following, and Edge described it as a “bam in a bottle.” If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is!
Ghia Aperitifs
Antidote BITTER RED
The Pathfinder Hemp & Root
(Parentheses) Before & After
Wilderton Citrus & Bittersweet Aperitivos
Abstinence Blood Orange Aperitif
Haus of Babylon Spritz Aperitif
Figlia Non-Alcoholic Aperitivo
Pallini Limonzero
Tenneyson Black Ginger
Phew, that’s still a LOT of options, but I’m definitely feeling better equipped to make informed decisions next time I’m faced with a whole store or website full of options. If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, take the advice of our in-house cocktail (& mocktail!) experts, Camille and Cody Goldstein of Muddling Memories, and start slow. “You don’t have to have a special product to make a great mocktail,” Camille says. She suggests experimenting with interesting ingredients that you might already have at home, something like “lemonade with a dash of hot sauce” to imitate a spicy margarita. Cody explains that it’s all about including bold flavors, like bitter, savory, spicy, and umami...and to keep that in mind no matter what kind of drink you're crafting. He says the real fun is that “there’s no guidelines to a mocktail.” It’s a great reminder that no matter whether your home bar is stocked to the gills with all the non-alcoholic options above or you’re just working with what you’ve got in your kitchen pantry, there are plenty of ways to get your drink on, sans alcohol.
