Lots of people I know (including my own husband) have chosen to give up alcohol. 

While there are some really excellent ‘fake’ spirits and alcohol free beers and the like, don’t forget that there are already stacks of really good, and interesting alternatives to alcohol, that the family can enjoy…the whole year round.

Kombucha with a Conscience

For example, Counter Culture kombucha is launching Try Dry®, a zingy new flavour to mark its partnership with Alcohol Change UK as the Official Kombucha for Dry January.

Try Dry® celebrates the role of Alcohol Change UK’s Try Dry® app,  helping participants of Dry January® to track their dry days, calories and money saved through the month. Counter Culture’s new Try Dry flavour is organic with a light and natural tang,with  a citrus yuzu hit.  

5% of all sales from Try Dry® will go to Alcohol Change UK to support its vital work tackling alcohol harm, and helping reset folks’ drinking habits – a financial commitment that aligns strongly to Counter Culture’s values.  The brand has already donated 51% of its shares to non-profit organisations and maintains an unrelenting goal to donate £1million as an entrepreneurial donation to the non-profit organisations respect and have affinity with. 

You can purchase Try Dry® and the rest of Counter Culture’s range from £23.95 for a case of x12 (RRP) from:  Counter Culture  “DRYJANUARY20” for 20% off all products  or Amazon  or Wise Bartender 

Functional Drink

Functional drinks are big news, and according to TRIP, over 8 million people in the UK have either tried, or regularly drink, functional beverages, switching alcohol for offerings with added health benefits.

TRIP, with its range of CBD or magnesium-infused drinks that help you to unwind alcohol-free, is the UK’s fastest growing soft drinks brand over the last 2 years, achieving 405% growth. Half of us  have either ditched booze altogether or are drinking less than the previous 6 months with 15.5 million planning to take part in the 2025 Dry January® challenge.

TRIP has recently launched its Great Taste Award winning Mindful Blend range (RRP £2 per 250ml can), magnesium-infused drinks, listed in Sainsburys, Waitrose and Holland & Barrett. The Mindful Blend range combines Lion’s Mane, Magnesium, Ashwagandha and L-theanine with an infusion of nature’s botanicals.  The unique blend provides a new way to find calm in an accessible drink format, through powerful functional ingredients.

The range debuted with two exclusive flavours, Cucumber Mint and Blood Orange Rosemary, alongside two of the most popular flavours from its core range, Elderflower Mint and Raspberry Orange Blossom.

Cordials and Mocktails

Soft drinks company Belvoir Farm has a great range of alcohol free cocktails as well as its well-known cordials 

These premium soft drinks are refreshingly real in flavour and delicious and make a great alternative to alcohol.  They use simple ingredients, with delicious products like Non-Alcoholic Passion Fruit Martini, made with real tropical fruit juices and Madagascan vanilla extract, or Lime & Yuzu Mojito or Peach Bellini.  

Available in bottles (750ml at £3.40) or cans (4 x250ml at £4.50) from Waitrose, Ocado. 

Info on the full range and stockist information is on their website  here

Warming Ginger

Gingerbread, ginger snaps, ginger cake, crystallised ginger they’re all familiar warming winter favourites.

Ginger was brought to Europe in 992 by an Armenian monk and by Elizabethan times, medicine men sold ginger cookies as love charms. Ginger is still regarded as a healthy spice today, thought to boost immunity, reduce inflammation and aid digestion.   It’s also ideal for pregnant mums in the early stages of pregnancy as it helps nausea. 

Artisan drinks maker, The Dorset Ginger Company uses ginger as the core ingredient in its range of delicious fiery drinks. In fact, they claim to have the hottest ginger drink available in the UK.  Aimed at genuine ginger lovers, their drinks deliver a powerful ginger kick with every sip, leaving a pleasing warming sensation in the mouth, guaranteed to delight ginger connoisseurs everywhere.

The range comprises some eleven variants, from original to extra strong with cinnamon, and comes in two bottle sizes – 33cl and 75cl and can be bought from www.dorsetginger.ltd You can also buy a selection box of five bottles in a gift box for £18.15

Yay! Mushrooms and M&S

Mushrooms are the “IT” health trend at the moment,  and those clever folk at M&S have been busy working with the scientific brains of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 

They have just launched a range of unusual mushroom drinks, featuring Lion’s Mane and Reishi.  It’s  the only ‘big brand’ supermarket to have its own label mushroom drinks, and the only ones to have the mushroom content verified by scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 

Products include: YAY! Mushrooms Vanilla Latte (£1.90) and the YAY! Mushrooms AM & PM Cold Press Shots (duo pack: £3.00).  This has a shot to wake you up and give you energy in the morning and another to calm you down last thing before heading off to bed and enjoying a good night’s sleep.

Don’t fear! These delicious drinks don’t actually taste of mushrooms,  so you can get all the benefits without the taste!